Special Service

[Col. Faulkner 0]

Note:

"Commando" (big C) means the unit (eg. C Troop, No. 4 Commando)

"commando" (small c) means a soldier serving in a Commando.

Here are some pics of the SPECIAL SERVICE Bren guns all coloured

in   These, of course, aren't proper textures yet; just basic

colours quickly applied in "Anim8or". I stumbled on this capability

serendipitously.  I hope that the models will drastically improve

as the proper texturing and stuff happens.

Bren aficionados may notice that this gun model has (most

of) a Mk 3 body group instead of a Mk 1 one (because it started

out as my SPEARHEAD L4A4 and I ain't got around to rebuilding

that bit yet) and many other parts also still need refinement.

As a conceit it is shown here standing on its bipod canted to the

right (if canted to the left with a full magazine fitted a real

Bren gun can tip over).

The Bren is very easy and comfortable to shoot(at different times

I have trained on and fired both the .303 - several marks - and

the 7.62mm versions). Its weight (23lbs loaded) supported on the

bipod together with the way it fires from an open bolt, all combine

to greatly reduce recoil (the Bren in fact has a tendency to steadily

pull itself forward away from the firer and vibrates more than

it kicks).

For a weapon of its class the Bren is also very accurate. Some even

said that it was too accurate for a "machine gun". The British

WW2 L.M.G. operator's manuals say that "The accuracy of the gun

permits of only a small margin of error in aiming, range estimation

or allowance for the effect of atmospheric conditions"(only the

first of which, of course, has any relevance to the gun as represented

in ArmA).

Commando weapon training included practice in firing the Bren effectively

from the hip. This was not otherwise (officially) practiced in the

British Army at that time.

Another drawback regarding the Bren as a light machine gun was its

small magazine capacity (maximum of 30 rounds, although in fact often

only 28 were loaded). There also existed a special clockwork drum

magazine of 97 rounds which was intended for anti aircraft (AA) use.

In the AA role the gun was supposed to be mounted on a tall tripod

but commandos are known to have also used it off the bipod with the

AA drum fitted, as depicted by this model.

The model so far is missing the special adapter support device which

was mounted on the Bren for use with the AA drum. The barrel carrying

handle is shown (corectly) folded outwards. This was to avoid the drum

magazine blocking the travel of the handle during barrel changing.

Now a nice picture of one of the Thompson models coloured in. I'm not

claiming that this color scheme is authentic and the rendering

has gone a bit shit in places, but it at least augurs well for a

nice model once completed. The Tommy gun is almost signature equipment

for commandos so it really has to be done decently.

Finally here is a fun picture of some of the headgear that will eventually

be included in the first couple of phases of the project.

Headdress (clicky)

1. & 1a. The "Cap, Comforter" was a tube of knitted khaki woollen cloth sewn

shut at both ends. It could be worn as a short scarf or turned and folded inside

itself to make a simple cap. The description "Comforter" indicates its intended

use as a cap to be worn under the steel helmet - especially in cold conditions

(the steel helmets quickly drew heat away from the head in cold weather). Steel

helmets were not usually worn during night operations, since they were heavy

and awkward and could be noisy. For Commando raids the "Cap, Comforter" or a

woollen balaclava helmet were usually worn instead.

The model heads here indicate how the caps would be worn (with faces blackened

with burnt cork) for a typical night Commando raid. Wartime photos show commandos

wearing their "Cap, Comforter" in a wide variety of styles.

2. and 3. show the headdress that was worn by commandos before the issue of the

green beret in 1943. At least one figure so dressed will be included in phase 1

of SPECIAL SERVICE.

Some Commandos wore the Scottish "Tam O' Shanter" bonnet (even though they

were not Scottish units) with either unit badges or the capbadges of the

individual commandos' parent units (ie. the unit that the man had served in

before volunteering, and passing selection, for service in a Commando. Army

commandos were all trained soldiers even before undergoing specialist commando

training). The model bonnet shown here has a khaki patch on the left side

but no badge (yet).

