Defensive Spiral
Following is an article written by “Sensei” Rapier about the Defensive Spiral tactic, for the Fighter Ace Combat Manual. Reprinted by permission of the author (Rapier) and Microsoft Corporation, publishers.The Defensive Spiral or, Getting out of a Sticky Situation
By –)-Rapier–, Fighter Ace Content Manager–
Let’s set the stage . . .
You and your opponent have been slugging it out right and left, the advantage slipping from one side to the other, and finally it happens — you take the fight into flat turns because you see a momentary advantage and hope to capitalize on it. Suddenly that advantage evaporates like a Popsicle on a hot sidewalk, leaving you in a sticky situation. Now they are sliding up on your six, gradually reducing that angle off your tail. Any moment now you are going to hear rounds crashing into your airframe. “What the h– um, double-toothpicks do I do now?”
Needless to say, it would be far better to have never gotten into that situation. You are slow (because of the turns) and energy-depleted, with few options remaining. Any moves you make will generally be last-ditch moves of desperation. The only thing that you can count on is that if you continue the flat turns, you will be providing your opponent with a nice long tracking shot. Even in the best of circumstances, if your opponent is good and sharp, you are most likely going to die. So what’s the solution?
The Defensive Spiral, like the Rolling Scissors , is basically a move of last resort. It requires perfect execution, exquisite timing, and a tiny bit of luck to pull off. Victory in this maneuver should be considered returning to a position and energy state equal to those of the opponent’s. And if you manage to use the Defensive Spiral to win, head for the bar, and call it a day.
“Bubi, Bubi, behind you! Break! Break!” Sergeant Junger’s alarm rasped in his headphones. Erich stroked the stick forward, diving down hard. He felt his eyes bulging in their sockets, and his helmeted head bounced against the canopy as negative G’s boosted him hard against his safety belt. In heavy left spirals at full power, the Blond Knight went plummeting down, the Mustangs hot on his tail.
Major Erich Hartmann
352 victories, Luftwaffe, WWII
All-Time Ace of Aces
It helps to think of the Defensive Spiral as a Rolling Scissors that travels vertically instead of horizontally. The basic idea is the same — that is, to get the attacker to overshoot the defender — but here you have a little help from gravity. You are going to need some altitude and a good sense of when to pull out in your particular plane.
In the above scenario, you will be looking across the turn circle at the attacker, which means you will see them in your up or up/rear views. You want to sucker them into this move, so make it enticing. Gradually roll your plane inverted and quickly pull back on the stick, which will point the nose of your plane downward. At this point the attacker will probably get a snapshot opportunity. Make it as difficult as you can for them by doing the maneuver rapidly, and perhaps throw in a quick jink.
Both your plane and the opponent’s will start to accelerate, due to gravity. You want to slow your rate of acceleration, particularly in comparison to the opponent. So throttle back, drop flaps, drop gear if you have to, but try to keep your speed below corner speed (best turn-rate speed). You also must maintain your rolling motion (this means the stick will be back in one of the rear corners), making your downward spiral as flat as possible. This will render you a difficult target to hit, and it is also harder for the attacker to observe that you are slowing down. Within two or three turns, they should overshoot.
If the attacker is within firing range, a violent, uncoordinated maneuver is the best. Throwing the wheel into the forward corner with a full aileron roll will result in a skidding three-quarter barrel roll ending up at a very high speed, and then climbing at a high speed. It is almost impossible to get a lead on an airplane in such a maneuver, and it has proven very effective in losing the attacker altogether.
Colonel George A. Walker
Commanding Officer, 49th Fighter Group
Now comes the kicker. You have a choice of how to use this moment of energy and position advantage. You can choose to either bug out, by rolling to put your lift vector on the opponent, pulling out and crossing their track at a maximum angle, or go for a shot. Be warned! If you don’t put the opponent away on this shot, there is a high probability that they will come off the pull-out with an improved energy state, which could prove fatal to you. You will also need to maintain your position behind the opponent and not allow them to reverse the situation.
From the attacker’s viewpoint, the easiest way to foil the Defensive Spiral is to recognize it early in the game. If you recognize it as the opponent rolls inverted, then just continue until you are directly over the diving quarry. Now you will start directly behind them, which gives you a better shot and makes it harder to keep you in sight. Keep close tabs on your closure rate. If you start closing rapidly, the best option is to initiate pull-out before you overshoot. This way you retain your energy advantage and can set up for another attack.
The Defensive Spiral is a tool of desperation but a valuable one to have when the cards don’t go your way. In some cases, it may be the only card you have left to play.
References
- Maloney, Edward T., ed. Fighter Tactics of the Ace’s [sic] — S.W.P.A. Corona del Mar, CA: World War II Publications, 1978; p. 39
- Shaw, Robert. Fighter Combat: Tactics and Maneuvering. Annapolis, MD: United States Naval Institute Press, 1985; pp. 93-97
- Toliver, Colonel Raymond F., and Trevor J.Constable. The Blond Knight of Germany. New York: Ballantine Books, 1970; pp. 166 and 167
© 1998 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission from the MSN Gaming Zone.
