View manual text
Mig Alley Manual Cover
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677 High Road, North Finchley,
London N12 0DA,
United Kingdom
www.empireflight.co.uk
USG - MIGALCDRUK
MiG ALLEY Pilots Handbook
The Spires,
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MiG Alley© 1999 Entertainment International (UK) Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Empire Interactive. Software© 1999 Rowan Software Ltd.
Empire Interactive is a trademark of Entertainment International (UK) Ltd.
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Contents
Chapter 1
MiG Alley Overview
5
Chapter 2
About MiG Alley
7
Quick Start
8
Hot Shot and Quick Missions
10
Chapter 3
Mission Planning
11
Entire War
12
Campaigns
12
Spring Offensive
13
Battle Scenario
Resources
Missions Generation
Mission Structure
Routes Overview
The Map
14
14
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Close Air Support Tutorial
20
1. Get to the Map Screen
2. Enter your Name
3. Read the Mission Brief
4. Explore the Map Screen
5. Zoom in on the Route
6. Go to the Frag
7. Fly
8. The Mission
9. Return Home and Debrief
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Spring Offensive Tutorial
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1. Get to the Map Screen
26
2. Enter your Name
26
3. Cancel the Directives
26
4. Find Wonju Supply Dump Information 27
5. View the Target in the 3D
27
6. Decide on Targets
28
7. Authorize the Mission
28
8. Allocate More Aircraft
29
9. Change the Attack Pattern
10. Change Stores
11. Adding Flak Suppression
12. Adding Fighter Escort
13. Modify the Route
14. Go to the Frag
15. Take-off
16. Initiate the Attack
17. Return Home and Debrief
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Chapter 4
Simulation Controls
35
Introduction
36
Default Joystick buttons
36
Primary Flight Controls
36
Control surfaces
Elevator Trimming
Throttle
Propeller Setting
Engine Restart
Others
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Weapons
38
Cheat keys
38
Game Controls
39
Viewees
40
Views
40
Rotate and Zoom View Keys
Panning Mode
Fixed Mode
Sticky Keys
Miscellaneous
Radio Communications
Strike Mission
Chapter 5
Flying
Basic Flying
Preparation
Straight and Level
Gentle Turn
Break Turn
Spin Recovery
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MiG15 vs F86 Sabre
Background
Variants
Fighter Tactics
Combat
Specific Power Curves
USAF Group Tactics
Organization
Welded Wingman
MiG Alley Group Comms
MiG Tactics
Defensive Split
End Run
Zoom & Sun
Roundabout or Yo-Yo
Waiting Game
Pre-emptive Move
Upper Cut
Pincer and Envelopment
Combat Rules
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Chapter 6
Cockpits Instruments and Lights 65
US Aircraft
66
MiG 15
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Gun Camera
76
Chapter 7
Multi-player
79
Overview
80
Aircraft:
80
Selecting a service provider
80
Creating a game
81
Player name
81
Session name
81
Password
81
Data Rate
81
Game Type
82
Select Side
82
Scenario
82
IPX Connection and Internet Connection 82
Serial Connection
83
Joining a game
IPX Connection
Internet Connection
Modem Connection
Serial Connection
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Game Selection Screen
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Flight Line Screen
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Quit
Fly
Frag
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Color text
Visitors’ Book
Radio
Paintshop
Brief
Prefs
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In game options
87
Ending the game
88
Debrief
88
Chapter 8
Campaign Histories
89
North Korea Invades
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The Pusan Perimeter
93
Breakout / To the Yalu
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Chinese Intervention
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The Spring Offensive
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Contents
Autopilot Skill: Reds
Gun Sight Ranging
Views
Chapter 9
Preferences
99
3D
100
Display Driver
Resolutions
Gamma Correction
Lowest Frame-Rate
Auto Frame-Rate
Ground Shading
Item Shading
Reflections
Weather Effects
3DII
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Filtering
Transparency
Texture Quality
Trees Etc
Routes
A/C Shadows
Item Shadows
Horizon Fade
Horizon Distance
Contour Detail
Flight
Flight Options
Flame-Outs
Auto Throttle
Power Boost
Wind Effects
Wind Gusts
Flight Model
Airframe Stress
External Stores Drag / Weight
Torque / Slipstreaming
Spool Up
Game
Weapons
Vulnerable to Fire
Ground Collisions
Midair Collisions
Complex A.I. Pilots
Accel Off
Target Size
Autopilot Skill: UN
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Restricted Views
Peripheral Vision
Auto Padlock
View Mode Select
Padlock When Visible
Camera Color
Info Line
Units
Gun Camera
Head Up Display
Controls
Top
Middle
Bottom
Others
Music Volume
3D SFX Volume
Control SFX Volume
Ambient SFX Volume
Radio Chatter Volume
Engine Volume
G Effects
Injury Effects
White Outs
Auto Vectoring
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Chapter 10
Bibliography
112
Chapter 11
Credits & Acknowledgements 114
Rowan Team
114
Empire Interactive Team
114
Acknowledgements
115
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Overview
MiG Alley is set during the Korean War,
a conflict covering the period between
June 1950 and July 1953. The reason
why this period is so fascinating is that
some pilots see it as the end of one
era, and others as the start of another.
Pilots in the Korean War found
themselves regularly flying jet aircraft
for the first time in combat and yet this was one of the final conflicts to rely
on air-to-air dogfighting, rather than smart, radar-guided missiles. MiG Alley
reflects this reliance on dogfighting. Don’t be surprised to find over 150
aircraft battling in the skies around you. It takes guts, determination and a
sense of self-control to find and shoot down the enemy, without increasing
the percentage of aircraft lost to friendly fire.
While aircraft are central to attacks
and defense in modern warfare, the
Korean conflict, taking place just five
years after the end of Second World
War, was still primarily a ground
offensive. As a pilot you were expected
to play a support role, to remove
possible ground threats and restrict
enemy troop advancements to
nighttime activity.
We think that with MiG Alley you have the best of both worlds. You are
rewarded with the ability to fly at speeds approaching Mach one and yet still
get to see the whites of the enemy’s eyes. You can fly as Lead or Wingman
as part of a flight (two airplanes of the same type) taking out targets of
opportunity, bombing key buildings and ground forces, using clouds and the
sun as your natural defenses.
As a pilot in the United States Air Force, acting on behalf of the United
Nations, you must fly in defense of South Korea, initially restricting the
onward advance of the North Korean Communist forces, enjoying the support
of Russia and China. You will be viciously outnumbered by legions of
generally superior MiG fighters, yet with exceptional pilot skill and ingenious
tactics the ‘Reds’ can be thwarted and the invasion halted.
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Quickstart
1) Install and start the game after referring to the installation instructions on
the CD jewel case.
2) The game starts with an animated title sequence.
Click on the left mouse button to go to the Main Menu screen.
3) Highlight the Preferences option by using the mouse pointer and clicking
with the left mouse button. All selections in MiG Alley are made in this
way.
4) The Preferences are initially set up for a beginner, so for your first flight
you need not make any changes. However you can move around the
options to see what is available.
5) Go back to the Main Menu and if you
have flown flight simulations before
select the Hot Shot option, which
allows you to fly a single combat
mission. You are in a Sabre escorting
Fighter Bombers in enemy airspace.
There are some MiGs ahead.
Press F1 to lock onto a MiG.
If you are new to flight simulations,
select Quick Mission. This moves you to
the Quick Mission Selection Screen.
Read about the default mission then
click on fly to enter the cockpit.
6) If you wish to pause the game while in flight, press P .
For more information on how your aircraft is performing
whilst flying, press I .
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7) Use the joystick to control your aircraft’s attitude and direction when
flying. Pull the joystick back and the nose of the aircraft will rise and you
will start to climb. Push the joystick forward and the nose will drop and the
aircraft will begin to dive. Moving the stick to the left or right will cause
the aircraft to roll in that direction. To turn gently, roll the aircraft into a
bank and then ease the stick towards you. Extreme or sudden movement
of the stick can cause the aircraft to stall or spin. Use the number keys to
control the engine power setting ( 1 minimum, 0 maximum). See
Chapter on Flying for more details on flying.
8) You can end a flight by either landing and coming to a halt, pressing
Alt
X . . . or by being shot down.
9) Once you are familiar with flying an aircraft try some of the other quick
missions.
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Hot Shot and Quick Missions
The Hot Shot mission is for quick gratification and as such you have no option
to change any parts of it. On the other hand the Quick Missions have many
parameters you can play with which give you almost infinite missions to play.
Once you have chosen a mission from the drop down list, you can change:
Flight:
Here you can choose to fly in a UN or a RED flight - this affects
who you are in the mission. Also choose which pilot you wish to be
within the flight, you have a choice of Lead 1 or 2 or Wing 1 or 2.
Target Zone: This affects which target you attack in ground attack missions
or fly over. Options include Civilian, Bridges, Airfields, Supply
Points, Roads and Rail. Within each one of these Target Zones
you can choose a specific target from the next drop down list.
RED:
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Scenario:
By default, the Scenario tick box is
selected which gives a brief
overview of the mission and what
you will be doing.
UN:
Click on the UN tick box to modify
pilot information within the
squadron/flight. You can click on a
pilot’s face to select the duty you
wish to perform during the mission.
The Duty drop down list gives you
the choice of the flyable aircraft.
The number indicates the number of
flights in the mission. The Skill
setting lets you choose the skill
level of all the AI pilots within each
squadron - this affects air combat
only.
This is a mirror of the UN screen only from the RED side. Use
this screen to modify the skill level of your opposing force or
choose to fly either the MiG 15 or the MiG 15 BIS.
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Mission P
Entire War
It is June 1950. You take the part of an ambitious USAF career officer who
has just managed to get posted to an F80 Squadron in Korea. Almost every
officer in the USAF wanted this posting so it wasn’t easy. Combat experience
is vital for a successful career and Korea is the only war that the Air Force
has to offer at present! What swung it for you was the fact that you had
experience on all the USAF Front Line fighters.
Your aim is to get combat experience on all the fighter types over the next
six months. You want to be the prime candidate when the post of Air
Commander becomes available.
In MiG Alley there are five campaigns that together make up the Entire War
selection. When you select ‘Entire War’ from the menu system, the first
campaign is presented. Provided that objectives are achieved, each
subsequent campaign is presented in chronological order. It is possible for
any of the campaigns to go badly with the result that the War is lost.
Campaigns
When you select ‘Campaign’ from the menu system, you will be presented
with a list of the five campaigns. This makes it possible for you to play the
campaigns ‘one-off’ rather than having to play them all in sequence.
Each of the first four campaigns introduces you to a
different type of aircraft:
25 Jun 1950 - 1 Aug 1950:
F80C Shooting Star
2 Aug 1950 - 15 Sep 1950:
F51D Mustang
18 Sep 1950 - 1 Nov 1950:
F84E Thunderjet
2 Nov 1950 - 1 Jan 1951:
F86A Sabre
In these campaigns, you have a specific objective
that has to be achieved in a limited number of missions. At this stage the
missions are pre-planned for you. However they are presented on the Map
Screen and so it is possible to make modifications or even completely
remake the missions.
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For each campaign, the aircraft type is
well suited to the missions defined.
Working through these first four
campaigns, then, is an excellent way of
gaining the experience necessary to
succeed in the final campaign.
The fifth and final campaign is the
Spring Offensive of 1951. In this
campaign you have control of 112
aircraft. You have to design, implement
and fly a strategy to complete the
overall objective of forcing the
Communists back to the
Chinese Border.
Spring Offensive
In the Spring Offensive, you take the part of the Front Line Air Commander.
Here is your Command Brief:
1. You are in command of a force of 112 aircraft arranged into seven
squadrons.
2. You will design, implement and fly a strategy to complete the overall
objective of forcing the Communists back to the Chinese Border.
3. The day is organized into three sessions: Morning, Midday and Afternoon.
Missions should be arranged for each session. Up to 96 aircraft can be
used in each session.
4. Some sessions will be lost due to bad weather.
5. The full range of Mission Types can be designed. You can either design a
mission from scratch personally or just set the overall parameters and let
your staff complete the details.
6. You are cleared to fly missions in the following aircraft:
F86 Sabre, F80C Shooting Star, F84E Thunder Jet and the F51 Mustang.
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Mission P
Battle Scenario
You are supporting a ground battle that is being fought on the Korean
peninsula. As the peninsula runs north-south you will find that the Front Line
generally lies east-west. Although your specific objectives will vary from
mission to mission, the overall objective is to support the UN ground forces
in their effort to move the Front Line up to the Chinese border.
It is possible to support the ground forces by flying Close Air Support
missions. This may be necessary when UN Forces are in danger of being
over-run. However this is not necessarily the best use of your resources. The
Communist ground threat depends on getting supplies to the Front Line.
Successful Interdiction Missions can therefore delay a Communist advance
and even force a retreat.
For the sake of convenience, three Main Supply Routes (MSR) have been
identified. There is one on the West Coast, one in the Central Region and one
on the East Coast. Each Communist asset has been allocated to a route so
that during briefings you will be able to determine
its sphere of influence. Often the sphere of
influence is obvious, sometimes, though, because
of the mountainous landscape, the connection is
not immediately apparent.
It should be noted that the Supply Routes do not
operate independently. There are many crosslinks that the Communists use to bypass destroyed
bridges, etc.
Resources
Your have five fighter squadrons and two bomber squadrons under
your command.
The fighter squadrons which are based in Korea, consist of:
Two squadrons of F86 Sabre Jet aircraft. These are the best air
combat aircraft at your disposal. Generally, Sabres are armed for
air to air duties. However there is a rocket pack option.
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One squadron of F84E jets and one squadron of F80C jets. These
aircraft are best suited to ground strike duties since they are no
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match for the MiG15. Of the two USAF airplanes, the F84E is the
more capable. It can be tasked with long range escort and is
better in combat.
One squadron of F51 prop aircraft. These aircraft are no match
for the MiG15 in combat. However they are useful for Close Air
Support and Interdiction Missions close to the Front.
The bomber squadrons are based in Japan. On any particular day you will have
either a squadron of B29 heavy bombers or B26 medium bomber aircraft
available. B29s are preferable because they deliver a bigger punch. However if
the attrition rate becomes too high they will be withheld.
Each squadron of pilots is organized into six flights of four. However, the
maximum number of aircraft per squadron that can be launched at any
session is sixteen and therefore only four flights can fly. This gives you the
option of resting pilots.
Aircraft are allocated in units of four, i.e. in flights. So, for instance, if you
have designed four Strike Missions it would be possible to allocate two
flights of Sabres to each mission. Alternatively you could allocate one flight
to each mission and the remaining four Sabre flights could be allocated
together to form a BARCAP over MiG Alley.
A flight consists of two elements of two aircraft. The leader/wingman
element is the smallest fighting unit in MiG Alley. Although aircraft are
allocated to missions in flights, it is possible to allocate duties to
individual elements.
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Mission P
Missions Generation
Missions can be generated in a number of ways:
• By initiating Directives, the Mission Folder
will be filled automatically.
• Clicking on Authorize on either the Target
Dialogue or Dossier will produce the
framework for a mission.
• On the Mission Results Dialogue click on
Redo to carry the highlighted mission over to
the next day.
If a mission is marked for Redo, then the aircraft required are automatically
removed from the available set before the Directives automatically build the
next session’s missions.
No matter what method is used for mission generation, the mission can be
fine-tuned to an extraordinary level of detail. Use the:
Mission Profile Dialogue to insert and delete Waves.
Task Dialogue to change the aircraft types, numbers, duties
and payloads.
Route Dialogue to make changes to the route for the mission.
Mission Structure
Up to 10 completely independent missions can be set up for any particular
session.
Each mission can consist of up to six Waves. A Wave is made up of the
Strike or Main Duty Group that can be supported by an Air Cover Group and
an AAA Group. Each Wave can have its own ToT (Time over Target).
This system gives the flexibility to design either many small missions or
fewer complex missions.
Templates or profiles can be produced so that you can easily regenerate
missions.
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The Mission Structure has been designed to allow you to generate missions
that were typical during the conflict. For instance, due to limited fuel
capacity, Combat Air Patrol aircraft could only stay on station for about
twenty minutes. MiG pilots soon realized this and so they waited until the
Sabres started to leave before mounting an attack. In this situation the
Sabres were vulnerable because they did not have the fuel to stay and fight
and also get home. To combat this tactic Sabres were organized into Waves
so that as one Wave was ready to leave another was arriving.