Other Commandos wore the Field Service side-cap, again with either unit badges

or the soldier's own capbadge. The capbadge shown here on the F.S. cap (and beret)

is that of the Grenadier Guards. Wartime photos show some soldiers wearing their

F.S. caps cocked at what look like gravity-defying angles.

4. The green beret was first issued in mid-1943 and quickly became a symbol of both

the Army and Royal Marine Commandos (the modern Royal Marine Commandos still wear

it). The Commando beret was proudly worn on every opportunity. One commando Colonel

while reprimanding his men for taking risks during heavy fighting in Normandy, said

"Wearing a green beret does not make you bullet-proof!".

Berets worn by British troops in WW2 were larger and baggier than those worn in more

recent times.

Since phase 1 of the SPECIAL SERVICE project deals with the Commandos' "raiding"

period (ie. up to mid 1943), the green beret will not be included in phase 1.

5. The craft that delivered commando raiders onto enemy-held shorelines were operated

and piloted by men of the Royal Navy. Commando operations depended to a great extent

on good co-operation with the Royal Navy (and Royal Air Force). At action stations,

the sailors wore their normal "working dress" (the Navy did not wear "battle dress")

including steel helmets painted dark grey (the colour in this picture is too blue).

The Mk I* helmet was composed of a WW1-era Mk I steel shell with an upgraded liner

and chinstrap.

[Stewy 1]

Incredible stuff mate - I love the .303 and the Bren - I used to carry that b**ch in the cadets! Heavy!

[Pathy 0]

Hey mate.

Being rather obvious, you must have considered it, but what of the Sten? I believe it began entering service in '41 or so? That's off the top of my head.

Anyway, the reason i ask is because i have a relatively low poly model of one that you're welcome to have if you want. Its just a 1st LOD of a model atm, so it still needs a fair ammount of work...

[MehMan 0]

I can donate a sten if you need it man, I'd love to help you out.

[Col. Faulkner 0]

@ Pathy & MehMan

Well if you really want to give me your Sten models it'd be

very welcome. Thanks. They might well inspire me to "up my

game" a bit too.     I'll PM you.

The "Plumber's abortion" was rarely used by commandos at

any time and certainly not in the early war period that the

first phase of this project deals with (not to say it never

happened but I've certainly never seen them in any early

war photos). However, one thing I do want to add to this

first phase is a couple of early-war British Paras kitted out

as they were for the Bruneval raid. Then (depending on the

availability of a suitable addon troop carrier aeroplane)

players could set up airborne as well as seaborne raids (ie.

lob in, give Jerry a kicking, then exfil by sea). The Sten Mk II

was issued in large numbers to 2 PARA for the Bruneval

operation so it's authentic and will be necessary for me to

add it to the weapon set.

I could also use it as a basis for the Sten MK I and a Mk IIS

(that'll be necessary for a later commando project I have in

mind).

On another note,<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v692/whisky01/cdowpns2.jpg" target="_blank">

here's the rifle and De Lisle</a> coloured in. The woodwork on both

still has some blemishes but they're almost there.

[Col. Faulkner 0]

Incredible stuff mate - I love the .303 and the Bren - I used to carry that b**ch in the cadets! Heavy!

Too heavy, really, but a beauty to shoot! Even guys who

couldn't hit the side of a house (from the inside    ) with

the rifle were often good shots with the Bren (firing repetition

off the bipod).

[Col. Faulkner 0]

I wasn't wanting to do one of these because of the

inadequate weapon holding anims of the ArmA men (to an

ArmA soldier everything is held as if it's an M16), but I had a

crude foregrip made already for an abandoned model of an

IRA M1921 Thompson, and they are a very common variant in

British use so here's a quickie picture:

This represents one of the first Thompson variants used by

the British. In 1940 (ie. before Lend-Lease started - in March

1941) the British government placed orders for a total of

107,500 Thompsons with Auto Ordnance Corp in the USA.

