10 Commandments For Fighter Pilots

[Happy1]

Greetings everyone    just finished reading a great book written
by our very own "Fighter Ace" of World War II Lt.Col. William R.
Dunn,  a veteran of 38 yrs of military svc & 378 combat missions in fighter aircraft, ret'd from the USAF in 1973.

Book title:  Fighter Pilot: the first American Ace of World War II

Poster in pilots' ready room outlining the 10 COMMANDMENTS FOR
FIGHTER PILOTS.

1.  Never fly straight & level for more than 30 seconds in the combat area.

2.  Always keep a sharp lookout for enemy fighters. Keep your finger out & ur head on a swivel. Watch for the enemy in the sun.

3.  Height gives u the initiative.  Don't waste it.

4.  Always turn & face the attacking enemy.

5.  Make ur decisions promptly. It is better to act quickly, even tho
ur tactics are not the best.

6.  When diving to attack, always leave a portion of your forma-
tion above to act as top cover.

7.  Wait until u c the whites of ur enemy's eyes.  Fire short bursts
of  1 or 2 seconds,  & only when ur gunsight is definitely "ON" the
target.

8.  While shooting, think of nothing else.  Brace the whole of ur
body, have both hands on the control stick, concentrate on ur
gunsight & the target.

9.  Go in quickly --- punch hard --- get out!

10. Initiative, aggression, air discipline, & team work are words
that mean something in air fighting.

Taken from page 47.

Which is the better plane?  Read a Fighter Pilot's choice after flying nothing but fighters & WHY he likes that particular aircraft above all ... based on facts & experience.

This man is a "Mustang", ie...he went from an Infantry Man all the
way to the very top ...  quite a man, what an admirable pilot ....
this book is a must read!  Enjoy.

Cheers,

Happy1  

[koda76]

Good info..........

[Drano]

Some better advice from our own Bullethead. His twist on the Dicta Boelke works for me. Find "Dicta Bullethead" here:

http://people.delphiforums.com/jtweller/training/tactics.htm#dicta

 Drano

P.S. Might want to check out the rest of the training pages on that site. While its an oldie with a lot of references to AW, all of the material pretty much applies to what you're trying to do in AH. It was one of the first things I read when I started this addiction I don't know how long ago now.

[Happy1]

Try to keep ACTUAL World War II Commandments that REAL LIFE
Pilots used & lived by,
                                           from

People playing GAMES, of course games are easier to play thereby
the "Survival Rules" are going  2b different.  

Cheers,

Happy1  

[Kweassa]

The above "10 commandments" are from Adolf "Sailor" Malan of the RAF. Both Boelke's Dicta and Malan's Commandments are good source of material for pilots.

[opus]

I like rule number 7 and you hear it in many forms (e.g. "Get close, then get even closer.")

You shoot at 800, it looks like 600 and you swear you shot at 400 I think the large numbers in the MA make that a hard habit to break.

I think there should be a 7b Always err on the side of too much lead. If you miss in front, the target feels lucky, if you miss in back he figures you aren't too good. Its a psychological plus to miss in front.