Brief Room Episode 36: Year in Review

[Kubert]

My understanding of 6 new unannounced planes is, that they could be for any map. I guess they will be something to fill the gaps. Maybe Ju-87B, BF-109G10 or flyable medium bomber for western front. And few planes for Finland... If some western fighter was included, I would hope for early P-38 version for preparation phase in the Normandy. But I doubt this will be the case. 

Edited December 25, 2025 by Kubert

[Juri_JS]

3 minutes ago, sandmarken said:

I agree. It seems likely the devs would work on planes that would add to their newest work, rather than doing things for older modules. What planes fit that were used in Leningrad/Odessa and other maps we have? 😄 Early soviet bomber prehaps? P36? SU-2? 

I hope for the I-15, SB-2/DB-3 and Fokker D.XXI, so we can create Winter War scenarios. I think a late P-39 is also likely. 

[Humbre79]

Ju87b2 Pe3bis A20G SB-2...

[AcesDarthBubu]

Wild speculations based on crossed modules multi engines plane from Gen AI search: 

Battle of Moscow (BoM): SB-2, DB-3/Il-4, Do 17/Do 215.

Battle of Stalingrad (BoS): Tu-2, DB-3/Il-4, B-25 Mitchell.

Battle of Kuban (BoK): Tu-2, He 115, B-25 Mitchell.

Odessa and Leningrad – Siege and Liberation: SB-2, DB-3/Il-4, Do 17/Do 215, He 115 (1941 defense); Tu-2, B-25 Mitchell (1944 liberation, though limited).

Battle of Normandy (BoN): B-26 Marauder, Lancaster, Beaufighter, B-17 Flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator, Ju 188, He 177 Greif.

Battle of Bodenplatte (BoBP): B-26 Marauder, Lancaster, B-17 Flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator, Ju 188.

Seems some good candidates that can be used on a few past modules.

Edited December 25, 2025 by AcesDarthBubu

[MDzmitry]

13 часов назад, Mainz сказал:

Fw 190 D-12 or D-13
Bf 109 G-10
Spitfire Mk. XVI

That would honestly be quite a waste:

• D-12 is outperformed by D-9 in the conditions we have (primarily lower-altitude fights) and for high altitude there's Ta 152 already.
• Bf 109 G-10 is already outperformed by K-4 and can be pretty much substituted by G-6/AS with a couple of modifications, the only real difference being landing gear bulges.
• Spitfire Mk.XVI's only difference is the teardrop canopy, apart from that we'll just get another Mk.IX, which we've already got 2 of.

I personally still hope for flyable B-25/B-26, and besides that anything would be welcome. Maybe the early Stuka to get into Odessa/Moscow/Stalingrad? And then there are community-made aircraft for the Finns, but we'll have to wait to see how it turns out.

[Avimimus]

1 hour ago, AcesDarthBubu said:

Wild speculations based on crossed modules multi engines plane from Gen AI search: 

Battle of Moscow (BoM): SB-2, DB-3/Il-4, Do 17/Do 215.

Battle of Stalingrad (BoS): Tu-2, DB-3/Il-4, B-25 Mitchell.

Battle of Kuban (BoK): Tu-2, He 115, B-25 Mitchell.

Odessa and Leningrad – Siege and Liberation: SB-2, DB-3/Il-4, Do 17/Do 215, He 115 (1941 defense); Tu-2, B-25 Mitchell (1944 liberation, though limited).

Battle of Normandy (BoN): B-26 Marauder, Lancaster, Beaufighter, B-17 Flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator, Ju 188, He 177 Greif.

Battle of Bodenplatte (BoBP): B-26 Marauder, Lancaster, B-17 Flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator, Ju 188.

Seems some good candidates that can be used on a few past modules.

 

 

Surprisingly, this isn't that bad. One should never trust a large language model though!

 

I gather that the B-25 and Tu-2 reports are mostly inaccurate though:

- The Tu-2 took longer to become operational. It also wasn't deployed near Odessa. So maybe on the Leningrad front and definitely on the Velikiye Luki map - but probably nowhere else.

- I gather that the B-25 units were eventually converted primarily as long-range night bombers, operating off of prepared strips with special fuel.

 

A few additions from memory:

- Fw-189 should be present from the mid-to-late part of the Moscow campaign, Odessa, Leningrad, and Stalingrad. It was already being withdrawn from frontal units by Kuban, but might appear as a night bomber.

- The Pe-3 is operational on the Moscow and Stalingrad maps and probably Leningrad (possibly Kuban as well).

- Odessa had Bv-138 units operating in the area (mainly based at Constanza, but with a refuelling point at Sevastopol (and were based out of Sevastopol for a few months).

