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Winging it | History | Loose Duece | Double Attack | Plan | Responsibilities | Communications | Other Disciplines
Basic Rotte Tactics- The purpose of this web page is to try and develop a “packaged”
approach to wing tactics that makes it easier to adopt war-proven
flight element disciplines into your fighting style. The benefits
derived from adopting wingman (Rotte and Kette) tactics far outweigh
the discipline required. Namely, the ability for two or three fighter
pilots to work in tandem allows for a synergistic increase in combat
efficiency that is greater than the sum of its parts. More
simply put, you can kick more ass together than by yourselves. A little insight from actual WW II tactics is in order, with a perspective on our particular area of interest, that of the Luftwaffe fighter pilot. An excerpt from JG26: The Top Guns of the Luftwaffe by Donald Caldwell:
...In 1937, the Condor Legion (the German Air Force during the Spanish war - Lugnut) flew in the same close formation as the rest of the world’s air forces, based upon the Kette of three aircraft. After its introduction to service, the Germans quickly realized that the Bf109B, the fastest service fighter in the world, was unsuited to these close formations. Werner Moelders, (Adolph) Galland’s successor in command of 3/J88, is credited with the development of the “finger four” or Schwarm (flight) formation, so-called because the relationship of its four aircraft resembled that of the fingertips of an outstretched hand. His most important innovation, however, was the Rotte, or element of two aircraft, which became the BASIC FIGHTING UNIT (emphasis added - Lugnut). The job of the Rottenfueher, or element leader, was to attack; the job of the Rottenflieger, or wingman, was to protect or follow his leader. Lateral spacing between the aircraft was increased to 200 yards, the turning radius of the Bf109. The aircraft could thus break together, to attack, or towards one other, for mutual defense. The Schwarm was 600 yards across and was hard to maneuver as a unit until Moelders developed the cross-over turn, in which the outside aircraft of the formation made the sharpest turn. He also staggered the Schwareme (flights) of each Staffel (12 planes) in altitude, which both improved the ability of the formation’s pilots to sight the enemy and made the formation itself less conspicuous in the glare of the sun. The formation leader was able to control his widely spaced unit by means of radio....
JG5 will normally use a combination of two highly effective winged pair techniques; Loose Deuce and Double Attack. Loose Deuce - is the "tag team" style of fighting, where one fighter is "in" on the bogie. His job is to maneuver for a shot, and failing this, to bleed the enemy's energy or force him into a disadvantageous position. He then calls, "Out" and disengages, hopefully up, to conserver energy for the next pass, if needed. The other pilot, formerly the "out" or "perch" pilot can then dive in and engage the bogie while the other pilot climbs to regain energy, regain SA and perform the duties of the perch. The idea is usually for only one plane to be committed at one time; the other, on the perch, is there to ensure the SA for the entire pair and to watch the 6 of the "in" pilot, who can concentrate his full attention on shooting the bogie.The planes continue alternating positions until the bogie is killed or the overall tactical situation changes. At that point, it usually becomes necessary for the pair to either escape or get away from the action to regain their SA...and then onto the next victim. <top> Double Attack - is a derivative of Loose Deuce. There are still the "in" and "out" pilots, but the "out" pilot is more actively involved in the attack, not just waiting on the perch until the engaged pilot calls him down. This approach demands very close contact, and is not recommended if voice comms are not working properly. JG5 pairs will mostly use the Loose Deuce, holding the Double Attack for situations where it is reasonably sure that there will be no reinforcements to undermine the SA of the pair. <top> For the most part, we are assuming that each member will have enough experience to be able to handle his responsibilities, regardless of whether you are the Rottenfueher ("in" fighter) or the Rottenflieger/Katchmarek (wingman or "out/perch" fighter). Good planning is the key to success in any mission, more so in respect to Rotte tactics. The more you both understand the conditions of the mission from start to finish up front, the less communication details you have worry about when you engage the enemy. Here is a basic checklist of things to outline that can either be added to or cut depending upon your preferences: Mission Objectives – Know your objectives, whether it be a CAP, Sweep, Jabo, Capture, Recon, or Escort mission. Outline your “travel plans”, details such as :
Plane Type - Utilize same variants when possible to ensure similar handling characteristics. A 109G wingman will have a tough time covering the tail of a 109F element leader in a tight turning dogfight. Try to fly a plane both parties are comfortable with. Fuel Load – Weight plays a role in handling characteristics, level the playing field between you and match fuel loads. Also, with the increased distances and transit times in the 2.0 arena, make sure you have double checked your estimates for your fuel requirements. Ordnance Loadout – Is it just fighter escort or a Jabo field capture? Take enough iron to get the job done, but take similar loadouts. If you don’t match (on purpose), your weight, and consequently your climbing, handling, and dive characteristics will be different between you. Coordinate Comms – If using voice, set your channels on the ground and test comm quality to ensure both parties can understand each other clearly. If either one can not, both should use the text buffer. It is best up Radio One to 110, the squad frequency whenever possible. If the Scenario Lite calls for a special channel for a group of planes, use another Radio channel for squad, or 110. But be sure to assign squad radio, and prepare yourself to use the proper channels (nothing worse than sending a help message for your wingman out on country channel, where it mixes in with a lot of other chatter). Whenever possible, after any type of radio comms respond with a “cc” or else assume it wasn’t received (perhaps when dragging or tight maneuvering it may not be possible). This applies to both the element leader and the wing. If not confirmed after several seconds respond with “copy?” to elicit a response. If you have a programmable joystick, reserve at least one button to open a radio channel, preferably the one assigned to your wing. If you have a nice setup, with multiple hats, I recommend assigning the first hat for views, the next one for radio. Formation – Because of the problems of microwarps and
other internet-related stuff, it's really hard to keep good tight
formations in WarBirds. For this reason, I recommend a spacing of
about d2 - d4 for wingmen. Following wingmen should try *not* to
fly directly behind the leader; he can't see you back there. Rather,
fly to his 5:00 or 7:00, or off to one side. Try to stay in the
same relative position, you can sap a lot of SA when your wingmen
are trying to find *you* as well as the enemy. Rottenfueher/"In" Fighter – You call the shots. The decisions to engage, disengage, prioritize cons and choose targets and attack tactics rest solely in your hands. Whenever possible, you also call out additional cons/threats as deemed relevant to your position. While in transit, both parties are responsible for maintaining SA and being on the look out for cons in all directions. Once engaged with an opponent, assume your 6 is clear unless informed
otherwise by your wingman, or if he tells you he is out of position
at a considerable range, in which case you are on your own. Part
of the benefit of a wing is the unattended SA on your 6 position
that allows you to concentrate on the task at hand. If you lose
position on a bogey, due to maneuvering, you maintain the
option of handing over the lead to your wing if his separation affords
him a better angle. Be sure to call "out" if you are breaking
off contact or are climbing back up. This is the signal to change
leads, and your wingman is then clear to come down off the perch
to engage.
