some people attach so much importance to the ability to make a maximum rate turn and equate this with skill. however they are only seeing part of the big picture of air combat tactics.
turn fighting is the easiest aspect of air combat to become proficient in as it requires slow flying and close ranges. these two ingredients help those with weak gunnery to attain kills they otherwise would be unable to achieve. by flying a relatively fast plane with excellent turn ability the novice is equipped to fight with a fair chance of success using turn fight methods.
this works fine for 1vs1 engagements certainly. where the proverbial wrench is thrown in the logic and viability of the turnfighter is in the multiplane engagement.
in a multiplane engagement using turn fight methods the turn fighter will be constantly exposed to attacks from other enemy planes while engaging the first plane they target. here is where extreme skill and situational awareness are required if outnumbered and being attacked from abaove by energy fighters who use their superior potential energy to maintain an attack position fighter pilots call "the perch".
in this situation the weaknesses of the turn fighter become obvious. it is generally to slow to escape. it has no potential energy available for a diving escape because it was or still is engaged in a low speed turn fight which until its oponent is destroyed is also a threat.
the life span of the turn fighter in this most common situation is measured in seconds. the more enemy planes int he area the shorter the lifespan of the turn fighter will be. they will also have extremely limited chances for a kill before sucumbing to the e fighters above or the turn fighter they failed to kill that is now on their six.
because of this inherent weakness in the slow speed turn fight tactics most air forces in world war two recognized the viability of energy fighting and high speed slashing attacks. this gave rise to heavier planes ill suited to turn fighting and designed for speed and power and either dive or climb ability.
opposing flights of enemy fighters would try very hard to start the fight froma position of advantage. the best position of course would be from above and if possible out of the sun.
this gives rise to another aspect of air combat tha is completely ignored by most players of aces high...
Stealth.
Stealth attacks were the attacks of choice of almost every fighter pilot who realised the advantage of stalking an unsuspecting unaware target flying along "fat, dumb and happy" Hartman and many others perfected this method of executing their prey by approaching unseen, attacking from point blank range and escaping before the victims friends knew what happened. the efficiency and lethality of such an attack is obvious.
Stealth attacks are the most difficult to execute in aces high however due to having in flight awacs radar dots, darbar, instant check sixes, vox and if thats not bad enough your engine noise can give you away to the dweebiest of pilots when you get in guns range even if they do not see you with their mkII eyeballs.
however due to the difficulty they are the most fun and rewarding attacks to make when succesful.
when flying for a stealth attack on a target that is not currently occupied in a fight it is necessary to have a fast climbing fast plane that will allow you to stay below your target out of their field of vision and using your aircrafts superior speed and climb quickly climb up below them to close range and open fire. seeing their aircraft loom close and closer wondering if they will be alerted to your presense before you fire is terrific fun.
the other means of stealth attack is a favorite of e fighters... killing a preoccupied enemy already chasing someone else.
the basic concept is the same. the target that is most likely to succumb to this attack will be unaware of your presense until it is to late and they are dead. it is an attack carried out all the time in the MA by e fighters and turn fighters alike. it usually happens by hapenstance but sometimes players will fly in tandem to create such situations as the drag and bag.
but back to the origional topic of BnZ pick tards... world war2 was all about being Bnz picktards. ask the japenese how the a6m turn fighter worked out for them against f6fs and p38s. most world war2 combat started as a bnz picktard fest that degenerated into a turnfight between picktards.
BnZ is a form of e fighting where the attacker stays on the perch and dives on targets of oportunity and zooms back up to their perch for their next firing pass or next kill. the only ways to kill the bnz pick tard is if you can get a split second snapshot as he zooms up or if you come in above the bnz picktard, dive on him and attain the prized stealth kill or force him into a turn fight or a drag race if you have a faster plane and run him down as he dives to escape.
thats a long winded explanation to say that the BNZ pick tards tactics are 100% historically accurate and their tactics are more effective than turn fighting in that a BnZer can engage an unlimited number of enemies from a position of advantage and survive while a turn and buern dweeb can deal with only a few before being over run. and when bnz pick tard tactics are attempted by someone who knows how to do them... the turn and burn dweeb dosnt get the chance to whine about the bnz dweeb escaping because the turn and burn dweeb is already dead and the bnzer is setting up their next kill.
