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Fighter Combat - Tactics and Maneuvering

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252 SECTION TACTICS, TWOVERSUS-TWO<br />

tion high above the low-energy bogey, out of guns range. Another possibility<br />

is the section vertical reversal, where both fighters pull up into a<br />

near-vertical zoom, perform a rudder reversal or some other end-swapping<br />

stunt at very slow speed at the peak of the zoom, <strong>and</strong> accelerate steeply<br />

back downhill for a simultaneous pull-out.<br />

While these maneuvers can be very valuable in certain situations, they<br />

do have severe limitations. High-energy bogeys may catch the fighters at<br />

slow speed near the top of their pitch-backs, with disastrous results, <strong>and</strong><br />

all-aspect missiles just love those high, slow targets. These techniques can<br />

also be dangerous in high-threat environments, where the section may be<br />

jumped by wild-card bogeys or fired at by SAMs while the aircraft are at<br />

slow speed.<br />

Strike-Rejoin-Strike.<br />

The best approach to a battle ... is surprise, make your attack <strong>and</strong> disappear<br />

<strong>and</strong> start a new attack. Don't get engaged <strong>and</strong> make it a dogfight.<br />

Lt. General Adolph Gall<strong>and</strong>, Luftwaffe<br />

The study of one hypothetical engagement using the "strike-rejoinstrike"<br />

technique may best serve to illustrate most of the key elements<br />

involved in the employment of a section in the two-versus-two environment.<br />

In Figure 6-5 the fighters are in combat spread on patrol headed north<br />

when the pilots spot a hostile section approaching head-on. A split is called<br />

at time "I" to bracket the bogeys, but shortly after the split is commenced,<br />

Figure 6-5. Two-versus-Two Engagement

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