Axis and Allies Paintworks is proud to present "Lions of Kalinin", a scripted campaign for Il-2 Sturmovik Battle of Moscow.

Download link:
http://www.axis-and-allies-paintworks.com/download.php?view.989

It's a historical campaign for the Bf-109E7, that takes place during the battle of Kalinin in October 1941. The player can fly ground attack missions as pilot of II.(Schlacht)/Lehrgeschwader 2.

Mission design by Juri_JS
Skins and other artwork by PatCartier
LG 2 Staffel emblems by csThor

Requirements:
Il-2 Sturmovik Battle of Moscow

Installation:
Extract the folder 'data' from the 'Lions of Kalinin.zip' file into the IL-2 Sturmovik Battle of Stalingrad main directory. This will put the missions into the 'IL-2 Sturmovik Battle of Stalingrad\data\Campaigns\Lions of Kalinin' folder and the skins into the correct sub-folders in the 'IL-2 Sturmovik Battle of Stalingrad\data\graphics\skins\' directory.


Some background information:
The Lehrgeschwader of the Luftwaffe were mixed-formation units tasked with the operational evaluation of new types of aircraft and/or with the development/evaluation of new tactics, but when the war broke out, the different groups were used as regular combat units. II.(Schlacht)/Lehrgeschwader 2 was formed in 1938 as Schlachtflieger unit, specialized on close air support missions. In 1941 it was equipped with the Bf-109E and the Hs-123 and was the only unit of its kind in the Luftwaffe during this time. Initially the Luftwaffe leadership thought that the close support role could be completely taken over by Ju-87 dive bombers, but the experience during the first two years of the war demonstrated the usefulness of low level fighter-bomber attacks in direct support of the troops on the ground and II.(Schlacht)/Lehrgeschwader 2 would later form the nucleus of the Luftwaffe's first Schlachtgeschwader.

Together with parts of Jagdgeschwader 52 and Stukageschwader 2, II.(Schlacht)/LG 2 transferred to Kalinin in mid-October 1941 soon after the Wehrmacht had captured the city. The units Bf-109Es and Hs-123s were based at an airfield south of Kalinin, directly behind the front line. Over the following days the Red Army launched a full-scale counterattack to recapture the strategically important town on the banks of the Volga river and to encircle the German forces, that had already overstretched their supply lines. Whenever the weather conditions allowed, II.(Schlacht)/Lehrgeschwader 2 flew round the clock missions to support the troops on the ground. It played a vital roll in repulsing numerous Soviet assaults and more than once the pilots had to defend their own airfield against enemy attacks.

The units Gruppenkommandeur was Otto Weiss, who was the first Schlachtflieger to receive the Knight's Cross and whose aggressive leadership during the fighting around the city earned him the nickname "Lion of Kalinin", which inspired the title of the campaign.

Version 1.1 of the Lions of Kalinin campaign is available.

I've added signal smoke to some of the missions. During close air support missions the smoke will be used by friendly troops to mark their positions. Moreover the text of the English version of the campaign was reworked by photog95661.