Fighter Combat - Tactics and Maneuvering

More documents

Recommendations

Info

SECTION TACTICS, TWOVERSUS-ONE 207 a scissors. Against a gun-equipped attacker with a definite angular advantage, reversing at this point subjects the defender to another close-range gun shot, unless the defender is much more maneuverable (i.e., has a tighter turn radius). The reversal option also tends to drag the fight away from the free fighter, delaying any help it may be able to render. Engaging the bogey in a slow-speed, close-range knife fight can even leave the free fighter helpless to assist, since a missile fired at the bogey under these conditions might very easily guide on the friendly fighter instead. This would greatly reduce the popularity of the free-fighter pilot at the bar following the mission. A better option here is probably to continue to turn in the same direction, as shown at time "4." This action delays any further weapons firing by the attacker and pulls the fight back toward the free fighter. If the bogey continues to press the attack in this case, it will turn belly-up to the free fighter coming in from the south. The free fighter would then be in an excellent position to sandwich the bogey, probably unseen, and achieve either gun- or missile-firing parameters. If the bogey detects the free fighter's attack, a switch may occur, with the bogey releasing the original defender to concentrate on the other fighter. In this case the original free fighter becomes engaged, usually on at least equal terms, and can begin one-versus-one maneuvering or disengage. Meanwhile the original defender is now free to catch his breath, recover some energy, and assume a cover position, usually high above the fight, to await his turn at the opponent while watching for additional ("wild-card") bogeys. Figure 5-5. The Defensive Split
208 SECTION TACTICS, TWOVERSUS-ONE Again the team of Godfrey and Gentile provides a combat example of the defensive split. The maneuvering following the split is also very representative of offensive double attack doctrine. Don was the first to see the ME-109. "Johnny, at six o'clock high there's a single bandit." I looked back, and there he was high above us. I gazed in disbelief as his nose dropped and he plummeted down on us. "Don, the crazy son of a bitch is bouncing us." "I know. When I yell, 'Break,' you break right and I'll break left." I watched as the 109 dropped closer and closer. "Break, Johnny." I pulled sharply to the right, and thought at first I had broken too late as the 109 pulled on my tail. I tightened my turn and met Don halfway around as he tried to fire on the 109 in a head-on attack. I went around twice more, with the Jerry on my tail, before Don could reverse his turn and swing down for a rear attack. But this German pilot was a smart, capable flyer. As Don brought his guns to bear, he split S and dove to the ground. Don and I followed him, our motors roaring in pursuit. He pulled out of his dive and banked left, which brought him close to me. I followed him and fired. He wasn't one to sit still, however, and changed his turn to swing into Don. I followed, firing intermittently. Don, meanwhile, had climbed for altitude, and I kept the Jerry busy in a tight turn. As I fired, I saw flashes on his wing, fuselage and even his motor, but the pilot wouldn't bail out. Turning all the time and losing height, we were now just above the tree tops, and the 109's engine was spewing smoke. I had no forewarning that my ammunition was running out, but as I prepared for the final burst only silence came as I pressed the tit. "Finish him, Don. I'm all out of ammunition." Don, who had been maneuvering above us waiting for the Jerry to break out of the turn, zoomed down in front of me and made one pass at the courageous German flyer. His shots hit home, and the 109 crashed into the ground. 