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Fighter Combat - Tactics and Maneuvering

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104 ONE-VERSUS-ONE MANEUVERING, SIMILAR AIRCRAFT<br />

Figure 3-2. Guns-Only Angles Fight: Mid-Game<br />

From his position of advantage below <strong>and</strong> behind the bogey, the angles<br />

tactician at this point puts everything he's got into a lead turn to position<br />

for a snapshot as the target dives by at point-blank range <strong>and</strong> too slow to<br />

defend against the shot, time "6." An in-plane, "blind" lead turn is most<br />

effective for this purpose, but, as discussed previously, this tactic takes<br />

much practice <strong>and</strong> can be risky. Normally little is lost by turning slightly<br />

out-of-plane so that the target can be kept in view over one side of the<br />

angles fighter's nose.<br />

In the situation just described at time "6," the bogey should soon be cold<br />

meat. If the shot is missed, however, the situation could change rather<br />

rapidly. The angles fighter most likely will overshoot vertically at a lower<br />

energy level than that of the bogey. This may allow the bogey to escape or<br />

to force a rolling scissors, which would be to its advantage. Although there<br />

is probably not much that can be done at this point to prevent the bogey's<br />

escape, the angles tactician does need to be wary of the rolling scissors. At<br />

min-range he should perform a quarter roll away from the bogey <strong>and</strong><br />

continue his pull-out. After safe separation has been gained, he can either<br />

reengage on neutral terms or escape.<br />

There's no kill like a guns kill.<br />

Lt. Comm<strong>and</strong>er Joe "Hoser" Satrapa, USN<br />

Gunnery Instructor<br />

The Energy Fight<br />

This tactic involves building an energy advantage <strong>and</strong> then converting that<br />

energy to a snapshot position. Figure 2-15 depicts one method by which an<br />

energy advantage may be used to generate vertical separation <strong>and</strong> a possi-

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