The guns delivered were a mix of M1928, M1928A1 and a few

older  M1921 examples.

[Col. Faulkner 0]

As mentioned above, a small extension to this phase of the SPECIAL

SERVICE project is early-WW2-period British parachute troops. This

addition will enable players to enact airborne and seaborne combined

operations.

The parachutists will be kitted out as they were for raiding operations

and will be wearing the grey-green gabardine "Jacket, Parachutist",

instead of the more familiar Denison smocks. They are thus applicable

to the period between June 1940 (when British parachute units were first

formed) and late 1942 (when new specialist airborne equipment entered

service).

They could represent any of No. 2 Commando, 11 Special Air Service

Battalion (including "X Troop, 11 SAS Bn") or 1st Parachute Brigade

(but not "The Parachute Regiment", which did not begin forming until

August 1942).

If parachutes have not already been modded in the intervening

time, the default ArmA parachutes will be supplemented with models of

the proper British round WW2 X-type.

The two most famous raiding operations carried out by British parachute

forces in this period were "COLOSSUS" (destruction of an aqueduct

in S.Italy by 11 SAS) and "BITING" (destruction and capture of German

radar equipment in N.W France by 2 PARA and 12 Commando). ArmA

players can enact similar daring operations using these addons, and one

of the supplied missions will be inspired by Operation "BITING".

Paratroopers in this period used standard British infantry weapons

(as did commandos), but were given priority for new weapons as these

became available. The troops involved in "BITING" were issued with

large numbers of the new 9mm Sten Mk II machine carbines and .303"

Lee-Enfield No. 4 Mk I rifles. These two weapons have been added to the

production list for the SPECIAL SERVICE addon set.

A first try at a Sten gun, based on models kindly supplied by "MehMan"

and "Pathy" is pictured here as a coloured rendering:

The No. 4 rifle is also progressing:

As with all of these, the final texturing and finishing will (I hope)

produce more realistic-looking results.

I have been trying to get the bolts on ArmA guns to move forwards

instead of backwards on firing (as with an automatic weapon that fires

from an open bolt - both the Thompson and the Sten work like this)

but so far have not succeeded. If anyone knows how to do this, I

would be very grateful for assistance.

Finally, I got the model Thompson pictured in my last post "in game"

for a functional test. Regrettably, it looks even worse than I expected

as the man's fingers fully transect the wooden forward grip! I shall

therefore not be proceeding any further with that particular variant

unless something miraculous happens and ArmA starts supporting

"weapon specific anims".  All SPECIAL SERVICE Tommy guns will

therefore use the horizontal foregrip. It is still authentic and the ArmA

men can hold this model quite convincingly.

This thread will most likely now go a bit quiescent as I further

progress the models and practise some of the other modding techniques

I'll need to be capable with.

[Col. Faulkner 0]

Intresting... What are the things required from top class  fighting knife? I've always seen knife as tool for multiple porpuses and using it as weapon is only small role. I've always wondered what is the difference with combat knife and ordinarry knife...

There doesn't appear to be any hard definition of what constitutes

a "fighting knife". There are, however, apparently some desirable

characteristics that make a particular knife better for fighting

with. Regarding the British commando knives the words of the actual

designer would seem to be of particular authority. W.E. Fairbairn

(in "All-in Fighting" [1942]) wrote, discussing qualities required

of a fighting knife:

"In choosing a knife there are two important factors to bear

in mind: balance and keenness. The hilt should fit easily in

your hand, and the blade should not be so heavy that it tends

to drag the hilt from your fingers in a loose grip. It is

essential that the blade have a sharp stabbing point and good

cutting edges...

The Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife...developed by the author

and a colleague, is highly recommended as possessing the requisite

qualities. This knife and similar types have found wide favour

among experts."

It encompassed the principles of close-combat that Fairbairn and

Sykes had learned from formal training, and from extensive practical

experience in encounters with members of the violent Shanghai

criminal underworld. Both Fairbairn and Sykes had been officers in

the notoriously tough "Shanghai Riot Squad" special unit of the

municipal police in that colony during the 1930s.

