Milviz Stuka Preview

**Odie** · November 14th, 2012, 09:23

Originally Posted by Skyhawk_310R

If you wanted to die in aviation in World War II, there were few options better suited to make this happen than to volunteer to be a rear gunner on a dive bomber!

Essentially, in an attack, your body was a second layer of armour protection for the pilot! Of course, he had a back plate of armour and the gunner had nothing but air and wafer thin aluminum skin! The weapon most often fitted was a single or double 30 cal MG -- a weapon that had already been deemed woefully inadequate to shoot down a fighter aircraft, even when the British put eight of them on their fighters to shoot with! Now imagine you have just one (or at best two of them) and you have to manually aim while your pilot is violently maneuvering the aircraft if he has any hopes of living!

Oh, almost forgot, if the enemy fighter pilot has any options and plans his attack, he makes a slashing run from the side and above, or dips down below your belly and rips your bottom out beneath your feet and peels off and to the side before emerging above you.

One of my uncles was in the US Marines in WW II and was given the chance to volunteer to be a rear gunner on an SBD. He professionally declined and prayed no one asked him a second time!

Ken

Ken, one of my favorite uncles was also in the Marines in WWII and got the same offer, only he accepted. They went over what he needed to do before take-off and then the flight of SBDs launched. He said everything was cool flying in formation and they kept a close formation. For whatever reason, they didn't find what they were going after so on the way back, they dropped their payload on a ship hulk that was used for target practice. Everything was fine, he related,
until the dive and pullout. Upon pullout, he said that he threw up "all over himself", in his words. They pulled into formation and he said the closer plane crews were pointing and laughing as he tried to clean himself up.

Never one to shy away from trying anything once, this was his first/last time as a gunner, and he had a new-found respect for those that did it on a regular basis! He was one of those that lied about his age to join at the beginning of the war and went in before his 16th birthday. A colorful character, he always had a bag full of stories about his time in the Marines and I never tired of listening to them. He was a rough-n-tumble guy, but I always enjoyed being included in the "grown-up" discussions, if only as an eager listener.

**roger-wilco-66** · November 14th, 2012, 10:18

Nice story, Odie, thanks for sharing!

Cheers,
Mark

**bstolle** · November 14th, 2012, 21:59

Originally Posted by Lawman

Not meaning to be pedantic (it is after all still WIP), but on the right hand console there seems to be a spelling error. It seems to say "Bei nichtgebrach ousgeschaltet". I don't know what it should read exactly, but it is "ausgeschaltet". Even then, the translation into English would be "When not in use switched off". I presume it should say something like "When not in use switch off". Translated into German it would more likely be "Bei nichtgebrauch ausschalten". Perhaps Mathias can chime in?

FYI, I just checked the original manual and Bei Nichtgebrauch ausgeschaltet ! is correct.

**YoYo** · November 14th, 2012, 22:54

Plus mission in FSX like this:

**Ian Warren** · November 15th, 2012, 01:38

YOYO that is Stuka rated , think you best take a dive for that one

**fleurdelys** · November 15th, 2012, 03:48

That was "NICE", Yoyo...

Loved the background songs which gave a feeling of being there...

Too bad for that ship, though...

Fleurdelys

***Mathias*** · November 15th, 2012, 04:28

To those interested:
The depicted cockpit belongs to a Ju87 D, and with a change of the bomb switch apparatus to a simple gun switchbox can serve as a G.

**bstolle** · November 15th, 2012, 06:45

Originally Posted by Mathias

The depicted cockpit belongs to a Ju87 D, and with a change of the bomb switch apparatus to a simple gun switchbox can serve as a G.

Comparing the VC with the original manuals at least the main instrument panel (and the RH circuit breaker panel) looks more like an old B.

***Mathias*** · November 15th, 2012, 06:52

Originally Posted by bstolle

Comparing the VC with the original manuals at least the main instrument panel (and the RH circuit breaker panel) looks more like an old B.

Nope, look closer, it's a D.
The AFN-2 got bonkers obviously after I have passed the gauges on to Collin, but I suppose that'll get fixed before release.

***Lawman*** · November 15th, 2012, 08:44

Originally Posted by bstolle

FYI, I just checked the original manual and Bei Nichtgebrauch ausgeschaltet ! is correct.

I stand corrected, then

. It seems a very strange message to me if that is the case, though

.

**MenendezDiego** · April 12th, 2013, 13:57

Enjoy

***Roger*** · April 12th, 2013, 14:02

Ahhhaaaaaa!

**YoYo** · April 12th, 2013, 14:24

Wow, it looks awsome!

***Shessi*** · April 12th, 2013, 14:52

Effing hell!!

Without doubt one of the most realistic cockpits I've seen in a sim.

Stunning is the word......

Cheers

Hans-Ulrich Rudel

***Sundog*** · April 12th, 2013, 15:02

Will this also have a model without the wheel pants, for when they operated in muddy conditions on the Eastern Front? Or was that only later models like the G?

It looks great, thanks for the preview.

**Bone** · April 12th, 2013, 15:05

I guess the Germans just didn't see the point in doing a proper sanding job on the panel before painting it...well, I guess they were getting their butt's beat, lol. Wow, that's some amazing detail!

**Ian Warren** · April 12th, 2013, 15:43

Gull y G

I'm Suucker for a Stuka <input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><input jscode="leoInternalChangeDone()" onclick="if(typeof(jsCall)=='function'){jsCall();} else{setTimeout('jsCall()',500);}" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><input onclick="if(typeof(jsCall)=='function'){jsCall();} else{setTimeout('jsCall()',500);}" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">

**Yob** · April 12th, 2013, 17:48

:d:d:d yea can't wait for this.

***jankees*** · April 12th, 2013, 20:23

oh, very nice!

**Whitehawk** · April 13th, 2013, 00:27

Added to the 'must buy' list!

***huub vink*** · April 13th, 2013, 00:55

Originally Posted by Whitehawk

Added to the 'must buy' list!

It is actually already quite a while on the "should be finished list"

It is nice somebody does this aircraft, but I would have preferred an early version, like the A with the large skirts around the undercarriage or the typical Battle of Britain version, the B. But I expect everybody has his or hers personal taste and a developer can't satisfy them all.

Cheers,
Huub