Read through the following selection of articles and interviews with actual pilots who flew the real missions. In addition, we've also posted a couple of behind-the-scenes articles detailing the people and processes used to bring the game to life.

How the Air War Was Fought in the European Theater of Operations

As a pilot in Combat Flight Simulator 3, you fly in the historical framework of the tactical air war in northwest Europe starting in mid-1943, but there's a significant difference. What you bring to each battle can alter the tactical situation and the timeline of the campaign. That means you can influence events, play "what if" with history, and extend the timeline to add new technology to your arsenal. How you handle these tactical and technological advantages will determine the outcome of your missions and campaigns.

Overview: The Tactical Air War
As the possibility of an Allied invasion of the continent took on a growing certainty, the tactical air war in the west heated up and emphasized a different pilot role—flying close air support. This role put would-be high flyers down on the deck for a different kind of warfare based on air-ground teamwork.

The Campaign in CFS3 Part I
Before you take to the sky, it helps to understand what really happened during WWII. This will not only give you something to shoot at—but also something to shoot for.

The Campaign in CFS3 Part II
Once the invasion was under way, the Allied tactical air forces took on their toughest task: direct participation in the land battle. This included attacking enemy forces and providing close air support for friendly troops and armor on the ground.

The Campaign in CFS3 Part III
Allied tactical pilots stayed on the job as long as the daylight lasted, flying as many as five or six missions a day, stopping only to refuel and rearm.

The Campaign in CFS3 Part IV
The outcome of the Battle of the Bulge was decided by air power. When the Germans began their last major offensive of the war, the dense cloud cover over the battle zone made low-level fighter-bomber patrols difficult to impossible, temporarily negating Allied air superiority.

The Campaign in CFS3 Part V
With their final ground offensive collapsing, the Luftwaffe planned an all-out air assault on Allied airbases in Belgium, Holland, and France. The goal was to break the air supremacy of the Allied fighter force.

Jack Stafford Shares the Story of His Wartime Career

Jack Stafford, the New Zealand Tempest pilot who has assisted us as an historical advisor on both CFS1 and CFS3, is a living link to the historic events underlying the Combat Flight Simulator franchise, and to the world of the fighter pilot in the piston-and-propeller era. He also remains vital and articulate.

Jack has agreed to share a series of six articles he has written about his wartime experience—from training, to early missions, and through the end of the war—with the CFS community.

Part 1: We'll Make Men of You
"We'll Make Men of You" describes Jack Stafford's experience as an RNZAF trainee in 1942, and how his entry into the world of aerial combat changed him and his relationship to those he left behind in New Zealand.

Part 2: The Hurricane
"At last I will feel like a fighter pilot. I'll be in a single-seater. Wow! Maybe an aircraft I'll fly has been in battle; perhaps a famous ace has roared across the sky in it—perhaps even Bader?"

Part 3: Watch My Arse!
Jack recounts his first combat "op," in which he does exactly as he's instructed, but misses a few significant details of the mission.

Part 4: Intercepting the Flying Bomb
Jack Stafford puts you in the cockpit in high-speed pursuit of the V1 flying bomb as he relates the tale of how he shot down eight of these dangerous unguided missiles to earn the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Part 5: Rhubarb to Munster
Jack describes a traumatic mission in which he lost a friend—and nearly lost his own life.

Part 6: When I Was Young
The last Jack Stafford's six stories describes an idyllic interlude after the fighting in Europe had ceased. In it Jack learns the joys of a far different kind of flight, in gliders, soaring silently above a now-peaceful landscape.

Al Jones: A Pilot Then and Now

As both a WWII veteran and an active Pilot, Al Jones' assistance was invaluable in helping the CFS3 production team accurately depict the tactical air war and refine some of our aircraft flight models. Jones' WWII career began in 1940 as an American volunteer with the Royal Canadian Air Force. In 1943 he transferred to the USAF.

Al Jones: A Pilot Then and Now
CFS3 users who have read the handbooks included on the product disc have already read a little about Al Jones, one of the veteran pilots who served as an historical and technical advisor to the Combat Flight Simulator team. Al has remained an active pilot for sixty-plus years, and is still logging stick time.

The Making of Combat Flight Simulator 3

A great deal of thought, energy, and hard work were required to make Combat Flight Simulator 3. Here are a couple of stories about the people and processes used to bring the game to life.

The Music of Combat Flight Simulator 3
Moody and menacing, the score by Seattle-area composer Stan LePard adds a subtle sense of danger to the edgy world of air combat in CFS3.