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Hello MikkOwl. I know a little bit about the 110 so I will try to help you with what I can answer.

Originally Posted by MikkOwl

I imagine that P-38 flying tactics can be applied to the Bf 110 to some extent so feel free to share that if you know anything about how to fly the P-38. The planes are not that dissimilar. The 110 is a bit less agile while having a rear pair of eyes and a rear firing gun position. Climbs worse too and all that. But still. [/B]

First to all, you have to be totally aware that the 110 is not the P-38. Nothing is similar to it especially with how the 110 is modeled to the P38 in this game. I will try to differentiate them point by point.

1- General Flying characteristics :

- Speed : 110 is slower at all altitudes. It retains energy far worse and it can dive less quickly.
i. VnE 110 is 700 kph. This reduce its efficiency in BnZ but you can still do things with that.
ii. Cruise speed is slow. Max IAS speed is 490 kph on the deck.
iii. Stall speed is pretty slow : about 150 kph with all out. You can indeed use it in combat to let the bad guy overshoot.
iv. Climbs worse than P38
v. Dive worse than P38.

- Manoeuvrability : Decent in turns actually. If you know how to handle it you can follow P-47s and P-51s easily in turns. You can follow a 38 and even slightly a Tempest. Forget about the Spit, of course, except if you are nearly out of fuel and he has 100% fuel J.
P38 manoeuvres generally as good with equivalent speed.
On one engine, the 38 has definitely the edge. 110 on one engine will fly at 220 – 240 Kph. P38 can run at 350 and even take altitude…

- Endurance : The 110 can carry a lot of fuel but of course, the more fuel the less manoeuvrability. 50% gives you roughly one hour of flight running at 105% with rads on auto, so in close dogfight servers like WC, even 25% is enough. It’s just a bit of management to do.

2- Weapons and protection

- Armor : The 110 is a real tough bird, especially compared to the 38. It can take a lot of punishment and still go back to base (personnal experience is going in that direction). 20 mm of the Tempest is the biggest threat, otherwise it can take a dozen of not converged 20 mm guns and loads of .50 cal. Good point for the bird, the control cables are the best protected in the game. You’ll nearly never get them cut due to enemy fire, which allow you to bring back heavily damaged planes. Weak spot of the 110 compared to the 38 : engine fire. When a 38 engine catches fire, the 38 can fly forever. When a 110 engine catches fire, you have to try to extinguish it the fastest possible, or the fuel tank will leak, then burn and finally explode (usually short after the fuel reaches the empty level).

- Armament: the 110’s strong point compared to the 38. Take always the twin 30mm guns, forget about the 2x20mm gunpod. If you can’t hit with 4 guns, 6 wont help, and the gunpod decreases the top speed and manoeuvrability of the 110 in a way you can’t allow in a competitive server.

- Rear gunner : another edge over the P38. Don’t dream, if an enemy is in your six, he’ll outmanoeuvre you in 80% of the cases. The rear gunner is then a precious ally even if you usually have to do the gunning yourself because it aims so bad even in straight lines. Aim at engine of liquid cooled fighters so they start burning or at the cockpit of air cooled engine fighters and pray for a PK. Rear gunner is also very good to improve your SA, not every fighter has the luxury to have 2 pair of eyes.

Ok, now I will try to answer more completely about your other questions.

Originally Posted by MikkOwl

I imagine that P-38 flying tactics can be applied to the Bf 110 to some extent so feel free to share that if you know anything about how to fly the P-38. The planes are not that dissimilar. The 110 is a bit less agile while having a rear pair of eyes and a rear firing gun position. Climbs worse too and all that. But still. [/B]

110 is not a lonewolf’s plane. While in the 38 you always have a good luck to escape after a missed BnZ, 110 has not this chance. It bleeds E like mad as soon as you touch the stick, it has drag caused when you compensate for the couple created by the not contrarotative engines, etc… You are basically slow. The 110 is very powerfull flown with 1 wingman at least (another 110 is good too). Best I’ve seen was 5 110 vs 2 Spits, 2 51 and 1 Tempest meeting at 5000m. The 110s got all the enemy fighters vs 1 damaged and 1 lost (crew bailed). This was done on Warclouds a few years ago already. This was achieved because of :
- good team work
- good SA
- excellent firepower
- Teamspeak

The tactic is vital ! If you can pair with other types of wingmen, this is good too.

Originally Posted by MikkOwl

To cover situations I commonly experience. What to do when...

1. Having lots of altitude above enemy fighter. How to bounce? Both if already detected and if not detected. [/B]

- When you have a lot of altitude : bounce with wingman, because 110 at max speed can’t correct its path very easily. If one miss the other wont. To bounce is easy when you know how fast and how your rounds will travel. Deflection shooting is easy because of very good forward visibility (best of the german fighters actually), but the easiest remains from 6 o clock (no corrections to do). If you are not detected it will be easy. If you are detected do it quickly because enemy fighters tend to close the gap in altitude very quickly.

