This is something I wrote up for the J.U.G.S. I love the Thunderbolt and try to make it my Primary ride in the MA.
So I hear a lot of questions on how to dogfight in the Jug. As a virtual fighter in LWMA I'm probably as average as they come. I die much more often than I should but, most of the time, it's because I fly like an idiot. (taking off from capped bases, diving into 6 on 1s, hitting trees, turn fighting spits and zekes, ect.) Many argue that the D-11 is the best for pure dog fighting because of it's speed and marginally better turning ability which is mostly true. I'm a terrible shot and the D-11's braces give me fits (especially the forward ones). Too many blind spots breaks my cardinal rule of dog fighting. Which is..."NEVER LOSE SIGHT OF THE ENEMY!" If you do, you're dead. SA is uber important in a plane that attracts enemies like flies to a turd. This is just my opinion of course.
I get most of my Jug time in the D-40 because I feel that it is the most versatile of the P-47 set. What I've discovered about the D-40 that's saved my bacon and surprised many a spit16 pilot is that it bleeds E like a stuck pig when you want it to. When you get slow in a Jug it tends to "wallow" or feel like it's stuck in mud. This can be a very uncomfortable feeling when you get into a turn fight with one of those twisty planes in the set. But it's exactly this wallowing that can make it seem that it is "out turning" some planes. When you get really slow, is sort of "parks" its self when you run out of air speed. This can cause the turn and burn planes to overshoot in their turns. Often I can "park" it in a nose up stall and watch as a spit moves from my three o'clock position to right across my nose pulling with all his might to get a shot. If I miss I kick in HARD rudder in the direction he's going and get that nose back down to try and catch him on the other side of his turn. Essentially what's happening is he's trying to turn around a stationary object. If you're inside the bubble of his max flat turn radius you'll giggle to yourself as he pulls on the stick and only seems to fly around his target never to get guns on you. This works best when you and your enemy are both stall fighting (really low on E) and your adversary is flat turning to get a shot. If your enemy is smart, you'll notice right away because they'll almost always go for the vertical fight where you'll get beat like a red headed step
child. When you see them start to go vertical, go nose low and get some horizontal distance in order to get set for the next attack.
Strengths of the D-40 (true for most P-47s)
Dive ability.
If you're @ 5k in virtually equal E states with another plane, you
can out run (just about) anything down to the deck if you nose over
and hit the WEP. The problem is that you need to have a plan when
you get to the deck because you will get caught by the faster planes
once you're there.
Turning Ability.
Something not normally associated with the Jug. The P-47 has
fantastic high speed turning ability and, coupled with the first
notch of flaps, will turn with or out-turn just about anything at
greater than 250kts. P-51s, Typhs, 190s, and LA-7s can be easy
picking if they decide to engage you in a high speed turn fight.
Zoom Climb.
One of Newton's Law's. The Jug is a heavy machine. Think of it as if
it was a cement truck rolling down a hill. It will carry a bunch of
inertia on the initial climb and will surprise the hell out of
someone who underestimates your E state. One thing I like to do is
come at a furball from above in a shallow dive paying attention to
the higher cons (pickers) in the group. I'll come in @ over 400kts
and, if the timing is right, ride right up the butt of a picker that
thinks he's safe from "the slow climbing Jug." I love doing this to
38s, 109s, and other machines that do well in the vert. You have to
be careful though. Once you lose that inertia, you're counting on
that R-2800 to do lifting it just isn't capable of. Break off the
zoom early if you have any doubt weather or not you'll catch them.
High Altitude Perfomance.
This is where the lumbering monster shines. The Juggernaut is
differen't to almost all the other planes in AHII. Most of the other
birds lose performance dramatically as you get high. The P-47
doesn't. Nothing puts a bigger grin on my face than seeing a lone LA-
7 with me @ 15k. I know he's gonna be eaten alive unless he's able
to dodge all my 3400 rounds till we're both on the deck. It's also
fun to see P-38s try to run away.
8 fifties and tons of ammo.
There are some that say the six gun package helps the performance on
the Thunderbolt. This is true but, in my opinion, the performance
gains of leaving the ammo and guns in the hangar do not make up for
snap shot ability. Even with the lighter gun and ammo package, the
Jug is still a dog compared to many other planes in the set. When
flying you need to bring down enemies as fast as possible. With the
extra ammo and all eight guns you can afford to take shots that
would normally be a waste of ammo.
Dive brakes.
The D-40 also has the dive brakes or spoilers (shift+c) which will
cause many an LA dweeb screaming up your rear to have fits as they
blow past you on the overshoot. The cool thing about the brakes is
that they (the enemy) can't really see them. If you ever wondered
where they are, sit on the runway with external view and look at the
front of the plane while you deploy/retract they don't slow you down
quite as much as true dive brakes or the gear on a F4U but, when you
couple them with the high speed flaps and a little back pressure on
the stick, the speed comes off quick.
Range and Load carring ability.
The D-40 has good range and can cary a wide variety of weapons and
gas. I typically take off from anywhere with 75% internal fuel and
alter the load from there. This gives you 30 minutes of flight time
at full military power. When I take off from a base that's not on
the front line I add center drop tank which adds about 8 minutes or
so to the flight time. My typical load for base attack is 2 bombs,
10 rockets, and a center drop tank. Whan I bomb a base, my primary
goal is to always wipe out the ammo bunkers. With this load I can do
so @ any base on the map.When I attack GVs, I bring the extra bomb
en leu of the DT. The Jug climbs so slow (especially when loaded)
that you'll be tempted to WEP it durring the climb. Don't do it.
Save WEP for the fight.
Underestimated.
Most polits in the MA see a lone D-40 and think one or two things.
First "light bomber." Second "easy kill". I can't tell you how many
kills I've made simply because my opponent came barreling in and
didn't expect me to put up much of a fight only to find themselves
in the tower saying "WTH?!?"
Basic Dogfighting rules in a D-40...
Stay fast.
While not the fastest plane in the bunch. It can scoot
pretty good (faster than most spits) and turns great
at high speeds.
Get some altitude.
Try to avoid any fight unless you have 5k of
altitude. Diving is about the only thing you can do better than any
other plane and sometimes your only means of escape.
Don't be afraid to get killed.
I know it sounds stupid but the best
way to get good in the Juggernaut is to die A LOT. You have to get
schooled in order to get good This is something I learned a long time ago AW.
Hold down the trigger.
You have tons of ammo and even with eight .50
cals, you'll still have more trouble bringing down planes than you
would with one or two 20mm.
Keep your control inputs smooth.
The P-47 is NOT a Spit or an LA
that can make up for pilot mistakes by turning or running it's way
out of a fight. If you yank the stick you bleed E. You need every
ounce of performance to stay in the game.
LilMak
