Not my favorite below but interesting.
The Thatch Weave was developed by James Thach, to maximize the defensive capabilities and lack of maneuverability of the Grumman F4F Wildcat against the A6M2 Zero. The Thach Weave is a true co-dependent defensive formation, relying upon the wingman or flight leader to provide support for the pilot facing immediate danger. The formation requires a separation of about 550-750 yards abreast between friendly aircraft. In the event a bogey latches on to either aircraft, both pilots turn towards each other in order to have convergence. This results in the wingmans’s guns coming to bear on the aircraft pursuing the primary aircraft. Repeating this maneuver forces the pursuing bogey to either break off the pursuit or face multiple head-on attacks from the wingman. Which in fact is against all Geneva convention rules and you'd be at great risk of being called a noob by the other countries.....JK
These pictures were taken in the AVA during the BOA. Tull and I had just finished a 190F jabo run on a factory when Venom jumped us in a P51, he was very smart, kept his speed up the entire time and never targeted one of us for more than a single pass. This kept Tull and I killing our airspeed/options making sustained tight turns into each other to help support and avoid Venoms passes. Finally decided to boogie and lure Venom into making a mistake... the thatch shown below was spontaneous and almost perfect. Tull and I were a shade too far apart and Venom smelled the weave coming on-
P51 targets and starts a run on me:
Tull and I turn into each other, me avoiding Venoms guns and Tull trying to bring his guns to bare
Ven smells the bait and smartly pulls off, just out Tulls range....didnt get the kill but did force the pony to go defensive.
I’ve heard people say that real world tactics will not work in AH2 and I guess that’s why I posted these pics. The thing about using real world tactics in the MAs is that they require a lot of patience to employ properly. I had to learn a whole different style of flying which forced me to know more about the aircrafts limits/abilities and how far I can stretch the egg in that aircraft, rather than rely on my reaction time and gunnery skills. I find that now I do not have anywhere near the kill/death ratio or score I did when flying solo… I die a LOT more but I wouldn’t go back to flying “quake-style” or “fps-style” again. Flying with a wingman and using rw tactics that people created in combat situations to survive is much more rewarding.
My 2c
jappa