1 A common variation on the defensive split is a high/low split. In this case one fighter pulls up steeply (either vertically or obliquely toward the wingman) while the other turns away level or nose-low. This tactic generates both a vertical and a horizontal split and again forces the attacker to make a choice. If he attacks the low fighter, the high fighter can come over the top of its vertical or oblique loop and dive down on the bogey. This can be a very effective tactic when a section is attacked by a low-T/W adversary who does not have the poop to reach the high fighter in its zoom. The high/low split has some serious limitations, however. One of these is the slow speed resulting from the high fighter's zoom climb which leaves it vulnerable to a second, unseen, attacker. Another is the beautiful look-up shot it presents to a missile-equipped opponent. A third consideration is the relative energy of attacker and defender. If the bogey is closing from the rear quarter at the same altitude or higher, it has an energy advantage over the defending fighters. This energy margin may allow even a low-powered bogey to zoom with the high fighter, catch it at the top of the loop, and cause real problems long before the low fighter can become a factor. The high/low split was used very effectively by the Chinese and Russian
Page 2 and 3:
Fighter Combat TACTICS AND MANEUVER
Page 4 and 5:
Preface ix Acknowledgments xv Abbre
Page 6:
CONTENTS Vll Single-Side Offset 353
Page 9 and 10:
X PREFACE tactics varied greatly, a
Page 11 and 12:
Xll PREFACE current void of informa
Page 14 and 15:
Acknowledgments Much of the credit
Page 16 and 17:
Abbreviations AAA anti-aircraft art
Page 18:
Fighter Combat TACTICS AND MANEUVER
Page 21 and 22:
2 FIGHTER WEAPONS although fixed to
Page 23 and 24:
4 FIGHTER WEAPONS some firing range
Page 25 and 26:
Table 1-1. American Aircraft Guns T
Page 27 and 28:
8 FIGHTER WEAPONS angle is also dep
Page 29 and 30:
10 FIGHTER WEAPONS the ballistics o
Page 31 and 32:
12 HGHTER WEAPONS often bars of lig
Page 33 and 34:
14 FIGHTER WEAPONS This system has
Page 35 and 36:
16 FIGHTER WEAPONS required firing
Page 37 and 38:
18 FIGHTER WEAPONS With a disturbed
Page 39 and 40:
20 FIGHTER WEAPONS We were both fly
Page 41 and 42:
22 FIGHTER WEAPONS The predictor LC
Page 43 and 44:
24 FIGHTER WEAPONS The next best th
Page 45 and 46:
26 FIGHTER WEAPONS tracking G, shor
Page 47 and 48:
28 FIGHTER WEAPONS defender's inten
Page 49 and 50:
30 FIGHTER WEAPONS and acrobatic ma
Page 51 and 52:
32 FIGHTER WEAPONS Missile Propulsi
Page 53 and 54:
34 FIGHTER WEAPONS Missile Guidance
Page 55 and 56:
36 FIGHTER WEAPONS straight path. T
Page 57 and 58:
38 FIGHTER WEAPONS target to correc
Page 59 and 60:
40 FIGHTER WEAPONS sensor systems,
Page 61 and 62:
42 FIGHTER WEAPONS Since CW radars
Page 63 and 64:
44 FIGHTER WEAPONS Missile Fuzes Th
Page 65 and 66:
46 FIGHTER WEAPONS prised of many i
Page 67 and 68:
48 FIGHTER WEAPONS The maneuvering
Page 69 and 70:
50 FIGHTER WEAPONS racy being about
Page 71 and 72:
52 FIGHTER WEAPONS then slowing the
Page 73 and 74:
54 FIGHTER WEAPONS Shooter and targ
Page 75 and 76:
56 FIGHTER WEAPONS will exhibit lar
Page 77 and 78:
58 FIGHTER WEAPONS (RWR), that an e
Page 79 and 80:
60 FIGHTER WEAPONS barrel-rolling a
Page 81 and 82:
2 Basic Fighter Maneuvers I fly clo
Page 83 and 84:
64 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS the comb