Routes Overview
A route is a set of waypoints. Initially, each route consists of the same
standard set of waypoints:
Take-Off
Rendezvous
Flights from different airfields will join up here
Ingress
Entry into enemy airspace
Initial Point
The Groups split at this point to perform their
individual duties
Regroup
The Groups join up again
Egress
Exit enemy air space
Disperse
Flights from different airfields split up
Landing
As it is possible to drag waypoints around the map, Ingress and Egress
waypoints are not always strictly associated with the position of enemy
airspace.
Aircraft in the same Wave fly together from the Rendezvous to the Initial
Point. Each Group then has its own set of waypoints to follow in the
Target Zone.
If the AAA and Air Cover Escort aircraft types are the same as for the Main
Duty then they will all fly in formation. If the types are not the same then the
Escort will fly just below the contrail layer.
It is possible to insert and delete additional waypoints. However it is not
possible to delete any of the standard set. Additional waypoints can be
added to both the Main Route and Target Zone.
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Mission P
Waypoints can be set for individual elements. If you had a mission with two
flights of Flak Suppression aircraft, you could give the four elements different
routes in the Target Zone. As it is possible to define Main and Secondary
Targets, you could authorize eight different targets with just two flights
of aircraft.
The Map
Missions are planned on the Map Screen. This consists of a scrollable
and zoomable map, one fixed set of icons and five dockable toolbars:
Title Toolbar
Main Toolbar
Utility Toolbar
Scale Toolbar
Filters Toolbar
On returning from a mission, you will be presented with a debrief stage
which can be recognized in two ways:
The Title Toolbar will indicate that the current status is Debrief.
The Main Toolbar will consist of a modified set of icons.
To get to the Map Screen, follow the first two stages of the Spring Offensive
Tutorial. Click on the tick on the top right of the Directives Dialogue to accept
the computer generated set of missions.
We suggest that you get familiar with the tools available on the Map Screen.
Here are some general points about the map:
• On-line help is available by either pressing the F1 key or clicking on the
question mark on a dialogue’s title bar.
• The Map Screen is presented at your Desktop Resolution. You can
therefore get more information on screen by increasing your Desktop
Resolution. The 3D resolution is independent of the resolution of the 2D
interface.
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• The scalable toolbar can be positioned horizontally or vertically. It can be
dropped on or off the map. This can be very useful when attempting to
estimate ranges. The scale on the toolbar depends on your units setting in
the Preferences. Clicking and dragging on the scalable toolbar changes
the map zoom.
• If you have a mouse with a wheel, you should be able to use the wheel to
adjust the map zoom.
• The Size icon in the top right can be used to toggle the Map between Full
and Partial Screen. When on Partial Screen, the Map can be moved by
clicking and dragging on the toolbar background. This feature has been
provided so that you can access other Windows Applications. For instance,
it is possible to use your own editor to make notes during mission planning.
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Mission P
Close Air Support Tutorial
1. Get to the Map Screen
After starting MiG Alley and clicking on the intro animation
to terminate it, make the following menu choices:
Single Player
Campaign
2. Pusan Perimeter
Click on Background and Objectives to display the briefing material.
Click on Begin to move to the Map Screen.
2. Enter your Name
You should now be on the Map Screen and the Player Log dialogue should
be open. Enter your name and close the dialogue by clicking on the tick in
the top right corner.
3. Read the Mission Brief
The Daily Intelligence Summary (D.I.S.) dialogues should be open. Read
about the current situation and the mission objectives.
Close the D.I.S. dialogues by clicking on the tick icon at the top right. You
should see the mission route and waypoints on the map.
4. Explore the Map Screen
At the top of the screen you will see sets of icons that can be used to gain
more information about the mission. For instance, click on the Weather icon
to open the Weather dialogue. Each dialogue can be closed using the tick
icon. The ? icon next to the tick can be used to access the on-line help.
At this stage it is not necessary to use any more of the facilities available on
the map screen. However, when you come back to fly this mission again, you
could try the following:
Open some dialogues:
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Bases:
Try to move your Home Base.
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Squadron:
Access the Paint Shop by clicking on a pilot.
Move pilots, elements and flights up and down
the roster.
Mission Folder:
Open a Profile and Task dialogue to modify the
attack.
Click on some icons on the map:
Waypoint Icon:
Inspect and modify the route.
Target Icon:
Inspect target details.
If you get stuck, don’t forget to try the on-line help.
5. Zoom in on the Route
There are a number of ways of zooming in on the map. In this case, we
want to keep the route in the center of the screen during the zoom. Here
is one method:
Click on the Taegu Front Line icon. This is the dark yellow icon at
the bottom of the ring of green waypoint icons. When the Front
Line dialogue is displayed, click on the Dossier Button. Now click
on the Zoom button repeatedly until the required zoom has been
achieved. The advantage with this method is that the route is
automatically centered during the zoom. Using a mouse wheel
has a similar effect.
6. Go to the Frag
Find and click on the Frag icon on the Toolbar. Frag is an abbreviation for
Fragmentary Order. On this screen, you are presented with details about all
the missions that you have initiated for the current session.
On this screen you can:
Change the callsign by changing the selection in the callsign
combo-box.
Select the aircraft that you want to fly by clicking on a pilot name.
Review the missions as a final check before flying.
By default you have been given the lead aircraft.
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Mission P
7. Fly
Click on Fly to enter the cockpit. You start on the runway with the rest of the
flight behind you.
Make sure that you are at 100% Thrust and then release the wheel brakes
( , and . keys). There are two ways to take-off in a Mustang:
The easiest is to maintain back pressure on the stick so that the tail
wheel does not lift off the runway. When the aircraft is ready it will
take off on its own accord. Raise the gear ( G key) and fly straight
and level so that your flight can get into formation with you. You
should reduce the throttle to give them a chance to catch up.
The other way to take-off in a Mustang is to push gently forward
on the stick as the speed increases. The tail will lift and you get
a much improved forward view. When the tail lifts, the slipstream
effect produces a force to the left. This must be counteracted by
applying right rudder.
At any point during the take-off you can change to the accelerated mode.
There is a range of options, we will accelerate to the Initial Point so that we
get to the target area as soon as possible:
Display the cockpit map by pressing the M key
Press the 1 key to display the Accel options
Press the 4 key to accelerate to the Initial Point
The highlighted blue icon that represents your flight will move along the
route. The view will be switched automatically to the cockpit view when the
Initial Point waypoint has been reached.
FAC RELATED RADIO COMMUNICATIONS
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1. Begin your run
Instruct your flight to start the attack
2. Lost FAC
Ask FAC to tell you where he can be found
3. Re-mark
Ask FAC to launch smoke rockets at the target again
4. Missed
Acknowledge a miss and ask for a Re-mark
5. More Targets
Ask FAC to give you another target
6. Leave area
Your flight will stop the attack and get into formation
with you
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FAC AND TAC
There are two types of Air Controller. The FAC or Forward Air Controller
flies a T6 Mosquito. The TAC or Tactical Air Controller is ground based.
He was usually an Air Force Pilot on secondment to the Army.
As a FAC can move quickly around the battlefield, one FAC can perform
the same duty as many TACs.
From the strike pilot’s point of view the main differences between the FAC
and the TAC are:
The FAC marks the target with smoke rockets and the TAC uses
smoke mortars.
The FAC can be seen flying over the battlefield whereas you
will find it difficult to see the TAC’s jeep.
8. The Mission
Sometimes the Forward Air Controller (FAC) will not be in visible range when
you reach the IP. When this happens the A.I. will automatically contact the
FAC, using ‘your’ voice, to let him know that you have entered the area. The
FAC will then give a course and range to fly in order to meet up with him.
Turn the aircraft and fly towards the FAC using the given bearing.
When you are close enough, it is possible to get an F2 padlock view
to the T6 Mosquito. The first few F2 presses will padlock aircraft in your
flight because the system locks onto the nearest first but eventually you
should get a lock onto the T6. As the T6 is difficult to see at a distance, it is
useful to turn on the red diamond that highlights the currently locked item
( D key).
If you get lost you can ask the FAC for
an updated course by using the FAC
radio menu:
Press the R key
Select 6 FAC
Select 2 Lost FAC
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Mission P
The A.I. will contact the FAC again, on your behalf, when you are close
enough to identify him. Follow the FAC to the first target. The mosquito pilot
will brief you en route:
First of all he describes the target type, its location and
activity.
Then he warns of any friendlies in the area that you
must avoid hitting.
As this mission is during the opening stage of the battle, all enemy forces are
travelling towards UN defensive positions and are some distance from them.
There is, therefore, little risk of firing on friendlies.
Upon reaching the target, the FAC will ask you to watch while he marks the
target with smoke rockets. If you don’t see where the rockets go, you can
ask him to re-mark by using the FAC radio menu 3 Re-mark.
When the Target has been marked, the FAC will give you the all clear to
make a run. He will also recommend what type of weapon to use.
You must then initiate your flight’s attack by selecting 1 Begin your run
from the FAC radio menu. The FAC will observe your runs and comment on
the hits. You should pay attention to what he says as he is directing the
attack.
When the FAC considers that the target is out of action then he will tell you
to break off and follow him to another target. Alternatively, if you want to
move to another target then you can ask the FAC by selecting 5 More
Targets from the FAC radio menu.
INTELLIGENCE GATHERING
The Map Screen contains information that can be very useful during a
Close Air Support mission. It is worth collecting what you can before
climbing into the cockpit.
For the Pusan Perimeter Campaign, the D.I.S. describes the general
situation.
The dark yellow icons on the Map show the rear supply positions on
the UN Line. UN troops will be deployed to the north of the line that
joins the icons.
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Click on the Taegu Front Line icon to display the Army Report. Click on
the Details button to get Intelligence from the Front Line Commanders.
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It is time to return to base if there are no more targets or if you have
expended all stores. Signal the FAC and your flight by selecting 6 Leave
Area from the FAC radio menu.
9. Return Home and Debrief
You can exit the 3D at any point by pressing Alt X . The Map Screen will
be displayed in a Debrief Mode. The two dialogues will show details about
the mission. Other Debrief dialogues are available, refer to the Debrief
Toolbar.
When you have finished your Debrief, click on the Next Period Icon on the
Debrief Toolbar. It is also possible to move onto the next period by clicking on
the Next Period button on the Mission Results dialogue.
Although it is possible to Alt X when your bombs have done their
damage, it is more satisfying to bring your Group back.
It is possible to go home quickly by selecting the Accel to Home option:
Press the M key
Select 1 Accel
Select 5 Home
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Mission P
Spring Offensive Tutorial
1. Get to the Map Screen
After starting MiG Alley and clicking on the intro animation to terminate it,
make the following menu choices:
Single Player
Campaign
5. Spring Offensive
Click on Background and Objectives to display the briefing material.
Click on Begin to move to the Map Screen.
2. Enter your Name
You should now be on the Mission Planning Screen and the Player Log
dialogue should be open. Enter your name and then close the dialogue by
clicking on the tick in the top right corner.
3. Cancel the Directives
The Directives dialogue should now be open.
In MiG Alley, missions can be produced in a number of different ways. You can
use the Directives dialogue to control automatic generation of missions. The
method is described in the on-line help.
For this tutorial, though, we are going to produce a mission manually and so
we need to cancel the Directives. This is done by setting both the Fighter and
Strike aircraft allocated to zero.
Click on the 32 that represents the Fighter aircraft available and the 64 that
represents the Strike aircraft. These numbers are in combo-boxes and so it
is possible to open the combo-box and select zero in both cases. In MiG
Alley, clicking on the current selection of a combo-box automatically
increments the selection. As 32 and 64 are the maximum respective
allocations, clicking on these numbers produces a wrap around back to zero.
Click on the tick icon to close the Directives dialogue.
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4. Find Wonju Supply Dump Information
It is important that you attack any major buildups of supplies, especially when they are in
close proximity to the Front Line. For this
mission we are going to organize a strike
against the Wonju Supply Dump. Wonju is the
Red’s most forward supply base and is
supporting enemy operations in the area.
Check that the Front Line and Red Supply
filters are on. Find the Map Filter toolbar.
When you move the pointer over each filter a
hint will be displayed. Click on a filter icon to
toggle the state.
Find the Central Front Line icon on the map. There are three dark yellow
Front Line icons joined together by a yellow line.
Look to the north of the Central Front Line icon and find the Wonju Supply
Dump icon. Click on the icon to display the Intelligence Dossier.
The information contained in the Dossier is vital to planning a successful
mission. Look at the estimated threat levels:
No MiGs are expected near this target
There does seem to be a large AAA presence that you
should consider.
AAA accounted for more aircraft losses in the Korean War than any other
factor. The Communists often moved their guns around to catch UN pilots
unawares and baited Flak Traps with inviting targets.
5. View the Target in the 3D
Click on the Photo button on the Dossier dialogue to get a detailed reconn of
the Target area. The zoom and rotate features allow you to extract far more
information than was available to pilots during the actual conflict.
Zoom right out so that you can note the key geographical features around
the target. This will be useful when you are trying to locate the target during
the mission.
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Mission P
CRACK AND BURN
When the mission objective is to destroy supplies, we actually target
warehouses. Unfortunately stores were not always effected when a
warehouse was hit. To improve their success rate, the USAF developed a
tactic called ‘Crack and Burn’.
The mission would be split into two Waves. In the first Wave, aircraft
would drop heavy bombs to crack open the warehouse. The second Wave
dropped napalm to destroy the stores.
HIDING STORES
The Reds became adept at moving and protecting their vital supplies.
It was not uncommon for supply crates to be dispersed throughout a large
area, hidden under trees or even buried among crops.
6. Decide on Targets
Zoom in on the Supply Dump Icon. At some point more icons will appear
around the main icon. Each icon represents a potential target in the group.
Click on the Damage Tab on the Dossier Dialogue and then click in the top
combo-box to get a list of these targets. You should see that there are a
number of warehouse buildings grouped into small complexes.
The aim of the mission is to destroy supplies. As you don’t know which
buildings are being used, you will have to destroy as many of the
warehouses as possible.
7. Authorize the Mission
To start planning your mission, click Authorize on the
Dossier. You are presented with a list of standard profiles
that allow you to set up a mission quickly. We want to do
more planning from scratch so select ‘Minimum Strike’.
A more usual choice would be the ‘Fighter Bomber Strike’
profile which would take Dossier information into account
when setting up all the key components of the mission.
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The Mission Folder dialogue should now be open. Click on the Profile button
to open the Profile dialogue. This shows that we have one Wave consisting
of 2 flights of F84s. They are carrying out the main duty of the Wave:
bombing.
8. Allocate More Aircraft
Click on the Task button or the Duty Field (F84 (2)) to display the
Task dialogue.
The dialogue shows the two flights that are assigned to the bombing duty.
There are two methods of adding a third flight:
Click in the Squadron slot (F84(2/4)). This displays a dialogue that
shows all available squadrons, their base and flights available.
The highlighted line shows the squadron assigned to the current
duty and the Flights spin-box at the top allows you to change
how many flights are assigned. Close the dialogue.
On the Task dialogue, click in the 3rd flight slot (‘Off Duty’). The
Payload dialogue opens. Select the 1000lb bombs load and close
the dialogue.
9. Change the Attack Pattern
The attack method is currently set to Dive
Bomb. This is most effective for fighter-bombers
and so we won’t change it. However we should
change the Attack pattern. We have numerous
targets to hit so we need to divide the effort.
Select ‘Individual Targets’.
10. Change Stores
Make sure that every flight will be equipped
with 1000lb bombs.
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ATTACK RESTRICTIONS
The following Attack restrictions are imposed automatically:
Method
Pattern
B29
High
Wide
B26
High
Wide
Or
Low
Wide
Rockets/Guns
Dive
Any but Wide
Bombs/Napalm
High
Wide
Low
All
Dive
Any but Wide
Attack Method Definitions
High
Bomb at altitude of the current waypoint
Low
Fly straight and level at an altitude of 100m before releasing stores
Dive
Dive at the target, releasing stores when appropriate
ATTACK PATTERNS
Wide:
Stay in formation and everybody releases their stores on the Leader’s instruction.
Single File:
All the aircraft will attack the same target in rapid succession. This is handy
when you are attacking a single large target, like a bridge or runway.
Individual Targets:
All aircraft attack at the same time, each concentrating on a different target.