Originally Posted by MikkOwl

2. Coming near enemy fighter at comparable altitudes. Both with altitude and near the deck. And both when spotted and when not yet detected (the fighter highly likely to engage in dogfight due to superior maneuverability). [/B]

Head on if possible. Superior firepower, long range 20mm canons, perfect convergence, weaker enemy armament and good armor protection gives you the maximal chances to survive. If the enemy breaks, try deflection shooting. Don’t hesitate to spend your ammo, you have a lot of it. If you miss, don’t engage 1v1, you’ll lose. Call for help and run in the direction of your friends.

Originally Posted by MikkOwl

3. When about to be bounced by fighter. At altitude and when near the deck (especially if it keeps up the energy tactics). [/B]

Try head on if possible then/or run and call for help. Break hard, make it hard for the opponent to touch you, Split S, etc. Then : Team tactic, as usual.

Originally Posted by MikkOwl

4. When finding a fighter on one's six at comparable energy states, both at altitude and on the deck (under no circumstances do I want to hear anything about switching to gunner position and using the mouse). [/B]

If he’s far enough, 180 degree turn and go for head on. It’s your only chance. If he’s too close, try to make him overshoot or switch to rear gunner position and fire. Call for help and pray that Messerschmitt’s armor plates will hold long enough.

Originally Posted by MikkOwl

5. Bomber without escort, catching up with it.
[/B]

Given the fact that .50 cals can fire at miles, don’t engage from 6. Be patient, catch with it then start making side passes, boucings or even head-on passes at it. Mk108s will do the rest.

Originally Posted by MikkOwl

6. General air combat maneuvers that work and don't work in the Bf 110's. Yo-yo's are obviously one that work, and possibly long range shooting going head on since having much more system redudancy, heavier weapons and no convergence problems. Snap rolls? Barrel rolls? Slips with tons of flaps forcing a quick overshoot (like Stukas during BoB)? Hammerhead types?
[/B]

All this might work under certain circumstances. Experience only will help you. But don’t get excited, this will only give you time to escape. You have to defeat your opponent the fastest possible. If you miss your chances and start maneuvering, then the probability that your opponent will outmanoeuvre you are high.

Originally Posted by MikkOwl

7. Opinions on the regular loadout version (2xMG FF/M or 151s with 4xMg17). Are the Mg-17's useful at all? They have lots of ammo and they are always converged. [/B]

Forget the MG17s. Always take 108s. It’s good for everything.

Originally Posted by MikkOwl

8. BordKanone 3.7 (Can shoot down bombers at 2km almost though aiming is difficult if much more than 1km. I brought this into combat before and shot at tempests busy chasing someone or running away, and they rarely seemed to notice the single light grey streaks coming past them. I guess they all expect the blue tracers of the 151 cannons. It especially seems like a fun proposal to try to gun down people running away on the deck, since it shoots super accurately and far with little drop, and a single hit is all it takes). [/B]

Well, the Bk deteriorates the flying characteristics of the 110 in a dramatic way. You better forget this weapon, 108s will do better, you have a higher rate of fire and 1 hit will usually get a fighter down (except the 47 who can absord between a dozen to 35 108s before going down, from personnal experience).

Originally Posted by MikkOwl

9. 2xMk.108 nose cannons instead of 4xMg17's. I think my two kills (one was a Thunderbolt near the deck and I was follpowing on it's six through some wild maneuvers. The other I think was a spitfire that turned in front of me) were done with the Mk.108's. How badly do they affect maneuvering? They don't weigh that much. They have some drop but they actually have higher velocity, and overtake, the 151's after a few hundred meters because the shells are so heavy they don't slow down as much from the air resistance). [/B]

They wont affect the general handling characteristics badly. It’s the best loadout in A to A and A to G with the 110.

Originally Posted by MikkOwl

10. MG 151 gunpods. [/B]

Useful at the beginning for the extra confidence it gives you (more firepower), but useless in the long run. You can do the same job with 2x20 and 2x30 mm and more efficiently because the plane will handle better.

Originally Posted by MikkOwl

11. Offline I can do snap rolls often in the 110, but online it almost never works. Have ping of 140-180. Any knowledge on this issue? I am fairly skilled with snap rolling in aircraft and it is amazingly useful against the more sluggish spit/tempest type planes.

Originally Posted by MikkOwl

Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi. You are my only hope.

The more sluggish is you in any offline server you will be. Snap roll are good ideas, but the best is still to split S. Full rudder, full ailerons but not full elevator or stall. It’s also easier to start rolling in the direction where the torque pushes you.

My 2 cents, just find protection. If you want to pair with me, I fly mostly on the Warclouds server at europeean evening times.

S.

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