Fighter Combat - Tactics and Maneuvering

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SECTION TACTICS, TWC-VERSUS-ONE 223 and dives, can be employed for signaling. Other visual signals, such as dumping a little fuel, jettisoning external fuel tanks, and creating burner puffs have also been used. During World War I, before installation of radios in fighters, even color-coded flare pistols were widely employed as signaling devices. In the air you cannot find a general or a colonel. Who has the most kills, he was the leader. ... It worked very well in the war. Colonel Erich "Bubi" Hartmann, GAP The complexities of both double attack and loose deuce doctrine require a high degree of pilot training and experience to be effective. While the wingman in fighting wing doctrine has few responsibilities other than formation flying and defensive lookout, this is certainly not the case in the more advanced doctrines. Particularly with loose deuce, a high level of responsibility, skill, and judgment are required of both pilots. For greatest efficiency members of the section should constantly train, talk, eat, and sleep together. Each team member must know what the other is thinking, what he will do in various situations, his strengths and weaknesses. This intimate knowledge also serves to reduce some of the communication requirements in combat. One has to know one's flying partner. Baron Manfred von Richthofen One-versus-Two Maneuvering The foregoing discussions have demonstrated the power and effectiveness of two fighters operating in mutual support against a single adversary. But what about the other side of the coin? How can a single fighter survive and even prevail when outnumbered two-to-one? The answer is "Very carefully!" First of all the pilot of the singleton must realize when he is engaging two opponents that he has already broken one of the cardinal rules of air warfare: Do not engage without advantage. This sage piece of advice can be ignored only at great risk. In this case the singleton pilot is outnumbered, so he already has one strike against him and can ill afford another. He must weigh all the tactical factors carefully and attempt to optimize them in his favor. Offensive Maneuvering One should force the battle upon the enemy, not have the battle forced upon oneself. Major Sholto Douglas, RAF 6 Victories, WW-I (Marshal of the RAF during WW-II) Surprise and offensive advantage are two of the most important factors to consider. The singleton pilot should stalk his victims carefully and attain a favorable position before committing to the attack. High in the section's rear hemisphere, out of the sun, is a favorite position. From such a perch the fighter may be able to dive on the section unseen, close quickly, and
224 SECTION TACTICS, TWOVERSUS-ONE eliminate one of the bogeys before the section knows what hit it. If he has been successful and is still favorably positioned, the attacker may choose to take on the remaining bogey one-versus-one, or simply dive away and disengage at high speed. If the first attack is unsuccessful, the disengagement option is usually called for. Depending on weapons and environmental considerations, other attacks may also be viable or even preferable, but the high, diving approach has been most successful. If you have to fight with the eyes only, not with using instruments [such] as radar . . . then the first thing that I do is I go to the sun and I come from the sun as I start my attack. . . . Always with your eyes fly into the sun and never have the sun in your backdoor. . . . That's very dangerous. Colonel Erich "Bubi" Hartmann, GAP When preparing to engage a section offensively, the singleton pilot is presented with the choice of which bogey to attack first. Generally the best choice is the more vulnerable bogey, which is usually the one behind in echelon or trail formations. The rear hemisphere of this "sucked" bogey is probably least well guarded visually, making surprise easier. In addition, the "acute" bogey, the one ahead in the formation, will require some time to get turned around and into position to support the wingman. Figure 5-11 depicts the preferred method of attacking an echelon pair. This figure shows a section of bogeys in echelon formation. At time "1" the singleton closes on the wingman from very nearly six o'clock, probably in a dive to increase closure and take advantage of sun position for surprise, and to provide greater attack speed for possible escape if the attack is detected or is not successful. High six o'clock is a very difficult area to defend, but it may not be optimum for environmental conditions (e.g., high overcast clouds that may highlight the attacker) or weapons, so a climbing Figure 5-11. Attacking a Section in Echelon
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Fighter Combat TACTICS AND MANEUVER
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Preface ix Acknowledgments xv Abbre
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CONTENTS Vll Single-Side Offset 353
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X PREFACE tactics varied greatly, a
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Xll PREFACE current void of informa
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Acknowledgments Much of the credit
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Abbreviations AAA anti-aircraft art
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Fighter Combat TACTICS AND MANEUVER
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2 FIGHTER WEAPONS although fixed to
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4 FIGHTER WEAPONS some firing range
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Table 1-1. American Aircraft Guns T
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8 FIGHTER WEAPONS angle is also dep
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10 FIGHTER WEAPONS the ballistics o
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12 HGHTER WEAPONS often bars of lig
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14 FIGHTER WEAPONS This system has
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16 FIGHTER WEAPONS required firing
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18 FIGHTER WEAPONS With a disturbed
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20 FIGHTER WEAPONS We were both fly
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22 FIGHTER WEAPONS The predictor LC
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24 FIGHTER WEAPONS The next best th
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26 FIGHTER WEAPONS tracking G, shor
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28 FIGHTER WEAPONS defender's inten
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30 FIGHTER WEAPONS and acrobatic ma
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32 FIGHTER WEAPONS Missile Propulsi
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34 FIGHTER WEAPONS Missile Guidance
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36 FIGHTER WEAPONS straight path. T
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38 FIGHTER WEAPONS target to correc
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40 FIGHTER WEAPONS sensor systems,
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42 FIGHTER WEAPONS Since CW radars
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44 FIGHTER WEAPONS Missile Fuzes Th
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46 FIGHTER WEAPONS prised of many i
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48 FIGHTER WEAPONS The maneuvering
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50 FIGHTER WEAPONS racy being about
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52 FIGHTER WEAPONS then slowing the
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54 FIGHTER WEAPONS Shooter and targ
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56 FIGHTER WEAPONS will exhibit lar
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58 FIGHTER WEAPONS (RWR), that an e
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60 FIGHTER WEAPONS barrel-rolling a
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2 Basic Fighter Maneuvers I fly clo
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64 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS the comb
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66 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS himself
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68 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS speed ad
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70 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS pursuit
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72 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS Figure 2
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74 Figure 2-7. Low Yo-Yo BASIC FIGH
