P-51 Combat Tips and Tricks ( Dogfight Guide )

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by JtD

In real life the P-51 was an excellent aircraft, just like it is in game.

In fairness to the P-51 we're also forgetting one of its major strengths - range. The fact that the P-51 could escort bombers to and from targets deep in central Europe from bases in England or Southern Italy was unprecedented and the Germans had no comparable long-ranged fighter.

In the Pacific, while some Japanese fighters had better range than the Mustang, they didn't have the same armor.

My earlier point wasn't to dismiss the P-51 as a great fighter plane. It certainly was! But, the Luftwaffe of 1944 wasn't the Luftwaffe of 1940 or even 1942, which made it even easier for the VVS and the USAAF to gain air superiority over Germany.

[Jumoschwanz]

Is that video of Thor's up on youtube? I am not a member of M4T. Always fun to watch tracks of our glory days.

I remember that Ultima Latet was about the best Mustang pilot online, he could just about kick anyone's ass by managing his energy very well mine included. I gave him fits while flying a D-9 though and he just brought up how the d9 was better than it should be, but every RED pilot says that.

The boys in Mustangs on WarClouds used to do very well with them, but that was because they flew as a team in numbers like they should have and they flew very safely with very little dogfighting, whenever I got any of them alone whether I was in a 190A,D or 109 they usually came up the loser because they grew dependent on team tactics and maybe did not spend the time lone-wolfing it like I always did.

In 2008 for an experiment I purposely flew on Spits vs. 109s every day for a month, as they used to reset their stats every month, just to see how good a record I could rack up. I flew mostly the FW190, maybe 20% in a 109 and some in allied aircraft including a sorty in a p51d where I got two kills and got back home. I got by far the best record in the stats that month for a fighter pilot, flying a large number of missions vs. Late allied aircraft, P51,p47 and of course Spits. Warbirds of Prey's solution was to delete the fw190 aircraft I had been flying from their maps for the next month.

In the end I remember the high-flying Mustangs being the most trouble for the FW190 because they were the fastest and best diving just as has been pointed out in this thread.

And as Chuck Yeager pointed out in his book, the pilot with the most experience will always come out ahead no matter what he is flying. Which always seemed to hold true. I think most of the best pilots in WWII or in IL2 are those that fly with their heads and have the best tactics and experience and know their aircraft.

If the starter of this thread, Ultima and Thor did better than most others in their Mustangs I am sure it is more what they have upstairs than whatever virtual cockpit they are in.

[T}{OR]

I only remember =AFJ=GoodKnight and his "SIX-FIFTIES" video. Never flown with him, just Kling on a couple occasions. I rarely flew with a wingman, and did just fine solo. Although having one helps a lot, especially since from my experience every Fw driver nowadays has a wingman lol.

The video is only available from M4T. I didn't want to upload it on YT as back then the quality was poor and it would have been muted / deprived of one channel soon after upload.

However, seeing the interest in the video has again risen you can now download it off my squadrons FTP: DOWNLOAD LINK

[panzer1b]

as for shooting at convergeance its not often so easy, as ur often too far or too close to the target

also what do u 51 pros use for convergeance?

i tend to usee 200m for every plane as it s a balanced number wheer both wing guns work and centerline are quite good (+ i rarely shoot at anything past 300m)

i used to have 100 so as to get easy point blank shots but all it does is limit me to close up ONLY.....sortof bad if for some reason you need to snipe at range...

[T}{OR]

I use 200/220m guns/cannons. 300/330m when I am going strafing.

A note when using K-14: its default range is 150m, and the increments in distance you can input are in 25m.

[310thDiablo]

Originally Posted by T}{OR

I only remember =AFJ=GoodKnight and his "SIX-FIFTIES" video. Never flown with him, just Kling on a couple occasions. I rarely flew with a wingman, and did just fine solo. Although having one helps a lot, especially since from my experience every Fw driver nowadays has a wingman lol.

The video is only available from M4T. I didn't want to upload it on YT as back then the quality was poor and it would have been muted / deprived of one channel soon after upload.

