109G2 - not a bad little airplane

[gofaster]

... except for the huge blind spot in the back that Mustangs like to hide in.  I just gotta remember to fishtail more often.  And avoid engaging bombers unless I'm packing gondolas.

Bagged 3 kills in my first flight: F4u-1D, F6F, F4u4, all below 10k while they hovered around my airstrip.  Reloaded and bagged a low bomber and another F6F farther away along the coastline.  Airframe was pinged up with .303s from a Seafire so I landed and brought out a fresh G2.

Lost that one while strafing Lancs on the deck.  Got a Lanc though, and set another one on fire, so I guess I broke even on that run.

Lost the next one running up behind a Ki bomber.  Got him smoking but nothing fell off.

Lost another to a P-38 vulching the runway.

Lost my last one on climb-out to a P-51D swooping behind me in my blind spot.

I guess I should get out of the habit of upping from airfields while they're under attack.

[F4i]

Originally posted by gofaster
I guess I should get out of the habit of upping from airfields while they're under attack.

It's still pretty exhilarating, though, when you can up successfully from a capped base and take down 1 or 2 enema before 15 of his friends rip you to shreds.  

TBolt

[BUG_EAF322]

the G2 is much better than the g10 and g6
as to mne experience fighting em in a p38

[Eagler]

109f is even better in everything but topspeed and climbrate

[BlauK]

And what is left, eagler?? ... turn radius. I would rather say that F4 is better only in maneuverablity. Everything else is better in G2.

G2 is nice when one flies with friends, but when flying alone, it is easy meat for Spits, Nikis and la-7:s.

G10 is ok if one has to be able to cope alone and also best for buff hunting

G2 is the best lookig though

[jodgi]

I've fallen in love with the G2 as well lately, had a crush on the F4 for a while but found that the G2 gives me far more options. Engine perf. is excellent relative to maneuverability. One of those AC perfect for vertical fights, well one of the 2 best besides the p38.

[Soda]

The G2 out-performs the G6 in every facet except firepower.  Most people take the G6 for the 30mm option but honestly the 13mm cowl guns (vs. 7.9mm cowl guns in G2) are a bigger deal than the 30mm to me.  Other than that though, the G2 climbs, accelerates, turns better and has more top speed than the G6.  If you are going bomber hunting though then you really want to take more firepower in a G6 or G10, even with gondolas the G2 will have problems with a bomber formation.

I think the G2 can out-perform most people expectations of the 109's that are most typical in the MA (G6 and G10).  I've beaten La7's in one quite easily in turn-fights when they under-estimate me as just "another unmaneuveable 109".  I tend to feel the G2 is better in maneuverability than most people think.

[gofaster]

Actually Soda, it was your aircraft analysis website that got me to thinking about it.  Up until then, if I took a 109 it was the G10 for interceptions and the 109F for short-range dogfighting.  

For the G10, I've used the 30mm with the 20mm gondolas and 13mm cowl guns to great effect.  So long as I stay fast and don't try to yank the plane around, the "gorilla package" works pretty well.  The downsides, of course, are that the plane's handling is impacted negatively and the shells for each gun have a different trajectory so you're not really sure if the hits are from the 13mm, the 20mm, or the 30mm.  I think the best plan is, if you're going to bring the 30mm, you might as well bring the 20mm gondolas, too, just to make sure you can hit with effect in those twisting snapshots.  For bomber intercepts, the G10 or 190A8 is the plane to have.

With the G2, I'm going to stick with the single 20mm and 7.7mm's, much like I did with the F4 (though I did bring gondolas in the F4 from time to time, in case I had to engage a heavy bomber formation, but most of the bombers in AH can outrun the 109F so my opportunities were limited).  I think your advice about that is pretty accurate, but I've found that having the gondolas allows me to bring home more kills with less reloading.  On the other hand, getting the G2 in close so I land more shells kind of eliminates the need for more ammo.

About the best advice for the G2 is to leave the gondolas in the hangar, but bring the tracer rounds even if you're a crack shot.  Spitting a few 7.7mm rounds over the escaping target's head will usually convince them to turn and allow the G2 to gain closure on the angles.  The 7.7mm bullets also seem to be a bit more predictable for judging their trajectory at long ranges.

[gofaster]

Originally posted by Soda
I think the G2 can out-perform most people expectations of the 109's that are most typical in the MA (G6 and G10).  I've beaten La7's in one quite easily in turn-fights when they under-estimate me as just "another unmaneuveable 109".  I tend to feel the G2 is better in maneuverability than most people think.

Oh yeah, meant to talk about that.

You're exactly right on this.  Most of the opponents I've engaged who fly LA-7s do so with the throttle wide open, bringing as much speed to the fight as they can.  From what I can tell, the G2 can turn inside the radius of a high-speed LA-7, and with WEP on the G2 has the speed to take advantage of the angle and close the distance on them.  I guess most people see the "109" moniker and assume its the G10.  In the G2, all I do is pop off the 7.7mm tracer round from time to time to make the LA-7s turn, then I close the distance and take a shot with the 20mm.  The trick is knowing when to throttle down and when to punch WEP.

[Wilbus]

G10 is by far the best 109 IMO IF you know how to fly it, can't be flown like a G2 or F4 as they turn quite a bit better. If a G10 is flown right few things can survive a fight with it and even fewer can catch it.

[Batz]

G10 is by far the best 109 IMO

No the g6 is the best 109, stick to your wuerger

[mrblack]

Originally posted by Wilbus
G10 is by far the best 109 IMO IF you know how to fly it, can't be flown like a G2 or F4 as they turn quite a bit better. If a G10 is flown right few things can survive a fight with it and even fewer can catch it.

G-10 Is my bird of choice
She is fast has massive fire power what else would you want?
Oh you must watch for the compression though LOL.

[ATC]

Originally posted by gofaster
... except for the huge blind spot in the back that Mustangs like to hide in.  I just gotta remember to fishtail more often.  And avoid engaging bombers unless I'm packing gondolas.

Bagged 3 kills in my first flight: F4u-1D, F6F, F4u4, all below 10k while they hovered around my airstrip.  Reloaded and bagged a low bomber and another F6F farther away along the coastline.  Airframe was pinged up with .303s from a Seafire so I landed and brought out a fresh G2.

Lost that one while strafing Lancs on the deck.  Got a Lanc though, and set another one on fire, so I guess I broke even on that run.

Lost the next one running up behind a Ki bomber.  Got him smoking but nothing fell off.

Lost another to a P-38 vulching the runway.

Lost my last one on climb-out to a P-51D swooping behind me in my blind spot.

I guess I should get out of the habit of upping from airfields while they're under attack.

You ever engage in air to air combat.  Your kills could have been done in anything with guns

ATC

[wetrat]

g2 is the best 109..

[Soda]

gofaster, I like your interpretation of the G10... it's the "gorilla package" and as an interceptor style fighter (against bombers) it is the best.  It tops out the firepower and engine performance but the penalties in handling are very dramatic in most speed ranges.  That's the thing too, the G10 can still be nimble but only in a very small range of speeds, too slow and you are in trouble, too fast and you are move danger to yourself than the enemy.  Most of the better G10 pilots are pretty experienced guys and know how to stay within the tight boundaries the G10 imposes in handling...

The gondolas offer a much better snapshot on the G2, I tend to get more kills but I also tend to land fewer, at least that's what I notice.  As soon as you have to mix it up in tighter corners with gondolas you are in trouble unless you can get out before too long.  The G2 doesn't need the gondolas though, it can lock onto aircraft and hit them with 20mm, so the snapshot isn't the only trick in the bag for it.