Skins by Aelius

[JG52Krupi]

That looks AMAZING

[JG52Karaya]

That is an awesome looking Stuka skin!

[Frequent_Flyer]

that is outstanding work, based on your skin alone Luither should make the Med theather their next add-on.

[aelius]

The earlier screenshots of T6+MP and T6+CP were skinned in standard tropical livery: RLM 79 (Sandgelb) mottled in RLM 80 (Olivgrün), with the undercarriage in RLM 78 (Hellblau). These were the desert camouflage colors of the Luftwaffe in North Africa but, while the scheme does make for a satisfying plane, they are not accurate for the one thought to have been flown by Leutnant Pölz.

The Luftwaffe had not envisaged operations in the Mediterranean and so had made no provision for a tropicalized version of its aircraft. As a result, the first Stukas to be deployed in North Africa retained their original European camouflage: a splinter pattern of RLM 70 (Schwarzgrün) over a dark green background of RLM 71 (Dunkelgrün), with RLM 65 (Hellblau) on the undercarriage. The German Air Ministry (Reichsluftfahrtministerium) would not officially select the specific shades of RLM 78 and 79 until late 1941 or early 1942, although they were being issued by late April 1941, less than two months after the first planes were transferred to Libya. In Luftwaffe Camouflage and Markings 1933-1945, Merrick contends that these planes retained their European scheme until they could be repainted at the factory and that, since it was not practical to paint them in the desert, they must have been serviced at depots in Sicily and Italy. Urbanke disagrees and argues that, with airfields being shared with the Italians, it was more likely that their own camouflage colors were used and applied in the field.

When the Ju-87 of Lt. Pölz was repainted in the summer of 1941, the undersides of the plane probably remained in RLM 65 and the upper surfaces sprayed in Giallo Mimetico ("camouflage yellow"). There were four shades of this color, each designated by a number and supplied to the Regia Aeronautica by four different manufacturers. The precise shade is therefore uncertain, but in skinning the plane, I've used the darker Gaillo Mimetico 4 splattered with Gaillo Mimetico 3, a color lighter than "sand yellow" RLM 79. Because it was applied directly over the European scheme, one still can discern the original green splinter pattern of the sections that were not oversprayed.

The white and red snake, too, did not look as it usually is profiled, which is reasonable, given that such a gaudy creature hardly would have enhanced the camouflage of the plane.

This color scheme is discussed by Axel Urbanke in an article that appeared in 2005, "The 'Snake' Stukas of Sturzkampf Geschwader," published in Luftwaffe im Focus, Edition No. 7. The first photograph of the plane (above) had shown only its front, and for the next thirty years the overall appearance would be the speculation of profilers and modelers. (The picture referred to by Urbanke has been taken from Die Deutsche Luftwaffe im Afrika-Feldzug 1941-1943 by Held and Obermaier, which is available in an English edition as The Luftwaffe in the North African Campaign 1941-1943).

In one of the photographs, which were published by Urbanke for the first time, the plane is clearly shown to have the unit code T6+DP (and not "C" as supposed by Obermaier). And the snake, rather than having been painted in red and white, to have sand-colored markings. But Urbanke also suggests that the trailing half of the tail rudder was painted in the same RLM 65 light blue as the undercarriage (as can be seen in the upper photograph). It seems more likely, however, that the difference in shading is due simply to the shadow cast by the rudder having been slightly turned. (The "J" under the port wing, by the way, is the manufacturer's code.)

Here, then, is T6+DP of 6./St.G 2 based on a modification of the color profile by Egbert Friedl that accompanied the article. The markings have been redrawn from photographs, the trailing blue edge of the rudder omitted, and the inside of the wheel spats camouflaged. The result, I think, is the most accurate historical rendering of the Schlange Stuka to date.

Although identified by Obermaier and by others later as an R-2 sub-variant, the plane in the photographs does not have drop tanks and seems instead to be a B model, as indicated by Urbanke.

[checkmysix]

Hi Aelius
Awsome Skins as Usual Buddy
and as for Ju-87B-2 Trop,
Top Quality
Regards
Keith

[checkmysix]

Originally Posted by Xilon_x

please post the skin the real skin use in battle of brittain sceanario and not BALKANS.
a comple list of skin use in battle of brittain.
the game clift of dover not have map of BALKANS but have only ENGLAND MAP.

This game will like forgotten Battles,Pacific Fighters and IL2 1946
expand into all the theatres of WW2
On the Box it says Cliffs of Dover. IL2 Sturmovik
But there are no IL2 Sturmovik's and its not in Russia.

The Original IL2 is set in Russia Based around the IL2 Sturmovik
BUT this did Not limit it to that particular Theatre of War and the developers
and Modders created Maps and Aircraft for other Theatres like Battle of Britain and the Pacific and Thank God They Did otherwise the il2 series
wouldnt have lasted this long and there would not even be a Cliffs of Dover.

It was thinking out of the box that has allowed the IL2 Franchise to still be here a Decade after the Original was released and Not many Games in any Genre can Equal it.
And lets hope the IL2 Series is here in another 10 Years.
Keep up the Fantastic work Aelius
Regards
Keith

[jamesdietz]

While waiting for this terrific skin to come out I rooted thru my library & found the book I bought nearly 50 years ago...even thenit was about 20 years old,titled World WarII in Pictures,published in 1941 before Pearl Harbor,published by The Journal of Living Publishing Corporation.Here is the picture & caption ( sic.) I am relatively sure it was taken from a Deutches Propoganda film ( maybe someone will be able to dig that up?)



Very much looking forward to putting this skin onmy CloD Stuka!
(BTW Please note the difference in the spinner markings in this photo from the ones shown in previous photos...)

[aelius]

The still was taken from an Italian newsreel shown in September 1941 and depicts the only other "Snake" Stuka: T6+AN from 5./St.G 2, which is the plane I'm working on now.

And you're right about the spinner hub--it's red with a white ring.

[aelius]

Until I can resolve my difficulty in uploading, I've posted the template of T6+DP on my own website, which otherwise deals with Roman history.

It can be downloaded here.

[jamesdietz]

Yay!