i Contents Installing Red Baron II .........................................................................................................2 Uninstalling Red Baron II ............................................................................................................. 2 Historical overview .............................................................................................................. 5 Introduction: April 21, 1918: Amiens Front ............................................................................. 6 Chapter One: Europe In Flames ................................................................................................ 11 Chapter Two: The Rise of The Aeroplane .............................................................................. 16 Chapter Three: The Birth of Air Fighting .............................................................................. 19 Chapter Four: Deflectors and Interrupters ...................................................................... 21 Chapter Five: The Swing of the Pendulum ............................................................................ 27 Chapter Six: Verdun ...................................................................................................................... 29 Chapter Seven: Germany Resurgent ....................................................................................... 33 Chapter Eight: April Massacre ................................................................................................. 39 Chapter Nine: The Year of Exhaustion ................................................................................... 46 Chapter Ten: The Americans ......................................................................................................56 Epilogue: The Air Wars Legacy ................................................................................................. 63 Flight Reference .................................................................................................................. 65 A Brief History of Flight ............................................................................................................. 66 The Physics of Flight.................................................................................................................... 68 Flight Maneuvers ................................................................................................................. 73 ii Battle Tactics of the Great War .................................................................................... 83 Tactics En Route ............................................................................................................................ 83 Engagement ...................................................................................................................................................... 85 Battle ............................................................................................................................................................... 86 Turning Versus Hit-and-Run ............................................................................................................................. 86 Make the Tactics Suit the Aircraft ................................................................................................................ 88 Disengagement ................................................................................................................................................. 90 Ground Attacks ............................................................................................................................................... 91 Specialized Attack Tactics ......................................................................................................... 98 Attacking Two-Seaters .................................................................................................................................... 98 Attacking Observation Balloons ................................................................................................................. 101 Standard Fighter attack on an Observation Balloon ................................................................................ 102 Firing Arcs for Standard Two-seater Aircraft .......................................................................................... 103 Firing Arcs for Heavy Bombers .................................................................................................................... 104 Flight Formations .............................................................................................................. 106 Mission Types......................................................................................................................... 114 The Aircraft of World War I ...........................................................................................117 Medals and Awards ........................................................................................................... 141 iii Game Play .............................................................................................................................. 157 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 158 Getting Started ............................................................................................................................ 158 The Main Menu Screen ................................................................................................................ 158 Flying A Single Mission .............................................................................................................. 159 Selecting a Mission ....................................................................................................................................... 160 Viewing the Mission Briefing ......................................................................................................................... 161 Playing a Campaign ...................................................................................................................... 161 Starting the Campaign ................................................................................................................................... 162 Creating and Changing Pilots (New Pilot and Pilot Log buttons) ............................................................. 163 Pilot Rank and Position ...................................................................................................................164 Learning About Your Squadron (Squadron Ops button) ............................................................................ 165 Requesting a Transfer ......................................................................................................................166 Painting Your Plane ...........................................................................................................................166 Learning About the Enemy (Intelligence button) ........................................................................................ 169 Viewing Your War Record (Personal Stats and Medals/Awards buttons) .............................................. 170 Flying a Mission (Next Mission button) ........................................................................................................ 170 Campaign Time ...................................................................................................................................... 171 Viewing and Changing Your Flight Plan ...................................................................................... 171 Changing the Flight Path ................................................................................................................ 172 Changing the Flight Ordnance ...................................................................................................... 174 Changing the Squadron Status ..................................................................................................... 174 Rules for Creating Unofficial Flights........................................................................................ 176 Creating an Unofficial Flight ........................................................................................................ 176 Mission Results .................................................................................................................................. 177 iv Object Preview ............................................................................................................................. 178 Ace Preview .................................................................................................................................... 179 Preferences ................................................................................................................................... 180 Realism Setting .............................................................................................................................................. 180 Graphic Setting.............................................................................................................................................. 182 Sound.............................................................................................................................................................. 184 Fly Now ..........................................................................................................................................................