The F-S knives were also sometimes used by WW2 British soldiers

as tools. For examples, veterans have spoken of using them to

slash vehicle tyres, to puncture oil or petrol drums and to

probe for mines.

It would be good if a basic knife thrust could be modded into ArmA,

similar to the knife strike in Battlefield 2 (which I have only ever

seen in a video - I've never played this game) , although this would

require a new weapon class and holding anim which may not be trivial

(or even possible) to add as a modder. Perhaps the "StrokeFist"

scheme could be adapted to fit this purpose, although I have yet to

investigate that in any detail.

[Second 0]

Thanks

[Deathstruck 375]

Hey man GREAT work on those models, its only you doing it?

BTW:That picture of SAS folks, wasnt that from one book?Do you have something more?Iam heavy into War pictures and drawings

[Col. Faulkner 0]

Hey man GREAT work on those models, its only you doing it?

BTW:That picture of SAS folks, wasnt that from one book?Do you have something more?Iam heavy into War pictures and drawings

Yes, it's only me doing it. I wouldn't really trust anyone

else to get them right, and mistakes in authenticity and

anachronisms really annoy me.    

Like it says, "MehMan" and "Pathy" gave me Sten models they

had made (although, in the time since the rendering above

was made I've replaced almost all of their models except the

T-stock, trigger and lower receiver of "MehMan's".)

The weapon models I still have to start on are a Lewis gun

(for the landing craft) and an M1911 Colt pistol.

The other weapons for this phase (in various states of

completion) are:

For the commandos:

- Rifle, .303 inch No.1 Mk III* & Bayonet, No. 1 Mk I

- Rifle, .303 inch No.1 Mk III* E.Y.  (with No. 68 A/Tk grenade)

- Rifle, A/Tk, Boys, .550 inch, Mk I

- Carbine, Machine, Thompson M1928[A1], .450 inch.

- Carbine, Silenced, De Lisle, .450 inch.

- Pistol, Revolver, Enfield, .380 inch, No. 2 Mk I*

- Pistol, Signal, Webley, 1.5 inch, No. 1 Mk III*

- Gun, Machine, Bren, .303 inch, Mk I

- Mortar, M.L., 2 inch Mk VII (with H.E. and smoke)

- Fighting Knife, Fairbairn-Sykes, First Pattern.

- R.B.D. hunting knife,

Specifically for the paras:

- Rifle, .303 inch No. 4 Mk I & Bayonet, No. 4 Mk I

- Carbine, Machine, Sten, 9mm, Mk II

For both:

- Three types of hand grenades (2 A/Pers and 1 WP/Smoke),

- 1940s British demolition charges (Nobel's No. 808 and P.E.

No. 2). If it's possible in ArmA I want to do the charges

made up in authentic sizes, from the single-stick 808 charges

to the big 40-stick packs of P.E. No. 2. I haven't studied how

to make bombs work in ArmA yet but I assume it's a simple

matter to config the size of an explosion and the length of a

fuze.

13 small arms, 3 grenades, cold steel and dems is a good,

authentic cross-section of kit and quite enough to be working

on all at once.

As well as the small arms there are also soldiers, assault

boats, missions and a website to do. By the time all this is

ready there should be plenty islands to fight on.

The painting:

It's a painting by Peter Dennis of paratroopers of "Jellicoe"

group, C Coy, 2 PARA at Bruneval on Op. "BITING". They

are about to assault the German HQ and Würzburg radar

installation early in the morning of 28th February 1942. It

was featured in the "World War II Airborne Warfare Tactics"

book published by Osprey. I only posted it because it's the

only clear and quick to understand image I had ready to

hand of the early airborne equipment.

Of course I have other material, lots of books and stuff and a

big collection of original manuals, but I am only interested in

the British.

[Col. Faulkner 0]

[Stewy 1]

Looks great!

[SaBrE_UK 0]

Keep up the great work!

