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"One of the secrets of some German fighter pilots was to fly with the 109 trimmed slightly to climb. The nose was held down by constant forward pressure on the stick, and then when the pilot wanted to pull up quickly, he pulled back and the nose came up more quickly and the aircraft didn't mush."
-Kurt Buehligen
Lesson Learned: A good fighter pilot anticipates action, and takes every possible step to gain an edge in advance of that action.
"If taken by surprise, I would do one or the other automatically, depending on conditions. If I had time, and saw my attacker coming in, I would wait to see how close he would come before opening up. If he began firing at long range, I could always turn into him. If he held his fire, I got ready for a real battle. Even against good competition, you could always break away by using negative G's.
In a tight turning maneuver, the attacker must turn more tightly in order to pull lead on his quarry. For a split second you pass under his nose and below his line of sight, as he tries to line his guns up ahead of you. It is precisely at that moment when he gets his gunnery angle on you, that you push the nose forward, kick bottom rudder and are gone. Your attacker cannot see you. He is intent on pulling lead and is turning in the opposite direction, in an ever tighter circle, even as you are diving and then turning the other way."
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"As I said before, the use of the negative G is a last-ditch measure. Frankly, I tried everything possible never to be placed in such a position, because if your attacker had a good wingman, he could quickly pick up that maneuver. This is why I avoided dogfights. They were long and drawn-out affairs, requiring all your attention, allowing another opponent to jump you. They were the longest and most difficult method of getting a kill, the expensive and the most dangerous."
-Leading Experten Erich Hartmann (352 confirmed victories)
Lessons Learned: First, you can tell a lot about the skill of an enemy pilot by observing his behavior closely. Second, when you are surprised and placed on the defensive early in an engagement, go evasive early instead of trying to maneuver for position. Avoid dogfights, go for kills. Because if you aren't, be assured that the enemy is.
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