Fighter Combat - Tactics and Maneuvering

TACTICAL INTERCEPTS 353
and closing speed are changing continuously during this procedure.
Another danger is presented by the conversion turn itself, which is a long,
blind turn in close proximity to the target. The pilot is exposing the
interceptor's belly to the whole world and daring someone to shoot. If there
are other undetected bogeys in the area, the fighter pilot may never complete
this intercept. It is usually good practice in any event to pause for a
belly-check about halfway through the conversion turn. Generally stern
conversions are not recommended in an unknown environment.
Although fighter speed is not critical to the conduct of a FQ intercept, an
interceptor speed advantage over the target is highly desirable for the stern
conversion. In general, the greater the interceptor's speed advantage, the
more room there is for error in the conversion process. At co-speed, or with
an interceptor speed disadvantage, timing and geometry must be nearly
perfect or the fighter pilot is likely to complete the conversion too far
behind the target for a successful attack.
Another drawback of the stern-conversion technique is the interceptor's
vulnerability to chaff while it is in the target's beam region. It is
difficult for most radars to discriminate between chaff and the real target
when they are viewed from the target's flank, since closing velocity is so
nearly identical. This situation often results in the interceptor pilot losing
contact with the target at a critical time or completing an intercept on the
chaff. Doppler-type radars are also susceptible to losing track of targets
with beam aspects.
The FQ and stern-conversion intercepts comprise the basics of almost
all tactical intercepts. The tactics presented in the remainder of this
chapter apply these fundamentals to multiple-fighter scenarios. Although
the examples depicted here usually show two fighters opposing two
bogeys, each aircraft of either formation can be considered to be an element
of any desired number, and the tactics can be applied to an encounter of
essentially any size.
Today it is even more important to dominate the . . . highly sophisticated
weapon systems, perhaps even more important than being a good pilot; to
make the best use of this system.
Lt. General Adolph Galland, Luftwaffe
Single-Side Offset
Description
The single-side offset places all interceptors on one side of the target
formation, and the fighter leader performs either a FQ intercept or a stern
conversion, as shown in Figure 10-4.
In this example the fighter section detects the bogey formation roughly
head-on, and the leader offsets to the north beginning at time "I," possibly
to take advantage of prevailing environmental conditions. Ideally the first
pilot with radar contact becomes the tactical leader throughout the intercept.
The wingman, initially located on the south side, dives below the
leader to increase speed, and then crosses the leader's flight path to emerge