RAF 264 Squadron Defiant career 
for DOM's Attack in the West

These files enable you to substitute a career which represents the activities of RAF 264 Squadron in the air battle over Dunkirk. It replaces the RAF 85 Squadron Hurricane career.

The Defiant

The Boulton Paul Defiantwas the outcome of a mid 1930s air defence doctrine which foresaw fighter defence against fleets of unescorted bombers which would try to claw their way through to their targets by weight of numbers and their own defensive fire power. It was said, first by Douhet, and echoed with the force of holy writ by others, that "the bomber will always get through". The Defiant was a logical outcome of these considerations. It's design would free the pilot from the offensive duties, and give the gun an almost all round field of fire. The Defiant first flew in August 1937. The second prototype was powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin II, but the speed and manoeuvrability of the plane was hindered by the weight and drag of the turret.

This new Defiant for EAW includes a wholly new 3dz model incorporating "paste-on" 3dz files. This Defiant model includes three paste-on files, the turret, the forward radiator, and the radio aerial. Retractable with the landing gear are the rear radio mast, and the fore and aft turret fairings. The model also includes navigation lights on the wing tips and tail, and leading edge landing lights which are also controlled with the landing gear. The FM enables AI turret gunner control, with some firing control for the player, in a compromise with historical accuracy and immersive gameplay.

Defiant Battle tactics

Defiant battle tactics were almost naval, in that the object of the pilot was to get the aircraft in such a position as the gunner could bring his guns to bear on the nemy aircraft. In practice this meant bringing the aircraft alongside and slightly below the enemy formation, to enable the gunners to unleash a broadside, or crossing in front of the enemy formation so that the gunners can fire back at them.

Enemy aircraft soon realised that the Defiant was very vulnerable to head on attack, or attack from below, neither of which position could be properly defended by the gunner.

264 Squadron at Dunkirk

RAF 264 Squadron took delivery of the first production models of the Defiant in December 1939, two months after the start of the war. The Defiant was first deployed by 264 in the air battle over Dunkirk, achieving complete tactical surprise over German fighters making the conventional attack on the tail. In one day alone the squadron claimed 38 German aircraft destroyed (17 Me 109s and 11 Ju87s and Ju88s), and a total of 65 by the end of May 1940.

This AITW career starts on 23rd May 1940 when 264 squadron entered the fray, and lasts untill 31st May 1940, the fourth day of the BEF evacuation, when the squadron were stood down from the Dunkirk battle.

In this career the Squadron flies from Duxford, which was its home base, although in reality for this battle they from Manston. Missions from Manston are difficult to reproduce in AITW/EAW and give rise to unwanted scramble intercepts. Flying from Duxford enables this career to provide an authentic mixture of the standing patrols, bomber intercepts, and bomber escorts, actually undertaken by 264 Sqaudron in May 1940.

Installation

This assumes AITW is installed in the default folder path.

These files place the Boulton Paul Defiant Mk I in the AITW (P47d) British Hurricane slot, and replace the French Amiot bomber (B26a slot) with the Blenheim aleady resident in AITW (in the Mosquito slot)

The download zip archive aitw264.zip should be placed in the root directory of your C: drive, and then unzipped using the option to include zipped folders. The archive will then install a new folder entitled "Defiant" in your AITW40 folder. 

That folder will contain two batch files and two other hierarchies of sub-folders Backup and 264.

DefiantInstall.bat : by executing this file (double click in your file manager) you automatically do two things (1) back up the original AITW files which are going to be replaced by the Defiant career files, into the Backup folders, and (2) copy over and install the files for the Defiant career from the 264 folders, into AITW.

Having executed this file you are ready to fly the Defiant career. Just use AITW as you ordinarily would, by excuting W40.exe, and then choose to fly for the British/Dutch/Belgian side, and you are presented with the squadron list you should see 264 in the no.1 position.

Warning! Do not execute DefiantInstall.bat a second time with the Defiant career loaded, or you will overwrite your backed up original files and it will be necessary for you to reinstall the changed files from the original AITW archives.

If you have to do this please see the list of changed files below

DefiantUNinstall.bat : when you want to uninstall the Defiant career files and restore your original AITW configuration, just execute this batch file. This will (1) delete all the Defiant career files in AITW and (2) restore your original files from the Backup folders

Single Missions

Once the Defiant career is installed you can fly single missions with the Defiant as you can with the other aircraft in AITW. You will have the bases in England that AITW ordinarily sets up for single missions, with three additions: Duxford, the home base of 264 Squadron, Upwood, a Bomber Command base where Fairey Battles were based, and Watton, another Bomber Command base where Bristol Blenhiems were based

Files used by this career:

Resident in \AITW40\W40:

GRIDDUNK.DAT
CAREERBA.FIL
LISTOR.FIL
TARNAMBA.FIL
BRIEFING.STR
BRIEFXXF.STR
CAREERBA.SVE

Resident in \AITW\W40\Common:

AIRFIELD.DAT
GRIDDATA.DAT
GRIDDUNK.DAT
PLANES.DAT
TARGDUNK.DAT
B26A.FLT
P47D.FLT
PICPLNA.MNU
PNAMES.STR
TARNDUNK.STR

Resident in \AITW\W40\Sp09\4

PLANES.DAT
PNAMES.STR

Resident in
\AITW\W40\P47d\1
\AITW\W40\B26a\1
\AITW\W40\B26a\2

The whole contents of those directories.

Thanks and Credits

Most of the thanks and credits must goto DOM, who worked long and hard to make the AITW addon a reality and has now given EAW an entirely new campaign and theatre mechanism.

Special thanks to the other members of the firm Alan, Redeyes, SagginB, who watched over the development of the Defiant with suggestions and advice, and worked on those marvellous skins.

Captain Kurt for the non-mirroring.

As ever the members of the SimHQ EAW forum for their encouragement and support.

This plug-in for AITW is dedicated to the pilots and gunners who flew the Defiant by day and by night. Brave men all.

Moggy

2nd November 2001