Air combat tactics.
Discussion
Play Rise of Flight or IL2 Sturmovik (Or even the upcoming Birds of Steel) on the consoles and find out. They're good enough sims to be very realistic in dogfighting and attack strategies.
You rarely attack head on anyway ,much better to dive in and strafe, or attack large bombers from the side or belly if vulnerable. Modern jets use missiles ,chances of a 'gun' hit are slim to none due to ranges and speeds involved.
You rarely attack head on anyway ,much better to dive in and strafe, or attack large bombers from the side or belly if vulnerable. Modern jets use missiles ,chances of a 'gun' hit are slim to none due to ranges and speeds involved.
Don't they pull the hand brake up or something and the attackers crash into each other?
Edit. I was reading a book on the BOB and the German pilots saying one thing that really spooked them was the Allied pilots attacking the bombers head on. Game of chicken.
Edit. I was reading a book on the BOB and the German pilots saying one thing that really spooked them was the Allied pilots attacking the bombers head on. Game of chicken.
Edited by jmorgan on Tuesday 27th March 13:26
RizzoTheRat said:
Some of the modern vectored thrust stuff can fly backwards for long enough to get a missile off, can't link as on phone but have a look on YouTube for the Russian follow on from cobra manouver where they do a complete back flip.
The MIG29 for the Russions and I believe the F22 Raport can for The US.Mig in Cobra manouver
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mxr8PnzqTo
jmorgan said:
I was reading a book on the BOB and the German pilots saying one thing that really spooked them was the Allied pilots attacking the bombers head on. Game of chicken.
I think it was mostly to do with the odds of attacking a bomber from behind with active tail/dorsal/belly gunners Vs attacking head on and getting a hit on the pilot himself whilst minimising your risk.Celtic Dragon said:
The MIG29 for the Russions and I believe the F22 Raport can for The US.
Mig in Cobra manouver
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mxr8PnzqTo
I would most definitely vomit/pass out if I was in that plane.Mig in Cobra manouver
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mxr8PnzqTo
Awsome maneuver though.
Celtic Dragon said:
The MIG29 for the Russions and I believe the F22 Raport can for The US.
Mig in Cobra manouver
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mxr8PnzqTo
It's the SU-35 doing the Kulbit manoeuvre I was thinking of. I remember seeing it do it the first time at Farnborough, a whole group of us aero engineers looking at each other going "did he just do what I thought he did?"Mig in Cobra manouver
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mxr8PnzqTo
ali4390 said:
Celtic Dragon said:
The MIG29 for the Russions and I believe the F22 Raport can for The US.
Mig in Cobra manouver
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mxr8PnzqTo
I would most definitely vomit/pass out if I was in that plane.Mig in Cobra manouver
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mxr8PnzqTo
Awsome maneuver though.
Dogfighting tactics vary according what you are flying and what you are fighting against.
The best tactic is to sneak up on your target and shoot them in the back then home for tea and medals. Not very gentlemanly but very effective.
A good fighter pilot will know the capabilities of his own aircraft and how they stack up against his enemy, for example.
During the Korean war the F-86 pilots were instructed to maintain altitude and as high a Mach number as possible against the Russian Mig 15's as the F-86 had an all flying tail and hydraulic boosted controls and the Mig didn't. In a low level turning battle the Mig had the advantage as it was lighter which meant a better turn radius and better acceleration.
When the Americans tried to dogfight their F-4 Phantoms with the Russian Mig 19's and 21's in Vietnam they got spanked and spanked hard. The F-4 was too heavy and lacked guns so in a low level dogfight they quickly discovered that 350-450 knots was a good speed to die.
When Top Gun started the USN rediscovered that dogfighting is all about energy management and with a pair of J-79 engines the F-4 had plenty of power. So the Navy pilots started to engage the Migs using the vertical plane and a minimum of 500knots which the lightweight and realitivly under-powered Migs couldn't match.
I'll post up the details of the book on how Top Gun got started later on tonight.
The best tactic is to sneak up on your target and shoot them in the back then home for tea and medals. Not very gentlemanly but very effective.
A good fighter pilot will know the capabilities of his own aircraft and how they stack up against his enemy, for example.
During the Korean war the F-86 pilots were instructed to maintain altitude and as high a Mach number as possible against the Russian Mig 15's as the F-86 had an all flying tail and hydraulic boosted controls and the Mig didn't. In a low level turning battle the Mig had the advantage as it was lighter which meant a better turn radius and better acceleration.
When the Americans tried to dogfight their F-4 Phantoms with the Russian Mig 19's and 21's in Vietnam they got spanked and spanked hard. The F-4 was too heavy and lacked guns so in a low level dogfight they quickly discovered that 350-450 knots was a good speed to die.
When Top Gun started the USN rediscovered that dogfighting is all about energy management and with a pair of J-79 engines the F-4 had plenty of power. So the Navy pilots started to engage the Migs using the vertical plane and a minimum of 500knots which the lightweight and realitivly under-powered Migs couldn't match.
I'll post up the details of the book on how Top Gun got started later on tonight.
Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff