WWII Air Combat Flight Simulators

Spitfire Ace

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 08:55:09 GMT

1984 - MicroProse / Sid Meier

Battlehawks 1942

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:23:18 GMT

1988 - LucasFilms / Lawrence Holland
The first part in a trilogy of WWII flight simulators released by LucasFilms (now called LucasArts), Battlehawks 1942 focused on key battle in the Pacific theatre. Unlike these days, this game came with a 127-page manual full of photos and historical data on WWII.

Their Finest Hour: The Battle of Britain

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:55:43 GMT

1989 - LucasFilms / Lawrence Holland

Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:04:26 GMT

1990 - LucasFilms / Lawrence Holland

Chuck Yeager's Air Combat

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 11:05:52 GMT

1991 - Electronic Arts

Aces of the Pacific

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:06:51 GMT

1992 - Dynamix / Damon Slye

Aces of the Pacific Expansion Disk: WWII: 1946

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:06:56 GMT

1992 - Dynamix / Damon Slye

B-17 Flying Fortress

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 08:23:24 GMT

1992 - MicroProse

Aces over Europe

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:06:53 GMT

1993 - Dynamix / Damon Slye

Air Warrior

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 10:52:56 GMT

1993 - Kesmai

The first online multi-player flight simulator was launched back in 1986 for the Atari ST and Amiga, ran on the GEnie network (internet was not widespread yet), and cost $10/hr to play. In 1993, a PC version with SVGA graphics was released.

Air Duel: 80 Years of Dogfighting

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 11:38:18 GMT

1993 - MicroProse

1942: The Pacific Air War

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:23:26 GMT

1994 - MicroProse

Pacific Strike

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 15:19:04 GMT

1994 - Origin Systems

Overlord

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 11:16:58 GMT

1994 - Rowan

Fighter Duel

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 11:01:06 GMT

1995 - Philips Interactive

Air Warrior II

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 10:42:58 GMT

Feb. 1997 - Kesmai

Air Warrior III

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 10:46:43 GMT

Nov. 1997 - Kesmai

An update the the world's first online multi-player flight simulator series, AWIII finally upgrades the very basic and much criticized graphics of the earlier games.

WarBirds

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:11:32 GMT

Jun. 1998 - Interactive Magic

European Air War

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:35:19 GMT

Oct. 1998 - MicroProse

Combat Flight Simulator: WWII Europe Series

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:18:02 GMT

Nov. 1998 - Microsoft

Jane's WWII Fighters

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 13:55:01 GMT

1998 - Electronic Arts

Luftwaffe Commander

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 10:34:20 GMT

Jan. 1999 - Eagle Interactive

Luftwaffe had the makings of an interesting, offbeat simulator, but without some serious patching and a complete re-issue, it will remained nearly unplayable.

Fighter Squadron: The Screamin' Demons over Europe

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:45:02 GMT

Mar. 1999 - ParSoft Interactive

Nations: WWII Fighter Command

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:36:39 GMT

Oct. 1999 - Psygnosis

Late in the game during a surge of WWII flight sims released in the late 90s, Nations entered a crowded field, offered nothing new to the masses, and its flawed flight model kept the simulation fanatics away.

WarBirds II

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:17:29 GMT

1999 - Interactive Magic

Newer version of the online multi-player WWII flight simulator WarBirds. This version simply adds more aircraft a player can control.

Wings of Destiny

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:52:05 GMT

Feb. 2000 - Psygnosis

Combat Flight Simulator 2: WWII Pacific Theatre

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:17:45 GMT

Oct. 2000 - Microsoft

Rowan's Battle of Britain

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:33:33 GMT

Nov. 2000 - Rowan

B-17 Flying Fortress: The Mighty 8th

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 08:18:45 GMT

Nov. 2000 - Wayward Design / MicroProse

IL-2 Sturmovik

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:59:53 GMT

Nov. 2001 - 1C Maddox

Jane's Attack Squadron

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 13:38:19 GMT

Mar. 2002 - Looking Glass / Mad Doc

Looking Glass spent 2.5 years developing this game, until Electronic Arts pulled funding from it. A deal was reached to have Mad Doc Software finish developing the simulator, and Xicat would publish it.

Warbirds III: Fighter Pilot Academy

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:17:10 GMT

Sep. 2002 - iEntertainment Network

This new version of the online Multi-player WWII flight simulator WarBirds adds a lot of graphical and terrain enhancements, more detail to the planes, and an expanded and very detailed offline pilot training academy.

Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:18:22 GMT

Oct. 2002 - Microsoft

IL-2 Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:59:46 GMT

Mar. 2003 - 1C Maddox

Secret Weapons over Normandy

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:10:47 GMT

Nov. 2003 - LucasArts / Lawrence Holland

The History Channel: Battle of Britain 1940

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:54:28 GMT

Dec. 2003 - Activision

Based on the WarBirds III engine, this simulation funded by The History Channel revolves around the Battle of Britain in 1940.

Wings of Power: WWII Heavy Bombers (FS 2004 Add-on)

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 09:49:52 GMT

Sep. 2004 - Shockwave

This add-on for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 makes it about as real as can possibly get to fly one of the famous WWII heavy bombers.

Pacific Fighters

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 13:00:11 GMT

Oct. 2004 - 1C Maddox

From the developers that brought out the award winning IL-2 Sturmovik flight sims, Pacific Fighters is based on the same engine and shifts the campaign over to the Pacific theatre. And just like IL-2, it has also generated a massive amount of online modding and communities centered around this sim.

Battle of Britain II: Wings of Victory

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:39:48 GMT

Aug. 2005 - Shockwave / A2A Simulations

A re-make of Rowan's Battle of Britain, it entered a small market while most sim fans were busy modding their IL-2 and Pacific Fighters. But due to its historical accuracy, it remains popular among WWII enthusiasts, and won several awards including SimHQ's Best of 2006 award.

Wings of Power II: WWII Fighters (FSX Add-on)

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 09:49:52 GMT

Jun. 2006 - Shockwave

This add-on for Microsoft Flight Simulator X brings incredible realism to flying many of the famous WWII fighter planes.

Air Battles: Sky Defenders

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 09:27:17 GMT

Feb. 2007 - Wild Hare

A modified version of Battle of Britain II: Wings of Victory, this game had a lot less focus on realism and more so on arcade-style gameplay for novice players.

IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:59:58 GMT

Mar. 2007 - 1C Maddox
Rather than release new versions, 1C Maddox pushes out new IL-2 releases as compilations. This latest includes all previously released IL-2 games and add-ons, all patches, as well as new aircraft and a 1946 'what-if' scenario complete with all concept prototype aircraft that were on the drawing boards when WWII ended. This DVD compilation also includes Pacific Fighters, a stand-alone game, but needed to take advantage of this simulator's massive online modding community.