Fighter Combat

214 SECTION TACTICS, TWOVERSUS-ONEcarries a higher risk of the fighters becoming separated simply through lossof sight.Although some double attack principles were used occasionally duringWorld War I, the doctrine is generally considered to have been developedduring the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s by Werner Moelders of theGerman Condor Legion. The installation of radios in most Germanfighters, the increased difficulty of defending against high-speed attacksfrom the rear, and the necessity of engaging more maneuverable opponentsled to use of the loose pair, which the Germans called the rotte. Thisdoctrine provided the Luftwaffe with a considerable advantage over theirfoes early in World War II, but eventually it was accepted and employed tosome extent by most of the Allied air forces, and it survives today asprobably the most common air-to-air doctrine in use.Loose DeuceWhy let rank lead, when ability can do it better?Commander Randy "Duke" Cunningham, USN"Loose deuce" is the popular name of a tactical doctrine developed bythe U.S. Navy during the Vietnam conflict. Rather than being an entirelynew doctrine, loose deuce is actually a rather minor variation of doubleattack, but its use today is general enough that a discussion of loose deuceis warranted here.Similarities with Double AttackLike double attack, loose deuce is based on a loose, coordinated pair offighters in mutual support. Pre-engaged philosophy and cruise formationsare essentially identical in these two doctrines. Combat spread is probablythe most common cruising formation, for all the reasons described earlier.A pre-engagement leader is designated, but once they are engaged thepilots revert to engaged fighter—free fighter roles. Variations on the bracketattack (Figure 5-3) are also the bread and butter of loose deuce. Defensiveloose deuce maneuvering is essentially identical to that of double attack,and the techniques illustrated in Figures 5-4 through 5-8 are all relevant.Engaged ManeuveringIn offensive engaged maneuvering philosophy, however, the two doctrinesdiverge. The primary responsibility of the loose deuce free-fighter pilot isto position for his own attack on the bogey, rather than simply covering theengaged fighter. While the offensive double attack free-fighter pilot isprimarily defensive, and awaits the engaged pilot's call before attacking,the loose deuce free-fighter pilot is not under any such restrictions. Eachpilot is responsible for visually clearing his wingman and himself. Theengaged pilot devotes most of his attention to offense, however, and thefree pilot's duties are split about fifty-fifty between offense and defense.The pilot of the engaged fighter in double attack doctrine fights thebogey one-versus-one until he destroys the target or he faces imminentloss of the offensive. Ideally, there should never be two fighters offensively