Fighter Combat

BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS 75Figure 2-8. Lead Turncontinues straight ahead to point "2." At point "2" the early-turningfighter has a considerable advantage over its opponent. This position mayallow a high-angle gun snapshot. At time "2" the defender turns towardthe attacker, who then overshoots the defender's six o'clock at time "3"and assumes a temporary lag-pursuit position deep in the defender's rearhemisphere.For comparison, the broken track shows the result if both pilots waituntil they pass abeam before beginning to turn (points "2" and "2"'). Attime "3"-"3'," the fighters are still abeam, essentially neutral.Although the lead turn can be a very effective offensive maneuver, it isnot without limitations. The earlier the turn is begun, the greater thepotential rewards, but obviously if it is started too soon the attacker willpass in front of the defender's nose. This can be dangerous if the defender isequipped with a short-range, all-aspect weapon such as a gun. It also resultsin the other blind-lead-turn problems mentioned in the previous chapter.One possible solution to this problem is a slightly out-of-plane lead turn,so that the attacker passes above or below the defender's nose, avoiding aboresight weapons-firing solution.Another danger of the lead turn is the overshoot potential. In Figure 2-8the attacker delayed his turn to pass behind the defender, but he overshotthe bogey's extended six o'clock position at long range with a trackcrossingangle (TCA) of about 90°. TCA is defined as the angular differencein velocity vectors at any instant. As long as turn radii and speed are aboutequal between the opponents, there is little danger in such an overshoot. Ifthe defender reverses near point "3," he places the attacker on the inside ofhis turn in lead pursuit and subjects himself to a guns pass. If, however, thedefender has a tighter turn-radius capability or slower speed at the time ofthe overshoot, a reversal may place him inside the attacker's turn, on theoffensive, as depicted in Figure 2-4.