[Col. Faulkner 0]

I have had another go at the LCP(L) landing boat. It still

needs quite some more work to tidy it up and finish it but

it's already quite a decent representation.

The Landing Craft, Personnel (Large) was a British

version of an American Higgins-designed landing boat and

was already in service with the British before WW2. They

remained in British service until the late 1960s.

Its hull was designed and reinforced so as to be able to

withstand being beached and then relaunched, making it

ideal for coastal raiding operations.

These craft were operated and maintained by the Royal

Navy and had 3 crewmen. With a capacity of 25 equipped

soldiers, three of these boats were enough to transport a

Commando Troop, plus any specialist equipment.

Armament was one .303 Lewis Machine Gun, operated by the

Navy crew, although soldier passengers were also expected

to assist with their own small arms during contacts.

[Jarvis 0]

Hey what about 1911s in british commando service? Also .455 Webley mk6s? You probably know more than I do, what's the story with those? Popular or no? I know the mk4 .38 was most common among officers and I think it was the most common pistol to have as a british or commonwealth officer or soldier if you were equiped.

Oh btw, I remember seeing a British 1911 modification where they chambered it to .455, but that was very very rare, heh, but still cool.

Very nice work by the way, I'm loving the models so far and your Burning Sands mod also looks very promising, good luck and keep up the great work!

[-AIF- Kris 0]

@ col F

Mate im more then willing to help out im a mission maker so just give us a bell more. XD kris022@hotmail.com (i can help out with most things except texturing and config)

[Col. Faulkner 0]

Hey what about 1911s in british commando service?  Also .455 Webley mk6s?  You probably know more than I do, what's the story with those?  Popular or no?  I know the mk4 .38 was most common among officers and I think it was the most common pistol to have as a british or commonwealth officer or soldier if you were equiped.

Oh btw, I remember seeing a British 1911 modification where they chambered it to .455, but that was very very rare, heh, but still cool.

Very nice work by the way, I'm loving the models so far and your Burning Sands mod also looks very promising, good luck and keep up the great work!

I said in one of the earlier posts that I'm working on an M1911

Colt for them. It was a preferred commando handgun, and

also highly recommended by contemporary close-combat

experts; eg. Fairbairn, Sykes and Applegate. As well as the

obvious reasons of reliability and accuracy, it also had the

slight advantage that it chambered the same ammo as the

TMC, thus cutting the number of ammo types that a

Commando needed in the field. The first 1911 model pistols

were officially issued at the same time as the Tommy guns

were (ie. by mid 1940).

Although pistols aren't very good to use in ArmA, pistols

were issued more widely in Commandos than in line units

(commando Bren gunners, for example, commonly carried

pistols, while gunners in line units never - or very rarely -

did so).

The No.1 Mk VI [Webley .455] Mk IV [Webley, .380/200] and

the No. 2 Mk I* [Enfield .380/200] were all used throughout

WW2. I started out making an Enfield No. 2 but having

learned that men often preferred to swap these for Webleys

when possible, I'm changing my model to a Webley Mk VI

One slight problem is that the modern two handed isosceles

pistol stance used in ArmA is not at all like the WW2 pistol

shooting stances. Some animation adjustment will be

necessary (one handed in a "battle crouch" when upright,

two handed when prone)

As I said in its own thread, "Burning Sands" is "MehMan's",

not mine. The only real overlap between our two projects is

some of the British weapons - although my TMCs are early

manufacture types and some of the more specialized things

are not appropriate for the desert campaign theme. The troop

types and missions, of course, will be completely different.

[Col. Faulkner 0]

Kris @ Sep. 11 2007,10:43)]@ col F

Mate im more then willing to help out im a mission maker so just give us a bell more. XD kris022@hotmail.com (i can help out with most things except texturing and config)

Thanks for the offer. The missions are still very much at the

planning stage, but in the very likely event that I need help

when I come to the implementation I may well contact you.

[Prydain 1]

Good stuff mate, nice selection of world war two kit.

