Requesting tactical help for LaGG-3

[WTE_Galway]

You could take a big gun Lagg 3 and learn to snipe

Or get down amongst the smoke stacks and hope they run into one ... at least you are negating the diving advantage ...

[Kittle]

At very low level, the Lagg is fairly fast for that era of fighters. That is the only thing you have going for you, so use it. 109 pilots like to use their climb rates, and for good reason, they climb like home sick angels. Elevator authority in the 109 is not nearly as good at high speed however, they handle like a brick. The Lagg does not, and with this alone you can keep him in your sights. You can not be sucked in to giving up your speed, as this is your life in the Lagg. Enter the fight with speed, and keep it. If you are attacked from a superior position, wait for him to close, break, and try to lure him into a rolling scissors. If he doesn't commit, put the nose down a few degrees, and get your speed up.

This is not easy, any of it. If you stick to your doctrine of keeping your speed up, you will get better in the Lagg. It's just like flying the Hellcat, just more difficult since the F6F enjoys a decent speed advantage over it's main opponent. You can't let him use is greatest strengths against you. Negate those as much as possible with your tactics, not your flying!

[MrBaato]

Like Caspar said, divert your flight path from the enemy. It's pointless chasing a high 109, and being close you have less time to respond.

Fly away in a slow climb, if he's aggresive you might be able to bait him. Once he's going for you, enter a shallow dive (bringing your speed closer to his). Try to evade him with as little manouvering as possible, the more risk the better it works. For instance rolling and pulling negative G. Get him in a turnfight or a close overshoot.

If he's a coward, find another target

[Jumoschwanz]

One fact about the AI is that it seems to easily I.D. the type of aircraft you are in and it will adjust it's tactics to suit. If your type of aircraft is quick enough so that the AI will not be able to easily use energy fighting against you, then it will resort to turning and burning, if you are however flying a slower aircraft against a much faster AI, then it will do the energy fighting thing and then indeed you can do what Caspar suggested.

As long as you fly towards a faster AI aircraft, it will fly away from you until it has gained enough altitude to turn back and make a fast firing pass on you. So if you make sure you are not going in the same direction as the AI after it makes it's pass, then instead of flying away it will quickly turn back after you.

You can exploit this to keep equal Energy with the AI. The best way is to be going head-on at it on its firing pass, make it miss with a small maneuver, then continue flying straight ahead and loop back at the AI, it will be doing the same thing at the same time. At a point suitable to you, you can either take a head on shot at it, or you can make it miss again and see if you can follow it closely enough to take a shot at it's tail.

IF you fly the 1941 Lagg vs. the 109F2 it will go into energy fighting mode, but if you fly the Mig3ud against it, it will be in turn and burn mode. I flew the 41' lagg vs. an ace 109f2 and got it down with a head-on shot, and then in the mig3 I got it as it crossed my path trying to turn and burn with me.

Online all bets are off because you will be up against such a wide variety of varying abilities. Online all you can do is assume that every enemy aircraft you come into contact with is going to be piloted by the very best. After a bit of sparring you can get an idea of your opponents abilities and tactics and adjust to suit!

[Flanker1985]

Wow!!! That's a lot of helpful suggestions!! Thanks!! I love you guys!!!!!!!!!

[JimmyBlonde]

Do like Jumoschwanz and co said.

Don't follow them, don't chase them, use every opportunity you get to increase the distance between you and them and climb when it's safe to keep energy states roughly even. Set up potshots at them and don't fixate, the cannon on the LaGG is your friend here.

The LaGG-3 runs out of tricks very quickly vs any maneuvering 109 so you have to keep your speed up, stay at arms length and try not to let them box you in. If you're not leaving a merge with more E than he has then you're in trouble.

In a 1vs1 you can beat a 109 in a Co E knife fight (Energy fight, you won't beat him in a sustained turning contest), even a human piloted one, the LaGG is a handy aircraft but it is much more difficult to manage than a 109 so refuse to engage where you can if things look bad and always be looking for an exit. Don't force a bad situation to become a tragic one.