However, seeing the interest in the video has again risen you can now download it off my squadrons FTP: DOWNLOAD LINK

Great thread guys. I haven't flown the strange in some time so I'm paying attention. I'm usually in my Jug if I can be. A couple things here.....first..dang I haven't heard Goodknights name in forever. I flew with and against him. Great pilot if you could get past his arrogance. Next...sweet spot on the 50s now is 200 to 250 mtrs. Thor...in the jug with 8 50s you can indeed set different convergence ranges for each pair of guns. It makes it nice to have a spread for deflection shooting. It's nice with the new belting but would be better if we could set a realistic belting of 4 APIs and 1 APIT. The overall power rating would e much nicer especially against Japanese planes. The API rounds have a much better incendiary effect inside 250 meters. Oh yeah. Something else I learned. With IL2s hit boxes...if u shoot short squirts with the trigger you get better progressive hit damage to the various hit boxes of each ac.

[MaxGunz]

Originally Posted by Boudre0aux

Their best advantage lies where it did in reality-sheer overwhelming numbers.

Against fewer and fewer Experten accompanied by more and more complete rookies. Kind of like the long run version of the Battle of Britain with different teams.
Funny how the shoe fits the other foot, isn't it? It went like that for the U-boats too. First it was Happy Times then it was not so happy. The whole German war machine learned that song. Getting outnumbered in the end is part of the process of starting more trouble than you can handle. It is the same for big criminals as small ones.

The trouble began when the ones in control believed their own BS. And yet we have people today still believing the same basic line. They wave their flags, they talk bad and they don't acknowledge the bill from the last wars, that is all because some people are lazy or stealing, not because of any war since war is supposed to be GOOD for the economy. Well, if you're a banker in a nice safe place, it's good for yours!

[T}{OR]

@ OP: One thing I'd add it TRIM. Learn how to use it and trim for different speeds and flight regimes.

Originally Posted by JG27_PapaFly

You are hereby kindly invited by JG27 to visit us on grij dedicado server and kick our ignorant FW190 butts.

Time: monday and tuesday, starting around 1800 GMT.
Server info: close range friendly icons (1000m), map icons, speedbar, otherwise fullreal.

We are 2-4 guys.

I'd take some of that. If only my fighter skills were as goos as shown in the video I did back in 2007. Back then, I was flying 5 times a week, now I fly once a week - bombers only.

Very few people know how to fly a Pony. Above all, it takes discipline and getting used to the weak .50s and how to get the most out of them. In particular, deflection shooting. This is one reason why I never enjoyed flying Fw190s - just to easy to kill something. Tons of ammo and pull the trigger ahead of the target and let it fly through the wall of led.

Lately I find myself enjoying a Tempest a lot, its firepower meets my current flying skills nicely.

Originally Posted by JtD

I also consider the P-51 the best prop driven fighter aircraft in game, in particular against the Japanese, where the somewhat limited firepower works a lot better than against the tougher German planes.

By far the best fun I had with Ponies online was vs. Japanese fighters. If you know how to fly it, no one can touch you. One feels like God when flying a Pony vs. those planes.

[Janosch]

I wish to know... are you guys talking about the P-51D? Can the other variants do something considerably better or worse than the D? Obviously D variants can use noseart (customized, of course), so it's a good enough reason for me to choose it over the others.

[T}{OR]

Mustang III is the fastest of the bunch, and no LW prop plane can catch it. Downside is that, like all non bubble top versions, it only has two pairs of .50 cals. So you really have to work for your kills. Thus I always took the D model whenever it was available.

How to best describe a mustang in few words:

• You can run away from any opponent, provided you have the room for diving away. If the situation is unfavorable for you that is.
• "Glass" engine (do not do headons unless there is no way out).
• In order to get the most out of it you need to master trimming, fire discipline (firing only when the target is in ideal convergence) and prop pitch for various aspects of flight.
• Never ever take more than 50% fuel (that alone will give you over 2h of flight at max power and RPM). Preferably take 30-35%. Lots of fuel = lots of extra weight. And this thing has insane range.
• Correct propeller pitch settings will make it accelerate like no other plane in a dive. Literary, you can dive as if someone put an afterburner on you. Just be vary of the powerful elevators, not to lose a wing.
• Best used for hit and run tactics against experienced pilots. Against those of a lesser skill you can stay and play with for a while.
• K-14 "ace maker" gunsight is interesting to use, but don't get overly used to it.

In combat vs. LW planes, you can out turn a 109 or 190 easily - but you have only one chance. Then you loose all your energy. So use this as defensive maneuver to get out of harms way and keep your speed up as much as you can.

Versus Japanese planes it is simply a dream plane to fight with. There is nothing that will even come close to your speed if you conserve your energy. Those .50 cals are at least twice as effective here.


This is definitely not a plane for rookies and those that lack patience. You need to get rid of a lot of bad habits and change your approach if you wish to be good with this plane.