Fighter Combat - Tactics and Maneuvering

ONE-VERSUS-ONE MANEUVERING, DISSIMILAR AIRCRAFT 159
near directly overhead the bogey as possible. If the bogey is still some
distance away horizontally as the energy fighter reaches the vertical, it
may be desirable to delay the completion of the pitch-back for a few
seconds to allow the bogey to drive closer. This may be done by unloading
in a near-vertical attitude and continuing the zoom. This tactic may be
accompanied by profiling, as explained earlier. In this way extra altitude
and time may be gained by zooming to a very slow airspeed, and then
performing a rudder reversal or a pull-down at the appropriate moment.
In the case depicted, however, the bogey is near enough that the pitchback
can be continued. Therefore the pilot of the energy fighter rolls to
place the bogey perpendicular to the wings, and continues to pull in an
attempt to pass directly over the bogey without any horizontal maneuvering.
The bogey pilot may defeat this effort by turning horizontally after the
energy fighter's rolling maneuver, but this should have little effect other
than further reducing the bogey's energy.
In the engagement depicted in Figure 4-7 the bogey begins a climbing
oblique turn to the right at time "4." After crossing above the bogey, the
energy fighter pulls steeply down toward its opponent's rear hemisphere,
During the first part of this descent (between times "4" and "5") the energy
fighter pilot uses lag pursuit, keeping his aircraft's nose pointed slightly
behind the bogey, driving toward its extended six o'clock region. This
technique results in a spiraling flight path, with most of the required
heading changes accomplished by rolling the aircraft. During this period
load factor should be minimized to permit greater acceleration.
This lag-pursuit technique should force the bogey pilot to turn hard and
climb more steeply in order to keep sight of the diving energy fighter,
thereby bleeding even more energy. At time "5" the energy fighter pilot
determines that separation and angular advantage are such that an effective
high-side gun attack can be initiated. Therefore he begins to turn
harder, shallowing the dive angle, and pulling inside the bogey's turn by
making the transition to pure, and then lead, pursuit. At time "6" the
energy fighter has achieved a fairly high AOT, but it is in an effective firing
position against the relatively slow and less maneuverable bogey.
In this example the high-T/W fighter's energy-performance advantage
was sufficient to provide an attack opportunity after only one vertical
move, but this may not always be the case. Coming over the top of the
pitch-back (time "4"), the energy fighter pilot may discover that the bogey
has turned early and is already near position "5," offset from directly below
and much higher than before. In this situation an attack still may be
possible by pulling directly into lead pursuit, turning nose-to-nose with
the bogey when the maneuver is viewed from above, and reversing for the
shot as firing range is approached. Usually, however, this technique results
in a very steep diving approach and a high-AOT firing position that may
not be effective. The steep approach also results in a large vertical overshoot
after the firing pass, which could cause problems later on. Therefore,
this nose-to-nose tactic is most appropriate when the energy fighter pilot
intends only to take whatever shot is available at the first opportunity and
then exit the fight in a high-speed diving extension.