Pacific Combat Pilot brings together the two legendary carrier-based fighters of WWII’s Pacific Theater in one superbly detailed package of 21 aircraft. Also included are the MkI and MkIV variants of the Martlet – the British version of the Wildcat – in eight different liveries!
From the fully functional virtual cockpits and accurate flight characteristics to carrier operations and animations, the F4F-3 and F4F-4 Wildcats and the Mitsubishi A6M2-21 Zero are expertly modelled. Clear the decks and get ready to experience the power of both these iconic warbirds in FSX!
WILDCAT
No US aircraft other than the Wildcat fought throughout WWII, all the way from 1940 to VJ Day in 1945; the Wildcat was there when the US Navy and Marines entered the Pacific theatre and when the atomic bomb was dropped to put an end to hostilities.
The Wildcat could well be considered the US Navy’s 'Spitfire', performing heroically against considerable odds in often difficult conditions in the defining battles of the Coral Sea and Midway and later in the dark days of the early Pacific islands campaigns at infamous locations such as Guadalcanal and Rabaul.
It is a testament to the success of this rugged little fighter that the design remained basically unchanged until the end of the war, and the last Wildcat to roll off the General Motors production lines in 1945.
MARTLET
The Martlet was the name given by the British forces to the F4F-3 and F4F-4-based Wildcat aircraft which were supplied to Britain from the earliest days of WWII - eight Martlet aircraft are included in this package as bonus content!
In 1940, two years before the US entered the fray, a Royal Navy Martlet pilot scored the first aerial victory by an F4F in WWII, off the Orkneys in Scotland. The British ordered the F4F-3 for its Royal Navy as did France before the country fell in the early years of the War. In fact the F3s initially bound for France were diverted when the country was overrun and were eventually delivered to the Royal Navy.
Apart from service in the North Atlantic, British Martlets also saw combat in warmer climes such as Malta and North Africa and, of course, alongside their American counterparts throughout the Pacific.
Grumman Martlet MkI
The British Martlet MkI was basically identical to the US F4F-3, other than that it was equipped with a Wright Cyclone 9-cylinder engine and a Hamilton constant speed propeller. This required a slightly shorter cowling over the power plant and the aircraft had no cowl flaps. An extra strengthening bar was fitted to the windscreen quarterlights. The Martlet performed much like the F4F-3 from which it was derived.
Grumman Martlet Mk IV
The Martlet MkIV was largely identical to the US F4F-4, other than that it was equipped with a Wright Cyclone 9-cylinder engine and a Hamilton constant speed three-blade propeller. Two long cowl flaps were installed in the upper half of the engine cowling. Performance figures and specifications can be considered either identical or very close to those of the F4F-4.
ZERO
The A6M2-21 model is the Zero model one produced in the greatest numbers; over 1,500 aircraft had been built by the end of World War II. The A6M2-21 took part in the surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor as a support fighter to the bombers and was involved in many of the later campaigns in the Pacific theatre before being replaced by later variants. The design had cut its combat teeth in China before the outbreak of the war in the Pacific.
The A6M2-21 had small folding wing tips for carrier use and could carry a drop-tank or a bomb for ground attack duty.
In the early stages of the war in the Pacific, the Zero outmanoeuvred the majority of allied fighters, including the venerable Spitfire, until new combat tactics were introduced. Engaging a Zero in a twisting turning dogfight meant certain failure; the trick was to gain the height advantage and dive on the enemy at high speed in a firing pass.
Opponents such as the Grumman F-4F Wildcat were built to be rugged absorbers of punishment and protected their pilots with armour plating. US pilots got the upper hand in due course and the Zero would never again have the upper hand.
AIRCRAFT IN THIS SIMULATION
Wildcat F4F-3
F-15 – flown by Lieutenant Commander Edward ‘Butch’ O'Hare, perhaps the Wildcat’s most famous ace.
3-F-9 – belonged to Fighting Squadron VF-3 flying from USS Saratoga in the Spring of 1941.
MF-1 – this was the mount of Major Robert E. Galer, who totalled 13 confirmed victories and was a recipient of the Medal of Honor.
41-F-4 – before the USA entered WWII, US Navy aircraft were painted in an array of different bright colours contrasting with silver fuselages. It was not until Pearl Harbor that the need for more subdued camouflage colours became clear!
Wildcat F4F-4
‘White 18' - flown by AP/1c Howard Stanton Packard of VF-6, USS Enterprise, August 1942.
BuNo 5093 / ‘White 23’ - flown by Lt Cdr John S Thach, Officer Commanding VF-3, USS Yorktown, Midway, 4 June 1942.
22-F-1 - displays the later tri-colour scheme adopted by all US naval aircraft in the Pacific Campaign.
‘Black 53’ – flown by Capt. Joseph J Foss at Guadalcanal in early 1943.