Element Targets:
Again, all aircraft attack at the same time but individual targets are
assigned to each aircraft element.
Spaced Target Selection:
Each aircraft makes an individual run while the rest circle. When a target
is destroyed, the Group moves on to the next target.
Only one aircraft will be committed to attacking at any one time. So only
one aircraft will be at risk from sudden flak barrages.
Spaced Elements:
As Spaced Target Selection, but 2 aircraft make a run at the same time.
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Spaced Flights:
Each flight makes a run while the rest circle.
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11. Adding Flak Suppression
On the Task dialogue, select the ‘AAA cover’ tab. No flights have been
assigned to this duty. Click the Squadron slot (‘Off Duty’) to open the Select
AC Dialogue. Click on the F84 squadron line and close the dialogue. One
flight of F84s is now tasked with Flak Suppression.
Alternatively, you could have selected a different squadron to perform the Flak
Suppression duty. It would then be possible to allocate more than one flight.
The disadvantage is that the two squadrons would have to spend time
attempting the rendezvous. In the mission that you have set up, the four F84
flights will take-off together and get into a perfect formation just after take-off.
Change the weapons for the Flak Duty aircraft to rockets and guns.
HINT
When a mission is going into a heavy flak zone, consider sending an AAA
suppression Wave in beforehand.
12. Adding Fighter Escort
The Dossier indicates that the MiG threat is low and so a Fighter Escort will
not be specified. You could try to add an escort using similar methods to
those defined for Flak Suppression.
13. Modify the Route
Zoom in on the map until the route fills the screen.
Find the Egress waypoint and move it inland by
clicking, dragging and dropping it where you want.
Generally the Egress waypoint is offshore because
this limits the amount of flying over enemy territory.
This target is so close to the Front Line that it makes
sense to go home directly.
Find the Initial Point waypoint and move it closer to
the target. If the IP is within four miles of the target,
the target will be visible as soon as you come out of
‘accelerate to the IP’ mode.
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Mission P
As a result:
The padlock to target view will work immediately,
The rest of the Group will be able to identify their target and
begin their attack run as soon as you instruct them to do so.
Find the two AAA waypoints and move them over the target area.
14. Go to the Frag
Find and click on the Frag icon on the Toolbar. Frag is an abbreviation for
Fragmentary Order. On this screen, you are presented with details about all
the missions that you have initiated for the current session.
On this screen you can:
Change the callsign by changing the selection in the callsign
combo-box.
Select the aircraft that you want to fly by clicking on a
pilot name.
Review the missions as a final check before flying.
By default you have been given the lead aircraft.
15. Take-off
Click on Fly to enter the cockpit. You start on the runway with the rest of the
Flight behind you.
Before you take-off, have a quick look around at the
rest of the aircraft that make up the mission. Try the
Point of View control on your joystick or the Number
Pad keys to move the viewpoint. Try the outside
view F6 and the nearest friendly padlock F2 .
Don’t take too long, though, because the Tower
wants you moving within a few seconds. You could
use the pause key P to give you more time but this
will disable the PoV controls.
Make sure that you are at 100% Thrust and then release the wheel brakes
( , and . keys). At about 100 knots pull back on the stick and the nose
wheel should leave the ground. Take care not to let your tail hit the ground.
When the aircraft is ready it will take-off.
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At any point during the take-off you can change to the accelerated mode.
There is a range of options, we will accelerate to the Initial Point so that we
get to the target area as soon as possible:
Display the cockpit map by pressing
the M key
Press the 1 key to display the
Accel options
Press the 4 key to accelerate to
the Initial Point
The highlighted blue icon that
represents your Flight will move
along the route. The view will be
switched automatically to the
cockpit view when the Initial Point
waypoint has been reached.
16. Initiate the Attack
As you are the leader, you must initiate the attack:
Press the R key
Select
6
FAC
Select
1
Begin your run
If the target is in sight you will hear “Roger” over the radio. The Group will
get into position and then each one will perform an attack run. The Flight
assigned to AAA cover will patrol around the area looking for guns to attack.
If the target is not in sight you will hear “Cannot identify target” over the
radio. Try again closer to the target.
As you are the leader you should lead the attack, however as this is your first
mission it is better to let the Group get on with it. Try to follow the last
aircraft down on his attack run. Don’t forget to change to bombs ( N or
key) before pressing the trigger.
If a building contains supplies you may see secondary explosions. Try turning
on the impact toggle so that you see the target when your bombs hit. You
could also turn on the Gun Camera ( V key) to record the action.
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17. Return Home and Debrief
You can exit the 3D at any point by pressing Alt X . The Map Screen will
be displayed in a Debrief Mode. The two dialogues will show details about
the mission. Other Debrief dialogues are available, refer to the Debrief
Toolbar.
When you have finished your Debrief, click on the Next Period Icon on the
Debrief Toolbar. It is also possible to move onto the next period by clicking on
the Next Period button on the Mission Results dialogue.
Although it is possible to Alt X when your bombs have done their
damage, it is more satisfying to bring your Group back.
After your Group has dropped its bombs it will automatically regroup for a
strafing run. Before this happens issue the instruction to leave the area:
Press the R
key
Select 6 FAC
Select 6 Leave the area
The Group should then attempt to fly in formation with you as you return
home. It is possible to go home quickly by selecting the Accel to Home
option:
Press the M key
Select 1 Accel
Select 5 Home
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Introduction
We have included a comprehensive key guide for you to use whilst playing
MiG Alley. Here is a breakdown of the keys used in the game and what they
do for you.
Default Joystick buttons
Trigger (Button 1)
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Fire
Reset View
Padlock Toggle
In/Out Toggle
Trim Forward
Gun Range Up
Trim Aft
Gun Range Down
Speed Brake
Reset Trim
Primary Flight Controls
Control surfaces
The arrow keys can be used for aileron and elevator control. However the
use of a joystick is recommended.
MiG Alley uses the Windows joystick configuration and the simulation can be
played using the default options. To fine tune control input to MiG Alley go to
the Controls Options in the Preferences chapter.
Crude rudder control is provided by the number pad Insert and Delete keys.
Much better control is available using dedicated rudder pedals or a twist
joystick. The rudder is used to:
Stop spins
Start spins/throw opponent off aim
Side slip
Make slight adjustments to the direction in which you are pointing
Steer on the ground
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When taxiing, the rudder can be used to steer the central wheel. The main
wheels have individual brakes ( , and . ). These brakes can also be
used for steering.
K and Shift
K increase and decrease keyboard sensitivity. If you have
to play on the keyboard these keys can be used to set the keyboard up for
the current activity. So have low sensitivity (key press gives small control
surface movements) for bombing runs and high sensitivity for air combat.
Elevator Trimming
Aft trim key
L
adjusts the trim of the aircraft by forcing it to pitch upwards.
Forward trim key O adjusts the trim of the aircraft by forcing it to pitch
downwards.
The trim can be reset to a neutral position using the Shift
L
key.
Throttle
All the keys that control the throttle are disabled when an analogue throttle
is connected.
_
The number keys give throttle control from 10-100%. + /
give fine
control with changes of 1%.
After landing and taxiing to the holding area, go to 10% throttle and apply the
brakes. There is no need to go to 0% throttle.
Propeller Setting
The Mustang is fitted with a constant speed propeller. This means that the
pitch of the propeller is automatically adjusted to maintain a fixed engine
speed. The Shift F6 key toggles the setting between power
(climb/combat) and cruise.
Engine Restart
To restart bring the throttle below 25% and press E .
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Others
Speed or Air Brakes
B
Flaps
F
Eject or bailout
Ctrl
E
Dump external fuel
Ctrl
F
Raise or lower landing gear
G
Left wheel brake
,
Right wheel brake
.
Weapons
Fire
Spacebar
Dump stores
Ctrl
W
Previous weapon
Next weapon
Cycle through weapons
N
Cheat keys
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Reload cheat
Ctrl
R
Spin recovery cheat
Ctrl
S
Lift by 1000ft
U
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Game Controls
Screenshot
Print
Screen
Ctrl
P
The screenshot file will be found in the stills directory.
Each time a screenshot is taken the number in the filename is
incremented. This number is reset each time the game is run.
Exit key
Alt
Info panel toggle (2 types of information)
I
Pause
P
X
Accelerated time (stay in 3D)
Faster accelerated time (move to map)
Detail level change
Preferences menu
Shift
Ctrl
D
, Shift
D
F12
M
Map
Box padlocked item
Gunsight (see cockpit section)
D
Q
Gun camera toggle
V
Gun camera reset
X
Any Bandits?
A
, W , T , Y
This generates a message asking where your closest enemy is.
Z
Break
This tells one of the pilots in your squadron to make a defensive
maneuver because he has an enemy on his tail. Especially useful
when you are flying as a wingman.
Clear?/Clear
C
If you are flying the lead this key generates an "Am I clear?" message.
If you are flying as a wingman this key generates a "You are clear"
message.
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Viewees
Padlock next nearest enemy
F1
Padlock next nearest friendly
F2
Padlock next nearest ground target
F3
Padlock next waypoint
F4
Padlock subject of message
F5
Turn off padlock
Esc
Padlock previous nearest enemy
Shift
F1
Padlock previous nearest friendly
Shift
F2
Padlock previous nearest ground target
Shift
F3
Padlock previous waypoint
Shift
F4
Ctrl
F1
Ctrl
F2
Ctrl
F3
Ctrl
F4
Alt
F1
Alt
F2
Reset to nearest enemy view
Reset to nearest friendly view
Reset to nearest ground target view
Reset to next waypoint view
A.I. enemy view
Escortee view
Views
40
Outside view
F6
Inside view
F7
Invisible cockpit
F8
Fly by/chase toggle
F9
Satellite view toggle
F10
Impact toggle
F11
Padlock on/off toggle
Enter
Inside/outside view toggle
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The outside view can have either a rigidly fixed camera position or a more
realistic floating movement. Shift F6 is used to toggle between the two
options.
Rotate and Zoom View Keys
The number pad can be used in two modes: fixed view and panning.
The mode can either be selected using the Num
key or by making a selection
Lock
on the Views Options in Preferences.
Panning Mode
Rotate down
Number pad 2
Rotate up
Number pad 8
Rotate right
Number pad 6
Rotate left
Number pad
Rotate down & left
Number pad 1
Rotate down & right
Number pad
Rotate up & left
Number pad 7
Rotate up & right
Number pad 9
4
3
Holding down the Shift key when pressing a rotate view key will accelerate
the movement. This set of keys is duplicated on the main keyboard using Alt
and the number keys.
Fixed Mode
Back
Number pad 2
Forward
Number pad 8
Right
Number pad 6
Left
Number pad 4
Back & left
Number pad 1
Back & right
Number pad 3
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Forward & left
Number pad 7
Forward & right
Number pad 9
Move one view to the left
Number pad
Move one view to the right
Number pad *
/
This set of keys is duplicated on the main keyboard using Ctrl and the
number keys. This duplicate together with the one for the panning keys is
provided to allow users to have both sets available at the same time.
Rotate and Zoom reset
Number pad 5
Zoom in
Number pad
Zoom out
Number pad
Field of View zoom in
Ctrl
and number pad
Field of View zoom out
Ctrl
and number pad
+
_
+
_
Sticky Keys
There are 6 sticky view keys. They are sticky in
the sense that the view is only available when
the key is pressed. On releasing the key the
previous view is re-shown. These keys are
useful for quickly checking a part of the screen.
For instance the End key will give a quick view
of your 6.
Forward & left
Insert
Forward
Home
Forward & right
Back & left
Delete
Back
End
Back & right
Scroll
Lock
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Page
Up
Page
Down
gives a look up view shift for the sticky keys.
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Miscellaneous
Heads up instruments toggle. H
See Virtual Instruments in Cockpit section.
In Team Play and Death Match comms, when a player is shot down the
aircraft can either spiral to the ground or be blown to pieces. If you are
spiraling to the ground, you can press the suicide key to cut short the
sequence S .
The dead aircraft is resurrected on the ground and it is then elevated until it
reaches a set height. The player can then take over the controls again. This
process can be shortcut by pressing the J key. The aircraft jumps to the
regeneration stage and the player can take over immediately.
Radio Communications
It is possible to initiate radio communication with the rest of your group,
the Tower, The Forward Radar Controller and the Forward Air Controller (FAC).
If there is anybody out there you should get a response, otherwise you will
hear white noise.
The Tower operators can give weather updates and a home vector. They will
respond to MayDay calls.
The Forward Radar Controller, whose callsign is Dentist, is located on one of
the North Korean Offshore islands under the UN Control. Dentist is able to give
general information about MiGs. Sometimes he will volunteer information. By
initiating radio contact you can ask him about the current situation.
The Forward Air Controller will direct you when you are engaged in close air
support missions.
Press the
R
key to initiate contact. A menu will be displayed:
Group Info
Get information back from the aircraft in your group
Precombat
Messages associated with precombat
Combat
Messages associated with combat
Postcombat
Messages associated with postcombat
Tower
Communicate with Tower
FAC
Communicate with Forward Air Controller
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Comms Player
Select a player to send a predefined message to
Comms Msg
Send the pre-defined message
Make a selection using either the number keys or the mouse pointer.
A second menu of possible messages is then presented. For instance,
if Tower was selected then the following options are available:
MayDay
Send out a MayDay, the nearest tower will respond
Home Tower
Request a vector to the home airfield
Nearest Tower
Request a vector to the nearest airfield
Surface Wind
Request surface wind info
Wind at 35,000ft
Request wind at 35,000 ft info
Land at Home
Request clearance to land at home field
Land at nearest
Request clearance to land at nearest field
Make a selection and a message will be sent out from your aircraft. If you
have radio chatter enabled then you should hear the message. If the info line
is enabled you should see the message printed at the bottom of the screen.
There are also short cut keys to the secondary menus:
Group Info
Shift
1
Precombat
Shift
2
Combat
Shift
3
Postcombat
Shift
4
Tower
Shift
5
FAC
Shift
6
Strike Mission
The following messages in the FAC menu are available for Strike Missions
even when the FAC is not available:
44
Begin your Run
Instruct your Group to start its bombing run
Leave Area
Instruct your Group to regroup and leave the area
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g
lying
F
5
r
Chapte
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Flying
Basic Flying
The best way to learn about flying the aircraft in MiG Alley is to fly some
missions. The first two Quick Missions do not feature any MiGs and so it
is possible to concentrate on flying rather than fighting.
Preparation
Before starting MiG Alley, check that your joystick is properly configured
using the standard Windows configuration procedures. Access the Games
Controller dialogues off the desktop to start the procedure.
On starting MiG Alley, click on the intro animation to move to the Main Menu.
Move to the Quick Missions screen by making the following menu choices:
Single Player
Quick Mission
Landing/Take-off is the default mission so you can get to the 3D by clicking on Fly.
Straight and Level
CHECK THAT YOU ARE AT 100% THRUST.
The easy way to do this is to press the I key to get up the Info bar. The I
key can be used to toggle between a number of options. You want the line that
gives the flight data, this includes the % Thrust.
A more realistic method is to use the number pad keys or the Point of View
control on your joystick to move the view down to the Instrument Panel.
You then need to find the Thrust instrument.
If you have a joystick throttle then push it to its limit to find the 100% point.
Otherwise use the number keys to change the thrust setting.
Please note that changing the thrust quickly can damage your engine if you
have realistic “Spool Up” selected in the Preferences section.
CONTROL THE RATE OF CLIMB
As the speed of the aircraft increases, the extra lift will mean that the aircraft
will start to climb. This can be controlled by pushing forward on the stick.
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The rate of climb instrument is very useful when trying to fly at constant altitude.
In real life, flying straight and level is one of the
first skills that you have to master when you
start flying lessons. It is much more difficult in a
Sim because you get less feedback. Fortunately
it is not necessary to master straight and level
flying to enjoy combat sim flying.
If you want to set up your aircraft to fly straight
and level for a long period then you will find the
trim keys useful. These keys simulate the
trimming system of a real aircraft by providing
elevator input even when the stick is in the center position. There is a trim key
reset to zero the effect of the trim keys.
GET FAMILIAR WITH THE INSTRUMENTATION
Use the Point of View control or the number pad keys to move the view
around the Instrument Panel. As previously stated the Rate of Climb
instrument is useful when attempting to fly straight and level. Pick out the
speed and altitude dials and watch the movement of dials during your
straight and level flight.
During combat you won’t have much, if any, time for instruments.
