"2. HO's were not an unusual tactic; there is historical precedent. Will post an account of a -51 v -109 fite by the -51 pilot that is currently in Air Classics if you'd like. The -109 HO'd him several times.. but once too often. Nice short read, btw."
I don't have many references in the way of WW2 material, but I recently picked up the book _Fire In The Sky_ by Eric Bergerud and many of the pilots interviewed mention the use of HO's. Though the subject is the Southwest Pacific, it doesn't sound to me like this practice was disdained by the real wartime pilots in this theater and they were using real bullets.
I'll shoot you in the tail, belly, back or the face if I think I'll win. I do watch out for the HO though and sometimes will fire a quick burst to maybe get the other guy to duck or something or just delay his planned reaction a little bit. The thing I suffer from when doing the HO with my fast connection is that I'll never see someone fire at me, no tracers or nothing, and about a second after our two aircraft pass I'll hear the tearing of metal from my being shot on his FE. That is kinda aggravating but I have learned to adapt or accept it. Because of that and only that, I have become wary of the HO but do not condemn it.
I'd like to read about the account mentioned in the quotes above.
-Puke
332nd Flying Mongrels