Martlet Mk I
EJ569 ‘F’ – flown by Sub Lt Parke, RNVR, when he, along with another Martlet pilot, scored the very first aerial victory for the F4F series in WWII.
‘French 2’ – an F4F-3 ordered by the French AeroNavale, prior to the fall of France in 1940.
BJ562 – an 804 Squadron machine.
S7-L BJ561 – another 804 Squadron machine.
Martlet Mk IV
‘That Old Thing’ – nose art of any type was usually strictly frowned upon by Naval ‘brass’ but this Martlet flew from HMS Tracker during Operation Overlord, D-Day and the invasion of France in June 1944.
‘9Z’ – an 893 Squadron machine at the time of Operation Torch, the joint allied invasion of French North Africa.
FN114 – this aircraft was on strength with 893 Squadron Royal Navy on HMS Formidable in the Western Mediterranean in early 1943. Martlets served with distinction throughout the theatre and also in the deserts of North Africa.
FN148 – based on Malta, where 893 Squadron served in 1943.
A6M2 Zero
12th Combined Kokutai, China 1940-1941
Machine aboard carrier Hiryu during the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 1941
6th Kokutai, Rabaul, New Britain, November 1942
402nd Chutai, 341st Kokutai, Clark Field, Manila Philippines, 1944
3rd Naval Air Group, Takao airbase, Taiwan, December 1941
Wildcat & Martlet model features
From the fully functional virtual cockpits and accurate flight characteristics to carrier operations and animations, the F4F-3 and F4F-4 Wildcats and the Mitsubishi A6M2-21 Zero are expertly modelled. Clear the decks and get ready to experience the power of both these iconic warbirds in FSX!
WILDCAT
No US aircraft other than the Wildcat fought throughout WWII, all the way from 1940 to VJ Day in 1945; the Wildcat was there when the US Navy and Marines entered the Pacific theatre and when the atomic bomb was dropped to put an end to hostilities.
The Wildcat could well be considered the US Navy’s 'Spitfire', performing heroically against considerable odds in often difficult conditions in the defining battles of the Coral Sea and Midway and later in the dark days of the early Pacific islands campaigns at infamous locations such as Guadalcanal and Rabaul.
It is a testament to the success of this rugged little fighter that the design remained basically unchanged until the end of the war, and the last Wildcat to roll off the General Motors production lines in 1945.
MARTLET
The Martlet was the name given by the British forces to the F4F-3 and F4F-4-based Wildcat aircraft which were supplied to Britain from the earliest days of WWII - eight Martlet aircraft are included in this package as bonus content!
In 1940, two years before the US entered the fray, a Royal Navy Martlet pilot scored the first aerial victory by an F4F in WWII, off the Orkneys in Scotland. The British ordered the F4F-3 for its Royal Navy as did France before the country fell in the early years of the War. In fact the F3s initially bound for France were diverted when the country was overrun and were eventually delivered to the Royal Navy.
Apart from service in the North Atlantic, British Martlets also saw combat in warmer climes such as Malta and North Africa and, of course, alongside their American counterparts throughout the Pacific.
Grumman Martlet MkI
The British Martlet MkI was basically identical to the US F4F-3, other than that it was equipped with a Wright Cyclone 9-cylinder engine and a Hamilton constant speed propeller. This required a slightly shorter cowling over the power plant and the aircraft had no cowl flaps. An extra strengthening bar was fitted to the windscreen quarterlights. The Martlet performed much like the F4F-3 from which it was derived.
Grumman Martlet Mk IV
The Martlet MkIV was largely identical to the US F4F-4, other than that it was equipped with a Wright Cyclone 9-cylinder engine and a Hamilton constant speed three-blade propeller. Two long cowl flaps were installed in the upper half of the engine cowling. Performance figures and specifications can be considered either identical or very close to those of the F4F-4.
ZERO
The A6M2-21 model is the Zero model one produced in the greatest numbers; over 1,500 aircraft had been built by the end of World War II. The A6M2-21 took part in the surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor as a support fighter to the bombers and was involved in many of the later campaigns in the Pacific theatre before being replaced by later variants. The design had cut its combat teeth in China before the outbreak of the war in the Pacific.
The A6M2-21 had small folding wing tips for carrier use and could carry a drop-tank or a bomb for ground attack duty.
In the early stages of the war in the Pacific, the Zero outmanoeuvred the majority of allied fighters, including the venerable Spitfire, until new combat tactics were introduced. Engaging a Zero in a twisting turning dogfight meant certain failure; the trick was to gain the height advantage and dive on the enemy at high speed in a firing pass.
Opponents such as the Grumman F-4F Wildcat were built to be rugged absorbers of punishment and protected their pilots with armour plating. US pilots got the upper hand in due course and the Zero would never again have the upper hand.
AIRCRAFT IN THIS SIMULATION
Wildcat F4F-3
F-15 – flown by Lieutenant Commander Edward ‘Butch’ O'Hare, perhaps the Wildcat’s most famous ace.