However the following are important:
Speed
Altitude
Fuel
Ammo count
TEST THE SECONDARY CONTROLS
Notice the effect of the following controls on speed, climb and altitude.
F
key for flaps
B
key for air brakes
Ctrl
G
F
key for dumping external tank
key for gear
Most controls have indicators in the cockpit. By going to an external view F6 ,
you can see the effect of the controls on the aircraft.
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Flying
Gentle Turn
Roll the aircraft to get it to turn. Start with a roll of 45 degrees and then adjust
with the ailerons until the Rate of Climb is zero. If the aircraft is losing altitude
then reduce the roll. As you are trying to set up a gentle turn, use the elevator
sparingly. It is easy to black out if a turn is attempted from a high Mach
straight and level run.
During the turn look at the g dial and avoid exceeding 3g.
Break Turn
Check that g effects are enabled on the “Others” sub-section of the
Preferences Section.
Gentle turns are all right for maneuvering around Home Base but something
more vigorous is required during combat.
Starting with a high Mach straight and level run, roll the aircraft to about 90
degrees. The aircraft will start to lose altitude. Pull back gently on the joystick.
The screen should start to black out as the g is sustained over about 7 and
“your” heavy breathing should be heard. Ease back on the stick to maintain
vision and watch the speed dissipate. If you are losing altitude too rapidly,
unroll the aircraft slightly.
The U key is very handy during these training sessions. Press U to
increase altitude by 1000ft.
Continue to stay on the edge of blackout. As the speed drops you will be able
to pull further on the stick and turn tighter. Eventually the aircraft will start to
shake. You will be able to hear the buffeting and if you have a Force Feedback
stick you will be able to feel the vibration.
The aircraft is now on the edge of a stall. Try to maintain this position.
You need to learn how to recognize the situation because if you pull back
any further the aircraft will stall and probably enter a spin.
Spin Recovery
48
Perform a break turn as described in the previous section but this time when
on the edge of the stall pull back on the stick and enter a spin. You can usually
maintain the spin by pulling the stick back to its limit.
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To recover from the spin, release the stick so that it returns to its central
position. Then apply rudder in the opposite direction to the spin of the aircraft.
When the spin stops, release the rudder and gently pull back on the stick to
stop the dive. Too harsh a movement of the stick at this stage can result in the
aircraft re-entering the spin.
If you don’t have rudder pedals or a joystick with a twist grip then you can use
the keyboard rudder keys to stop the spin. Shift S can be used to stop the
spin if all else fails.
MiG15 vs F86 Sabre
Chuck Yeager once said, “The pilot with the most experience is going to whip
your ass, no matter what you are flying- it’s that simple.”
Yeager had just proven his point by beating a Lieutenant
Colonel in two dogfights. In the first Yeager had the MiG15 and
the Colonel had the Sabre.
In the second the pilots swapped aircraft. The result though
was the same: Yeager stuck to the tail of the Colonel as if he
was attached by glue.
Background
The first jet v jet combat took place over Korea on 8 November
1950. Lieutenant Russell J. Brown flying an F80C “Shooting
Star” shot down a MiG15 which was one of a flight of four
that had dashed across the Yalu. Despite this first success, it
was soon apparent that the “Shooting Star” was no match for
the MiG. With a speed advantage of over 100mph, the MiG
was able to evade the F80C with ease and attack the B29 bombers tasked with
bombing missions on the Chinese Border.
The two straight winged USAF jet fighters, the F80C and the F84E, were
relegated to strike missions. Along with the F51D, a veteran from the Second
World War, these aircraft took on the ground attack missions: the grunt work
of the war. In MiG Alley, if you get caught by a MiG when you are flying one of
these aircraft, life could get very difficult.
It was left to the swept wing F86 Sabre to face up to the MiG and grab the glory.
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Flying
The MiG15 and the F86 are very similar in design. They are both all-metal,
single seater monoplanes powered by a single turbojet with the wing swept
back at 35 degrees and swept tail surfaces.
“Some of the advantages
were the efficient General
Electric J47 axial flow
engine for long range,
extra large external fuel
tanks, the capability of
supersonic fight, fast firing
machine guns for
dogfights, a radar gunsight, better environment
in the cockpit, the cockpit’s
large dimensions, orderly
However there are differences that the experienced and knowledgeable pilot
can use to ensure that he always ends up on top no matter what aircraft type
he is allocated.
Variants
MiG15s were available to the Communist forces very early in the Korean War.
In 1951, a more powerful version, the MiG15bis appeared in Korea.
The first F86A Sabre mission over Korea took place on 17 December 1950.
One MiG out of a flight of four was shot down. On 22 December 1950, the MiGs
shot down a Sabre, but later that day six MiGs out of a flight of 15
were destroyed.
placement of gauges and
controls, crystal clear
canopy, an advanced
hydraulic control system
with a controllable
horizontal stabilizer for
superior maneuverability,
The E was the next variant to enter active service in Korea. The only
difference from the A was the “all-flying” tail. In this modification, the
horizontal stabilizer pivoted on its rear spar so that the leading edge moved
up and down with the normal action of the elevator controls. The “all-flying”
tail eliminated the undesirable compressibility effects of the F86A. Recovery
from supersonic dives was much easier.
stall warning system,
advanced radio, rear view
mirror and a better view
for the pilot. It was like a
Cadillac compared to the
family Chevrolet.”
No Kum Sok (North Korean
Pilot who defected and
brought a MiG15 with him)
talking about the Sabre
The F86E first saw action in Korea with the 4th Wing in September 1951.
The F86F reached Korea in June and July 1952. Essentially the F86F was
an F86E with a more powerful engine. In September 1952, the 6-3 wing
modifications were fitted to F86Fs in the field. The 6-3 wing modification
consisted of adding 6 inches to the leading edge of the wing root.
The extension tapered to 3 inches at the tip. In addition the leading edge
slats were removed.
The F86F could out-turn and out-run the MiG15bis. However for most of the
war, it was the MiG that enjoyed the performance advantage.
Fighter Tactics
When two different types of aircraft are engaged in combat, it makes sense
for the pilots to attempt to force the conflict in a direction that suits their
type of aircraft. During the Korean conflict there were no missiles available
and so it was necessary to get in close to make a kill. Generally speaking,
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in these circumstances, the aircraft with the larger thrust to weight ratio
will have the advantage.
The MiG and the Sabre were capable of delivering similar thrust, but because
the MiG was much lighter it had a significantly higher thrust to weight ratio.
This meant that the MiG could out-climb and out-accelerate the Sabre.
Curiously though, the Sabre had the higher top speed up to an altitude of
30,000ft. The MiG had a higher wing thickness to chord ratio compared with
the Sabre and the higher drag resulted in a lower top speed in level flight and
more importantly in the dive. In fact the MiG could not go supersonic in the
dive whereas the Sabre could.
The MiG service ceiling was much higher than
that enjoyed by the Sabre. The MiGs were able
to bypass fighter screens by flying high. MiGs
could choose when to fight.
With the higher thrust to weight ratio and lower
wing loading, the MiG should also have
demonstrated the better turn performance.
In fact performance was compromised by the
MiG’s poor stalling characteristics. During
combat, the aircraft would suddenly stall and
the inexperienced pilot could not avoid the
aircraft going into an uncontrollable spin.
The Sabre wing had a torsion box type structure which prevented wing
flexing. The MiG’s wing construction was not as stiff and the MiG suffered
badly from wing flexing. In addition, the variation in MiG wing manufacturing
quality was wide. These factors are likely to have contributed to the poor
stalling characteristics of the MiG.
The result of the MiG’s poor stall characteristics was that average and
inexperienced pilots were uneasy about pushing the aircraft to the limit and
hence the Sabre pilot sometimes had the edge in a turning contest.
The MiG armament only exacerbated the situation. As the MiG was fitted with
large bore slow firing canons, the MiG pilot had to pull far more lead in a
turning fight compared with the Sabre pilot. As a result the Sabre pilot found it
easier to get a gun solution than did the MiG pilot. To compensate for this
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Flying
shortcoming the size of the MiG’s canon shell was such that usually just
one hit was enough to destroy a Sabre. On the other hand, there are many
reports of MiGs getting back to Home Base even though they were riddled
with Sabre bullets.
The Sabre’s high roll rate gave it a significant advantage in close-quarters air
combat that required a high degree of maneuverability. While the Sabre could
achieve roll rates of 180 degrees per second at all speed ranges, the MiG
could only approach rates that were half to two thirds as good. In addition, roll
rates deteriorated significantly for the MiG at higher speeds.
In fact the Sabre was generally more refined and controllable with no
tendency to yaw. Overall, the Sabre was the better aircraft for a turning fight,
but an experienced and skilful MiG pilot could swing the balance into the
opposite direction.
Combat
The differences between the two aircraft determined the
tactics during combat.
MiG pilots tended to fight in the vertical. They would choose
the moment of engagement and then swoop down in a
slashing attack and then zoom back to a safe altitude.
MiG pilots could control the separation by use of the vertical,
better climb and acceleration rates.
Sabres preferred to engage in turning and diving fights. The
lower the altitude, the less the performance advantage
enjoyed by the MiG.
However an aggressive and skilful MiG pilot could take on the Sabre.
There are many reports of MiGs forcing the combat and ending with a duel
at ground level. In MiG Alley, you will find that this type of engagement is
the rule rather than the exception.
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The MiG could out turn the
F-86 at any altitude, but
above 25,000ft had
an increased ability to do
so. It would also out climb
the F-86 (which
was heavier) at any
altitude but had more than
double our rate of climb
above 25,000ft. We got
more kills because we
were better trained and
more aggressive.
Boots Blesse
IDIOSYNCRATIC BEHAVIOR
MiG and Sabre
At high incidence, an uncommanded pitch up is observed due to stalling of
the wing tips. If the pilot takes no action to compensate for this, it can
cause the aircraft to pitch up into a stall or spin.
At high speeds, control power decreases due to the presence of sonic flow
in the region of the control surfaces.
MiG
The MiG has poor yaw stability and it takes a number of cycles for any
disturbance in yaw to die away. This is more significant at high angles of attack.
The MiG has anhedral wings which causes the aircraft to roll the opposite
way to the direction in which rudder is applied.
At high speed and low altitude, a MiG wing can get heavy due to wing tip
stalling and this leads to an uncommanded roll. When this occurs, there is
generally insufficient aileron power remaining to level the wings.
THRUST TO WEIGHT RATIO COMPARED WITH MODERN JETS:
F86E
1 : 2.8
F80C
1 : 2.6
MiG15bis 1 : 2
F84E
1 : 3.5
MiG15
(F15E
1 : 1.9 without afterburner)
(F16C
1 : 1.8 without afterburner)
1 : 2.2
SUMMARY OF THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE MIG AND THE
SABRE:
• The MiG can out-accelerate and out-climb the Sabre at all altitudes
• Better sustained turn rate on the MiG
• Roll rate of the MiG is half/two-thirds that of the Sabre
• The Sabre is generally more maneuverable
• The yaw stability of the MiG is much lower than the Sabre
• Maximum Altitude is higher on the MiG
• The Sabre has a higher top speed at sea level and in the dive
• The MiG’s shells were slow and heavy in comparison with the Sabre’s.
One hit from a MiG was generally fatal.
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Flying
Specific Power Curves
Specific power is defined as the rate of change of specific energy and it is
used to measure the ability of an aircraft to change its state. The idea of
specific power was developed during the 60s
as part of the famous Top Gun program. In
the early stages of the Vietnam War, USAF
pilots were not doing as well as they did
during the Korean War. Pilots were sent to
the Top Gun School and results improved
significantly.
Pilots were introduced to the concept of
energy maneuverability. They learnt how to
measure and manage energy during air
combat. As these theories were not
developed until the 60s, specific power
curves do not exist for the Classic Jets of the 50s. The curves presented here
are generated from the MiG Alley Flight Model.
THE EQUATION
Where:
Specific Power (Ps) = v. (T - D) / W
T is thrust
D is drag
W is weight
v is velocity
T, D and W should all be in the same units of force.
“Flying the MiG15 is the
most demanding situation I
Velocity is usually defined in feet per second. This means that Ps is also in
units of feet per second.
have ever faced. It’s a
quirky airplane that’s killed
a lot of its pilots.” In his
book he writes, “Man that
thing was a flying booby
trap, and nobody would be
surprised if I got killed.”
Yeager (US test pilot.
First man to break the
sound barrier)
54
When the Ps = 0, the thrust balances the drag exactly and it is possible for the
aircraft to sustain its conditions. A positive Ps can be used to either increase
the height or the speed of an aircraft, e.g.:
If Ps = 100ft/s, then the aircraft can climb at 100ft/s or 6000ft/min.
If Ps = 100ft/s and v = 600ft/s, then the aircraft is capable of an
instantaneous accel:
accel = Ps.g / v = 100 x 32.2 /600 = 5.4 ft/s/s
911 MiG Alley Man flying
“A light plane
with a big engine.”
General Albert Boyd
said about the MiG15
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It is very important to realize that the Ps calculated is for a point condition.
As soon as the altitude, weight or velocity changes, then a new Ps
must be calculated.
A negative Ps cannot be sustained. Either the velocity will drop or the aircraft
will have to lose altitude.
THE CURVES
Specific Power curves have been produced for the MiG15 and the F86E Sabre
for altitudes of 20,000ft and 30,000ft.
It is usual for the specific power curves to be bounded by the physical
limitations imposed on the aircraft:
• The left side is bounded by the lift limit line. The aircraft cannot generate
sufficient lift to sustain a position on the left of this line.
• The top boundary is set by the maximum g that the aircraft can tolerate.
• The right boundary is set by the maximum speed that the aircraft
can achieve.
For the classic jets the airframe was rated at 7g. In fact there were reports of
10g being reached without serious consequences. This seems reasonable
because a 50% tolerance is usually built into the figures. Inspection of the
Specific Power curves show that the aircraft are very much under powered
and so the g limit is largely irrelevant when considering performance.
The Classic Jets were not capable of exceeding Mach one during level flight.
There is then an invisible barrier to the right! The MiG was not capable of
exceeding Mach one even in a dive. However the Sabre could and so it is likely
that at some very large negative Ps the curve will exceed the speed of sound.
For the Classic Jets, only the lift limit line has any practical significance and
so it is the only one drawn in the diagrams.
GENERAL INTERPRETATION
Maximum Instantaneous Turn Rate
This occurs at the intersection of the lift limit line and the maximum g line (7g):
F86E at 20,000ft
17 deg/s at 0.72M
MiG15 at 20,000ft 18.4 at 0.67M
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Flying
In practice this condition is very difficult to achieve. If a break turn is initiated
at high speed, then the speed bleeds off quickly and will be below 0.6M before
the maximum turn has been achieved.
The Specific Power diagrams show how it is possible to rip the wings off a
Classic Jet. When an aircraft is travelling at low altitude and near to Mach one, a
sudden roll and pull will result in experiencing g forces in excess of 10.
The Maximum Instantaneous Turn Rate is lift limited and cannot be sustained.
Maximum Sustained Turn Rate
The maximum sustained turn rate, which depends on available thrust and the
drag on the airframe, is obtained by finding the maximum turn-rate on the
Ps = 0 curve.
F86E at 20,000ft
8.2 deg/s at 0.39M
MiG15 at 20,000ft 10.0 deg/s at 0.40M
F86E at 30,000ft
5.2 deg/s at 0.53-0.65M
MiG15 at 30,000ft 6.2 deg/s at 0.42-0.50M
It is important to realize that a pilot does not necessarily fly his aircraft at this
condition by pulling back hard on his stick and flying the lift line. Inspection of
the diagrams shows that the F86E pilot flying to the lift line at 30,000ft will only
achieve a turn rate of 4.6 degrees/ sec and he will have slowed down to about
0.40M. He will be flying at the point where the Ps=0 line intersects the lift limit.
It is easier for the MiG pilot to fly the sustained turn rate at 30,000ft because
the sustained turn rate coincides with the lift limit line. However the curve is
flat and so he could maintain the same turn-rate at speeds up to 0.5M. In some
instances during combat, increasing the speed without a drop in turn-rate
could be very important. The downside is that there is an inevitable increase
in turn radius.
Minimum Turn Radius
Turn radius lines are displayed on the diagrams. The minimum turn radius is
obtained by drawing a line from the origin that produces a tangent to the lift
limit line.
