Secret Weapons Over Normandy

Secret Weapons Over Normandy or (SWON) is a World War II-based flight simulation video game released on November 18 2003. Published by Lucas Arts and developed by Totally Games, the game is composed of 15 objective-based missions set in 1940s European, North African, and the Pacific theatres of war. The story was written by Derek Chester, who is also famous for his work in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as well as work on Star Trek videogames. The player is James Chase, an American pilot volunteering to assist the British, who stand alone at this point of the war. He flies in the classified squadron known as the Battlehawks. Over the course of the game, the player has opportunities to: earn or capture new aircraft, add upgrades to his/her existing aircraft, and as the game puts it: "halt the most insidious plans of the Third Reich." The player's principal opponent is the Luftwaffe, in particular the enemies being the Battlehawk's counterpart, the elite squadron of top German pilots, known as Nemesis (similar to the real KG 200), commanded by Oberst Krieger. The player will also face off against the forces of the Japanese Empire. It is notable for the presence of many prototype designs that never flew in combat, or were used in small numbers: the XP-55 Ascender, XP-56 Black Bullet, Do-335, Chance-Vought Flying Pancake, the Junkers Ju 390, and the Daimler Benz C. Several German weapons projects that were either never completed or failed to make a significant impact on the war also feature in the game, such as the Mistel and the Wasserfall missile launcher.

Aircraft

Throughout the course of the game, the player will have the opportunity to fly many types of WWII aircraft into combat. Here is the list of every aircraft and missile that makes an appearance in the course of the game:

F4F Wildcat

Allied Aircraft: United Kingdom:

• Hawker Hurricane
• Supermarine Spitfire
  

  Supermarine Spitfire
• Fairey Swordfish
• Gloster Meteor
• De Havilland Mosquito
  

  P-38

United States:

• P-40 Warhawk
• P-38 Lightning
  

  Me 262
• P-51 Mustang
• F4F Wildcat
  

  D3A Val
• SBD Dauntless
• TBD Devastator
• XP-55 Ascender
• XP-56 Black Bullet
• Chance-Vought Flying Flapjack
• B-17 Flying Fortress*
• C-47 Skytrain*

Soviet Union:

• Ilyushin Il-2

Axis Aircraft: Germany:

• Messerschmitt Bf 109
• Messerschmitt Me 262
• Focke-Wulf Fw 190
• Junkers Ju 88
• Messerschmitt Me 163
• Junkers Ju 87 Stuka
• Dornier Do 335
• Heinkel He 111*
• Junkers Ju 390*
• Mistel*
• Wasserfall*
• V-1 flying bomb*
• V-2 Rocket*

Japan:

• A6M Zero
• Nakajima B5N Kate *
• Aichi D3A Val*

Asterisk after the name of an aircraft means that it appears in Campaign mode but is not flyable in either Campaign or Instant Action mode.

Mission List

There are 15 throughout the course of the campaign. Here is a list and a small description for each. Mission 1: Dunkirk German ground forces have surrounded the English at their oceanside base at Dunkirk. The only escape is by sea. Keep Ju-87 Stukas and Bf-109s from bombing the troop transports. Then the player must shoot down Krieger. Mission 2: Adlertag You arrive at the Battlehawks airbase close to Dover Cliffs and the ocean when to everyone's surprise, a huge air raid commences. You must play a strong part in protecting the base, along with local towns and radar stations. Mission 3: Sea Lion During the air raid over the airbase, you shot up a Ju-88 just enough to bring her down but still be salvageable. Your next mission is to pilot this resurrected bomber into a German stronghold to completely destroy Hitler's land invasion force at night(aimed at England). Mission 4: Rommel Since you've effectively postponed Germany's invasion of England, Hitler's target shifted to North Africa. He is sending his most experienced general Erwin Rommel to lead the forces there. Stop Rommel from ever getting to Africa at all costs, but the White Rose must survive. Mission 5: Flying Tigers After the attack on Pearl Harbor, you are sent along with other members of the Battlehawks to join the Flying Tigers and engage the Japanese over China and stop a trade/meeting between the two Axis powers. However, the Germans get away with what they needed in a U-boat. Mission 6: Prison Break An important member of the Battlehawks, Pauline Armstrong, was shot down on the last mission. At about the same time, a C-47 Skytrain flying a recon mission finds a Japanese prison camp near where Pauline was shot down. You volunteer to lead a rescue mission to save Pauline and any other captured Allies. Mission 7: Midway Pauline had been hurt during her time in the prison camp. You rendezvous with the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown to get Pauline medical attention. Onboard you hear of an important cracked radio signal stating that the Japanese will attack the US base on Midway island, a vital base. you sign up on the flight roster of the Yorktown and must play a big role in protecting the island and sinking the 4 Japanese carriers: Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, and Hiryu. Mission 8 : Denmark With the American's success at Midway, Germany once again posed a bigger threat, you are sent back to Europe to learn that the well regarded Danish physicist Niels Bohr wished to defect. You are sent on a very challenging mission to extract Bohr from inside occupied Europe. Mission 9: Stalingrad Remember the escaping sub from Mission 5? Bohr revealed that the sub had equipment vital to produce a transatlantic bomber (called the Ju-390) that was able to strike on US soil. Bohr also stated that there were several working prototypes ready to be field tested near the city of Stalingrad on the eastern front. You are entrusted with finding these prototypes. Mission 10: Low and Slow During the last mission, you found the prototypes but they were destroyed by the Germans to keep the Allies from getting to them. Now you must find at destroy the factory where these 6 engined bombers are being made. Mission 11: Heavy Water Neils Bohr continued to give the Battlehawks information, this time telling them that the Ju-390 was made for dropping the first atomic bomb on the United States. He also says the Norske Hydro Facility in Norway is being used to make deuterium oxide or "heavy water" to help the German atomic research program. Your mission is to destroy this factory to keep atomic weapons out of grasp from the Third Reich and to fight of the ME-262 jet engined aircraft. Mission 12: Jet Stream With Germany's atomic research put on hold, a new secret weapon presented itself, the Me-262, a revolutionary plane with jet engines, the first operational jet fighter in history. In this mission you must fly in the ball turret of a B-17 Flying Fortress to bomb a Me-262 base, then parachute out of the plane, steal a Me-262, then pilot it back home for research. Mission 13: Peenemunde You learn from a double-agent that the Germans have set up a facility to produce and test Vengeance Weapons, primarily V-1's and V-2's, the destruction of this factory must happen. Mission 14: Blitzenluft You've managed to destroy the Facility at Peenemunde, but now another has been found, and it is much more fortified, it is imparitive that you find a way to destroy the factory because D-Day is coming up and Vengeance weapons during D-Day would destroy the forces and be a loss that the Allies could not recover from. Mission 15: D-Day Protect the troops and ships from many leftover V-1's and V-2's and countless bombers and fighters.

External links

• Secret Weapons Over Normandy at MobyGames