In Defense of HO attacks

[Happy1]

  Greetings, just finished reading "PACIFIC SWEEP: THE 5TH AND 13TH
FIGHTER COMMAND IN WORLD WAR II by WILLIAM N. HESS".  A great, interesting & informative treatise on Allied & Enemy Fighters.

To ALL the arm-chair aces who whine at people using Head-on (HO) tactics, I say READ the book & learn.   U'll find that the HO was used successfully by allied P40, P39 & P38 pilots, such as BONG, WATKINS & too many others
to mention.

This tactic is NOT a dweeb tactic but was used by ALL, thereby whining & complaining about HO used extensively in AH2 shows SOME peoples' igno-
rance & NOT based on facts but rather their own likes & dislikes.

Questions?  Either purchase the book or borrow it from the library.

To players using HO use it as u see fit, as long as u enjoy the game, it's for UR enjoyment & not for other people's ideas as to what u should or shouldn't do.      Blast them out of the sky!!

Cheers,

Happy1  

[B@tfinkV]

sure, and as you're lining up the shot from 1.5k out im thinking about how easily im gunna avoid your HO and keeeel ewe.

[RTR]

I agree with you Happy1.

However, it has been my experience that a head on shot is a pretty low percentage shot, not to mention the fact that you are now at the pointy end of your opponent.

It is for this reason that I will generally turn away from a HO (or try to get under / around etc.).

I find that deflection shots are much higher percentage shot, and they also afford me the comfort of not being at the pointy end.

Not to mention the fact that my favorite rides don't do too well in a HO situation due to ammo type. (read "I get my butt handed to me" here).

For those that do employ the HO as a tactic, well more power to them. It's your $14.95, fly the way you have fun. That is why we are all here.

cheers,
RTR

[Ack-Ack]

Originally posted by Happy1


To players using HO use it as u see fit, as long as u enjoy the game, it's for UR enjoyment & not for other people's ideas as to what u should or shouldn't do.      Blast them out of the sky!!

Cheers,

Happy1  

To players such as yourself that lack any sort of skill to do anything but HO, may you always be labeled for the skilless dweeb twits you are.  Cheers.



ack-ack

[Happy1]

I guess the armchair aces are all tied in to THEIR way of doing things instead of what history states...now I find that some P38 armchair fliers think highly of themselves completely disregarding what the REAL pilots did in WW2...

Read the book for facts not ur comic book plays & infantile ideas, btw most of the HO shots were done by P38 & P47 pilots ... brag?  No, FACTS.

Cheers,

Happy1  

[TequilaChaser]

if you find DELIGHT in using Head On shots, then by all means go for it,  but some in this game would rather learn how to use BFM's combined as in ACM to defeat their opponent, rather than fly straight at their opponent nose to nose and fire away at each other doing the HO thing.....but to each his own, and how each have fun doing their thing........

if it isn't fun don't do it........


if you want to learn something other than how to HO ( which everyone can do proficiently and with ease ) then ...

all you got to do is ask for some help...........that is what the Training & Help forum is for, it is not for someone to give an excuse why they use a HO tactic.....

nice try though..........

[YUCCA]

Ho'n is just weak.  Wrecks the fun... which is what this game is about right?

[SuperDud]

So reading one book makes you an expert now huh? Why don't you do more research on the subject(read more than 1 book) and then proclaim the HO was widely used. After doing research of my own I've found that the HO wasn't as widely used as you suggest and it wasn't the dead 12 HO that AH is. It was a front quarter, high deflection shot which gave you some room to manuever out of the path of the enemy aircraft. In real life very few would risk the dead 12 HO do to closure rate and chance for collision. After all, in real life you don't get to respawn after you smack face 1st into the enemy.

[Happy1]

The ONLY suggestion I have is READ THE BOOK, I'm no expert nor claim 2b, like u do, that's why u fight wars from Virtual Reality Games, enlist in the armed forces, hero, & try the real thing.

Happy1  

[The Fugitive]

I agree with TC and Yucca, HOin is a lame way to fight....in the game! In the game it doesn't take much skill to just dive in, point your nose at the enemy a pull the trigger. Fight a running battle that last a few minutes instead of just one pass.... thats fighting The lack of skill with an HO is what people are complaining about in the game.

In real live however, when, if you missed, or screwed up and got shot yourself, or crashed into your enemy, then there was no reset button, nor did you just pop into the tower and grab a new plane. In real life it was a desparate move or one that took really big kahones!

[SuperDud]

Where did I claim to be an expert? I said I did some research...but I used more than 1 book. Sorry if the truth knocks your "the HO is ok" defense down a notch. And I don't play this game for the pointless virtual war. I play to unwind and get away from the real world.

As for the miltiary service, what does that have to do with anything? Do you have to be in the miltiary to study military history and understand tactics used 60+ years ago? Further more, do you know me? Do you know whether or not I've done military service?

[Murdr]

Looks like a crumppism to me.  Cherry pick the info that says what you want, and ignore the context.  I can think of pleanty historical HO episodes, but that does not mean that WWII dogfighting cosisted of a bunch of fighter planes jousting.  McGuire touches on HOing in his SWP P-38 manual, and recomends it as a tactic.  Do you know why?  Its in the context of the Japaneese fighters being lightly armored and poorly suited for long range inline firing with wing mounted guns.  He says that they will break off from a HO attack 9 out of 10 times.  In that situation it is to force the enemy to break away, not specifically to get a victory in one pass.

Many of the HO accounts I have read were not consisting of  2 planes flying headlong for each other from miles apart.  In fact I can think of more that were situations where the pilot was turning for their life, and happened to come nose on with an oncomming enemy, in both the Euro and Pac theaters.
Off the top of my head I can recall a HO victory by Bong.  That was a bomber that he had spotted miles behind his flight, for which he turned and shreaded it head on.  That was hardly a fighter vs fighter situation.  Hang out in the Aircraft and Vehicles forum, and you'll find out that many of your "armchair aces" have an extensive historical library and have been absorbing that information for many many years.

[Mister ED]

HOs are dweeb move. Its a crap shoot, some times you win, some times you lose.

Every ACM book Ive ever read said to avoid HOs at all cost. There is NO P-51 pilot that would ever think of doing HOs.

I know every manuver to aviod HOS, and even how to time and drop so as to take advantage of ping rates on an HO.

Just say NO to HOs

[Ack-Ack]

Originally posted by Happy1
I guess the armchair aces are all tied in to THEIR way of doing things instead of what history states...now I find that some P38 armchair fliers think highly of themselves completely disregarding what the REAL pilots did in WW2...

Read the book for facts not ur comic book plays & infantile ideas, btw most of the HO shots were done by P38 & P47 pilots ... brag?  No, FACTS.

Cheers,

Happy1  

I would strongly suggest that you do the same.  While you're at it, read Rober Shaw's book on fighter tactics or Boyle's and then come back and show me were they explain head on tactics.

Did real pilots take head on shots?  Yes, it was stupid not to take a shot when the opportunity arose.  But not many pilots would regularly and only maneuver to take a high risk and in a lot of cases a low percentage shot.  It was a quick way to kill yourself.

[Mister ED]

Originally posted by Ack-Ack
I would strongly suggest that you do the same.  While you're at it, read Robert Shaw's book on fighter tactics or Boyle's and then come back and show me were they explain head on tactics.

Did real pilots take head on shots?  Yes, it was stupid not to take a shot when the opportunity arose.  But not many pilots would regularly and only maneuver to take a high risk and in a lot of cases a low percentage shot.  It was a quick way to kill yourself.

Yeah what he said!