Air-to-Air Squadron Tactics

Discussion in 'WT Main' started by DeadlyWalrus, Jun 9, 2014.

Air-to-Air Squadron Tactics

Discussion in 'WT Main' started by DeadlyWalrus, Jun 9, 2014.

  1. DeadlyWalrus

    DeadlyWalrus .

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    Ok, I've been mulling over writing up a sort of squadron tactics primer and I suppose this is as good a time to post up a first draft as any.
    First of, I'm a lawyer in real life so, by rule, everything I write must start with disclaimers. I'm basing a lot of this on experience and as I'm hardly the most experienced pilot in the squadron some of my theories may be incomplete or flat out wrong. If you happen to disagree with me please post your thoughts so we can refine our tactics. Also, this will only apply to pure air-to-air matches. If we're running a combined battle there will be a lot of other considerations that will require different tactics. Finally, it is a long held maxim that no plan survives first contact with the enemy. To that end, we need in flight leaders who can take the basic principles of air-to-air combat and apply then to whatever situation the squadron finds itself in, rather than slavish following a pre-conceived plan.

    So, without further ado, here is what I think we should be doing.

    1) Obtain the energy advantage. All other things being equal, the fighter with more energy will win. Therefore, we should always seek to obtain more energy than our opponent. Because War Thunder will generally ensure that we are flying against fighter of roughly similar performance, this means we should always seek to be higher than our opponent period. If we can do this, then everything else is gravy.

    2) Retain the energy advantage. I know everyone wants to make that little plane in their crosshairs go boom no matter what, but if you chase him to the deck then his five friends at 10,000 feet are going to make your life very short, very quickly. To prevent your untimely demise, never dive below the highest enemy fighter and remember the cardinal rule of boom-and-zoom fighting: One pass, haul ass.

    3) Bracket Attacks. Ok, boom and zoom tactics are all well and good but what do we do when we do not have the energy advantage over our opponent? This is where the bracket attack and the various other team tactics come in to play and why wingmen are so important. I find this a bit hard to explain without illustrations so I would highly recommend that you go to Nraged's post (appropriately) entitled "Must Read" and look at chapter 18 of the enclosed link. What you will find is a variety of ways that two fighters can team up to create easy, high percentage shots at an opponent with minimal risk to themselves. It is my opinion that mastering this aspect of air-to-air combat is what we need to do to take our tactics to the next level.

    4) Frustrate your opponent. So, various bad things have happened and you now have a bandit high on your six. Should you just roll over and die or is there something you can do to win? The basic thing to remember here is that your opponent has an absolute advantage and he will win if he does not make a mistake. Therefore, your primary goal should be to force him to make said mistake. There are a few ways to go about this. Descending can potentially draw your opponent down below friendly fighters and as you fly lower the ground will limit his dive angles and shorten the window in which he can shoot at your before he has to pull up. Finally, the simple act of repeatedly evading an enemy's attacks is likely to frustrate him and frustrated pilots are much more likely to make mistakes.

    Ok, I think 600+ words is more than enough for Monday morning, but like I said, if you have any of your own thoughs or observations post them up so I can make corrections or additions.
     
    Last edited: Jun 9, 2014
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  2. HIGHLANDER

    HIGHLANDER Administrator,Motivational speaker,van dweller

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    I must say, well put ole bean! Oh and I like gravy! The most improvement on my game has been in the last 2 weeks after watching you in the Ki84 ko using it to energy fight. THe funny thing is I have been using it as turn fighter with energy but this works much better for me.
     
  3. beachy86

    beachy86 .

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    This is a great post. Another thing I would say is try to avoid head ons unless it's a last resort. Well unless you are me and you're drunk in a P-47 then have at it. But in all seriousness we should be trying to break away and forcing them to turn and burn off their energy so someone else can pounce on them.
     
  4. Nraged

    Nraged I fly things

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  5. Valrimor

    Valrimor .

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    Great post Walrus! A key thing to add to this is the importance of clear, concise communication with your squad mates. If there are two things that we (and I am an egregious offender in this area) need to improve on as a squad, they would be communication and sticking close to each other. Especially a wingman, as you pointed out.
     
  6. beachy86

    beachy86 .

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    You aren't alone there, I can be very bad about it also.

    We should also try to figure out which people have skills that match well with each other so that they can start flying as wingmen. I would say if anyone has suggestions for pairings to go ahead and post them.
     
  7. DeadlyWalrus

    DeadlyWalrus .

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    Lots of great stuff guys, I'm not sure where to start.

    First off, that's really impressive Nraged. It's really apparent how effective good communication is in sim battles. We definitely need to get better on coms ourselves.

    I've actually taken to using almost anything that I'm flying as an energy fighter as long as I start the fight with more energy than my opponent. That way it's easier to prevent him from running away and I'll be in better shape when the next enemy fighter shows up. Turn fighting is really a last resort for when I absolutely must kill the guy RIGHT NOW or if I'm flying something that simply will not dive.

    Beachy, if you have another night like that one you can go head on with anyone, anytime. But yeah, otherwise many of the team tactics are based on maneuvering around that first head on pass. Personally I've found getting the timing just right is a bit tricky so a bit of practice may be in order.

    As far as wingmen go, my initial idea is to divide up based on flying style. Right now we have guys like me who want to cruise around up high and only engage when we have a clear advantage and we have guys like Highlander who want to dive in an stir shit up RIGHT FUCKING NOW. I think we can use this to our advantage by forming a few elements of our more aggresive pilots who will seize the initiative and take the fight to the enemy while the remaining elements fly high cover and drop on the remaining enemy fighters as they are naturally drawn to where the action is. The key will be making sure the two flights don't climb too high or dive too low to provide support for one another.
     
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  8. Valrimor

    Valrimor .

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    Been away from the forums of late due to new demographics in my home...LOL.

    I really like the multiple element idea of squadron tactics. I would categorize myself as more of the "get in the shit" style pilot as opposed to a "stay high and cover" style. That's not to say that it is my strength. My K/D ratio proves that...LOL. I agree that if we want to get competitive, these traits need to be evaluated for each pilot by way of group consensus, and compatible wingman assignments be implemented.

    As for leadership roles, I feel that besides just having a squad leader that calls the shots, each element should also have a leader for that element.
     
  9. HIGHLANDER

    HIGHLANDER Administrator,Motivational speaker,van dweller

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    I like taking the fight to them but I have mellowed in my run right in attitude. I do some of my best flying setting up kills for you guys. I am great bait
     
  10. ArtyRage

    ArtyRage .

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    Hey ! If anyone (especially rookie pilots like me ) wants to practice maneuvers or just fool around with a "moderate" intelligent pilot in a much more "harmony" enviroment ,give me a pm or a call when you see me in game , I'll start a custom map and we can shoot each other up :)
     
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