- The SB-2 is present with night bomber regiments as late as Kuban. Basically, if it could still be flown and could carry bombs the Soviets tended to divert aircraft to the night-bombing role... so a lot of aircraft actually persist surprisingly late into the war in these ragtag units!

- Leningrad would have seen some Blenheims operating on the map (they were also used in secondary roles such as smoke laying in 1942 on the Normandy map).

- The Westland Whirlwind was operational on the Normandy map until November 1943... so a bit before the campaign, but close enough that the same map could be used.

- The Do-217E and Do-217K would have been operational on the Normandy map (albeit as night bombers and well prior to the invasion).

- I think some He-177 units were operational on the Stalingrad front?

- Other Mosquito variants were operational over Normandy and Bodenplatte.

 

[Avimimus]

1 hour ago, MDzmitry said:

That would honestly be quite a waste:

• D-12 is outperformed by D-9 in the conditions we have (primarily lower-altitude fights) and for high altitude there's Ta 152 already.
• Bf 109 G-10 is already outperformed by K-4 and can be pretty much substituted by G-6/AS with a couple of modifications, the only real difference being landing gear bulges.
• Spitfire Mk.XVI's only difference is the teardrop canopy, apart from that we'll just get another Mk.IX, which we've already got 2 of.

I personally still hope for flyable B-25/B-26, and besides that anything would be welcome. Maybe the early Stuka to get into Odessa/Moscow/Stalingrad? And then there are community-made aircraft for the Finns, but we'll have to wait to see how it turns out.

Okay, so I could still see a bit of merit in the Fw-190A9 (canopy, engine, field mods)... or better yet the Fw-190A4... it'd handle closer to the A3 but would allow a number of variants (including the earliest F/G variants). But I feel there are much higher priorities (He-162 would provide quite a bit more of a distinct experience...).

I'll float one Messerschmidt that people don't talk about enough though:

Bf-109G-8

It is the only variant I'd still get excited by...

[Calos_01]

I would like to see the Spitfire Mk. XII or an early Mk. IX, but I think that what is missing most is another version of the Mk. V (C wing, bomb load, another variants of Merlin), given that it was literally the workhorse of the RAF.

[Nickkyboy99]

My dream plane list (realistic picks):

• Fiat G.50
• Brewster Model 239
• B-25/B-26/A-20G
• Bf 109 G-10
• Yak-9M
• Blenheim Mk IV

[migmadmarine]

7 hours ago, Calos_01 said:

I would like to see the Spitfire Mk. XII or an early Mk. IX, but I think that what is missing most is another version of the Mk. V (C wing, bomb load, another variants of Merlin), given that it was literally the workhorse of the RAF.

Don't we already have an early Mk.IX? Or is there some even earlier version than what we have in game as the Mk.IXc that you want? 

[Calos_01]

2 hours ago, migmadmarine said:

Don't we already have an early Mk.IX? Or is there some even earlier version than what we have in game as the Mk.IXc that you want? 

The IXc version we have is almost identical to the IXe, differing only in armament and rudder shape. It has exactly the same engines. The early Mk. IX had a Merlin 61 or 63 and a number of visual differences (iirc different wing bulges, short air intake, different elevator balance shape, no bomb load etc).

[Leifr]

23 hours ago, sandmarken said:

I agree. It seems likely the devs would work on planes that would add to their newest work, rather than doing things for older modules. What planes fit that were used in Leningrad/Odessa and other maps we have? 😄 Early soviet bomber prehaps? P36? SU-2? 

Luke has previously commented that any new collector aircraft forthcoming after the completion of the Odessa module will be based on existing airframes already in game, presumably to help cut down on some development time. He's also mentioned that there will be some airframes that will be very well received by a greater part of the community. Personally, I am hoping for an A20G, the B26 and a P47M.

[Dora]

22 hours ago, MDzmitry said:

That would honestly be quite a waste:

• D-12 is outperformed by D-9 in the conditions we have (primarily lower-altitude fights) and for high altitude there's Ta 152 already.
• Bf 109 G-10 is already outperformed by K-4 and can be pretty much substituted by G-6/AS with a couple of modifications, the only real difference being landing gear bulges.

Not everybody plays Il-2 in a top trumps manner, some actually want to simulate reality and don't care if the new aircraft are beaten by the old aircraft

[MDzmitry]

51 минуту назад, Dora сказал:

Not everybody plays Il-2 in a top trumps manner, some actually want to simulate reality and don't care if the new aircraft are beaten by the old aircraft

Doesn't change the fact that there were 1825 D-9s produced, with none of the following (D-11, D-12, D-13) reaching mass production. In terms of "simulating reality" D-9 is the standard, and the rest I'd call a waste of resources.