On the F86E at 20,000ft, the minimum radius is between 2500-2000ft.
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F-86 Turning Performance - 20,000 ft
1.1g
1.5g
2g
3g
4g
5g
6g
7g
Turn Radius = 2000ft
20
3000 ft
Wing Area:
Mass:
Thrust at alt:
Thrust/Weight ratio:
Wing Loading
18
16
26.75m2
6365 kg
12450 N
0.199
2333 N/m2
4000 ft
14
Lift Limit
Ps = -100 ft/s
Ps = -50 ft/s
Ps =
0 ft/s
Ps = +50 ft/s
Turn Rate (deg/s)
12
5000 ft
10
6000 ft
7000 ft
8
8000 ft
9000 ft
6
10000 ft
4
20000 ft
2
0
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
Mach
Fig 1: F86E, 20,000ft
F-86E Turning Performance - 30,000 ft
1.1g
1.5g
2g
3g
4g
5g
6g
7g
Turn Radius = 2000ft
20
3000 ft
Wing Area:
Mass:
Thrust at alt:
Thrust/Weight ratio:
Wing Loading
18
16
26.75m2
6365 kg
8800 N
0.141
2333 N/m2
4000 ft
14
Lift Limit
Ps = -100 ft/s
Ps = -50 ft/s
Ps =
0 ft/s
Ps = +50 ft/s
Turn Rate (deg/s)
12
5000 ft
10
6000 ft
7000 ft
8
8000 ft
9000 ft
6
10000 ft
4
20000 ft
2
0
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
Mach
Fig 2: F86E, 30,000ft
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Flying
MiG15 Turning Performance - 20,000 ft
1.1g
1.5g
2g
3g
4g
5g
6g
7g
Turn Radius = 2000ft
20
3000 ft
Wing Area:
Mass:
Thrust at alt:
Thrust/Weight ratio:
Wing Loading
18
16
20.6 m2
4710 kg
11990 N
0.260
2242 N/m2
4000 ft
14
Lift Limit
Ps = -100 ft/s
Ps = -50 ft/s
Ps =
0 ft/s
Ps = +50 ft/s
Turn Rate (deg/s)
12
5000 ft
10
6000 ft
7000 ft
8
8000 ft
9000 ft
6
10000 ft
4
20000 ft
2
0
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
Mach
Fig 3: MiG15, 20,000ft
MiG15 Turning Performance - 30,000 ft
1.1g
1.5g
2g
3g
4g
5g
6g
7g
Turn Radius = 2000ft
20
3000 ft
Wing Area:
Mass:
Thrust at alt:
Thrust/Weight ratio:
Wing Loading
18
16
20.6 m2
4710 kg
8475 N
0.183
2242 N/m2
4000 ft
14
Lift Limit
Ps = -100 ft/s
Ps = -50 ft/s
Ps =
0 ft/s
Ps = +50 ft/s
Turn Rate (deg/s)
12
5000 ft
10
6000 ft
7000 ft
8
8000 ft
9000 ft
6
10000 ft
4
20000 ft
2
0
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
Mach
Fig 4: MiG15, 30,000ft
USAF Group Tactics
Organization
58
In MiG Alley, on the UN side, a mission consists of a number of Waves of
aircraft. Each Wave has a Main Duty Group that is optionally supported by a
Flak Suppression Group and a Fighter Escort Group. So, for instance, if the
Main Duty Group is tasked with bombing facilities near to the Chinese border,
it will almost certainly be supported by Fighter Escort and Flak Suppression
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Groups. This mission would be designated as a Strike Mission because the
objective is to destroy a ground target. When a target has a very high priority
and is well defended then all aircraft may be allocated against it. This would
then be considered to be an Alpha Strike Mission. On the other hand, near the
Front Line, where there is likely to be little MiG activity a Fighter Escort Group
may not be necessary.
It is also possible to set up Combat Air Patrol missions that do not have a
target. In these cases the Main Duty Group is BARCAP which stands for
BARrier Combat Air Patrol. Typically F86 Sabres are sent up to MiG Alley to
patrol the Korean-Chinese border. Their objective is to provide a barrier
between the China based MiGs and the UN Strike Missions.
Although there are many different types of mission, aircraft are always
allocated in Groups. A Group can consist of up to four flights of aircraft with
four aircraft in each flight. During mission planning, flights are never split and
Groups can only consist of one type of aircraft.
Welded Wingman
A flight consists of two elements of two aircraft and an element consists of
a leader and a wingman. During combat it is normal for the two elements to
lose contact with each other. However the smallest fighting unit is the
element and it is unacceptable for the wingman to lose contact with the
leader during combat.
When a leader is in combat, he needs to know that there is somebody acting
as lookout to ensure that he is not taken by surprise. This is the job of the
wingman and to be successful he needs to:
Make sure that he does not get separated
Keep a good lookout.
The Alt F2 view is very useful when flying wingman because it provides a
locked view to the element leader.
MiG Alley Group Comms
In MiG Alley, if you are flying lead, you can use the C key to initiate
a’Clear?’ message. If radio chatter is enabled on the Others section of
Preferences then you should hear “your voice” say something like ‘Am I
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Flying
clear?’ or ‘I’m padlocked.’ ‘I’m padlocked’ means that you have spotted a
MiG and you are engaging it. The wingman should respond by saying that
you are or are not clear.
If you are flying wingman you can use the C key to tell your leader that he
is clear. The Z key issues a break call.
The ‘Any Bandits’ call, which is initiated by pressing the A key is the third
short cut comms key. All other radio communications are available via the menu
system that is activated using the R key. If you are flying as Group Lead and
you have selected Auto Vectoring Off in the Preferences, then you get the option
to choose initial tactics when you come into combat with the enemy.
Text versions of the radio messages are displayed if the Info Line is activated.
This can be initiated either by pressing the I key or making the appropriate
selection in the Preferences.
MiG Tactics
North Korean, Chinese and Russian fighter Groups were available to the
Communist Forces. Skill and morale levels varied greatly, however during
the war tactics did evolve. Fortunately for the USAF, the MiG Groups rotated
every few weeks and the new Group would always start carefully.
While some Groups remained cautious, others developed the aggressive
tactics described below.
The Communist Forces did not maintain the strict flight and element structure
used by the USAF. A Group of aircraft could consist of 1 leader and 49
followers or 25 leaders and 25 followers.
Defensive Split
If a Group of MiGs was surprised by an attack from the rear it would probably
perform a split maneuver. Half the group would turn tightly to the left and half
to the right. If the attackers concentrated on one of these split groups then
the other half would come round and get onto the tail of the attackers.
There were many variants to the basic maneuver:
• Each of the split groups could go either high, stay at the same level or
dive in the turn.
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• When they realized that nobody was following, some split groups would
leave the area and let their colleagues look after themselves.
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• An aggressive group would break with one half going low and the other
high. Sabres would invariably attack the low group because the MiGs
performance advantage was not as apparent at low altitude. The high group
would have increased its turn-rate by trading speed for altitude and could
dive towards the tail of the Sabres.
End Run
Many decoy tactics were adopted with the aim of
getting through the Sabre Combat Air Patrol. In the End
Run, a Group of MiGs would race in front of a Sabre
CAP. The Sabres would engage and so leave their patrol
area. This left a gap for a larger MiG force to slip
through unnoticed. The MiGs could then engage medium
bombers and fighter-bombers that were easier targets.
Throughout the Korean war, MiGs were based around the Yalu; this river
formed the border between Korea and China. Decoy tactics aimed at getting
through the Sabre CAP were, therefore, well developed. It should be noted
though, that in MiG Alley, if things are going badly for the USAF, it is possible
for MiGs to be stationed at some of the bigger airfields near to and below
the 38th Parallel.
Zoom & Sun
This was essentially a hit and run maneuver that was well suited to the MiG’s
performance advantage over the Sabre.
MiGs would orbit at 48,000 - 50,000ft, hiding in the sun, safe from detection
and attack. When Sabres were sighted, the MiGs dived on them for one firing
pass. The MiGs would then pull up sharply and regain the altitude and position
with respect to the sun.
The tactic was possible due to the MiG’s exceptional rate of climb and
higher ceiling.
Roundabout or Yo-Yo
When protecting an area, MiGs would patrol in a huge circle or roundabout at
an altitude that made them inaccessible to attack from Sabres. When Sabres
were spotted the roundabout would move slowly in the direction of the
enemy.
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Flying
At some point the MiG Leader would start the attack and one by one the MiGs
would descend and perform a slashing attack on the Sabres. The MiGs would
attempt to avoid close-quarters combat. Their aim was to trade their divespeed for altitude and get back up to a safe altitude as soon as possible. A new
roundabout could then be formed and the attack would be repeated.
Waiting Game
The Communist Command soon became aware that the
Sabre Combat Air Patrol could only stay in the MiG Alley
area for about 20 minutes before low fuel forced them
home.
To take full advantage of this situation, MiG squadrons
would time their arrival in MiG Alley to coincide with the
Sabres’ withdrawal.
USAF commanders countered this tactic by sending
Sabres in Waves so that as one patrol left the area
another had just arrived.
The Communist response to this was to try to bypass the Air Patrol and fly
south and then turn northwards and try to intercept fuel starved Sabre patrols
that were returning home.
Pre-emptive Move
Sometimes MiGs were content to make feigned attacks on USAF fighterbombers before they had reached the target area. Provided that this attack
was sufficiently aggressive, the fighter-bombers would have to ditch their
external tanks and stores so that they could maneuver for defense. At this
point the MiGs would leave the area because the USAF fighter-bombers could
not complete their task.
Upper Cut
Some MiG squadrons had their MiGs painted in a camouflage scheme in
which the top of the aircraft blended in with the ground. This was useful for
when the MiG was at a lower altitude compared with the Sabre.
This paint scheme was used by aggressive squadrons to trap unwary Sabre
pilots. A large flight of MiGs could fly well below and to the rear of two decoy
MiGs. Any Sabres that took the bait and attacked the higher MiGs would soon
find a large number of enemy aircraft at their 6 o’clock position.
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Pincer and Envelopment
This tactic was a further development of the waiting game. The idea was to
catch USAF aircraft on the way home when the aircraft were low on fuel and
the pilots were tired.
Large formations of MiG would fly SW and E from their bases in China.
After evading the Sabre BARCAP, one formation would fly down the east
coast and the other would fly down the west coast. After about a hundred
miles the two formations would turn northwards and fly up the peninsula.
The MiGs would pick off USAF aircraft returning home.
Combat Rules
During the Korean conflict, the USAF developed a set of combat rules and
tactics that helped them improve their success rate during air combat.
Here is a summary of some of the rules developed.
• Make sure that you are at high Mach when you sight the enemy.
• Remember to ditch your fuel tanks well before engaging the enemy and at
the first indication that they are in the area. If one of your external tanks
fails to disengage, forget trying to fight with it and head home immediately
with your buddy.
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Flying
• Watch for attacks coming out of the sun.
• When you are engaging an aircraft never look away from it. One glance
away can be enough to lose the sighting completely. Conversely, prior to
engaging an aircraft don’t stare at just one contrail or aircraft. Get the
whole picture before committing yourself.
• If you see the enemy closing in, turn into the attack just before they come
into range (typically somewhere between 2,500 and 3,500 feet, depending
on the ammo used). Consider gaining altitude in the turn. Depending on your
situation this could result in a higher turn rate and lower radius of turn.
• Stay at 100% throttle and avoid using your airbrakes. You must be very
certain of your advantage before succumbing to the temptation of bleeding
speed to stay behind an enemy aircraft.
• Don’t shoot unless you have a positive identification. If you are not sure
then you are out of range. In MiG Alley:
a swept wing jet could be either a MiG15 or a Sabre. Some
Sabres had yellow stripes on their fuselage. Some MiGs are
painted with a camouflage scheme.
a straight winged aircraft could be any of the following: F84E,
F80C, F51D or Yak 9.
• Keep reminding your wingman to look around.
• Check your fuel during an engagement. You can send out a radio call ( R ,
I , ? ) to get a fuel check from the rest of the Group. Attempt to
disengage when the aircraft with the lowest fuel is just above Bingo.
• If your wingman tells you to break off an attack do it immediately, no
matter how close you are to “finishing” an enemy airplane.
• Don’t panic. It never helps!
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F86
33
34
35
32
31
8
9
7
6
5
15
14
13
21
20
19
30
4
2
1
3
12
11
10
18
17
16
22 23
24 25 26
49 27
28
29
US Aircraft
1
Accelerometer
This measures the g force experienced by the pilot and the
aircraft. If G Effects are enabled in the Preferences section the
player can expect the following:
• At high g black outs will start to be experienced. The higher
the g, the quicker the effect comes into play.
• At + 13g the wings will be ripped off the aircraft.
• At high negative g the display will red out.
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2
Voltmeter
3
Gun Camera Light
4
External Fuel Light
The light is on when there is external fuel.
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Horizontal Stabilizer Position
6
Exhaust Gas Temperature
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Take note of the usual setting for your aircraft so that you
will notice an abnormal reading.
The dial is calibrated in 100 degrees units. In standard operating
conditions the reading should be about 650 degrees.
If Realistic Spool Up is enabled in the Preferences section and
if you advance the throttle too quickly, all the fuel is not burnt
in the combustion chamber and so some is burnt in the exhaust
nozzle. You will see a rise in the exhaust gas temperature and
some damage to the engine is caused. Spool Up is slower in
these conditions.
7
Outside Gas Temperature
8
Forward Fire Light
This indicates significant engine damage.
9
Aft Fire Light
This indicates significant engine damage.
10
Compass
11
Indicated Air Speed
This is in graduations of 100 knots.
12
Gyro Compass
13
Artificial Horizon
14
Thrust
This gauge shows the percentage of the total available thrust at
the current conditions. The small needle shows the thrust from
0-50%. Take 50 from the dial reading to get the actual reading.
The large needle shows the thrust from 50-100%.
15,17
Altitude
The dial gives the altitude above the home airfield.
Small needle: 10,000 ft
Large needle: 1000ft
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Mach Dial
18
Slip and Turn
19
Vertical Speed Indicator
The range is +/- 6000ft/min.
20
Total Fuel
This dial show shows the internal and external fuel level in
pounds.
21
Internal Fuel
22
Gear Handle
When the handle is in the down position, the gear is lowered.
23
Gear Light
When the light is on, the gear is lowered.
F80
33
34
35
31
32
30
14
13
4
6
39
19
21
11
36
38
37
17
40
7
68
22 23
18 25 26 24 49 20
2
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F51
33
34
35
31
25
23
43
49
50
30
44
41
24
3
4
42
46
26
45
48
15
36 18
24
19 13 47
Rounds Count
This shows the number of rounds of ammunition remaining. There
are 6 guns on each aircraft. The total number of rounds for the
F51 is 1880, the rest have 1800. Each gun fires at 1100rpm.
Continuous firing then is only possible for 16-17 seconds.
25
Flaps Light
The light is on when the flaps are down.
26
Clock
27
Hydraulic pressure
A reduction in pressure indicates engine damage.
28
Fuel pressure
A reduction in pressure indicates engine damage.
29
Oil Pressure
A reduction in pressure indicates engine damage.
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Gun Sight Range
This shows the range of the gun sight. The units are in 10 yards,
so 20 indicates a range of 200 yards.
If either the Perfect or Realistic option is enabled in the
Preferences section, this dial shows the range to the nearest
aircraft in front of the player’s aircraft.
If Manual ranging is enabled, then the player has to use the T
and Y keys to manually adjust the range.
31
Gun Sight Wingspan
This shows the current wingspan setting for the gun sight. The
units are in feet.
Wingspans:
MiG 15
33’ 1”
F86
37’ 11/2”
F84
33’ 71/4”
F80
38’ 101/2”
F51
37’ 0”
This is manually adjusted using the Q and W keys.
32
Gun Sight Range Light
This light is on when a target is within the gun range.
33
Gun Sight Target
34
Threat Indicator
This virtual instrument shows the position of other aircraft relative
to the player. The smoked glass disc shows the plane of the
player’s aircraft wings. The vertical lines show the relative pitch
position of the other aircraft. The line drawn in the plane of the
smoked glass disc shows the relative yaw position. Red lines
indicate Communist aircraft and blue lines represent UN aircraft.
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VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTS
Virtual threat indicator and artificial horizon instruments are available to
help the player to retain situational awareness during combat. These
instruments are designed to compensate for the fact that a simulation
pilot does not get the same feedback during combat as a real pilot. A
real pilot has full peripheral vision and feels the effect of gravity.