Page 85 and 86:
66 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS himself
Page 87 and 88:
68 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS speed ad
Page 89 and 90:
70 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS pursuit
Page 91 and 92:
72 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS Figure 2
Page 93 and 94:
74 Figure 2-7. Low Yo-Yo BASIC FIGH
Page 95 and 96:
76 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS The pote
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
80 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS In case
Page 101 and 102:
82 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS capitali
Page 103 and 104:
84 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS one (the
Page 105 and 106:
86 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS his exte
Page 107 and 108:
Page 109 and 110:
90 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS the boge
Page 111 and 112:
92 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS subseque
Page 113 and 114:
94 Figure 2-22. Defensive Spiral BA
Page 115 and 116:
96 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS usually
Page 117 and 118:
3 One-versus-One Maneuvering, Simil
Page 119 and 120:
100 ONE-VERSUS-ONE MANEUVERING, SIM
Page 121 and 122:
Page 123 and 124:
Page 125 and 126:
Page 127 and 128:
Page 129 and 130:
Page 131 and 132:
Page 133 and 134:
Page 135 and 136:
Page 137 and 138:
Page 139 and 140:
Page 141 and 142:
Page 143 and 144:
Page 145 and 146:
Page 147 and 148:
Page 149 and 150:
Page 151 and 152:
Page 153 and 154:
Page 155 and 156:
Page 157 and 158:
Page 159 and 160:
140 ONE-VERSUS-ONE MANEUVERING, DIS
Page 161 and 162:
Page 163 and 164:
Page 165 and 166:
Page 167 and 168:
Page 169 and 170:
Page 171 and 172:
Page 173 and 174:
Page 175 and 176: 156 ONE-VERSUS-ONE MANEUVERING, DIS
Page 189 and 190: 1 70 ONE-VERSUS-ONE MANEUVERING, DI
Page 215 and 216: 196 SECTION TACTICS, TWOVERSUS-ONE
Page 225: 206 SECTION TACTICS. TWOVERSUS-ONE
Page 229 and 230: 210 SECTION TACTICS, TWO-VERSUS-ONE
Page 245 and 246: 226 SECTION TACTICS/ TWOVERSUS-ONE
Page 255 and 256: Section Tactics, Two-versus-Two The
Page 257 and 258: 238 SECTION TACTICS, TWOVERSUS-TWO
Page 275 and 276: 256 SECTION TACTICS, TWC-VERSUS-TWO
Page 277 and 278:
258 SECTION TACTICS, TWOVERSUS-TWO
Page 279 and 280:
Page 281 and 282:
Page 283 and 284:
Page 285 and 286:
7 Division Tactics The essence of l
Page 287 and 288:
268 DIVISION TACTICS design began t
Page 289 and 290:
270 DIVISION TACTICS so called beca
Page 291 and 292:
272 DIVISION TACTICS "4." At time "
Page 293 and 294:
274 DIVISION TACTICS Figure 7-8. Se
Page 295 and 296:
276 DIVISION TACTICS Lieutenant Eug
Page 297 and 298:
278 DIVISION TACTICS away, the free
Page 299 and 300:
280 DIVISION TACTICS cloud) is now
Page 301 and 302:
282 DIVISION TACTICS Figure 7-13. G
Page 303 and 304:
284 DIVISION TACTICS defensive look
Page 305 and 306:
286 DIVISION TACTICS In a dog-fight
Page 307 and 308:
288 DIVISION TACTICS Americans empl
Page 309 and 310:
8 Unlimited-Aircraft Tactics Of cou
Page 311 and 312:
292 UNLIMITED-AIRCRAFT TACTICS seve
Page 313 and 314:
294 UN LIMITED-AIRCRAFT TACTICS the
Page 315 and 316:
296 UNLIMITED-AIRCRAFT TACTICS beca
Page 317 and 318:
298 UNLIMITED-AIRCRAFT TACTICS I de
Page 319 and 320:
300 UNLIMITED-AIRCRAFT TACTICS post
Page 321 and 322:
302 UNLIMITED-AIRCRAFT TACTICS many
Page 323 and 324:
304 UNLIMITED-AIRCRAFT TACTICS poss
Page 325 and 326:
306 UNLIMITED-AIRCRAFT TACTICS posi
Page 327 and 328:
308 UNLIMITED-AIRCRAFT TACTICS may
Page 329 and 330:
310 UNLIMITED-AIRCRAFT TACTICS inte
Page 331 and 332:
312 UNLIMITED-AIRCRAFT TACTICS A go
Page 333 and 334:
314 UNLIMITED-AIRCRAFT TACTICS doct
Page 335 and 336:
Fighter Missions To use a fighter a
Page 337 and 338:
318 FIGHTER MISSIONS Scenarios Sinc
Page 339 and 340:
320 FIGHTER MISSIONS altitude, deta
Page 341 and 342:
322 FIGHTER MISSIONS agency and the
Page 343 and 344:
324 FIGHTER MISSIONS As previously
Page 345 and 346:
326 FIGHTER MISSIONS cruise missile
Page 347 and 348:
328 FIGHTER MISSIONS pattern gives
Page 349 and 350:
330 FIGHTER MISSIONS have to coordi
Page 351 and 352:
332 FIGHTER MISSIONS can be turned
Page 353 and 354:
334 FIGHTER MISSIONS the enemy. Suc
Page 355 and 356:
336 FIGHTER MISSIONS aircraft, and
Page 357 and 358:
338 FIGHTER MISSIONS point for a di
Page 359 and 360:
340 FIGHTER MISSIONS become major t
Page 361 and 362:
342 Figure 9-3. Fighter-Escort Miss
Page 363 and 364:
344 FIGHTER MISSIONS Figure 9-6. Fi
Page 365 and 366:
10 Tactical Intercepts Confront the
Page 367 and 368:
348 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS Figure 10-1
Page 369 and 370:
350 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS desired alt
Page 371 and 372:
352 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS If the turn
Page 373 and 374:
Page 375 and 376:
356 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS range). If
Page 377 and 378:
358 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS ment, and t
Page 379 and 380:
360 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS Advantages
Page 381 and 382:
Page 383 and 384:
364 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS leader thro
Page 385 and 386:
366 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS immediate l
Page 387 and 388:
368 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS awareness),
Page 389 and 390:
370 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS and positio
Page 391 and 392:
372 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS low, traili
Page 393 and 394:
Page 395 and 396:
376 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS also have t
Page 397 and 398:
378 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS Visual Scan
Page 399 and 400:
380 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS Likely thre
Page 401 and 402:
382 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS be best for
Page 403 and 404:
384 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS target on t
Page 406 and 407:
Appendix Fighter Performance Perfor
Page 408 and 409:
APPENDIX Figure A-l. V-n Diagram di
Page 410 and 411:
APPENDIX 391 Figure A-2. Aircraft T
Page 412 and 413:
APPENDIX 393 Figure A-4. Instantane
Page 414 and 415:
APPENDIX 395 neuverability may be d
Page 416 and 417:
APPENDIX 397 Figure A-7. Engine Thr
Page 418 and 419:
APPENDIX 399 tends to reduce pressu
Page 420 and 421:
APPENDIX 401 Figure A-11. Typical H
Page 422 and 423:
APPENDIX 403 cause the Ps = 0 line
Page 424 and 425:
APPENDIX 405 In theory the energy t
Page 426 and 427:
APPENDIX 407 aircraft surfaces. In
Page 428 and 429:
APPENDIX 409 Outside the zero-Ps li
Page 430 and 431:
APPENDIX 411 factor," which is the
Page 432 and 433:
APPENDIX 413 this condition occurs,
Page 434 and 435:
APPENDIX 415 speed control. Many of
Page 436:
APPENDIX 417 short or swept wings a
Page 439 and 440:
420 BIBLIOGRAPHY Johnson, Robert S.
Page 441 and 442:
422 INDEX Canard controls, 32, 398
Page 443 and 444:
424 High yo-yo. See Yo-yo, high H-M
Page 445 and 446:
426 INDEX Pursuit: curves and traje
Page 447:
428 INDEX Turns (continued] 191, 20
show all

Fighter Combat - Tactics and Maneuvering

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?