I have several Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knifes, they are a continued collection from my grandmothers brother. Although I never do something as silly as to wave them around 'walting', I can see how they where effective. If I had a choice of K-Bar and a F-S for a fight, my choice would be the latter.

Also, it is a shame about the animations in ArmA being designed for one weapon only, the MP5, as we all know looks a disaster.

[-AIF- Kris 0]

Kris @ Sep. 11 2007,10:43)]@ col F

Mate im more then willing to help out im a mission maker so just give us a bell more. XD kris022@hotmail.com (i can help out with most things except texturing and config)

Thanks for the offer. The missions are still very much at the

planning stage, but in the very likely event that I need help

when I come to the implementation I may well contact you.

ty for that i would love to help out anyway i can XD

[Col. Faulkner 0]

Hooray! I've started doing the human figures in earnest. I

had to scrap and remake most of the figure bits I made in

the OFP Oxygen; partly because they were rather shite

and partly because the new Oxygen, or its renderer, or

something, had problems with bits of them.

My cunning plan is to closely follow the construction of the

BIS humans as a guide to making mine, although the exact

BIS models themselves are pretty useless for representing

WW2 British battledress so I'll probably end up just using the

vanilla ArmA heads and hands.

It's also become very apparent that Oxygen isn't the most

efficient tool for making complex shapes like some of the

more "organic" objects require. Unless I'm missing something

fundamental it all boils down to a game of 3D "join-the-dots",

(where you have to draw and place the dots yourself).

Here are some piccys of some of the first redone pieces,

stylishly modelled by an ArmA guy. The default ArmA faces

will do quite well as most of them look lean and double-hard

like WW2 commandos (unlike the stupid, nerdy-looking Op.

Flashpoint faces). With a bit of virtual burnt cork on they'll

look cushty as fcuk.

Cap comforters and balaclava helmets. Woollen headgear for

creeping around at night.

The two first patterns of steel jump helmets used by British

paratroops. The chinstraps on these are not complete yet

and their shapes could probably do with some refinement

still, but they're nearly there.

Only the prototype rubber-rimmed type seems to have been

worn on the Bruneval raid, or at least all the photos and film

I've seen of troops training for, emplaning for, in flight and

returning from the raid wear this type. The illustration from

the Osprey book I posted earlier in this thread typically gets

it wrong by showing the first pattern fibre-rim type too (I

should have remembered never to trust those damned

"Osprey" book illustrations! )

The fibre-rim type was first issued in 1942.

Next is the characteristic Tommy's "tin hat". These will be

worn by both the Royal Navy sailor models and the

commandos.  Despite their evident inappropriateness for

quick, night-time raids helmets were sometimes worn by

commandos as the distinctive shape served as a useful IFF

device in the dark and helped prevent fratricide.

Other identification devices tried included webbing scrubbed

and bleached white with sea-water and "Vim" (as famously

used at St. Nazaire) and small white-painted wooden

triangles and squares hung on the equipment. At least one

set of the commando raiders in the first release phase of the

Special Service addon set will have scrubbed-white webbing.

The sandbag covers were used to camouflage the bare steel

bowl. This practise dates from the first world war. The brown

sacking material was sometimes painted in brown creosote

( ! ) in a camouflage pattern (how the resulting smell was

camouflaged is never mentioned! ).

As with everything shown here, the models will no doubt

evolve as the work proceeds.

[Prydain 1]

Oh my f-ing god, great work mate.

I think a great thing with your addons is; you explain it in such an easy to understand type of way, less verbose yet interesting makes me read it all.

I hope you also give the Paratroopers scarves, I am sure the RAF technique of useing scarves instead of tightening their smocks/shirts/battledress around the neck to ease the strain on the neck was adopted by the PARAs (Yes, the pilot's scarves where not 'gentlemen fashion items'.

[-AIF- Kris 0]

Looking sweet u planning on expanding from commandos to ordenary troops fighting in europe (maybe D-Day would be amazing XD)