suggested tactics yak3 vs fw190

[dimlee]

Excellent summary given by Jumoschwanz.
I agree with almost everything except 3000 m altitude. Actually, this alt number should be carefully watched and avoided by those smart FW190 pilots. There is significant speed drop at around 3000m and Yak3 has the most ROC advantage over FW190 exactly at 3000m. This is true for any FW190 except probably some late 190Ds in HSFX. Sourse of reference: IL2 Compare program which is highly recommended to study before flying in the environment with "smart" pilots.

[K_Freddie]

Originally Posted by Jumoschwanz

Other than that the only FW190 pilot you will shoot down will be the greedy or dumb ones who slow their bird down and try fighting with it at low speed and low altitude. .

In the end "dogfighting" at slow speeds is a child's game for fun. You are not going to dogfight at slow speeds vs. more than one opponent and not get shot down unless they are very poor pilots.

Amateur....
The FW will zap a yak low-and-slow.. try flying on the edge sometime and learn something

[K_Freddie]

For the OP...
The Yak3 is light, and maneuverable above a min speed (sorry I forget which)... below this speed it's a dog and very unstable - you will stall easily way above stall speed.
In comparison the FW is a lot more stable, and more controllable at the Yak3's min speed.. and it can nail you if you cannot control your plane... of course the FW guy has to know his plane as well

I have 3000+ hours in an IL2 FW.. and a lot of on-line DFs have been won lo-n-slo (a lot of yak3's and La5&7s.. also Spits) coz they were impatient/greedy

Keep the Yak3 fast and you'll be OK... play for time and if the FW tries to follow you he's dead meat... but never for one moment think that you 'have him' when on his 6...!!
Aim for the Pit (PK)... I always do.. every other hit is luck..

Actually ran up IL2 yesterday with some Zero action for fun.. it's been years
Still haven't lost my touch... but hey!! good pilots don't
https://www.dropbox.com/s/mtqm8j6psz...o0_1.mp4?dl=0/

[Woke Up Dead]

Gotta disagree K-Freddie, using the 190 for a low and slow fight is a very bad idea. Sure, it can be done if you are very experienced in the 190 and the Yak pilot is not experienced in his plane, but given equal experience both pilots will find their planes equally steady/unsteady, and the Yak will be able to out-turn the FW.

If you're in a Yak and fighting average FW pilots online or Veteran/Ace AI offline, then getting into a medium to slow turn-fight is not a bad idea. Be aggressive (especially when it comes to avoiding his shots) until the FW's energy is equal to yours and you are behind him, then be patient and careful because you don't have a lot of ammo and the 190 may try to make you overshoot.

[dimlee]

There are certainly different styles of flying the same aircraft. I knew people who were excellent in low (but not slow) flying FW190 and I had hard time with some of them in my P38 (my another favorite).
But I have never felt comfortable flying FW190 myself below 1500 m (unless on bombing mission in 190F) and avoided encounters which could be called "dogfight" unless not given other choice. Run high and fast, smart engine management, if I miss - climb or separate at safe distance, look around, consider another attack or escape, etc.
Probably because - from the opposite side - I saw many 190 drivers who tried to go scissors or else at low alt only to burn their E and to end in gunsights of my Fork Tail Devil...
Last but not the least... one's low speed and low alt is so attractive for any ally of your adversary who just happened to be there. Or several allies.

[Jumoschwanz]

Originally Posted by dimlee

Excellent summary given by Jumoschwanz.
I agree with almost everything except 3000 m altitude.

The actual altitude a smart pilot will fly any aircraft at will depend on many current conditions. The main reason to stay above 3000m is as already mentioned to dive away from Soviet aircraft. Brought up that point because the guy who started the thread is asking about Yak tactics.

Which year of the war, weather conditions, which front you are flying on and what other aircraft you are flying against, doing ground attack or interception etc.., all will tell a smart pilot what altitude he needs to be at.

If there are no clouds, then you really need to stay just under contrail altitude, or at about 2000 meters altitude. At 2000 meters it will be hard for those at 6000+meters to spot you, and you will be above the reach of "bottom feeders" who fly along skimming the ground.

Clouds change the game, as if they are solid or very plentiful, then you certainly do not want to fly around just above them as you show up quite well to all those flying above 6K meters. I will fly either very high when there are clouds like this and look for the dummies flying against them, or I will fly fast and straight at the bottom of the clouds, this way the high-alt guys will not spot you easy, and again the guys flying at ground level will not be able to reach you, plus you can pull back on the stick and disappear into the clouds very easily.

Just because you are flying an aircraft that will turn does not mean you have to look for turning fights. I ran the best score ever in Feb. 2008 on the Spits vs. 109s server, which had 1662 different pilots that month by mostly flying a 109f4 as if it were a 190A. I kept it fast and straight and close to the bottom of thick clouds so I could take shots at any SpitV that was in front of me, and I could dive down to hit lower targets and then zoom back up into the clouds at will.

If you know the server well, then you will know where most of the action takes place and you can try to fly into it with superior altitude and speed and be top man on the totem pole.

Yak pilots always impressed me, especially in the "old days" of IL2 when there were few planes to choose from and it was still an Eastern Front flight sim. The Russian pilots had to manage their mixture and supercharger settings. You could watch a Yak pilot zoom up and trail black smoke for only an instant if it's pilot was sharp and was on top of engine management to get the most out of his bird.

IL2 was a big deal back then and there were many, many good VVS pilots giving us guys in our 109s and 190s problems. For most of the early history of IL2 it was very unpopular to fly German aircraft because the 190a was very bad at turning and the 109 did not turn as well as the Yak or La5 etc.. We were not so sophisticated and there were very few IL2 pilots doing energy fighting in the early 2000s. Also most of the servers and squads that ran them were VVS, USA or RAF and hosted in WWII allied countries.

I flew German aircraft in IL2 because that is what I was flying in Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator2 at the time IL2 showed up in 2001. And most servers needed German pilots badly as they were almost always in very short supply. Most IL2 pilots in the early days preferred flying the very fast La5fn around, which was almost untouchable, or the very good turning Yaks. My wife just got home have to go.......

[dimlee]

Hear, hear...
Spits vs 109 was good...