The 99th Pursuit Squadron was formed on the 16th of January 1941, with the first class graduating on the 7th of March 1942. The commanding officer was Ben O. Davis, who would later command the 332nd FG. CPT. Charles B. Hall would be the first African American pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft. The 99th supported allied invasions of Sicily and Italy and provided close air support for the U.S. 5th army, French, and polish Armies during the campaign. In more ways than one, the 99th Pursuit Squadron led the way by being the first squadron created, and deployed overseas. The 99th squadron in game attempts to recreate the standard of the original 99th with more focus on historical accuracy, involving formation and tactics. The 99th in game is a pure fighter group and extensively trains to master their craft.

The 100th Fighter Squadron was one of the “Tuskegee Airmen” Squadrons during WW2. The 100th mirrors the impact of all the 332nd fighter groups with a few distinctions. Roscoe Brown, who would later be the commander of the 100th, would be known for his duel and victory over a German 262 “JET” fighter plane. Some say it was the first jet fighter downed in aerial combat. The 100th was the ONLY 332nd Squadron to shot down the German 262 Fighter, with their total being 3. The 100th was one of the first units of the 332nd to also employ the Red Tail that is synonyms with the legend of the Tuskegee Airmen. This Squadron in game centers around collectivness and cohesiveness. We are a tight group that have a similar style of play, and routinely house some of the groups most capable pilots.

The 486 RAF (NZ) Squadron were a New Zealand fighter squardron which served in the European Theatre during WWII. Initially flying Hurricanes as nightfighters. In 1942 the 486s subsequently moved to operate the Hawker Typhoon as a dayfighter unit, primarily operating low level fighter sweeps to counter Fw190 andBf109 fighter-bombers. Later in 1943 the squadron shifted to a fighter-bomber role itself. Famously striking the one of Hitler’s secret weapons, the Vergeltungswaffe V3 long range multi-barrel gun. In early 1944 the 48th were re-equipped with Hawker Tempests and tasked with intercepting V1 flying bombs, claiming 223 of the bombs destroyed. The 486th also used tempests in fighter and fighter-bomber roles. In game this squadron focuses on RAF fighter and fighter bomber aircraft including the various models of spitfire, Typhoon and Tempest. We also have a big contingent of Kiwis in the squadron!

The 57th Fighter Group was a group of many firsts: first air unit to fly off an aircraft carrier in force, first US air combat unit in North Africa, and the first to modify the P47 for ground attack use. The unit was known to bring an abnormally high rate of its pilots back from missions in a time and theater where this was hard to do. Making use of the P-40F and K variants against 109F’s and G’s in Africa and later converting to the P-47D series which was used to great effect in Italy during Operation Strangle where large amounts of Axis supply was interdicted and destroyed they played a vital role in the war effort there. In IL-2, the 57th focuses on coordinated ground attack as well as fighter escort and working as a team to achieve objectives while trying to maintain a high survival rate.

No.226 squadron was part of the Advanced Air Striking Force, first deployed in Fairey Battle at the beginning of the war in France to weaken German forces. The squadron suffered heavy losses during the Battle of France, and had to retreat to England, where it conducted operations against naval targets in Blenheim, then in Bostons soon after. Its crew participated in the invasion of Normandy among the 2nd Tactical Air Force and kept supporting the Allied armies until the end of the war in their B-25 Mitchell. This unit, despite its shaky start and the frequent changes of airframe, became proficient at what they were doing. Our virtual incarnation of the No.226 is aiming to assemble and train pilots who can switch from a bomber aircraft to another and still be reliable and efficient on their task.