Fighter Combat - Tactics and Maneuvering

184 ONE-VERSUS-ONE MANEUVERING, DISSIMILAR AIRCRAFT
fighter to hold the opponent off until he loses interest or is forced to
withdraw for fuel considerations. The high-G descending nose-to-tail turn
is ideal for this purpose. If the opponent is equipped with RQ missiles, this
tactic may allow the pilot of the inferior fighter to hold the bogey just far
enough off the tail to prevent a weapons firing while he unexpectedly
reduces power or uses speedbrakes to slow down and thereby generate
rapid closure with the opponent. Then at the critical moment he can make
a break turn toward the bogey to produce an overshoot. If the bogey pilot
does not recognize this ploy soon enough and immediately quarter roll
away and pull up, the inferior fighter may be able to reverse for a cheap
shot. If the bogey does pull up nearly vertically, the defender may have a
chance to unload and accelerate down and away, generating separation to
prolong the fight, or even causing the bogey pilot to lose sight. When the
bogey is gun equipped, the defender should expect a snapshot prior to the
overshoot and be prepared to defeat it with a sharp, out-of-plane jink.
Climbing extension/pitch-back tactics cannot be expected to work for
the inferior fighter in this scenario, since the opponent has a Ps advantage.
The other energy tactics discussed, which are intended to bleed the bogey's
energy with a nose-to-tail turn (or nose-to-nose in the case of a very small
bogey or one equipped with all-aspect missiles), can still be effective
against an inexperienced or a careless opponent.
The following episode, found in Thunderbolt! by the World War II
USAAF ace Robert S. Johnson, is one of the best examples available of the
use of energy tactics (diving extension/pitch-back) to defeat a doublesuperior
opponent. The encounter described is a mock combat engagement
over England between Johnson (P-47C) and an unidentified RAF pilot
in a new Spitfire IX. The Spitfire had about a 25 percent better power
loading and nearly a 25 percent lower wing loading. The Thunderbolt's
only performance advantages were faster top speed, greater acceleration in
a dive (because of the P-47's heavier weight and higher density), and better
roll performance. (See the Appendix for a discussion of roll and acceleration
performance.) Johnson, undoubtedly one of the greatest natural
fighter pilots of all time, used his roll performance defensively to allow
himself the chance to build an energy advantage in a diving extension.
We flew together in formation, and then I decided to see just what this
airplane had to its credit.
I opened the throttle full and the Thunderbolt forged ahead. A moment
later exhaust smoke poured from the Spit as the pilot came after me. He
couldn't make it; the big Jug had a definite speed advantage. I grinned
happily; I'd heard so much about this airplane that I really wanted to show off
the Thunderbolt to her pilot. The Jug kept pulling away from the Spitfire;
suddenly I hauled back on the stick and lifted the nose. The Thunderbolt
zoomed upward, soaring into the cloud-flecked sky. I looked out and back;
the Spit was straining to match me, and barely able to hold his position.
But my advantage was only the zoom—once in steady climb, he had me. I
gaped as smoke poured from the exhausts and the Spitfire shot past me as if
I were standing still. Could that plane climb! He tore upward in a climb I
couldn't match in the Jug. Now it was his turn; the broad elliptical wings
rolled, swung around, and the Spit screamed in, hell-bent on chewing me up.