[Geronimo]

I would really like to see a B-25, B-26, or even an A-20G....some sort of western front bomber, One of the main things lacking from the western front.

[Avimimus]

5 hours ago, Leifr said:

Luke has previously commented that any new collector aircraft forthcoming after the completion of the Odessa module will be based on existing airframes already in game, presumably to help cut down on some development time.

Oh? When did this happen! I seem to have missed it.

I know the developers said that (about a year ago) - one should expect new aircraft to be variants of old ones.

[BlitzPig_EL]

A 20G and P39Q please.

[sevenless]

From the finish team we know of plans to get four one-engined planes into the game by doing the 3D-models by enthusiasts. Two of them have already been confirmed as being worked on by @LLv44_Kanttori

- Fiat G50 (confirmed)

- Brewster 239 (confirmed)

- Fokker D XXI

- Curtis Hawk 75A

Then over the last years we have seen requests about several one-engined planes for filling gaps in the multiple theatre modules. Since 1C mentioned that if they do collector planes, that these will only be adaptations of already existing airframes, my bet is on the following:

- Bf 109 G-10 (using a merge of the G6AS and the K4 airframes)

- Fw-190 A9 (using the Fw 190 A8 airframe)

That's my guess for the six mentioned collector planes which might find their way into GB over 2026.

With a smaller likelihood IMHO there might also be a distant chance to see the following:

- Yak-7B bubble top (using Yak7B and Yak9 airframes)

- Spitfire Mark V (LF) with Merlin 45M, 50, 55M engine and clipped wings (using the Mark V airframe)

- Spitfire Mark IX/XVI bubble top (using the Mark IX E airframe)

- Fw 190 D-11/12/13 (using the D9 airframe)

I´m pretty sure we won't see any new two-engined planes or two-engined AI planes being made flyable (too much work on the cockpits).

 

[Avimimus]

2 hours ago, sevenless said:

- Yak-7B bubble top (using Yak7B and Yak9 airframes)

Oh my favourite Yak!

P.S. Why no Pe-3 (early)?

[Koziolek]

14 hours ago, Leifr said:

Luke has previously commented that any new collector aircraft forthcoming after the completion of the Odessa module will be based on existing airframes already in game, presumably to help cut down on some development time. 

Does Spitfire I or II qualifies? Or was it completely different from V?

[sevenless]

2 hours ago, Avimimus said:

P.S. Why no Pe-3 (early)?

I don't think they want to invest the resources. Same for Bf 110 F.

[AcesDarthBubu]

6 hours ago, sevenless said:

From the finish team we know of plans to get four one-engined planes into the game by doing the 3D-models by enthusiasts. Two of them have already been confirmed as being worked on by @LLv44_Kanttori

- Fiat G50 (confirmed)

- Brewster 239 (confirmed)

- Fokker D XXI

- Curtis Hawk 75A

Then over the last years we have seen requests about several one-engined planes for filling gaps in the multiple theatre modules. Since 1C mentioned that if they do collector planes, that these will only be adaptations of already existing airframes, my bet is on the following:

- Bf 109 G-10 (using a merge of the G6AS and the K4 airframes)

- Fw-190 A9 (using the Fw 190 A8 airframe)

That's my guess for the six mentioned collector planes which might find their way into GB over 2026.

With a smaller likelihood IMHO there might also be a distant chance to see the following:

- Yak-7B bubble top (using Yak7B and Yak9 airframes)

- Spitfire Mark V (LF) with Merlin 45M, 50, 55M engine and clipped wings (using the Mark V airframe)

- Spitfire Mark IX/XVI bubble top (using the Mark IX E airframe)

- Fw 190 D-11/12/13 (using the D9 airframe)

I´m pretty sure we won't see any new two-engined planes or two-engined AI planes being made flyable (too much work on the cockpits).

 

Realistically if to not allocate too much effort into GB, the work by the karttakomppania folks makes sense to be part of the 6 collector planes since we have seen some progress made by 3rd party, but it also contradicts to some of the statement the devs released in regards to more engines than usual and usable across previous modules and being the same airframe. Unless the devs wants to give us 6 unannounced planes + a few more from the Finnish folks ??? 😁

[migmadmarine]

Would be a very pleasant surprise if the Karttakomppania built aircraft were not counted among these six, but I won't bet on it. 

[FungibleofFungible]

17 hours ago, MDzmitry said:

Doesn't change the fact that there were 1825 D-9s produced, with none of the following (D-11, D-12, D-13) reaching mass production. In terms of "simulating reality" D-9 is the standard, and the rest I'd call a waste of resources.

That may be true, but we already have a Ta-152 which I'd say fits in the non-mass production section.

[jokash]

B-25 or DB3F is what i would like the most,with B-25 coming way ahead