No, it was not a maneuver to force a Head On engagement or shot.
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Here is a video of the maneuver as illustrated by some History Channel show
Thach Weave
Here is another diagram with a 4 plane formation
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Another diagram to show the maneuver and you can clearly see that it in no way is a head on maneuver.
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http://www.centuryinter.net/midway/appendix/appendixfourteen_usvftac.htmlFighting Three and the Beam Defense
LCDR John S. Thach was already considered one of the Navy's better pilots and tacticians in the summer of 1941. However, it was what he did after that that turned him into a legend not only within the Navy but within the entire military aviation community.
In July of that year Thach and the rest of Fighting Three were in San Diego to exchange their Brewster F2A-3s for Grumman F4F-3 Wildcats. While in San Diego Thach learned of Japan's new carrier based fighter, the Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero. Information from the Fleet Air Tactical Unit reported phenomenal performance: a top speed of between 345 and 380 mph, cruising speeds of between 210 and 250 mph equipped with 20mm and 7.7mm guns. Reports coming from the American Volunteer Group in China showed less speed (about 320 mph), but told of an exceptional rate of climb (3500 feet/minute) and maneuverability. This worried Thach because his potential enemy already had a plane that could out fly what he was just getting.
Thach had already developed a habit of using matchsticks to test new ideas. With the news from FATU and China, he spent many a night with matchsticks spread out over his kitchen table. He was most interested in developing a new formation that would counter the Zero's maneuverability and allow the F4F to get shots while maintaining a defensive position.
Even before coming up with his "beam defense" position, Thach came to the conclusion that two two-plane sections were better equipped to engage fighters than divisions of six. Armed with that, Thach considered several ideas:
Four-plane divisions in close formation.
Four-plane division with sections split one behind the other.
Neither of these options were successful. The closeness of the tight formation offered little advantage over a six-plane division that was already in use. The split section formation was better. It would require the attackers pick only one section to attack. That left them vulnerable to counterattack by the un-attacked section. However, the sections were still too close together to provide effective mutual defense.
Thach was determined to find a solution to the Zero problem. And he did just that. Thach deployed the sections abreast of each other at a distance that represented the turning radius of the aircraft. Immediately he saw the incredible possibilities of his new formation.
Because of the position of the fighters, the opposing sections had an excellent view of the other, particularly the vulnerable tail. And, since they were already looking at each other, hand signals would be readily seen and reacted upon.
When fighters engaged from the rear, the one section should be able to shoot the attackers off the other. However, to take advantage of this and make best use of the "beam defense position," Thach needed to develop a lookout doctrine. This doctrine would differentiate the "Thach Weave" from later and less formal tactics (called "bastard weaves" collectively). Since each section was already looking behind their opposite section, the easiest way to warn of an attack on the opposite section was to simply turn towards it. Upon seeing the opposite section turning towards them, the attacked section would turn into them and set up a scissors. At this point,
the attacker has two choices- press home his attack and risk a head-on attack, or break off and offer a long range shot by the un-attacked sections.The idea worked well with match sticks. Now he needed a real world test. In this test Thach and three others would fly F4Fs with their throttles wired to reduce their power usage. Four additional F4Fs under LT(jg) Edward H. "Butch" O'Hare, a future Medal of Honor winner, would oppose Thach, with no restrictions on their performance. This would give O'Hare's men a performance advantage over Thach that would roughly simulate what he could expect going up against Japanese Zeroes.
O'Hare and his men tried virtually every type of attack and were repeatedly discouraged by Thach and his countermoves. In spite of flying a better airplane, O'Hare simply could not get in a good shot without risking the defenders getting an equally good shot. Thach had hit upon the most significant new tactic of aerial combat.
Despite the obvious advantages in this new formation and doctrine, ComAirBatFor did not accept the new tactic into other squadrons. Halsey did, however, give his official blessing to Thach and Fighting 3 to continue to use it.
During Fighting Three's only combat tour previous to Midway, in the spring of 1942, the squadron encountered no aerial fighter opposition and therefore did not get a chance to test out the "Thach Weave." After leaving Lexington in April, Fighting Three was reorganized, and Thach lost most of his veteran pilots. Necessitated with rebuilding his squadron from square one and only five pilots permanently assigned, he began teaching his charges the basics at NAS Kaneohe in May. With rookie ENS Robert A. M. Dibb and experienced NAPs from Fighting Two, MACHs Doyle C. Barnes and Tom F. Cheek, Thach began his training. With Thach and Dibb comprising one section and Barnes and Cheek the other, two Army Air Force P-39's were assigned the task of "attacking" the F4F-4s of Fighting Three. These two pilots experienced the same frustration that O'Hare had several months before.
The third week of May brought a virtual end to the training on the "beam defense position" with the addition of seven new Ensigns to the squadron. Instead, Thach needed to concentrate on teaching basics of gunnery and fighter tactics. However, he did get in a few sessions, and added to his lookout doctrine. If necessary, the rookies were told to radio, "There is one on your tail!" to set up the scissors with the other section.
The frantic absorption of many Fighting Forty-Two veterans into VF-3 meant that Thach had virtually no time to teach his new tactic, and no hope of employing it in large numbers on the upcoming cruise to Midway on Yorktown. However, he did hope to fly an escort mission comprised of two divisions of four, with the second division led by MACH Cheek. This way, the two experienced division leaders could use the radio to instruct the other two pairs by radio. As it turned out, Thach led six fighters, one division of four that flew top cover for Torpedo Three, and one section led by Cheek that flew close escort for the torpedo planes. As described in more detail on Midway, June 4, Thach's division, after the initial loss of one plane, slipped into the weave. In spite of terrible odds and an inexperienced wingman, Thach and his men shot down four A6Ms and damaged at least two more without further loss. Considering the three men were outnumbered five or six-to-one, the results were spectacular and demonstrated conclusively that the "Thach Weave" worked. Cheek's section shot down two additional Zeroes and damaged others, even though they were not able to use the weave.
After being proven at Midway, Thach went on to work with the Bureau of Aeronautics (or BuAer) to add his "beam defense position" into official doctrine. While best used with two two-plane sections, the "Thach Weave" could be employed by anything from individual aircraft to divisions of four planes. The keys were flying abreast, proper spacing, proper lookout doctrine and scissoring at the right moment. Throughout 1942 and 1943, Thach and Jimmy Flatley, who fell in love with the weave at Santa Cruz in October 1942, (Flatley and three other pilots, having returned from a strike escort mission on 26 October, used the weave at 50 percent power to keep Zeroes off until the fuel starved fighters could land safely on Enterprise) began training a new generation of pilots in the use of the "Thach Weave."
