Fighter Command - Battle of Britain
Alternative title: Fighter Command
Platform: Commodore 64
Gametype: Undefined
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Fighter Command is a strategy game depicting the clash between the British RAF and German Luftwaffe during the 1940 Battle of Britain. The player is put in command of either air force: Germans need to strike British airbases, radar stations, and industrial centers in order to cripple their aircraft assets, while the Allies will try to defend themselves by wiping out the incoming Germans from the sky before they can reach the intended targets.

Each day the player gets weather, intelligence, and readiness reports as well as detailed charts listing squadron strength, losses, morale, and experience levels. A map of southern England is also available and allows for easier allocation of planes and targets.

The player may only play either the Adlertag (August 13, 1940), 10-day phases, or the entire 34-turn campaign (August 13 - September 15, 1940).

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Trivia

Cancelled Atari 8-bit conversion

SSI fall 1984 catalogs mentioned Fighter Command among the planned conversions for Atari computers. It was still listed as a future product in 1986, and evidently finally cancelled at some point.

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Description from the packaging:

The Earth shook from the roar of the Luftwaffe and the RAF took to the skies... The challenge was met!

In August of 1940 the German forces began the first stage of their planned assault on Great Britain: the annihilation of the British Royal Air Force.
Outnumbering the British three-to-one in air power, the Germans were confident in their ability to accomplish this task. On August 13th, 1940, "Eagle Day", the German Luftwaffe began its bombing of airfields. The Battle of Britain had begun.
The skill of the RAF pilots and the unity of the British population stunner the German Commanders. At one point Field Marshall Goering confessed to a German general: "We'd forgotten that the English fight best with their backs to the wall."

The Luftwaffe continued flying raids for the next five weeks with airfields, major cities and radar stations as targets. The British used their advantages of radar and superior air combat tactics in holding back the German onslaught. High morale and leadership were probably the most significant factors in the British stand against the Luftwaffe. The British won the battle and turned the tide of World War II.
Now it's your turn to command the Luftwaffe or R.A.F. in this massively scaled simulation of the Battle of Britain. You now have the chance to rewrite or relive the strategies of one of the greatest battles ever fought in the air.

As German commander you'll try to destroy all of the British airfields, radar stations, planes, and major cities that you can. Every squadron, or gruppe, is rated for experience and morale, and the computer will immediately calculate the increases (or decreases) in each after a mission is flown.
At the beginning of each day/turn, you'll need to check your semi-accurate daily weather report and plan your air raids for each gruppe, including primary and secondary targets and altitude of the raid. You'll have to decide whether it is better to send a valuable squadron out to bomb a radar station so that your forces can reach targets unnoticed, or to bomb a city and interrupt the production of airplanes. You may also want to attack airfields, or take on an RAF fighter squadron in the air.

At the beginning of the following day you may check your readiness report to see how many losses you suffered. You may also check your not-so-dependable intelligence report to see what kind of damage you inflicted on your targets.

As British Commander your goal is to knock the attacking German planes out of the sky. Throughout the day you will set up patrols and transfer squadrons to more effective locations.
You will assigns squadron readiness orders, keeping in mind the trade-offs between quick mobilization of planes and loss of morale due to exhaustion. You'll also have to define tactical orders by squadron or type of aircraft.

Like the Germans, you'll have intelligence and readiness reports to give you results of each day's fighting.
The colorful map display allows players to view the entire southern half of England in one map or three different close-up maps.
You can play the entire 34-turn campaign game or choose any of three medium length games. For a shorter, fast-paced battle in the air, the Eagle Day game consists of one explosive turn.
You never lack an opponent with this game because the computer is always ready to take over the German Command.

The most amazing feature of this extremely detailed game is how easy it is to play. The status reports allow you to examine all of the computer's calculations at a glance in an easy-to-read chart.
One of the greatest computer wargames of all time awaits your command. Rise and meet the challenge!
Full color map in Hi-Res graphics shows airfields, major cities and radar stations. Summary report shows number of aircraft on raid, altitude, direction and attack/intercept status.
Close-up map of London area shows RAF squadron confronting Luftwaffe gruppe. Realistic sound effects enhance each raid.

Readiness report displays all important information for each squadron at the start of each day/turn.
Intelligence report gives a realistically inaccurate estimate of enemy's strength and expected action for each day.

Allocation of ME 109's for a raid.

Accounts for all major plane types, which include Spitfire, Hurricane, Blenheim, Defiant, Gladiator, Me 109E, Me 110C, Ju 87B, Ju 88A, Do 17Z, He 111H.
Every British squadron and German gruppe is rated for experience and morale.
Possible targets include airbases, radar stations and industrial centers.
Losses are recorded in individual planes and pilots.
Scenarios cover Eagle Day (August 13, 1940), 10-day phases and the entire campaign (August 13 to September 15, 1940).

Inaccurate intelligence reports.
Two-player and computer-as-opponent (solitaire) versions.
A game in progress can be saved on disk for later play.
Fighter Command was designed by Charles Merrow and Jack Avery, whose other works include SSI's Computer Air Combat and Computer Baseball.

Playing Time:

Eagle Day, 1 Hour
Scenarios, 5-10 Hours
Campaign Game, 20-30 Hours
Intermediate Level
