Since no one is really dying, who cares?
On many occasions when completely shot to pieces but still flying, I'll put it straight and level and type 'free kill' on 200. If someone is that desperate for a kill, who am I to deny em?
On more then one occasion if a guy is shot up but somehow still flying, I'll let him go too. I figure he's earned the chance to get it home of he wants to. I know we've escorted guys like that back to base just for fun.
And I've sure killed a few lame ducks too
It would be an entirely different story if I really held the lives of other people in my hands. No doubt there were instances where pilots of all sides, knowing the other guy was going down, gave them a chance to get out. With the bombing campaign over Germany if a bomber dropped it's gear it was usually a sign it was bailing out the crew. The legend behind the idea of the "Bloody 100th" Bomb Group was that it was singled out by the LW for destruction because of such an incident where the German pilots held off and got in close to escort the 17 and the crew shot one down, raised the gear and tried to run.
I don't know that anyone ever confirmed that as fact, but the bomber crews believed it for a while.
In AH, someone dropping the gear might just mean they are going to try and bounce back into the air. Anyone who ever saw the film of Nomde (I think) on the deck in a fight, dropping his gear to bounce off the side of a hill, to stay in the fight, will know what I'm talking about. Having done it once in a 38 slow in a valley on the deck, it does work