The virtual instruments can be toggled on/off using either the H key
or the appropriate setting on the Preferences section.
35
Artificial Horizon
In this implementation of the artificial horizon, the pitch scale
has been compressed so that the horizontal and vertical
positions are in view at the same time. The horizontal position is
represented by the traditional interface between blue and brown.
The vertical positions are represented by white circles.
Concentric circles at 30 and 60 degrees are also marked. The
small graduations are in steps of 10 degrees.
F84
33
34
35
30
31
32
4
14
24
25
36
19
13
12
49
11
17
10
18
21
22
23
1
27
26
20
29
6
2
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36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
Horizontal Gyro Compass
Standby Compass
Radio Compass
Fuel Pressure
Hydraulic Pressure
Suction Gauge
Manifold Pressure Gauge
Remote Reading Compass
Air Speed indicator
Tachometer
Coolant Temperature Gauge
Carburetor air temp Gauge
Fuel/Oil Pressure/Temperature
Oil temp at the top
Oil pressure on the left
Fuel pressure on the right
49
Weapons toggle
When the switch is down then guns are selected. Heavy
ordnance (bombs, rockets or naplam) are selected when the
switch is up. Use either
,
or N to toggle the weopons.
50
Second Weapons toggle
On all aircraft, except the F51, only one type of heavy ordnance
can be held at any one time. Hence, the second weapons toggle
is only needed for the F51. When the first weapons toggle is up
then the second weapons toggle comes into effect. If the second
switch is down then rockets have been selected. Otherwise it
will be bombs or napalm.
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MiG 15
25
26
27
22
24
23
20
21
18
13
10
16
14
11
17
15
12
19
8
5
2
1
3
28
9
4
MiG 15
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
7
6 30 29 29
Oxygen Pressure
Airspeed
Altimeter Indicator
Radar Altimeter Indicator
Artificial Horizon
Turn Indicator
Clock
Rate of Climb
Fuel Gauge
Radio Compass Indicator
Long Distance Gyromagnetic Compass
Fuel, Oil, Temp Indicator
Engine Speed
Temp Gauge
Compass
Voltmeter
Cabin Pressure
Gear Light
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20
Flaps Light
Rounds Count
This shows the number of rounds of 23 mm cannons remaining.
There are 2x23mm cannons on the MiG, the total number of
rounds is 160. Each cannon fires at 560rpm. Continuous firing
then is only possible for 8-9 seconds.
In addition there is a 37 mm cannon which also fires when the
trigger is pressed. This fires its 40 shells at 400rpm.
21
External Fuel Tanks
22
Gun Sight Range
This shows the range of the gun sight. The units are in 10 yards,
so 20 indicates a range of 200 yards.
If either the Perfect or Realistic option is enabled in the
Preferences section, this dial shows the range to the nearest
aircraft in front of the player’s aircraft.
If Manual ranging is enabled, then the player has to use the T
and Y keys to manually adjust the range.
23
Gun Sight Wingspan
This shows the current wingspan setting for the gun sight. The
units are in feet.
Wingspans:
MiG 15
33’ 1”
F86
37’ 11/2”
F84
33’ 71/4 ”
F80
38’ 101/2”
F51
37’ 0”
This is manually adjusted using the Q and W keys.
24
Gun Sight Range Light
This light is on when a target is within the gun range.
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25
Gun Sight Target
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VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTS
Virtual threat indicator and artificial horizon instruments are available to
help the player to retain situational awareness during combat. These
instruments are designed to compensate for the fact that a simulator
pilot does not get the same feedback during combat as a real pilot. A
real pilot has full peripheral vision and feels the effect of gravity.
The virtual instruments can be toggled on/off using either the
the appropriate setting on the Preferences section.
26
H
key or
Threat Indicator
This virtual instrument shows the position of other aircraft
relative to the player. The smoked glass disc shows the plane
of the player’s aircraft wings. The vertical lines show the relative
pitch position of the other aircraft. The line drawn in the plane of
the smoked glass disc shows the relative yaw position. Red lines
indicate Communist aircraft and blue lines represent UN aircraft.
27
Artificial Horizon
In this implementation of the artificial horizon, the pitch scale
has been compressed so that the horizontal and vertical
positions are in view at the same time. The horizontal position
is represented by the traditional interface between blue and
brown. The vertical positions are represented by white circles.
Concentric circles at 30 and 60 degrees are also marked.
The small graduations are in steps of 10 degrees.
28
Gun camera light
29
Fire Lights
30
Weapons Toggle
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Gun Camera
Introduction
The Gun Camera or Replay feature in MiG Alley allows you to record your
flights. You can then replay the flight or save all or part of the recording to disk.
Recording
In the Views sub-section of the Preferences section the following gun
camera controls are offered:
Off/Trigger/On
The gun camera can either be off all the time or on when the trigger is
pressed or on all the time. When Trigger is selected, the camera is not
switched off immediately the trigger is released. The amount of time that the
camera is left on after releasing the trigger depends on the ordnance
selected. So for example, the camera is left on longer after a bomb release
than when firing cannon/bullets. The V and X keys can over-ride this
option.
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Replay
On the Replay screen, a set of icons and a running bar are displayed over
the 3D.
When a recording is being replayed, a line moves along the running bar to
indicate the current position. There are two other lines on the running bar:
Start Marker
End Marker
The default position for these markers is at the start and end of the running bar.
Starting from the left the icon set functionality is:
Rewind to the previous marker
Rewind to the previous block
The recording is saved in discrete blocks that are not a preset
length. Rewinding through the blocks is a quick way of moving
around the recording.
Rewind one frame (only available when paused)
Play/pause
Forward one frame (only available when paused)
Forward to the next block
Forward to next marker
Save the marked block
Reset the markers to the default position
Exit replay
Set the start marker to the current position
Setting the marker to after the end marker moves the end marker
to the end.
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Set the end marker to the current position
Setting the marker to before the start marker moves the start
marker to the beginning.
Selecting a set marker when on its current position will remove
the marker.
The icons can be selected by either the keyboard (key
2 for the second icon etc.) or the mouse pointer.
1
for the first icon,
In addition to the controls provided by the icons, most of the usual view
keys are available using the function keys. Any view associated with a
cockpit is not available because the recording system does not record
the instrumentation.
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F86 Sabre
Overview
You have a series of options available to you in
Multi-Player. They are:
F80 Shooting Star
8 Death Match Scenarios
8 Team Play Scenarios
Quick Missions
F84 Thunderjet
Aircraft:
F86 Sabre, A, E, F variants
F80 Shooting Star
f51 Mustang
F84 Thunderjet
F51 Mustang
MiG 15 and MiG 15bis
MiG 15BIS
Click on Multi-Player on the Main Menu to begin a
Multi-Player game.
Selecting a
service provider
To create a game you must first choose the medium
across which the game will be played. A list of these
will be displayed. The most common services
supported are:
IPX Connection (network) – Max 8 players
Internet TCP/IP Connection – Max 8 players
Modem Connection – Max 2 players
Serial Connection – Max 2 players
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In order for the game to successfully use the selected service it must be
installed, i.e. for a network you must be connected to a Local Area Network,
for Internet you must be connected to the Internet, for modem you must have
a modem installed and for serial connection you must have a serial cable
(null modem) connecting the two machines.
For Internet and modem games a modem speed of at least 28.8K is required.
For serial connection a speed of 56K or better is recommended.
To select the service you want click on its name. You can now decide to host a
new game by clicking on the Create button, or join a game by clicking on Join.
Double clicking on a service name will create a new game
with that service.
Creating a game
Once you have decided to create a game the Game Selection
screen will appear. This allows you to configure the type of
game that you want and to set session parameters. The
various parameters are:
Player name
This allows you to enter the name that you wish to be known as in the game.
Session name
This is the name that will appear to other players trying to join your game.
Password
This allows the host to set the password for the game. For new players who
do not know the password, there’s a Visitors’ Book which is described later.
Data Rate
This affects the amount of data that is transmitted and received. It will initially
be set to a level that is suitable for the service provider that has been chosen.
If difficulties arise in creating and playing games then try a lower data rate.
High data rates can be used if you have good connections to other players.
Data rate does not affect 3D frame-rate. However, higher data rates lead to a
more accurate simulation.
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Game Type
This determines the range of missions that can be played. Death Match and
Team Play games involve only human controlled aircraft. A range of different
starting positions are available. Quick Missions allow you to play with other
players and AI aircraft in the short scenarios available in the game.
Select Side
In Team Play or Quick Missions you can select whether to play UN or
Red aircraft. You will be limited to that side’s aircraft for the game.
In Death Match all aircraft are available to be chosen.
Scenario
For Death Match and Team Play choose the starting position of the aircraft.
The Quick Missions do not have a scenario, you will be able to choose from
the Mission Select screen and alter missions later.
Once you have selected the parameters you wish, click on Continue. At this
stage if you have selected to play Quick Missions you will be able to select
which mission from the Mission Select screen. Click on Flight Line to
continue.
At this stage you may have to provide some
more connection information:
IPX Connection and
Internet Connection
No more information needs to be provided,
the Flight Line screen will appear.
Modem Connection
A Windows dialogue box will appear allowing you to configure your modem if
required and to wait for the other player to contact you. Once you are satisfied
with your modem configuration, click on Answer to wait for the other player to
contact you. Once he has done so you will be taken to the Flight Line screen.
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Serial Connection
A Windows dialogue box will appear allowing
you to configure your serial connection. Select
the Port into which your serial cable is
connected. It is best to use the highest baud rate
with which a game can be created. The rest of
the settings can be left at default. Once you are
satisfied clicking on OK will take you to the Flight
Line screen.
Joining a game
IPX Connection
A list of network games available will appear. Select the one you wish to join
by clicking on it and then clicking Select, or just double clicking on the name.
You will then be taken to the Game Selection screen.
Internet Connection
A Windows dialogue box will appear asking you for the name, or IP address
of the computer that is hosting the game. Enter the address and click on OK.
If you are on a Local Area Network, leaving the address blank will search the
network for games available. Once your computer has connected to the host
a list of games will appear. Select the one you wish by clicking on the name
and then clicking Select, or by double clicking on the name. You will then be
taken to the Game Selection screen.
Modem Connection
A Windows dialogue box will appear allowing you to configure your modem
and provide the telephone number of the computer you wish to connect to.
Once you are satisfied with your modem configuration and have entered the
phone number click on Connect. MiG Alley will then attempt to connect you
to the host computer and if successful you will be taken to the Game
Selection screen.
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Serial Connection
A Windows dialogue box will appear allowing you to configure your serial
connection. Select the Port into which your serial cable is connected. The
rest of the settings must correspond with the host’s settings. Once you are
satisfied click on OK. MiG Alley will then attempt to connect you to the host
computer and if successful you will be taken to the Game Selection screen.
Game Selection Screen
Once you have connected to the host computer you will be
taken to the Game Selection screen. This allows you to view
the game setup that the host has selected. You can also enter
your name and, if the game is Team Play or Quick Mission,
select the side you wish to play on. If the game has a
password that you do not know, you can request entry by
clicking on the button to add your name to the host’s Visitors’ Book. If the host
decides you can join then you will be able to join after a short period of time.
When you are ready to join the game click on Continue, and you will be taken
to the Flight Line screen.
Flight Line Screen
The Flight Line screen displays players currently in the
game, along with aircraft chosen and their score. It also
allows you to chat to other players and select further game
options.
The players in the game are listed. In Team Play and Quick
Missions, UN players are listed first, followed by Red players. The players’
names are followed by the aircraft they have chosen, the game screen they
are currently in and their score.
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To chat to other players type your message in the box and press Return. In
Team Play or Quick Mission games you can choose to chat to either your
side only or all players by clicking on the appropriate tick box at the top of
the screen. To chat to an individual player, click on his name. The name will
highlight and your messages will be sent only to him until you click on
another name or choose everybody or your side only.
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Quit
Quit the game.
Fly
In Death Match and Team Play games when everybody is ready the host can
click on Fly and the game will begin. If a player joins the game whilst the
other players are in the 3D then he will be able to click on Fly to join in.
Frag
In Quick Mission Games clicking on Frag will take the player to the Frag
screen. Here he will be able to choose in which aircraft position to fly. This
will determine the type of aircraft the player will fly. Chat facilities are
available as in the Flight Line screen, but messages will be sent to all
players. To choose an aircraft to fly click on the pilot name. You cannot
choose an aircraft that has already been chosen by another player. To
unassign yourself from an aircraft click on another one or click on unassign.
When all players have chosen aircraft the host can click on Fly and the game
will begin. A player may join the game later, whilst other players are in the
3D, and he will then be able to choose an aircraft and select Fly to
join in.
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Color text
Your name will be in white, whereas other players will be in green. Al pilots’
names are in yellow. A player who has died will be marked K.I.A., killed in
action, in grey.
Visitors’ Book
A new player wanting to join the game, but who doesn’t know the password,
should click on “Add my name”. A message will appear in the host’s chat
window indicating this request. The host should first click on Visitors’ Book
and then on Excluded Status. The status will change to Accepted. The new
player is then able to join.
Radio
Players can edit radio messages that they
wish to send to other players during the
game. To do this click on Radio. The Radio
screen allows you to edit the messages,
or to reset to a default set if you wish. To
edit a message click on it and type in the
new message. Radio messages will be
saved out when you leave the game and
kept for future games.
Paintshop
In Death Match and Team Play games you may choose the type of aircraft
appropriate to your side (any if Death Match). You can also choose the decal
(nose art) to be displayed on your aircraft in these games as well as in Quick
Mission games. To do this simply click on the desired decal (MiGs have no
choice) and select the aircraft type from those provided.
Brief
In Quick Mission games the host can alter the mission setup by selecting
Brief. Once you are satisfied with the mission click on Flight Line to return. If
the host edits the mission brief then when he returns to the Flight Line any
players in the Frag screen will be returned to the Flight Line and must
reselect an aircraft to fly.
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Prefs
Players have access to the Preferences options. However, those options that
affect game difficulty are controlled by the host and only he may alter them.
In game options
Once a game has commenced there are several options that are available in
Multi-Player games that are not available in single player games.
• From the cockpit map screen (displayed on pressing M when in a
cockpit) there is an option to send a radio message to other players in the
game. These messages can also be sent from the Radio Communications
menu (press R when in the cockpit). Comms Msg Recipient and Comms
Message are two additional options. Comms Msg Recipient allows you to
select whether to send messages to all players or only to members of your
team. The default selection is to all. The selection will stay the same until it
is changed or a new game begins. Comms Message will display a list of
your radio messages. Selecting the numbered message from the list will
send that message to everybody or your team depending upon the Comms
Msg Recipient.
• When a player dies in Death Match or Team Play games he will be
resurrected and his aircraft will start to spiral upwards in autopilot mode.
To retake control of the aircraft press J . However control will be
automatically handed over at 30,000ft or 2,000ft above the highest aircraft.
• If a player is killed then he can wait until his aircraft resurrects on its own
or he can press S to force a resurrection to take place. This is not
available immediately, the player must wait for a few seconds before being
able to resurrect. The S key is only available in Death Match and Team
Play games.
• In Quick Mission Games a player who has died can exit the game and go to
the Frag screen to choose an Al aircraft to take over. If there are no more
available aircraft then the player must wait at the Flight Line screen for the
game to end.
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Ending the game
If the host selects to end the game then all players will be taken to either the
Debrief screen for Quick Missions or to the Flight Line screen.
If a player dies in a Quick Mission Game then he will be taken to the Flight
Line screen. Here he can go to the Frag screen and select an available
aircraft and rejoin the game in that aircraft, taking over the seat from the AI
pilot.
Players who exit the game can rejoin for as long as the host keeps the game
running.
Debrief
In Death Match and Team Play games there is no Debrief. The scores of
each player will be displayed in the Flight Line screen.
For Quick Missions the Debrief will show all items destroyed. Players can go
to the Flight Line screen for another game.
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It was Japan’s defeat in World War II that first brought the Korean peninsula
onto the pages of the world’s newspapers. Formerly a Japanese annex,
Korea was occupied by both Russian and United States forces, their
respective areas meeting on the 38th Parallel of latitude. The plan was that
Korea should once again become an independent state.
