Strafe a ditching pilot?

[Ripsnort]

Had a fella private me and whine about me killing him after he attempted to ditch.

Normally, if you get someone smoking and they ditch near their own field, you don't get the kill. If they ditch near your field(and you have bullets in him), you'd get the kill.  

In this case, this feller was near his own field, we fought for 5 min...finally I got lucky in a scissors and managed a snap shot into the engine with my .50's.  He attempted to ditch, I felt I deserved the kill after getting my neck krinked for 5 min.  Bang, your dead, no prison food, no cold nights on wooden beds with no sheets.  Just a bright light. (Okay, so its a replane here!)

Now, after reading the "Leading by example" thread, maybe I might not fall into that example, but hey, if its flying, I consider it a threat..at the time of firing on him, I thought he might go low and come up behind me after I overshot him, thus, I made SURE he wouldn't do that.  It was only after I killed him did I know that was a ditch attempt, afterall our fight degraded to about 100 feet above the ground.

Right or wrong?  Not that your opinion will ever convince me otherwise, just curious as to how many finish the job...how many just 'leave the scene when an enemy appears to be injured/smoking..etc.

[This message has been edited by Ripsnort (edited 04-25-2001).]

[Saintaw]

I only switch targets if there is a threat to me or a buddy nearby, usualy I will finish it, not always though... depends of the Ammo I have and the "mood" thing  

------------------
Saw
[MASS]
 
"Special cocktails for ladies with nuts."
seen is a restaurant

[This message has been edited by Saintaw (edited 04-25-2001).]

[Fishu]

More than half of the times when I've gave a chance for someone to go and ditch with smoking engine, they've tried to still get me when I've disengaged.

[NATEDOG]

the fights not over till someone is dead.

------------------
Nathan "NATEDOG" Mathieu
Art Director
HiTech Creations
-=HELLFIRE SQUAD=-

".... And on the eighth day, God created beer. "

[AKSeaWulfe]

You have 2 choices:
Try to ditch and get strafed or try to bail and got shot in your chute.

Either way-- damned if you do, damned if you don't.
-SW

[Apache]

I've made the mistake more than once of assuming a ditch, pass on him, and he comes up behind me firing. Ain't gonna happen again. Shoot him till he bleeds.  

[Mighty1]

Been killed many times by someone I let ditch who turned around and killed me.

Or worse let him ditch and someone from my side swoops down for the easy kill and I only get an assist. (Just happened Sat. in HS)

I still try most of the times to let the guy ditch. Not always but most times.

[Saintaw]

 

Originally posted by Mighty1:
(Just happened Sat. in HS)

.

Awww, c'mon, stop pulling our leg  

Aren't the scores in HS based on "Visuals" and "reports" ?  

Saw

[AKDejaVu]

 

Now, after reading the "Leading by example" thread, maybe I might not fall into that example, but hey, if its flying

Actually Rip, the part about "don't tell others how to fly" says you were right

You are given credit for killing a plane, but not if he ditches.  The game dictates your behavior was apropriate.

There are no "time outs" in combat.

Killing a ditching plane falls into the same category as killing a plane after the pilot calls "ammo".  Its an enemy aircraft and he's in front of you.

AKDejaVu

[outlaw]

a kill is a kill is a kill


I got griped at one day because enroute to target I seen a lo nme 190 smoking and went down and shot him down he complained about my lack of honor for not letting him ditch   bah

I watch a show on discovery wings channel one day on the battle of Britain a spit pilot said he smoked a guys motor and let him go and that guy got picked up by his own side and he came back and killed some more of the British pilots so he never did it again....

the only time I do not finish it is when there is a bigger threat in the area then the guy ditching it is called warfare and my job is to exterminate with extreme prejudice

outlaw
332nd FG

[This message has been edited by outlaw (edited 04-25-2001).]

[SOB]

He engaged in a dogfight with you.  He died.  End of story.


SOB

[Phantom121]

Interesting discussion. Certainly, there is no "sport" in shooting down crippled planes.  Galantry was fairly common in WW1 but much less so in WW2.  From a historical perpective, killing ditching planes and shooting chutes was distasteful to most of the better pilots.  But, WW2 was a brutal war, a war of attrition, no holds barred.  "All is fair in love or war." Planes can be replaced in days by resupply and weeks by construction. Pilots took months to train and years to become proficient.  If your intent is to win the war and damage the other side's effort then the first priority would be to kill the pilots as they are the hardest to replace.  If the germans had of killed 20 or 30 more British pilots in the Battle of Britan, they would probably have defeated England.  So kill chutes and planes over their territory, leave to be captured over yours.

Hell this is a game, if you feel generous and it was a good fight give em a salute and cover them while they ditch, otherwise "kill em all and let God sort em out."

[fluffy]

I've allowed a few ditches as a mark of admiration and respect, but only in an isolated spot where the other guy put up a great fight in an inferior aircraft.... I never expect to be allowed to ditch when I'm shot up in a fight - a guy should bail if he wants to live.
Sometimes I will pull off a damaged target if I notice I'm getting into a bad situation, but very often that damaged plane will crash while attempting to ditch.  If he makes it down ok then he deserved to.

[Eagler]

what phantom & natedog said

Eagler

[LtReiben]

If I Know An aircraft is incapable of continuing a fight, most of the time I'll let it go, I save ammo that way, and the less time I spend on an aircraft that is no longer a threat the more time I can spend looking out for those who are threats. Kill or no Kill I still had fun with it, its the reason I play the game. But as long as a Plane is still a potential threat the logical thing to do is eliminate it.