Supporting cast

Hello and welcome back to another update of Forgotten Hope. Today close air support is considered vital for any mixed force operation. In World War II, however, the air forces of many countries were focused on strategic operations. But, at the beginning of the war, the Luftwaffe's force composition emphasized direct tactical support of the troops on the ground, rather than long-range strategic bombing.

No plane symbolized this emphasis better than the Sturzkampfflugzeug Junkers Ju 87, the "flying artillery" of the Wehrmacht. Although suffering from several defects, including a low top speed that made it vulnerable to enemy fighters, the Ju 87 (popularly known today as the "Stuka") excelled at pinpoint bombing of battlefield targets. During the early war period, when the Luftwaffe's fighters still dominated the skies, the Ju 87 was a devastatingly effective weapon. Later on, as control of the air slipped away, the JU 87's shortcomings became more obvious. Today we would like to present the first in-game screenshots of the Ju 87B2 dive-bomber bomber modeled by K96 and skinned by K96 and AceS.

Another vital supporting asset has always been transportation for supplies and reinforcements. The most common truck used by British forces was the Bedford 3 ton lorry. More than 70,000 3-ton Bedfords were produced between 1939 and 1945, in a variety of configurations and were used for all conceivable transport roles, including the movement of troops, horses, machine guns and supplies. The Bedford was originally modeled by Mange, updated and tweaked for BF2 by Lobo, skinned by AaronAsh and Jimbob and Lobo, normal mapped by Lobo and given a brand-new set of tires by Rad.

That's all for today, but be sure to come back next week for another Forgotten Hope update. And don't forget to join us on IRC. Feel free to visit our public forums to discuss this update or other news.