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76 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS The pote
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80 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS In case
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82 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS capitali
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84 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS one (the
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86 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS his exte
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90 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS the boge
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92 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS subseque
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94 Figure 2-22. Defensive Spiral BA
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96 BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS usually
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3 One-versus-One Maneuvering, Simil
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100 ONE-VERSUS-ONE MANEUVERING, SIM
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140 ONE-VERSUS-ONE MANEUVERING, DIS
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1 70 ONE-VERSUS-ONE MANEUVERING, DI
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Page 215 and 216: 196 SECTION TACTICS, TWOVERSUS-ONE
Page 225 and 226: 206 SECTION TACTICS. TWOVERSUS-ONE
Page 229 and 230: 210 SECTION TACTICS, TWO-VERSUS-ONE
Page 241: 222 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 285 and 286: 7 Division Tactics The essence of l
Page 287 and 288: 268 DIVISION TACTICS design began t
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274 DIVISION TACTICS Figure 7-8. Se
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276 DIVISION TACTICS Lieutenant Eug
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278 DIVISION TACTICS away, the free
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280 DIVISION TACTICS cloud) is now
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282 DIVISION TACTICS Figure 7-13. G
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284 DIVISION TACTICS defensive look
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286 DIVISION TACTICS In a dog-fight
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288 DIVISION TACTICS Americans empl
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8 Unlimited-Aircraft Tactics Of cou
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292 UNLIMITED-AIRCRAFT TACTICS seve
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294 UN LIMITED-AIRCRAFT TACTICS the
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296 UNLIMITED-AIRCRAFT TACTICS beca
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298 UNLIMITED-AIRCRAFT TACTICS I de
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300 UNLIMITED-AIRCRAFT TACTICS post
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302 UNLIMITED-AIRCRAFT TACTICS many
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304 UNLIMITED-AIRCRAFT TACTICS poss
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306 UNLIMITED-AIRCRAFT TACTICS posi
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308 UNLIMITED-AIRCRAFT TACTICS may
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310 UNLIMITED-AIRCRAFT TACTICS inte
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312 UNLIMITED-AIRCRAFT TACTICS A go
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314 UNLIMITED-AIRCRAFT TACTICS doct
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Fighter Missions To use a fighter a
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318 FIGHTER MISSIONS Scenarios Sinc
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320 FIGHTER MISSIONS altitude, deta
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322 FIGHTER MISSIONS agency and the
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324 FIGHTER MISSIONS As previously
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326 FIGHTER MISSIONS cruise missile
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328 FIGHTER MISSIONS pattern gives
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330 FIGHTER MISSIONS have to coordi
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332 FIGHTER MISSIONS can be turned
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334 FIGHTER MISSIONS the enemy. Suc
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336 FIGHTER MISSIONS aircraft, and
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338 FIGHTER MISSIONS point for a di
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340 FIGHTER MISSIONS become major t
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342 Figure 9-3. Fighter-Escort Miss
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344 FIGHTER MISSIONS Figure 9-6. Fi
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10 Tactical Intercepts Confront the
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348 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS Figure 10-1
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350 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS desired alt
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352 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS If the turn
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356 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS range). If
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358 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS ment, and t
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360 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS Advantages
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364 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS leader thro
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366 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS immediate l
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368 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS awareness),
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370 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS and positio
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372 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS low, traili
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376 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS also have t
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378 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS Visual Scan
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380 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS Likely thre
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382 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS be best for
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384 TACTICAL INTERCEPTS target on t
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Appendix Fighter Performance Perfor
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APPENDIX Figure A-l. V-n Diagram di
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APPENDIX 391 Figure A-2. Aircraft T
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APPENDIX 393 Figure A-4. Instantane
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APPENDIX 395 neuverability may be d
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APPENDIX 397 Figure A-7. Engine Thr
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APPENDIX 399 tends to reduce pressu
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APPENDIX 401 Figure A-11. Typical H
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APPENDIX 403 cause the Ps = 0 line
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APPENDIX 405 In theory the energy t
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APPENDIX 407 aircraft surfaces. In
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APPENDIX 409 Outside the zero-Ps li
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APPENDIX 411 factor," which is the
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APPENDIX 413 this condition occurs,
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APPENDIX 415 speed control. Many of
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APPENDIX 417 short or swept wings a
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420 BIBLIOGRAPHY Johnson, Robert S.
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422 INDEX Canard controls, 32, 398
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424 High yo-yo. See Yo-yo, high H-M
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426 INDEX Pursuit: curves and traje
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428 INDEX Turns (continued] 191, 20
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Fighter Combat - Tactics and Maneuvering

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