If I'd have to fight in a P-40B against a plane like the A6M2, I'd look around for two~three people to tag along with, too. As a necessity, the people who fly Allied aircrafts learn to fly as a group.
Not only that, but also, squadsmen of the VF-27 are well disciplined, with a lot of members, too. Check the rosters and you will see sometimes they fill about 2/3rds of the roster screen
In short, typically, if there are 40 people in the CT, 20 people each side, while Axis tends to be a group resembling "mercenaries", with a few terrific pilots here and there, the Allies are a solid group.. about 8~10 of the total 20 Allied pilots would be from 1 squad. It is only natural teamwork is easily done.
Also, with no disrespect to the Allied pilots(!!), but the some of the more experienced people tend to choose the Axis. As can be seen in a typical RAF-LW setup, the planes Axis choose to fly are a bit more 'challenging' than the usual Allied plane.(again, no disrespect to Allied pilots and planes!!)
While people in the Axis side are usually a bit confident about their skills, this hinders them as a group. The largest "missions" we Axis would do is a two~four man patrol
with the skillful one~two pilots usually winging each other, and the rest of the guys fooling around, usually doing stupid things such as following a poorly skilled Allied whelp down to the deck with a smug smile
, and then finding out too late that the skies above is ambushed, swarming with packs of experienced pilots!
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I don't think this is too bad. I think it gives somewhat different "characteristics" of the two sides which people can also begin to enjoy!
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However, in the aspect of general combat tactics, some things do need to be kept. Being the "Axis stylef" doesn't neccessarily have to mean being alone, or being too aggressive all the time
I usually enjoy the "feel" and "aura" of the CT than actually getting kills. For instance, the humongous Allied A-20 raid we met to counter today, was very fun! I got no kills, spent almost all of my time dodging P-40 escorts and trying to get to the bomber formation, and yet, it was very very fun. If people are too much obsessed with kills, is when the CT tends to become a "little MA", as we remeber quite well.
So, I think it would be good if we can try remember that we're representing a certain historic side here
In group air combat, I generally try to do "what I have to do", rather than "what I can do". Sure, I can chase down after 1 bogey, contending with others to get that 1 kill to my score.. however, while I'd go for a kill if I had the chance, if it doesn't look too good I usually gladly pass up the opportunity to others. I can dare say when there are four people fighting one bogey, the one guy who stays high and takes top-guard duties is me. The first person to engage incoming reinforcements is also me, and in bad situations, the first person who gets shot down trying to buy time for my m8s to regroup is also me.
No gripes, I'm just saying that thinking of your own little duties to go with the feel of the CT, and carrying them out dutifully, can be as fun as getting kills. After all, though some may taunt and mock that we're all playing role-playing games, it's that kind of feeling we seek in the CT, something which we cannot see in the MA, is it not?
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So, it may seem silly at first, but I really recommend some of you guys just play pretend, like the 7 year kids we've once been. Take a deep breath, picture you're an IJAAF/IJN pilot stationed in Burma, and picture the guys who you are flying with are buddies who flew through many battles together.
Then, imagine there's a one ripe looking enemy fighter down low, and three up high. One of your planes jumps in for the kill. Now, do you jump after him, going for the kill yourself, or do you stay high?
We don't need to function as a tight team like the Allied guys, but do let's try and think as a team. That'd be fun, and I MEAN REALLY FUN!
