Chapter I — First Blood Open the Campaign screen to begin.
Flight: W / ↑ climb · S / ↓ descend · E engine on/off · Space drop bomb · P / Esc pause · M mute sound effects · N mute music. Rear gun: hold F while gliding with the engine off or while descending steeply. It is only fitted on missions that issue ammunition.
Engines Off spans twelve combat sorties across four chapters, from the Don Basin in 1942 to the final operations of May 1945. Weather now affects visibility, detection, bomb drift and handling. Aircraft losses do not always mean death: crews may be killed, wounded, or walk away. Primary objectives retain spare target opportunities so one missed attack run does not automatically doom the sortie.
Open the Campaign screen.
Fly twelve representative combat missions with the Soviet women's night-bomber regiment,
from the Don Basin in 1942 to the final operational night of May 1945.
No campaign in progress.
Created by Ropaire · Version 0.13
Field Notes
How to Play
Climb / descendW or ↑ / S or ↓
EngineE toggles the engine. Cutting it slows the Po-2 but makes you much harder to detect.
BombSpace releases one bomb. Hardened targets such as depots, rail installations and bunkers require bombs.
Rear gunHold F while gliding or descending steeply. It is useful against infantry, vehicles and light AA.
PauseP or Esc during a sortie.
Each mission has a primary objective that must be completed and an optional
secondary objective for a better result. Primary objectives deliberately include
spare target opportunities, so one missed attack does not automatically doom the sortie.
Searchlights, engine noise, gunfire and explosions raise German alert. When possible,
approach with the engine running, cut it for the attack, and restart only when you need speed.
Weather matters. Moonlight improves target visibility but makes detection easier;
darkness and cloud can conceal you while making targets harder to see; rain and haze can
reduce handling; crosswinds alter bomb travel.
Missions are compressed, representative scenarios rather than literal reconstructions of
twelve individual historical sorties.
Credits
Engines Off
Created by Ropaire
A compact historical arcade game inspired by the wartime service of the Soviet
588th Night Bomber Regiment, later the 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment.
The campaign compresses the Regiment's movement from the southern front through the Kuban,
Crimea, Poland and Germany into twelve representative missions. It is not intended as a
literal reconstruction of individual sorties.
Version 0.13 · Browser edition
Sortie Paused
Engines Off
The aircraft is holding in the dark. Resume when ready.
P or Esc resumes the sortie.
588th Night Bomber Regiment
Chapter I — First Blood
Trud Gornyaka, Don Basin · June–July 1942
The Regiment has reached the front. German forces are advancing through the Don Basin while Soviet units retreat and reorganise.
Current crew
Pilot:
Navigator: Aircraft: Po-2 · forward night bomber detachment
Regimental record
Sorties flown: 0
Missions completed: 0
Targets destroyed: 0
Secondary objectives: 0
Aircraft lost: 0
Pilots killed: 0
Pilots wounded: 0
Walked away from loss: 0
Regimental Roll of Honour
No losses recorded.
Mission Briefing
Mission
Date:
Primary:
Secondary:
Conditions:
Load:
Crew:
Dawn Debrief
Mission Result
Primary objective
Secondary objective
Aircraft condition
Targets destroyed
Mission score
Rating
Aircraft Lost
Killed in Action
Replacement pilot:
Navigator:
The campaign continues. The mission must still be completed.
