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Author Topic: The Hornet's Nest: A Bristol Beaufort RAAF campaign for BAT in the PTO  (Read 3438 times)

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vonofterdingen

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Hornet's nest is a 31 mission campaign for BAT based on the exploits of the Beauforts of 100 Squadron RAAF, by Von and Lars. There are versions available for both BAT and VP Modpack. The link below allows you to choose which version to download.

100 Squadron was initially the only torpedo bomber unit in New Guinea and as such was expected to deal the Japanese navy a severe blow. It formed part of 9 Group RAAF which came under the USAAF 5th Air Force. In fact, just its presence was a deterrent to the Japanese Navy at a time when they were all-conquering.

Download here:  https://www.mission4today.com/index.php?name=Downloads3&file=details&id=2935




See the Readme for installation instructions. Be sure and use the Hornet's Nest zip file for BAT and the VPM PTO zip file for VP Modpack.

From Lars…
We understand that some players like to fly long missions and most prefer a quicker experience. We started out to provide both but it proved impractical with what the sim has to offer currently. In real life the squadron flew 4 to 5 hour missions mostly at night over the sea and with poor communications affected by tropical storms, with a low success rate in the end. In addition the crews suffered from various tropical diseases rife in the area. So, for playability sake and enjoyment we opted for daytime missions with many air starts.

The constant fatigue (80% of servicemen at Milne Bay suffered illness at one time or another), the slippery steel matting with ankle deep mud, the waves of different weather fronts, and most of all, the malfunctioning weapons, cannot be reproduced accurately in the sim at present. The US 13inch naval torpedo in particular which was supplied to the Beauforts was found in the end to be badly made and all Allied services that used it suffered accordingly. The US submarine service was particularly vocal about its lack of success. After a full investigation at the end of 1942 it was found the depth mechanism was out by 15 feet and this was still problematic at the end of the war!



100 Squadron was initially the only torpedo bomber unit in New Guinea and as such was expected to deal the Japanese navy a severe blow. It formed part of 9 Group RAAF which came under the USAAF 5th Air Force. In fact, just its presence was a deterrent to the Japanese Navy at a time when they were all-conquering.

Time and again the Australian crews pressed home an attack with little to show for it. The High Command put it down to inexperience, poor training, and an antiquated aircraft not suited for the purpose. In fact, once the initial problems associated with any aircraft new to the scene were dealt with (e.g.wonky tailwheel assembly, elevator movement, and carbon monoxide leakage) the Australian built Beaufort proved a decent medium to low level bomber. The crews found it robust and reliable and it was a pleasure to fly. It was the first major production run in the fledgling aircraft industry and lessons were learned along the way. By the time the initial problems were solved the eventual ten RAAF Beaufort squadrons were used in the level bombing and ground support roles, for which they proved very successful. It also played a crucial part in the monotonous but essential anti-submarine patrols and convoy escorts in the South West Pacific Theatre.The crews who suffered through the first year or more of operations were eventually transferred to other theatres and duties, and the fresh crews took over carrying the Beauforts successfully through to victory in 1945.



This campaign has a different feel to those in Europe and the Mediterranean so we hope you enjoy what Von and I have put together. As well as attacking enemy shipping, you will be fighting enemy aircraft of all sorts so watch out for those tail gunners with their deadly accuracy. Torpedoes will be dropped, and various bombloads against sea and land targets. We have included all the major successes the squadron achieved which are noted in the briefings. E.g. A Beaufort defends against three attacking Zeroes, shoots down two and evades another without a scratch, the sinking of a cruiser by bombs, and an historic mass RAAF raid on an airbase. Despite the low results they were successful in helping to stop the Japanese from conquering New Guinea and thus from cutting off Australia’s supply lines.

My thanks as ever to Von for bringing my briefings to life, and to you guys for so many downloads which spurs us on to create other campaigns.



Credits
Thanks also to:

For the map PNG42 by TomcatZombie and DPeters
For the RAAF 100 Squadron skin by Cafs
For the original idea of Il2 to Oleg Maddox and team
For the 4.12.2 BAT4 version by the SAS team
For VP Modpack by VP Media

For further reading you may wish to check out
‘Song of the Beauforts’ by Colin M King
‘Adversity in Success’ by Air Vice Marshall J.E. Hewitt, commander of 9 group RAAF.
‘Battle of the Bismark Sea’ by Lex McAulay.
‘Target Rabaul’ by Bruce Gamble.

Cheers
Lars.


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Fish40

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Will there be a version for VP Mod? I played your other two Beaufort campaigns and really enjoyed them. Thanks :)
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vonofterdingen

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We've been thinking about it.  The trouble is that the map is not in  VP Modpack and we cannot seem to find a standalone vers.
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Fish40

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Is this it:   http://www.mission4today.com/index.php?name=Downloads3&file=details&id=2780 If so, I already installed it into my VP Mod for another campaign.
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vonofterdingen

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Yes, that's the one. I guess now we have no excuse. So yes, I think we will do the conversion. Lars and I have started a new ANR project so we need to discuss when to do them.

In the meantime let me suggest that you and others consider installing BAT. As far as I can tell VP Modpack is no longer being developed and BAT has resolved the download size issue. BAT just has much more offer. now.
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Fish40

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Thanks! Looking forwards to it. I'll be honest, for the time being, I'm quite happy with VP, even though it seems that development has stopped. Maybe in the future I'll give BAT a go :)
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vonofterdingen

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I agree Vp has a lot going for it still.
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Toobone

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Guys, i neeed help: link to Shipblazing2, IJNSeaplaneTender Never saw that before Hornet's Nest. Is this it?

https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/topic,33515.0.html

 Now i try to redid HN to VPMpack. 20 mis done, without C&C mod. & SeaplaneTender.

"Goodenaugh guts" near Goodenaugh bay..& disenteria..& kurage..its great done.



A barrel with an inscription in the foreground OrHeonacHo in RU...yeah...aviation alcohol is flammable. Keep it away from the plane and the pilot: the former might burn out, the latter might get drunk.Joke.
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vonofterdingen

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Those crazy Aussies will drink anything!
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vonofterdingen

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I am not sure what ship that is. I just chose one out of BAT, which has more ships than VP Modpack. I would recommend replacing it with a standard tanker or freighter.
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Fish40

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Re: The Hornet's Nest: A Bristol Beaufort RAAF campaign for BAT in the PTO
« Reply #10 on: March 17, 2021, 03:14:43 AM »

Just wondering if there was any progress/news on a VP Mod version. Would really love to play the PTO!
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larschance

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Re: The Hornet's Nest: A Bristol Beaufort RAAF campaign for BAT in the PTO
« Reply #11 on: March 17, 2021, 05:08:37 AM »

Please be patient a bit longer Fish40. We are sorting out a few problems that have occurred with the ANR campaign but will look at the Beaufort PTO VPmod version after that. Thank you for your interest in our creations.

I highly endorse Von's comments about BAT, especially the new BAT 4.1.2, as it has more aircraft, maps, objects than the VPmodpack, and now Whistler's NgHUD is part of the main set-up. The VPmod is still a great version but is becoming more difficult to work with as time goes by.
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