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24 Years Of IL-2 Series It's hard to believe, but the first version of the combat flight sim IL-2 Sturmovik was released 24 years ago, in November 2001. To commemorate this anniversary, we have launched the new website for the series, il2-series.com, and the new forum, as we announced a few days ago. You won't be able to log in to the old forum anymore, but it will remain read-only so the information accumulated on it over 12 years (gasp!) can still be found and used. And another page will appear on the new website this week - after all, 24 years is a pretty good age to create a family. Happy birthday, Ilyusha!

В России, на форуме русской игры, общение на русском языке засунуть на задворки...? Это как?

I remember buying a magazine to get the copy of the demo... then convincing my fiddle teacher to let me install it on his machine... the FPS was terrible but beat the 2 fps on my home computer... I somehow used the keyboard to put a 37mm round from the P-39 into the engine of a Fw-189 and watched the engine be torn off and fall away... People today don't realise what a step forward that sim was. The forum was full of people diving to tear off the main landing gear of the P-39 and then do touch-and-goes with just the front wheel and marvelling at how the aircraft would gradually transition in its loss of lift (they could then throttle up and raise the tail again). The physics was unheard of - and this was even before the update (AEP era?) that doubled the number of physics calculations and increased the fidelity of the flight model. Also, people were really impressed by having damage to a wing lead to reduced lift for it! We were also shocked by the frequency of development updates, the fact that the devs interacted with people, and the amount of free post-release support - it was really game changing... things which today are assumed (or even treated as being an entitlement) but were really innovative then. It was such a big deal I think a couple of people named their kids Oleg. Another thing which is often forgotten is how the tech bubble had led to the purchase and then disbandment of almost all flight simulator product lines. CFS3 was in development around the time Il-2 was, and was released slightly after... and I think Jane's USAF came out slightly after as well... but basically flight simulators died out except for Maddox Games and Eagle Dynamics... two Russian companies which rebuilt the hardcore flight simulator. The one other survivor of that era was X-Plane (and I think one of the professional glider simulators).

This mod alters the stock wingtip vortices to make them more visible as shown above. https://www.mediafire.com/file/yxvxnz3zywckjws/WingVortices.zip/file (6.107b compatible) Changelog: 25 Nov 2025 - Made available in new forum

OhMyDog is a normal-difficulty server that has been running since June 2019. It originally started out as a stop gap for the normal-difficulty community during a period in which the DED Official server was unavailable. Over the years it has grown more as an alternative, but similar in design server to the one this community was already accustomed to. Our statistics page (Which includes stats for tank players) can be found here: OhMyDog - Stats Information about the server from the old forum can be found here.

Well, I seem to have found the place.

Excited to see the birth of the new saga! So many memories of this exact moment with Great Battles! It's been and will still be a blast! Oh man, I can't wait! the announcement can't come soon enough!

Found it.

Imperial German airpower on patrol:

You mean like tomorrow? Maybe you'll spill the beans if I show you these pics of this F-51 from Oskosh this year.

Wow. He’s already back at it. Thanks Julian!!!

Hello friends! Some of you might remember my previous attempt, Thunderbolts over France, which sadly never saw release. That project taught me a lot about IL-2’s mission editor and the challenges of single-player storytelling. After a lot of trial and error, and finally the time and patience to get back into it, I’ve managed to bring something new to life. This mission, “Baptism of Fire,” is a proof of concept — a small step forward to see how far I can go and whether it connects with the community. It includes full localization in English and Spanish, so both audiences can enjoy it naturally. My goal this time is to create something that feels closer to a war story — unpredictable, alive, and sometimes chaotic. Just like in real war, things don’t always go as planned. You might witness events outside the expected mission flow, because that’s the kind of atmosphere I wanted to capture. You’ll fly as Raven 2, wingman to Raven 1, both piloting early-production Yak-3s during combat trials following the aircraft’s first tests in the Lvov–Sandomierz area. The setting is the Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive, August 1944. We’ll join a group of Yak-9s covering a flight of Il-2s striking a German airfield near the front, while our tank units attempt to break through Axis defenses. Our small Yak-3 pair, still under evaluation, will operate more independently — free hunting, testing the new fighter in real combat conditions. “Baptism of Fire” is not a polished campaign yet, but a foundation — a way to test atmosphere, pacing, and immersion before expanding it into something larger. I also want to express my sincere gratitude to the mission creators and storytellers who have inspired and helped me over the years — Jaegermeister, Gambit21, and of course, Blacksix. Their work and advice have set the standard for what’s possible in IL-2’s single-player world, and without that inspiration, this mission would not exist. Finally, I’m also preparing myself to create content for the upcoming Korea when it becomes available. And what better way to get ready than by refining my skills and storytelling here, in the crucible of “Baptism of Fire.” I hope you enjoy the mission and its small details. Feedback is always welcome — if this concept works and players like it, I’ll continue building from here. See you in the skies! Mission download: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JfRCc4VtKD-W2_czVL9bdxlZ7ilQ1V82/view?usp=sharing Installation: Just drop the files inside data/missions. Credits: Picture - Asisbiz AA template - Vander

Thanks for the input @AndreiTomescu, I agree with your thoughts on reposting scripted campaign threads and I am sure some others will do that here. There are others that have done some nice campaigns in the past and are no longer maintaining or updating them. I was tasked with updating some of those campaigns a couple of years back, and I may post new threads regarding those here. I will probably also create new threads regarding Flying Circus campaigns that do not have a separate area in this new forum, but are still relevant.

Oh, it'll be sooner than that. 🙂

We're putting such topics here now: https://forum.il2-series.com/forum/33-feedback-and-suggestions/

Пока мало что понятно. А точнее- ничего. Ждем полноценный русскоязычный раздел.

Hi everyone, I want to share a web with all planes and vehicles specifications with multi-language support (English, Spanish, Russian, German, French and Chinese). All data has been taken directly from game files. I will try to keep it up to date. https://ravensystem.github.io/il2_specs/ Cheers!

Remember getting the disc in a gaming PC magazine that month, installed it and the initial take off of the P-39 in the heavy rainfall had me instantly hooked, that classic whine of the 39 and sound of rain picking up in intensity as the speed built. I could smell the rain.

😀 Я уж было подумал, что верховные боги форума в мудрости своей убрали реакции, ан нет - праздник школьника продолжается 🙂. Ну да ладно, может по движкам чего скину потом (если вдруг исчезнут лыбы таки, будет здорово). А где мой братан контрразведчик :)? Надеюсь форум не потерял?

What the title says: Sundays at 19:00 UTC. Look for the busiest Flying Circus dogfight server (name always starts with Flying Circus, usually Flugpark) and come join in the fun! Don’t be shy now, we wood and canvas aviators don’t bite. Much.