Quote:
Originally Posted by Glider
Wrong
Horizontal combat was not the norm in the real world and to say it covered 95% of combats is a farce. Also it was in many ways outdated. Turning is mainly a defensive tactic and fighters are designed to attack, most combats were in and out and a high proportion of pilots who were shot down never knew what hit them.
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I know that is the claim of Eric Hartmann for his victims, but, in fact, if one reads often and a lot about aerial combat, one is always immediately struck how well aware of their environment even Me-109G pilots were, despite the supposedly poor visibility of this aircraft: Hardly ever in these accounts is the victim unaware of the attacker...:
http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.o...r-reports.html
http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.o...t-reports.html
Furthermore, in the above 1200+ combat accounts, I can recall exactly one account that I remember specifically involving a P-47 dive and zooming his target (unsuccessfully, but at least helping him evade this FW-190A that was badly out-turning him, achieving this by zooming above it from low altitude)...
I know you haven't read them, because if you had you would know how absurd is your notion that the Me-109G can turn with the P-47D...
As for the Spitfire, given that current theory gives it a 50-60% wingloading advantage over the FW-190A, you have to wonder
where are all these combat accounts displaying this advantage at low speeds... (And why only examples and statements to the contrary have surfaced, aside the TsAGI numbers).
For the Spitfire, a lot of diving at target, and never any sustained turning...
You ask for evidence but evidently you won't read it...
Gaston