August 1991
Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe is a World War II air-combat combat flight simulation game first released in August 1991 by Lucasfilm Games.
It was the last of a trilogy of World War II titles by Lucasfilm Games, the others being Battlehawks 1942 (1988) and Their Finest Hour (1989). It enabled the player to fly aircraft of the USAAF Eighth Air Force and the German Luftwaffe, including some experimental aircraft that did not see operational service during World War II.
The game was initially released with a code wheel and a 225-page manual, detailing the air war over Western Europe between 1943 and 1945. The game also featured a campaign mode, similar to that found in Their Finest Hour, where the player had to make the strategic decisions on which targets were to be attacked (as USAAF 8th Air Force) or defended (by the German Luftwaffe).
Four expansion packs were released: P-38 Lightning (1991), P-80 Shooting Star (1991), Do 335 Pfeil (1992) and He 162 Volksjäger (1992).
Storyline
The game focuses battles between the Eighth Air Force and the Luftwaffe challenge during World War II, especially the American strategic bombing offensive against Germany, from August 1943 towards the end of war in 1945. It is focused more on action than on realistic simulation. The game sets up German secret weapons, with fast jet propulsion and a variety of missiles and bombs, against slower but more numerous American piston-engined airplanes.
There are a number of ways into the game, covering full Tours of Duty, historical missions, campaign battles as well as a custom mission builder.
Sound Effects Used
Image Gallery