For several years the US and Russia failed to reach agreement regarding the
withdrawal of troops. In 1947 talks broke down completely, with America
offering the opportunity for resolution to the United Nations. Korea became a
pawn in an escalating power struggle between the two forces, with the
North-South demarcation becoming a heavily fortified front.
The UN opted to allow free elections within Korea, but the Russians refused
admittance to the North. The result was the creation of the Republic of Korea
in the South in August 1948, and a Russian puppet government, the
Democratic People’s Republic in the North in September. Simultaneously the
Russians trained soldiers and officers, creating an army in the North.
American intelligence was almost non-existent in this area, and the
increasing strength of the occupying army was hardly noticed.
Meanwhile, the US increasingly believed that the Communist forces would
not invade the South, believing that any future military action would occur
world-wide. The Russians, conversely, eyed the South enviously, knowing
that it would aid their presence in the Pacific.
But they made their own mistakes. The Russians believed that if they did
cross the 38th Parallel there would be no resistance from outside.
MiG Alley covers the period from 25 June 1950 to 1 April 1951.
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North Korea Invades
25 June 1950 - 1 August 1950
The North Korean Army launched its invasion on the South at dawn on
Sunday, 25 June 1950. A fierce artillery bombardment preceded an assault
by infantry and squadrons of T-34 tanks. The Sunday attack was deliberately
chosen to catch American defenses at their least effective, a tactic that had
worked so effectively when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
The attack was straightforward as the tanks rolled towards the first targets,
the towns of Chunchon and Kaesong, the latter of which was captured at
9 am. At the same time further troops landed at Kangnung and proceeded
west to meet the mainland force.
The response was difficult, since the official response to an invasion was to
evacuate American personnel, but even this was only possible at the request
of the US Ambassador in Seoul. Retaliatory strikes on ground targets were
only permissible by order of General MacArthur, the Supreme Commander
Allied Powers in the Pacific Theater. Expecting a request for evacuation, the
Commander, Major-General Partridge, used existing plans to prepare for a
major evacuation starting 3.30am, 26 June.
During the first day some reports suggested that the Republic of Korea (ROK)
Army had recovered from the shock of the invasion, had rallied itself and
was fighting back. Nevertheless North Korean Yak-9 fighters were spotted
over Kimpo and Seoul airfields, which only underlined that the ROK Air Force
had nothing with which to oppose them.
These first Yaks were probably reconnaissance flights, as by 3pm, and then
again at 7pm, strafing runs were made on both airfields, destroying several
aircraft, including a C-54 transporter and a fuel dump.
Meanwhile, the US requested and obtained an emergency meeting of the
United Nations Security Council. It was agreed to demand the cessation of
hostilities and a withdrawal of North Korean forces, and that all member
nations would assist in the execution of this resolution. Strangely the Russians
chose to miss this meeting, and were unable to use their power of veto.
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Shortly before midnight on the first day, with North Korean tanks just 17 miles
north of Seoul, the Ambassador ordered the evacuation of women and
children. General MacArthur requested that General Partridge provide
fighter cover over Inchon during the withdrawal. But with only limited
aircraft available (an idea to request help from a nearby Australian squadron
was rejected), the pilots were ordered to avoid the mainland and engage the
enemy only if the transport ships were directly threatened.
On 27 June, President Harry Truman ordered sea and air forces in the Far
East to give support to the ROK forces, effectively authorizing an armed
conflict. As aircraft flew in they were given orders to patrol the area
between Seoul and the coast, protecting the evacuation.
These fighters encountered no enemy opposition until
midday when five Yak-7s dived to attack Kimpo. In just
five minutes three were shot down. An hour later eight
Il-10 fighter bombers tried to attack again, but four were
shot down with no UN losses. No further attempts to
attack the evacuating personnel were made that day.
Later on 27 June, General Partridge was given orders to
attack any ground targets of opportunity, including
supplies, bridges and troop concentrations. The first
attempt was a failure, however, when bad weather
meant that no targets could be found.
A further attack the next morning fared little better.
Although targets were successfully bombed, all four
B-26 bombers were damaged in the attack. One crashed
on landing, killing its crew.
As the weeks went on, North Korean troops continued
to push south through the peninsula, although so
effective were air strikes that most movement had to
take place under the cover of darkness. Nevertheless,
the advance continued, with the prize being the Pusan
Perimeter in the South East.
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The Pusan Perimeter
2 August 1950 - 15 September 1950
With the North Korean forces stretched throughout the peninsula, and the
thought that victory was slipping through their fingers, a series of bloody and
desperate attacks were launched against the Pusan Perimeter. The port
town of Pusan was used to resupply the UN troops on a very regular basis.
Reconnaissance flights demonstrated that the North Korean forces were
pushing towards Pusan from the West at a speed of about two miles per hour
24 hours a day, easily defeating any weak resistance.
Only the rapid deployment of massive reinforcements could prevent the loss
of the Pusan Perimeter, and at last these forces were beginning to
materialize. The first ground troops from mainland America landed on the last
day of July, while air support flew in via Japan.
On 7 August, a major UN counter-offensive was rendered ineffective by fierce
resistance, despite the massive amount of Allied air power. By 12 August the
Allies began to retreat towards Masan, with soldiers collapsing in temperatures
of 100 degrees. Two days later they were back at their start point.
Despite no ground being taken, the counter-offensive did manage to stall the
North Korean advance, and for the rest of August the spearhead made no
further major advances.
In the meantime, however, it was apparent that there was a risk in the area
around the Naktong. If the enemy could break through here it could split
Pusan and Taegu, cutting the perimeter in two, probably resulting in the
collapse of the Allied defense.
Sure enough, on 6 August the NKA began crossing the Naktong near
Yongsan, where the line was thinly defended. The troops then successfully
occupied high ground on the east of the river.
Allied forces heavily bombarded the area, and on 17 August they managed to
retake the high ground, forcing a retreat by the NKA, who also suffered
heavy losses.
While attacks took place all over the perimeter, the greatest threat came
when elements of the NKA were detected moving through a
mountain corridor that ran all the way to Pusan. Pohang-based
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Mustang’s struck hard at the column, but forces succeeded in entering the
port of Pohang and started to approach the airfield. The Americans had no
choice but to destroy any equipment that couldn’t be moved and fly out to
Japan. Ground forces held against the coast now had no air support and had
to be evacuated by sea. Yet on 20 August the Allies counter-attacked and
succeeded in recapturing Pohang, removing the immediate threat to the rest of
the perimeter.
In the evening of 31 August, the North Koreans went for a final offensive
against the perimeter, and were initially very successfully, capturing Haman
and Yongsan. By 6 September, the NKA advanced to within eight miles of
Taegu. Newly deployed British troops managed to stall the advance, while
US Marines recaptured Yongsan.
Along with other floundered sorties, the North Korean gambit failed and the
immediate threat to Pusan was over. The way was now open for a massive
counter-offensive, as Allied troops attempted to force the Communist forces
back over to the north of the 38th Parallel.
Breakout / To the Yalu
18 September 1950 - 1 November 1950
General MacArthur’s plan to remove the North Koreans from the south of the
peninsula once and for all was not a scheme cooked up in September.
Indeed, the idea was first mooted at the start of July, when MacArthur
appealed for reinforcements to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The plan was to strike behind the North Korean forces. Using amphibious
vehicles, troops could land at Inchon, far behind the battlefront and spread
east. In that way they could cut off supplies to the NKA which was still
fighting around the Pusan Perimeter.
Reinforcements were provided, but were assigned to support the remaining
armies within the perimeter. However, a single division would become
available to cut off supply routes in mid-September.
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The Operation, called Chromite, also involved the Marines. Their plan was to
destroy batteries on Wolmi-do island, to land within Inchon itself, to capture
Kimpo airfield and to retake the city of Seoul. The army still situated within the
Pusan Perimeter would push up to meet them.
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But the Joint Chiefs were skeptical that such a plan could work. There were
only two days of the year - 15 September and 11 October - that the tide
would be high enough to allow the heavy troop ships to reach Inchon harbor
and even then there was only a three hour safety margin. Even with the
troops deployed in smaller landing craft, they still had to scale 12 feet high
walls with ladders before attempting to destroy the enemy.
MacArthur was well aware of the risks, but he was convinced that it would
succeed. Likening it to a surprise attack by the British to claim Canada, he
claimed that here in Asia was where the Communist conspirators elected to
make their play for global conquest. “We shall land at Inchon and I shall
crush them.”
On 28 August, the Joint Chiefs formally approved Chromite, enabling the final
details to be worked out. Although it was still an incredible risk, it was
considered justified, as Chinese forces were beginning to amass on the
border of North Korea and some American aircraft had been fired upon.
MacArthur was determined to win the war before the Chinese intervened,
which seemed increasingly likely.
At 06.33 on 15 September, Marines landed at Wolmi-do meeting limited
resistance. Early in the afternoon the warships began pounding the buildings
along Inchon harbor in readiness for the landing which was made at high
tide 17.30. By midnight all four objectives had been taken, at the cost of 20
lives. The gamble had paid off.
For the following six weeks, UN forces continued to spread back into South
Korea, finding mostly abandoned airfields on their way. On 27 September
MacArthur was ordered to totally destroy the NKA and form a united Korea
under President Rhee, on the condition that only ROK forces were used
around the Chinese and Russian borders. Indeed, a surrender demand had
already been issued to the NKA Commander-in-Chief, the response to which
was that China would intervene if the UN invaded North Korean territory. The
demand was formally rejected on 10 October, and the order to invade North
Korea was given.
While attacks took place in North Korea, UN intelligence failed to notice
massive Chinese armies crossing into the peninsula under the cover of
darkness. It was generally agreed that not more than 60,000 troops could
enter the peninsula, but it turned out to be three times that. It was to lead to
a quite startling turn-around in the war.
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Chinese Intervention
2 November 1950 - 1 January 1951
Although the extent of the Chinese involvement in Korea was still not fully
apparent at the start of November, the possibility of massive strikes
threatened a UN force that was already over-stretched and low on supplies.
The Eighth Army by the Chinese border was ordered back behind the
Chongchon river, where it could resupply and regroup in preparation for a
new offensive.
On 3 November, the UN air force representatives met to decide on a formula
for stepping up the air war. It was felt that it was necessary to bomb bridges
being used to resupply the Chinese and other ground targets essential to
the war effort. On 6 November attacks on the bridges were authorized,
though every precaution was to be taken to ensure that no aircraft strayed
into Manchuria. The Joint Chiefs also insisted that no attacks were to be
made close to the Russian border, no matter how attractive potential targets
might be.
Bombing began on 8 November, supported by F-80s jet fighters. Six MiGs
dived to attack the F-80s, and after a brief burst of inaccurate fire, all but one
climbed again and retreated. The sixth continued to dive and was shot down.
This was the first jet-versus-jet confrontation in history.
As more MiGs were sighted, it soon became clear that the F-80C was no
match. As a result, F-86A Sabres and F-84E Thunderjets were committed to
the conflict.
By the last week of November, UN bombers had damaged or destroyed
around 65% of North Korea’s strategically important bridges. And yet the flow
of supplies was barely interrupted. Chinese engineers erected pontoon
bridges and in addition, the Yalu began to freeze with ice thick enough to
support heavy equipment. Even nine attacks on supply depots seemed to do
little to prevent the Chinese build-up.
Despite the grossly inaccurate reconnaissance and a number of
unsuccessful sorties, it was still generally believed that a major drive would
take the UN to the Manchurian border. This was primarily because small
advancements were met with limited resistance.
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This was to play into the enemy’s
hands. Tactics taken straight from
Mao Tse-tung’s guerilla handbook
would have the UN over-stretching
itself into Chinese territory, before
they would be attacked with the full
might of Communist aggression.
Dawn on 25 November saw wave
after wave of Chinese troops attack a
position north-west of the river. They
were slaughtered by UN artillery.
That afternoon, though, a second
charge smashed through the Allied
lines, forcing a withdrawal.
By 27 November the commanders finally began to realize the full extent of
Chinese involvement. Only a massive retreat and reorganization, recreating a
front on the 38th Parallel, prevented a sweeping counter-attack. But the
Communists were once again considering invasion of the South.
The Spring Offensive
5 January 1951 - 1 April 1951
The Korean War had left Josef Stalin with a dilemma. He had sanctioned the
original invasion of the South, but this was based on the assumption that
victory would be swift and without retaliation from the United Nations, and in
particular, the United States.
When the NKA failed to achieve its objective he had to decide whether to
withdraw support of the Democratic People’s Republic or to encourage Chinese
involvement in the war, while maintaining a subtle support with Russian troops.
China already had a contingent of the most experienced Soviet pilots,
primarily to train Chinese pilots in the MiG-15. Yet the initial sorties against
the F-86 Sabre demonstrated that it would be some time before the Chinese
pilots would be capable of holding their own against vastly more
experienced airmen, if ever. So, more often than not, Soviet pilots flew the
important missions against UN fighters.
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The Chinese plan for taking back parts of North Korea primarily involved airto-ground attacks. This was an unpopular choice because it was thought
that the UN would retaliate within the borders of China. However, General Liu
Ya-lou, Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Air Force, planned to use only
Korean airfields. Since the MiG had a range of just 100 miles, it was
necessary to clear out the area around the Yalu, before rebuilding and
lengthening a number of runways to extend air attacks further south.
The first phase of Liu’s plan took place towards the end of January, when
MiGs operated over Yalu in larger formations than ever before.
Simultaneously, Chinese and North Korean engineers were repairing airfields
at Sinuiju and Pyongyang. Sinuiju was protected by existing MiG support,
while Pyongyang had its anti-aircraft support increased to around 100 guns.
Yet these improvements were short lived as UN
forces pounded Pyongyang, cratering the runway,
while Thunderjets strafed Sinuiju and shot down four
supporting MiGs.
The subsequent weeks brought renewed pressure on
other airfields, but as the UN took ground they were
weeks away from repairing seriously damaged
runways. Sabre support was still limited for some
long range bombing runs, including bridge targets.
Progress for either side was still severely limited simply because of overstretched supply lines. It seemed that a slow and carefully planned offensive,
making full use of air superiority, was the only way to put an end to this war.
For two years the Front Line did not move and positions were fortified along
the 38th Parallel. Finally on 27 June 1953 an armistice was signed.
In just three years, South Korea suffered 300,000 military casualties
(killed, missing and wounded). American casualties totaled 142,000, British
Commonwealth 7,000 and other Allies 10,000. Chinese and North Korean
casualties were estimated to be perhaps 2 million, while civilian casualties
throughout the peninsula were thought to total 1.25 million.
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Preferenc
3D
Display Driver
This combo-box holds the 3D drivers that MiG Alley has detected. The
displayed driver is the currently selected one.
Resolutions
This combo-box holds the range of resolutions available for the current driver.
Gamma Correction
Minimum, Low, Medium, High, Maximum
Each 3D card/monitor setup produces a different brightness/contrast output.
This option allows you to set the monitor output for MiG Alley without
altering your standard monitor settings.
Lowest Frame-Rate
This sets the lowest frame-rate at which you wish the game to run.
The combo-box holds the range of frame-rates available.
Auto Frame-Rate
In general the more 3D detail you can see, the lower the frame-rate will be.
When Auto Frame-Rate is enabled, MiG Alley automatically turns 3D detail
on or off to attempt to maintain a frame-rate that is higher than the lowest
frame-rate setting.
If Auto Frame-rate is enabled, then the automatic frame-rate adjuster will
over-ride other settings made in this and the 3D II Preference screen.
Ground Shading
On/Off
This controls Light shading on the ground.
Item Shading
On/Off
This controls Light shading on aircraft and other
mobile items.
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Reflections
On/Off
Canopy and instrument glass reflections. On some graphics cards, the
reflections can fade in/out depending on the angle of the sun.
Weather Effects
On/Off
With this on, you may encounter rain, snow and mist.
3DII
Filtering
None/Bi-linear/Tri-linear/All
These settings increase detail at lower
altitudes. The more details you have on
though, the lower your frame-rate may
become.
Transparency
On/Off
This enables transparency on special effects like contrails and smoke.
Texture Quality
Minimum, Low, Medium, High, Maximum
This has quite a considerable effect on the frame-rate of the game but also
has a large effect on the quality of the 3D visuals. The effects are especially
noticeable in the cockpit.
Trees Etc
On/Off
Trees and other inconsequential items can be turned off to achieve higher
frame-rates.
Routes
On/Off
Small roads, rivers and rail lines can be turned on or off.
