Combat Tactics?: Yak-1b vs. FW-190

[*Buzzsaw*]

Salute

The only real solution is to climb high enough that you are above them prior to combat, so you can dive to catch them.
Remember to decrease your fuel mixture to 80% or less at alts over 3500 meters, and then remember again, to increase it when you lose alt.

Unfortunately, the Yak`s are so weak structurally, that even when you have the height advantage, if the target 190 dives away, and if your dive speed exceeds about 660 km`s as you pursue, you will rip off your wings or ailerons.

This is why I hate the Yaks. Good turners and decent climb at low alt, but unless you get a German who wants to commit themselves, you are `Sh*t out of luck`.

Personally, if I had a choice, I`d fly the P-40 or P-39 in a Soviet Campaign. The P-40 especially is great against 190`s if you have the alt. It can dive with them quite handily, maneuvers well at high speeds, and outturns them too.

But if the 190 has a good AI driver, or a good human, you are doomed to frustration, since they won`t let you get above them.

[IceFire]

Tricky matchup. The best thing you can try and do as the Yak pilot is force the FW190 low and into a tight turn...but thats preying on a less experienced pilots mistake of getting into such a position. The FW190 is a hunter...anyone who has experience with it is not likely to put themselves in such a position unless they have no other options left to them.

Outnumber the FW190 or be in such a position slightly higher and faster in order to force them into a stupid move such as turning. The only thing you have going for you in a Yak-1B (or most of the Yak series) is their reasonably quick roll rate. If you do get into a rolling scissors with a FW190...this is one of the few planes that has a hope of matching it. But the speed range is allot lower for best roll rate and it may not always work in your favour.

[ADDAX]

Lots of good advice here guys...

Thanks for the tips.

One of the things about flying these fixed scenarios is that the engagement altitudes can be somewhat predetermined. For example, one mission is to take out an HE-111 recon plane cruising at about 4000m. After flying through the waypoints to intercept the bomber, even when you take it out on the 1st pass, right away 2 FW-190's show up on the scene at around 5000m.

In this case they are clearly determining when to engage... The time I finally managed to pass the mission, I did it by diving for the dirt towards my airfield as soon as I took out the recon plane. The FW-190's tailed me all they way home, taking down my wingman on the way. Once near my airfield I turned to duel them and managed to stave off about 6 or six of their passes with the aid of a lone AAA gun. Eventually I took enough stray hits from their boom and zooms that I could nolonger maneuver enough to even try to take them on. I manged to ditch my plane in almost one piece near the runway and promptly ended the mission before they could come and straff me.

Anyways, when encountering this situation in the future, I will definitly try out Shrike's switch back tactics... they're not too different from what I've been attempting in the 1st place, but hearing them explicitly spelt out like this definitly gives some perspective.