A suggested addendum to #3 would be that it is OK to do some basic jinks and rolls to throw off your bogey's solution, but you want to try and maintain the same vector you are presently flying on so your wing can kill the threat with a minimum of maneuvering. If the wing decides further action is required on your part to deal with the bogie, he will call out “break left”, “turn right”, “Immelman” or whatever ACM will help develop his guns solution. This should be the one area where the wingman calls the shots. He is in a much better position than you are to see if you are about to get smoked. If he makes the decision to have you break off your attack and engage in a defensive maneuver so he can help you save your own hide, assume he knows what’s best and follow his orders post haste. After this type of engagement, inform your wing of any status changes to your plane, i.e. WEP gone, out of ammo, elevator gone, damage report, etc, or any other info that he would not otherwise be aware of. It's also a good idea for the pair to climb out and get tactical cohesion, reaffirm the lead, etc. The other tactical situation involving attacking bogies is when
your wing announces that there is a bogie on HIS six. The leader
then has three options. The default mode will be “Hold” so that the wing does
not go skittering off unannounced, but the onus is upon the leader/in
fighter to decide as quickly as possible what course to take. If
you do not respond in a reasonable time frame, your wing will consider
himself released and make the decision whether to stay or disengage. If a bogie winds up on the "in" fighter's six, report
it immediately. If you feel you are in a position to either kill
it or make it break off its attack before it causes him harm then
do so. Otherwise call out a defensive maneuver to the leader that
will best allow you to position the bogie in your sights from a
straight six position, not a momentary snap shot. Again, use lag
pursuit tactics to maintain adequate separation and stay in
proper position behind the element leader. Resist the temptation
to dive in and "help" the leader unless he asks you to.
Follow any orders given with a “cc” to close the communications
loop, or else you can expect a “copy?” message to confirm
receipt. <top> As previously mentioned, clear concise radio communications are
the order of the day when making decisions at 400 MPH. Everyone
has their own lexicon, which is fine as long as both parties understand
it. Alerts: “6” – bogie on your 6 ACM: “bl” – break left Commands: “con” - enemy spotted. Given with direction
pointer such as 2-hi (2 o’clock high) or 12-lo (12 o’clock
low) Other Wingman Tactical Disciplines Just to be thorough, I've included some other wingman disciplines; these are different approaches to the Double Attack/Loose Deuce method we will normally use. These may be called upon as needed, so you should be familiar with them as well. I. WELDED WING This is the formation we often think of when we visualize a two man team in flight. One is designated the lead the other wing, and the wing man's position is anterior and defensive. During the war this was also a mentor role for younger more inexperienced pilots to gain combat experience at the side of a veteran. The lead's primary tasks are navigation, forward hemisphere search for attack planning and engaged maneuvering and he has the secondary responsibility of rear-hemisphere visual coverage. The Wing man flies a rather loose formation on the leader. His primary task is maintaining a rear hemisphere defensive look out and he has secondary forward hemisphere duties. During WWII the separation was normally 600 ft. My suggestion would be a range of 6 showing over your lead and with some alt to the wingman's advantage to close on any bogey that drops on the lead's tail. Traditional the wing was in the right echelon position, at about 4 o clock. Pros: 1) Mentor for new pilot Cons: 1) Who watches the wingman's six? LINE ABREAST - This formation places both ac at 90 degrees with each other of the 3 and 9 o clock respectively. A great combat spread is required, perhaps int he area of 10-12 showing over the partner's ac. This offers several defensive and offensive maneuvers against an approaching enema. There is the "Offensive Split" the "Defensive Split" the "Beam Defense" "High-Low Split" "Bracket". What these maneuvers do, and we can cover them in a later post, is they seek to commit the enema to pursuit of one of the two offensive planes so that the free plane can maneuver for the kill. As mentioned above, this require a great deal of discipline and much trust in the gunnery and maneuvering proficiency of the partner pilot's abilities. Would you offer yourself to sucker in the enema if you though your partner could gun him down quickly when you needed him to do it? Pros: 1) This things kills them dead....it works Cons: 1) To apply this doctrine requires a high proficiency between both
pilots
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