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Preferenc
A/C Shadows
On/Off
This option toggles aircraft shadows visibility on the ground.
Item Shadows
On/Off
This option toggles item shadows visibility on the ground.
Horizon Fade
Near/Far
With Horizon Fade set to Near, the display is more
realistic, but the frame-rate is reduced.
Horizon Distance
Near/Far
With Near Horizon enabled, the ground detail does not
extend as far but the frame-rate is improved.
Contour Detail
Low/High
When Low Contour detail is enabled, the ground is
coarser but the frame-rate is improved.
Flight
Flight Options
Minimum, Low, Medium, High, Maximum, Custom
This option controls all the flight preferences described below. The option
allows a quick way of changing the flight settings. If you modify an individual
flight option like Power Boost then the Flight Option will change to Custom.
Flame-Outs
On/Off
These can occur at very high yaw angles. To restart your engine, bring the
throttle below 25% and press E .
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Auto Throttle
On/Off
When enabled, the throttle is automatically adjusted to allow the player to
maintain his position behind his opponent. This option only kicks-in when the
player is behind an opponent and in a good combat position.
Power Boost
On/Off
When enabled the thrust is about twice what was available in reality.
Wind Effects
On/Off
This option controls the general wind effects.
Wind Gusts
On/Off
When enabled, gusts are noticeable at all
stages but particularly during landing.
Flight Model
Easy/Realistic
When the realistic option is selected spins are realistic and idiosyncratic
behavior is accurately modeled.
Airframe Stress
On/Off
When enabled, if you pull too many g’s you will break off a wing.
External Stores Drag / Weight
On/Off
When enabled the weight and drag of your external stores affects the
performance of your aircraft.
Torque / Slipstreaming
On/Off
This option only applies to piston engined aircraft. When the torque
and slipstream effects are turned on, the torque of the engine is
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transmitted into the fuselage and the airflow over the wings and tail surfaces
is affected by the rotation of the propeller.
Spool Up
Realistic/Fast
In reality 50s jet engines took some time to reach full thrust. This is simulated
in Realistic Spool Up. With Fast Spool Up you get 100% thrust much quicker
when 100% throttle is set. In fact, it is almost instantaneous. With Realistic
Spool Up we also simulate some other properties of 50s jets. If you advance
the throttle too quickly, all the fuel is not burnt in the combustion chamber
and so some is burnt in the exhaust nozzle. You will see a rise in the exhaust
gas temperature and some damage to the engine is caused. Spool Up is
slower in these conditions.
Game
Weapons
Realistic/Unlimited
When the Unlimited Weapons option is selected the
weapon stations will be automatically reloaded when they
are emptied.
If the weapon selection is set to Realistic, the setting can
be over-ridden in the 3D by using the reload cheat key
R .
Ctrl
Vulnerable to Fire
On/Off
When enabled you will be vulnerable to enemy fire.
Ground Collisions
On/Off
When enabled, collision with the ground will damage or destroy your aircraft.
Midair Collisions
On/Off
When enabled, collision with other objects will damage or destroy your aircraft.
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Complex A.I. Pilots
On/Off
When enabled all aircraft are processed using the realistic flight model. When
disabled, only the player’s aircraft and his opponent are processed using the
realistic flight model. Other aircraft are processed using a simpler model.
Accel Off
Tactical/Engage
This setting is relevant after using the time acceleration during the game. When
the trigger is set to engage, your aircraft will drop back into real time when you
are directly threatened and enemy aircraft can fire at you. If the trigger is set to
tactical, then real time is reset much earlier in the encounter. This will give you
time to engage the enemy at a tactical level and allow you to gain height or
maneuver, so that you may be able to achieve tactical dominance.
Target Size
Low/Medium/High
Altering this setting affects the accuracy of your guns. The smaller the target
size the more realistic the setting.
Autopilot Skill: UN
Autopilot Skill: Reds
Minimum/Low/Medium/High/Maximum
These refer to the AI settings of the computer pilots during Campaign
missions. Each enemy pilot can have a different skill level. By selecting
minimum, you will force the range of skills encountered to be low.
Alternatively, selecting maximum will mean that the range of skills
you encounter will be relatively high.
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Gun Sight Ranging
Manual/Perfect radar/Realistic radar
The purpose of the gun sight is to compute deflection for guns, bombs and
rockets. When the current weapon selection is guns, the sight moves to
show the predicted bullet position at the specified range. For other weapon
selections, the sight is locked in position.
When Manual radar is selected, you will have to set the range manually as
described below. With Perfect and Realistic radar the ranging is done
automatically. If the Realistic option is selected, the gun sight lock can be
broken when the aircraft is pointing at the ground.
MANUAL
The sight consists of a central dot inside a circle of diamond shaped dots.
You have to “dial in” the wingspan of the target aircraft. This is achieved by
using Q to increase the wingspan and W to decrease it. The wingspan is
shown on the wingspan adjustment wheel.
Maneuver your aircraft to get the target aircraft inside the sight.
Use T and Y to adjust the size of the sight so that it matches the
wingspan of the target.
The range is shown on the sight range dial.
The predicted bullet position at the indicated range is shown by the position
of the sight. You should track the target with the gun sight for a second
before opening fire.
PERFECT/REALISTIC
The sight consists of a central dot inside a circle of
diamond shaped dots.
When the target is within 1800yds, the radar target
indicator light comes on. The sight range dial winds
down as the range decreases.
Maneuver your aircraft to get the target aircraft inside the sight.
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The predicted bullet position at the indicated range is shown by the position
of the sight. You should track the target with the gun sight for a second
before opening fire.
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Note that the pilot does not have to dial in the target wingspan because the
range is given by the radar. However it is good practice to “dial in” the target,
just in case the radar goes un-operational at a vital time.
Views
Restricted Views
On/Off
The player is restricted to the cockpit view. This option
is provided so that during a Multi-Player session all
players are limited to the same view.
Peripheral Vision
On/Off
When Peripheral Vision is on you will see red or blue blobs at the edge of the
screen. These represent aircraft that would be in the peripheral vision of a real
pilot. The computer presents a much smaller field of view than human eye-sight.
Auto Padlock
On/Off
When on, and when inside padlock cockpit has been selected, the view will
automatically change according to the position of the target. If the target is
in front of the player, then the inside view is presented. Otherwise, the
outside view is presented.
View Mode Select
Panning/Fixed View
This controls how the number pad arrow keys are used. Pressing a key will either
produce a smooth pan to another view or a jump to a new view.
Padlock When Visible
On/Off
When on, padlocking is only possible when the target is in view. When off,
the object has to be in visible range to be padlocked.
Camera Color
Monochrome/Color
The gun camera film can either be viewed in monochrome (realistic)
or color.
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Info Line
Off/Flight info/View info
The info line, which is at the bottom of the screen when flying, can be in one
of these three modes. If the info line is on then the last spoken radio
message will also be displayed for a few seconds.
Units
Imperial/Metric
The selection determines how data is presented e.g.:
mph
Km/h
yards/feet
meters
lb
kg
Gun Camera
Off/Trigger/On
The gun camera can either be off all the time or on when the trigger is
pressed or on all the time. When Trigger is selected, the camera is not
switched off immediately the trigger is released. The amount of time that the
trigger is left on after releasing the trigger depends on the ordnance selected.
So for example, the camera is left on longer after a bomb release than when
firing cannon/bullets. The V and X keys can over-ride this option.
Head Up Display
On/Off
Virtual threat indicator and artificial horizon instruments are available to help
you to retain situational awareness during combat. These instruments are
designed to compensate for the fact that in a simulation you do not get the
same feedback during combat as a real pilot would. A real pilot has full
peripheral vision and feels the effect of gravity.
Controls
MiG Alley uses the Windows joystick configuration. The sim can be played
using the default options and so it is unnecessary to make any adjustments.
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However the control options are provided to fine tune input to MiG Alley.
The dialogue is in three parts:
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Top
Details of available controllers detected by MiG Alley
Middle
How the controllers will be used
Bottom
Force Feedback and dead zone adjustment
Top
The combo-box lists the available controllers. The current controller is displayed.
Clicking on calibrate will take you to the Windows calibration program.
The current controller can be enabled/disabled using the Enable tick-box.
Information about the current controller is displayed next to the Enable tick-box.
Middle
The middle section shows how the options of the enabled controllers will be
used.
Stick:
Aileron and elevator.
Throttle:
Throttle control.
Rudder:
Rudder control.
View pan:
The control will be used to scroll the view horizontally.
View pitch:
The control will be used to scroll the view vertically.
Range:
Zoom in and out.
3D pointer:
This is used for the cockpit map and radio comms choices.
If keyboard is chosen then the pointer is not displayed.
Bottom
The Force Feedback tick-box will be greyed out if the current controller is
not capable of Force Feedback operation.
The following Force Feedback options are available:
Gun fire:
Vibration transmitted by the guns.
Buffet:
Vibration caused by the buffeting when in and around the stall
condition and/or close to the speed of sound (Mach one).
Aerodynamic:
Stiffening of controls at high speed.
Airframe:
Vibrations transmitted through the airframe from the
ground.
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The size of the dead zones for the stick and rudder can be controlled
independently.
The dead zone is the region at the center of the stick where no control input
is provided to the aircraft. This option is available because it is sometimes
easier to provide rudder input inadvertently with twist sticks and some sticks
can give spurious readings around the dead zone.
You will need to find the best arrangement by trial and error.
Note: If you are using a ‘Logitech Wingman Force’ joystick, we recommend
that you modify the ‘Spring Effect Strength’ on the Settings panel of the
Game Controllers dialogue to 35%. This will prevent excessive stick stiffness
and uncommanded vibration of the joystick.
Others
Music Volume
Minimum/Low/Medium/High/Maximum
This controls the volume of the background combat music played during flight.
3D SFX Volume
Minimum/Low/Medium/High/Maximum
This controls the volume of the sound effects in flight.
Control SFX Volume
Minimum/Low/Medium/High/Maximum
This controls the volume of the sound effects in the non-flying
sections, e.g. buttons on the map screen.
Ambient SFX Volume
Off/Minimum/Low/Medium/High
This controls the volume of the ambient sound effects in the nonflying sections: e.g. the sound track on the Video footage.
Radio Chatter Volume
Off/Minimum/Low/Medium/High
This controls the volume of the radio chatter in the game.
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Engine Volume
Off/Minimum/Low/Medium/High
This controls the volume of the engine noise.
Note: The 3D SFX volume is a master controller and
will effect radio chatter and engine volumes.
G Effects
On/Off
When enabled, you will experience black outs when
pulling excessive positive g-forces and red outs when
flying excessive negative g.
Injury Effects
On/Off
When enabled you will black out when injured.
White Outs
On/Off
When enabled you will experience white outs when looking in the direction
of the sun.
Auto Vectoring
On/Off
This is concerned with how the aircraft in your Group will react during
combat when you are flying as the leader. When Auto Vectoring is on, the
other pilots will determine how they should react automatically.
When Auto Vectoring is off, you will be offered choices. Rather than offering
a huge array of possible actions, you are only offered a range that is
sensible for the current situation.
Make a selection using either the number keys or the mouse pointer. If a
choice is not made within a few seconds then the options are removed and
the other pilots will make their own choices.
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Bibliogra
A MiG 15 to freedom, No Kum Sok 1996
http://www.csd.uwo.ca/~pettypi/elevon/baugher_us
MiG 15 v F86: Which was better?
Notes on discussions with Mark Hanna of the Old Flying Machine Company.
F86 Sabre, MiG 15 Fagot, Hawker Hunter (Legends of the Air 1)
S. Wilson, Aerospace Publications Ltd., Weston Creek (Australia)
Communications with Anton Maree
MiG15 (Warbird History), Y. Gordon and V.Rigmant, Motorbooks, Osceola,
USA, 1993
Check 6
F. C. Blesse, 1987
Central Fighter Establishment report
USAF Museum Web Site
Sabre MkIV Flight Manual
MiG15 Design, Development and Korean War Combat History
Rigmant and Gordon, Motorbooks Int 1993
OKB MiG: A History of the Design Bureau and its Aircraft
Midlands Counties Publications 1991
Fighter Combat: Tactics & Maneuvering
Robert L.Shaw, PSL 1986
P-51 Mustang, The Operational Record
Robert Jackson, Airlife 1992
Officers in Flight Suits
John Darrell Sherwood, New York University Press 1996
Air War over Korea
Robert Jackson, Ian Allan Ltd 1973
The Korean War
Max Hastings, Michael Joseph Ltd 1987
112
Air War Korea 1950-1053
Robert Jackson, Airlife 1998
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The Complete Book of Fighters
William Green & Gordon Swanborough, Salamander 1994
The World’s Greatest Aircraft
Christopher Chant, Brian Trodd Pub. 1991
Fighting Jets
Bryce Walker, Timelife 1983
Decisive Battles of the Korean War
Lt Col Sherman W Pratt, Vantage Press 1992
The Ace Factor
Mike Spick, Airlife 1988
Feet Wet
Rear Adm Paul T Gillcrist, Airlife 1990
At War in Korea
George Forty, Arms & Armour 1982
F-86 Sabre The Operational Record
Robert Jackson, Airlife 1994
The United States Air Force in Korea 1950-1953
Robert Futrell, Office of Air Force History, United States Air Force,
Washington D.C. 1983
MiG 15 Flight Manual O.F.M.C.
F-86A Flight Manual O.F.M.C.
North American P-51 Mustang
Aero Detail 13 Production Team, Dai Nippon Kaiga Co Ltd 1995
North American F-86 SabreJet Day Fighters
(Warbird Tech Series), Kris Hughes & Walter Dranem, Speciality Press 1996
USN/USMC Over Korea
(US Navy / Marine Corps Air Operations over Korea 1950-1953), Thomas E
Doll, Squadron/Signal Pub. 1988
P-51 Mustang
Bert Kinzey, Squadron/Signal Pub. 1997
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geme
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Credits &
Rowan Team
Game Design:
Rod Hyde, Mark Shaw
Lead Programmer:
Jim Taylor
Lead 3d Programmer:
Paul Dunscombe
3d and SFX:
Robert Slater
User Interface:
Dallas Morrison
Comms:
Andrew McMaster
Flight model:
Craig Beeston, Andrew McRae
ACM:
Rod Hyde, Craig Beeston
Lead Artist:
Andrew McCann
Artists:
Toks Solarin, Richard Jones
Landscape Data Prep:
Amanda McCann, Chris Jones, Ian Hardy
Network, hardware, support: Dave Whiteside
Administration:
Mary Hyde
Music:
Paul Robotham
Sound Effects:
Sounds Appealing
Empire InteractiveTeam
Producer:
Andrei Nadin
Quality Assurance Manager: Darren Thompson
114
Play Testers:
Ben Jay, Carlo Bush, Danny Rawles,
Iain Riches, Tomek Ochocki, Oliver Clarke,
Tristram Defries
Beta Testers:
Ken Cook, Tom Launder, Victor Di Cosola,
Executive Producer:
Roger Cheung
Production:
A J Bond
Tomek Ochocki
911 MiG Alley Man credits & ack
Art Director:
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Phil Goldfinch
Artwork & Design: Paul Flewitt, Clare Brown, Mariza Parnell
Marketing:
Terry Shuttleworth
Acknowledgements
Steve Owen
Manual Co-Author
Boots Blesse:
No Guts - No Glory
Additional information including details about
flying combat missions in a Sabre
Mark Hanna:
Advice on flight modeling, cockpit positioning, horizon
and situational awareness instrumentation
Paddy Harbison:
Details about flying combat missions in a Sabre
Anton Maree:
Introduced us to some valuable research material:
Paddy Harbison RAF report.
NACA reports including wind tunnel tests
of the Sabre engine.
Aircraft visibility
Jim Tittle:
Aircraft Technical Advice
Richard Dorr:
Color photograph library
Film footage and still pictures from the USA National Archives
Uses Miles Sound System Copyright © 1991-1998 by RAD Game Tools Inc.
Uses Smacker Video Technology Copyright © 1994-1998 by RAD Game Tools Inc.
Secret RAF Report AIR 20/7728: original document held by Public Records
Office, used by kind permission.
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Mig Alley Manual Cover
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Pilots H
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677 High Road, North Finchley,
London N12 0DA,
United Kingdom
www.empireflight.co.uk
USG - MIGALCDRUK
MiG ALLEY Pilots Handbook
The Spires,