This Forum Post goes over the "Fundamentals" of Air Combat Maneuvering (ACM). This is for any pilot who might need a little extra help with their "Moves" i should say. This is not Just WW2 Tactics it talks about missile attacks which might come in handy in another game so you might want to read it.
The Break
This is used when an attacker is first seen or is already in the cone of vulnerability. Its purpose is twofold: to spoil the attacker's aim and to force him to overshoot. The break is always made towars the direction of attack. This generates "angle-off" as quickly as possible which makes the defender a difficult target. The attacker may be able to cut inside the turn but he is forced to pull lead. To do this he must tighten his turn, which increases his angel of attack. It is difficult for him to pull his nose around at high angels of attack to achieve a firing soultion. The defender should also alter his plane of flight to make himself a more difficult target.
Two forms of break are possible. Depending on the circumstances of the attack. The defender can use a maximum-rate sustained turn in which he does not lose speed, or the hardest possible turn in which he almost certainly does. The speed loss attendant on the turn aids his chances of forcing the attacker to overshoot, as does the smaller radius of the turn, but oftquoted maxims such as "speed is life" act as an inhibitor. If the break succeeds in forceing the attacker to overshoot, the next manoeuvre is the Scissors.
The Scissors
This is a series of turn reversals preformed with the object of forcing the overshooting attacker out in front to a position od disadvantage. The inital turn is reversed when the attacker has definitaly overshot and has drifted sufficiently wide as to prevent him from pulling back into the cone of vulnerability when the defender reverses. Timing the reversals is absolutely critical. The basic rule is that if the attacker is overshooting fast, reverse early, but if he is drifting slowly wide, take time and make sure.
Full power is used throughout the scissors but with the nose trimmed high to reduce the foward velocity vector. Airbreaks can be used to force the flythrough but if they are used too early they will advertise the defenders's intentions. The scissors may turn into a stalemate with neither side gaining the advantage. The stalmate can be broken by one fighter rolling inverted when passing through the adversary's six o'clock and diving away to gain speed before pulling back up, preferably into the sun by surprise. Scissoring for more than a couple of reversals is not recommended against an opponent who is able to turn faster and/or tighter, and it should not be attempted if there is more than one attacker, eihter. Fighter pilots recommend that unless the advantage is gained after three reversals, the pilot should, aiming to pass head-on the attacker, since this would put him at a disadvantage in having to turn back toward the defender as he runs out.
Vertical Scissor's
This is similar to the scissors, but it is carried out in either a steep climb or dive and the reversals are often carried out by executing a complete barrel roll. The ascending vertical rollingscissors places the fighters with the better zoom climb (or the higher initial energy state) at a disadvantage at first. Otherwise the fighter with the best sustained rate of climb will have the advantage. If in a desending vertical rolling scissors the defender finds himself forced bleow his adversary he should attempt to place himself directly beneath his oppenent and manoeuvre in phase with him. In this position he cannotbe seen and can pick his moment to disengage with a split S.
Split S
In this the defender rolls inverted and dives away vertically, pulling out in a direction opposite to that of his opponent.
Most defensive maneuvres are designed to counter an attack coming from astern, mainly by forcing an attacker to overshoot. What are the attacker's needs? Much depends on weather he is planning a missile or gun attack. A missile attack shouls be fast, deadly, and conclusive. But, as WW I German Cheif of Staff von Moltke observed many years ago: plans rarly surive contact with the enemy. The fighter pilot should be prepared for his attack to fail and know percisely what he will do next, either enter into a maneuvring combat.
If his attack is form head-on, much will depend on the maneuvre potential of the two opponents. The more maneuvrrable fighter will have the edge in a turning fight. (The more maneuvrable fighter at this stage is frequently the one travelling slowest rather than the one most aerodynamically capable.) If this is the attacker he should endeavor to pass wide of his opponent to give himself turning room. If there is any doubt about relative maneuvre potential he should pass close to deny his adversary turning room, then pullhigh in the turn. In either case he should pass down-Sun so that his next change od direction forces his opponent to look into the dazzle. If after a head-on pass both aircraft pull high a vertical ascending scissors may result.
A missile attack from astern is normaly made at high closing speed. If the attacker must zoom climb to dissipate his excess speed if he wishes to continue the fight, although it is easier and probally safer to disengage at this point. A gun attack should be made with am overtake speed of about 50 konts (just under 90 feet, 27m per secound). This gives time to track the target in the sight, minimises the risk of overshooting and retains an energy advantage for maneuvring combat.
The defensive maneuvres described earlier place much stress on forcing an attacker to overshoot. It is obviously important to avoid overshooting, so how is it done?
An overshoot is caused by one of two factors. The first is an excessively large angle substended between the fuselages of the respective aircraft. The secound is excessive closing speed. This is difficult for the attacker to spot until he is fairly close in. Either way the attacker is faced overshooting. His first remedy is the High-speed Yoyo
High Speed Yoyo
When the attacker realises that he is unable to stay on the inside on the defender's turn, he relaxes his angle of bank a little, then pulls high. As he comes over the top he is inverted, looking down at his opponent through the top of his canopy. His speed falls due to the climb, and this disminishews his radius of turn. The 1g of gravity is utilized by turning in the vertical plane, which reduces the raidus of turn still further. The attacker sholud the be well placed to slide down into a fireing position.
The high-speed yoyo is a very difficult maneuvre to preform well, and demands perfect timing and precise execution. If it is commenced too early, the defender can counter by pulling up into the attack. If started too late, the attacker is forced to pull up at an excessively steep angel to avoid overshooting. This allows the defender to disengage by diving away. A common fult in executing the high-speed yoyo is not pulling the nose high enough. This can result in the attacker ending dircetly above the defender. Some pilots find that they can obtain better results from a series of small yoyos than one large one. A variant on this maneuvre, used to prevent overshooting or to reduce the angle-off is the rollaway.
This is the Basics for Combat Maneuvers. I Will Have more to post Further Down The Road.
Thanks,
Lilsquid
