Fighter Bomber | Strike Aces
Commodore Amiga version
MiGMan thanks Rob "Bomber" Henderson for these recollections.
A fantastic choice of aircraft to fly and an original and refreshing campaign scenario to fly in - a NATO bombing competition held in the USA.
The graphics weren't outstanding by todays standards, but they did the job and the aircraft looked the part, and the game played at a respectable speed. You could fly the following :
- F-4E Phantom ( USAF )
- AJ-37 Viggen ( Swedish AF )
- MiG-27 Flogger ( Soviet AF )
- Tornado GR1 ( RAF )
- Tornado IDS ( German Marine )
- F-15E Strike Eagle ( USAF )
- F-111 ( USAF )
The 'aggressors' were also a mix and included F-14s, Foxhounds, Mirage 2000s, Flankers and Fulcrums - it was a shame you couldn't fly these ones though! You also had a mission builder, which was simple to use, but gave good results.
The aircraft had different flight dynamics - some faster than others at low level, some better turners on so on. I remember the Viggen lived up to its name (the Swedish word 'viggen' translates to 'thunderbolt' in English) - that kite could out climb everything else and went like a rocket, and was good for dogfighting too.
The weapons choices were quite varied, and included
- AIM-9
- Aphid
- Kerry
- Mk-20 series clusterbombs
- Mk-80 series slicks
- Maverick
- HARM
- ALARM
- JP-233 for the RAF Tornado
- MW1 for the German Tornado
- and unguided rockets
The missions took place over South Dakota, with the main base being Ellsworth. The scenery also included Mt.Rushmore, and various small towns and settlements, as well as the roads, highways and railways, rivers and lakes.
The structure of the missions grew in complexity during the course of the competition, and some required quite careful planning, especially on the fuel comsumption side. All you had to do was read the brief and choose your stores. One mission would need to be flown as low-low-low profile, while the next could be a high-low-high.
In some of the more complex situations, air re-fuelling would be available.
Several of the missions also required you to fly against the clock - this was always made worse when the 'aggressors' turned up - they really made life difficult for you at times. All AA missiles were IR guided, and all SAMs were radar - this made using decoys a bit easier, but you had to be quick - the flight time for the missiles was incredibly short and you needed to get the decoys pumping fast or you'd get hit.
Evasive flying didn't work against the missiles, only decoys. The AIM-9 and Aphid missiles required a heat source to lock onto, and you have to wait for the missile to get a lock-on before launching - the missile would bleep while the seeker head would scan, until the aiming recticle would catch-up with the target, turn red and start growling to signify a lock.
The only problem with this one was that with the copy I had, it would always crash at the end of the third to last mission, so I never got to see if there was any special treat awaiting me for completing all the missions!
The competition was divided up into four stages, each stage had four missions, and the details were as follows ( as best as I can make out from the notes I still have left ) ...
COVERT
- Sleeper - destroy terrorist camp 60 miles SW of Ellsworth AFB. Land at Ellsworth Rwy36.
- Farmhouse - destroy terrorists in old farmhouse west of Rapid City. Terrorist weapons stored in barn. Land at Ellsworth Rwy18.
- Bridge End - Enemy have taken bridge 169 miles SW of Ellsworth AFB. SAM 15 miles SE of bridge. Destroy SAM first, then bridge. Land at own discretion.
- Strike Force - Three groups of targets - artillery guns, tanks and APC's. Destroy in any order. Laser designation available. Land at Ellsworth Rwy36.
TACTICAL
- Spear Chucker - Mission starts with low internal fuel, so air-air refuelling is required. Destroy the convoy, artillery and armoured column. After this a 10min countdown will start, during which time you must destroy an SSI nuclear missile launcher. Land at Miles City AFB Rwy18.
- Navaronne - Destroy radar and SAM site. After SAM is hit a 10min timer will activate. You must destroy an SSI launcher and howitzer in this time. Air-air refuelling will be required at 30,000ft. Land at Ellsworth AFB on any runway.
- SAM Smasher - Rescue a captured M*A*S*H* unit. Destroy two SAM sites. After the first SAM is hit, you have 10mins to finish the mission. Destroy all eight SAM launchers and the escorting APC, without hitting the M*A*S*H* unit. Land at civil airport on Rwy18. ( there was a nasty surprise here - an enemy SAM launcher on the threshold of Rwy18!!)
- Axe Attack - Enemy attack is expected within 30mins. Start mission with low internal fuel, so air-air tanking is required. You have three groups of to attack : tanks, APC's and artillery. You must also destroy the radar site in the area to avoid interception by enemy aircraft, however, the enemy has built several decoy sites and we do not know which one is the real site as yet. Land at Ellsworth AFB Rwy36.
- Tent Buster - Destroy the four command tents and the train, then land at Gillette Airport using Rwy36L.
- Cookhouse - Allied leaders have been captured. Destroy the tanks ( LGBs are supported ). Land at Buffalo Airport to collect secret plans, then fly to Sheriden Airport and deliver them using Rwy36L or Rwy18R. Enemy troops are in the nearby town - destroy their transports. Land at nearest civil airport using any runway.
- Bigbird - Destroy the three transmitter aerials plus their SAM protection. There is also a large calibre artillery gun. Land back at Ellsworth AFB on Rwy18. ( another mission with an enemy SAM launcher on the runway!)
- Mole Strangler - All enemy targets must be destroyed. You start with low internal fuel, and due to length of mission, you may require air-air refuelling twice. Pick up secret plans from specified airport on Rwy36 or Rwy36L and deliver them to other specified airport, again using Rwy36 or 36L. Fly down the "tunnel of death" and also destroy all SAM's in the "tunnel". Land back at base on any Rwy. Warning, a 10min timer may start at any time during the mission - the mission must be completed before the timer stops.
OFFENSIVE
- Ammodump - This mission has a 20min timer. Destroy the command tent, bridge, boat, SSI launcher then a second bridge and land at the airport at the last waypoint using Rwy36 or 36L.
- Broken Arrow - Destroy the command tent, tank, three artillery pieces and the ammo dump leaving the Red Cross van intact. Air-air refuelling may be required after this. Then destroy the aerial and four SAM launchers at Devils Tower. Collect the secret plans from the airport. Deliver the plans to Miles City AFB and while enroute fly the 'Valley of Death' and destroy the six SAM launchers and the radar, then destroy the large artillery piece by the roadside. Land back at base using Rwy18R. You may get a 3min timer start at any time, during which you must complete the next stage of the mission.
- Big Chief - ?
- Final Frontier - ?
It may, or may not be of interest to you, but the sim 'Fighter-Bomber' is based on a REAL U.S.A.F. Bombing and Navigation competition held at Ellsworth AFB North Dakota. It was an annual event, but I don't know if it still takes place. For you real Super-Geeks out there, ( some of ) the trophies up for grabs were :
- JOHN C MEYER TROPHY - precision low-level bombing
- CURTISS Le MAY TROPHY - precision high and low-level bombing
- MATHIS TROPHY - best high and low-level bombing sorties
And one more thing - Curtiss Le May was an officer in the USAF who came up with the idea of the competition.