Fighter Combat - Tactics and Maneuvering

FIGHTER WEAPONS 21
Most snapshots lie somewhere between the low-G and max-G varieties.
The low-G snapshot generally requires more initial excess lead than the
high-G snapshot or the tracking shot. If the required excess lead is very
great and the shooter is located near the target's plane of turn, the shooter
may have to place the target below his nose, out of sight, to establish this
lead. Although this technique can be quite effective when it is mastered, it
has several drawbacks. First, it is difficult to judge the proper amount of
lead and exact plane of turn when the target is not visible for several
seconds, so the technique requires much practice. Practicing blind lead
turns is exceedingly dangerous. The pilot of the target aircraft may not see
the attacker, and a slight miscalculation on the shooter's part or a small
change in target G can result in a midair collision, which could ruin the
entire day. Additionally, in combat, if the target pilot sees the attacker
performing a blind lead turn, he can easily change his G or maneuver plane,
ruining the shot and possibly causing the attacker to lose sight. This could
provide the target with an opportunity to escape or even to reverse the
roles.
I'd hate to see an epitaph on a fighter pilot's tombstone that says, "I told you I
needed training." . . . How do you train for the most dangerous game in the
world by being as safe as possible? When you don't let a guy train because it's
dangerous, you're saying, "Go fight those lions with your bare hands in that
arena, because we can't teach you to learn how to use a spear. If we do, you
might cut your finger while you're learning." And that's just about the same
as murder.
Colonel "Boots" Boothby, USAF
Fighter Pilot
A better technique for providing large amounts of lead (when time is
available) is to turn slightly out of plane. This should allow the attacker to
maintain sight of the target just to one side of the nose. After the range has
decreased substantially, the attacker can roll toward the target and pull the
pipper back to its flight path. The shooter then can allow the target to fly
through the pipper (low-G snapshot), or he can quickly roll back in the
opposite direction to get into the target's plane of turn and attempt to slow
the LOS rate (high-G snapshot). Although this method takes a little longer,
it does not have the disadvantages of the in-plane technique.
The chances for success with a snapshot depend on many factors, but
one of the most important is the gunsight. With a fixed sight, the shooter is
almost committed to being near the target's plane of maneuver when
firing. This greatly simplifies the left/right aiming problem that results
from target maneuver. The shooter's marksmanship is still tested, however,
by estimations of gravity drop, trajectory jump, etc., but these are
greatly diminished at close range. Firing commences as the target
approaches the computed aim point, and it should continue as long as the
tracers show bullets passing forward of the target's tail and near its flight
path.
I liked the whole front of my windscreen to be full of the enemy aircraft when
I fired.
Colonel Erich "Bubi" Hartmann, GAF