Fighter Combat - Tactics and Maneuvering

150 ONE-VERSUS-ONE MANEUVERING, DISSIMILAR AIRCRAFT
for turn rate to accomplish much of the heading change required in maneuvering
to a gun-firing envelope, and in a steep diving attitude the energy
fighter has to oppose less gravity than it would when performing a level
turn. It should be noted, however, that while the guns approach may be a
steep dive, the firing pass itself usually is more successful if it can be
shallowed somewhat, as discussed later. Even with these advantages,
however, the pilot of the energy fighter should not expect a lengthy tracking
gun shot against a well-flown low-wing-loaded fighter with a substantial
instantaneous-turn advantage, since this bogey nearly always can
generate enough turn performance to keep the energy fighter out of steady
tracking parameters. The major exceptions to this rule occur when the
bogey pilot loses sight of his attacker or the bogey is near stall speed at
tree-top altitudes. Although the energy fighter pilot can work at creating
these conditions, a lethal snapshot opportunity often will be achieved first.
Obviously, an energy fighter must have a substantial altitude advantage
over its opponent immediately preceding an effective high-side or overhead
gun pass. The exact amount of this required advantage depends on
many factors, but in general the altitude advantage should be about equivalent
to the minimum instantaneous turn radius of the energy fighter. That
is, a fighter that can generate a minimum horizontal turn radius of 2,000 ft
at engagement altitude and optimum speed (i.e., below corner speed)
would require about a 2,000-ft altitude advantage for an effective overhead
or steep high-side gun attack. A well-flown angles fighter can be expected
to deny such an altitude advantage, if possible, whenever the energy fighter
is near guns range. The bogey pilot may do this by zooming with the energy
fighter or by saving enough airspeed to allow a vertical pull-up, if necessary,
to meet the diving attacker nearly head-on.
The pilot of the high-T/W fighter, therefore, needs to build an energy
advantage sufficient to allow him to zoom higher than the low-wingloaded
bogey by the required amount. Then if the bogey pilot engages in a
zooming contest, the energy fighter pilot simply waits for his opponent to
top out in the climb, and then pounces on him from above before the bogey
can dive and gain sufficient airspeed for effective defensive maneuvering.
This sequence was discussed in conjunction with Figure 2-15.
There are at least two pitfalls in this tactic, however. The most serious
of these is the possibility that the zooming contest will occur before the
high-T/W fighter has a great enough energy advantage. The results of this
error were described under guns-only angles tactics in this and the preceding
chapter and are depicted in Figures 3-3 and 3-8. The other possibility is
that the bogey pilot will refuse to join in a zooming contest, but rather will
use his free time during the energy fighter's pull-up to build energy for a
later defensive move or a "baiting" tactic like the one shown in Figure 4-4.
These are just two of the factors that make this energy fight a very difficult
one.
Engaging with an Initial Energy Advantage. Depending on relative performance,
the energy fighter pilot may be able to assure the desired energy
advantage at the first pass by attaining a speed that is well above the
maximum capability of the low-T/W bogey. This is common when a