3-F-9 – belonged to Fighting Squadron VF-3 flying from USS Saratoga in the Spring of 1941.
MF-1 – this was the mount of Major Robert E. Galer, who totalled 13 confirmed victories and was a recipient of the Medal of Honor.
41-F-4 – before the USA entered WWII, US Navy aircraft were painted in an array of different bright colours contrasting with silver fuselages. It was not until Pearl Harbor that the need for more subdued camouflage colours became clear!
Wildcat F4F-4
‘White 18' - flown by AP/1c Howard Stanton Packard of VF-6, USS Enterprise, August 1942.
BuNo 5093 / ‘White 23’ - flown by Lt Cdr John S Thach, Officer Commanding VF-3, USS Yorktown, Midway, 4 June 1942.
22-F-1 - displays the later tri-colour scheme adopted by all US naval aircraft in the Pacific Campaign.
‘Black 53’ – flown by Capt. Joseph J Foss at Guadalcanal in early 1943.
Martlet Mk I
EJ569 ‘F’ – flown by Sub Lt Parke, RNVR, when he, along with another Martlet pilot, scored the very first aerial victory for the F4F series in WWII.
‘French 2’ – an F4F-3 ordered by the French AeroNavale, prior to the fall of France in 1940.
BJ562 – an 804 Squadron machine.
S7-L BJ561 – another 804 Squadron machine.
Martlet Mk IV
‘That Old Thing’ – nose art of any type was usually strictly frowned upon by Naval ‘brass’ but this Martlet flew from HMS Tracker during Operation Overlord, D-Day and the invasion of France in June 1944.
‘9Z’ – an 893 Squadron machine at the time of Operation Torch, the joint allied invasion of French North Africa.
FN114 – this aircraft was on strength with 893 Squadron Royal Navy on HMS Formidable in the Western Mediterranean in early 1943. Martlets served with distinction throughout the theatre and also in the deserts of North Africa.
FN148 – based on Malta, where 893 Squadron served in 1943.
A6M2 Zero
12th Combined Kokutai, China 1940-1941
Machine aboard carrier Hiryu during the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 1941
6th Kokutai, Rabaul, New Britain, November 1942
402nd Chutai, 341st Kokutai, Clark Field, Manila Philippines, 1944
3rd Naval Air Group, Takao airbase, Taiwan, December 1941
Wildcat & Martlet model features
- Fully detailed and animated F4F undercarriage
- Folding wings (F4F-4 and Martlet MkIV) with detailed mechanisms and correct wing stay rods when folded
- Fully detailed split flaps
- Opening dinghy storage area
- Accurate and detailed radial engines
- Operating tail hook and lockable tail wheel
- Realistic animated pilot in a choice of uniforms to suit the aircraft
- Retractable landing lights
- Animated cowl flaps in correct configurations for each type
- Authentic pre-war and wartime liveries
- Choice of aircraft with tanks or no tanks
- Fully compatible with Acceleration carrier operations
- Highly detailed Virtual Cockpit
- Every switch, knob and lever is animated and most are fully functional
- Switchable and dimmable gunsight reticles
- Choice of British and US gunsights, compasses etc.
- Working checklist gauge
- Separate VCs for US and British types and different layouts for F4F-4 and F4F-3
- Fluid 3D gauges with accurate readings
- Highly accurate A6M2 Model 21 model built from plans and drawings of the real aircraft
- Animations include all flying surfaces, landing gear, canopy, hatches, tail hook and cowl flaps
- Detailed landing gear with realistic suspension and accurate animation of the sub-assemblies and retraction routine
- Wingtip folding animation with detailed hinge and internal structure
- Detailed cockpit with numerous parts including gauges, switches knobs and levers - detailed enough to allow for a close-up inspection when in pre-flight mode. The gauges even work when viewed from the exterior view!
- Toggle mode for selecting either a bomb or drop-tank on the external hard point
- Detailed Japanese pilot in authentic dress with realistic animated head movements
- Professional standard stereo sound set delivers realistic ‘big-radial’ sounds
- Lighting and effects including start-up smoke, strobes, recognition and navigation lights
- Highly accurate flight dynamics closely simulate the real aircraft performance envelope, with characteristic short take-off for carrier capability
- ‘Baked’ textures used to give the highly detailed cockpit a worn, period look
- Fully functional with nearly all switches, knobs and levers animated and functional
- Authentic gauges with all faces in ‘Kanji’ (Japanese characters)
- Many custom-coded auxiliary gauges
- Illuminated collimated gunsight with functional range control
- NAV, ADF and communications radio suite
- Authentic controls for all systems including the tail hook, oxygen system, fuel primer, starters, auto-supercharger and auto-mixture
- Toggle switch for selecting either a drop tank or bomb
- Functional fuel system
- Full night lighting effects for the instruments and panels
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