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Preview: Rowan's Battle of Britain
By Bob "Groucho" MarksAI and Tactics
While the AI in BoB is filled with a realistic mix of seasoned foes and dumb-move rookies, most of your opponents are capable enough. Patience is definitely a virtue, as is knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of both his airplane and your own. Waiting for them to make a mistake definitely pays dividends. Tactics like these in single player mode matter more in BoB than in just about any sim. When fighting against Spitfires, for example, it’s best not to get sucked into a turning melee with your Emil. The Messershmitt was a boom & zoom fighter, faster accelerating and with a higher top speed than her Supermarine adversary. As such, the more maneuverable Spitfire was much better suited as a defensive fighter than the Me-109. Luftwaffe ace Adolph Galland uttered one of the most famous quips in aviation history while attempting to explain this to Reich Marshal Hermann Goering in September 1940. After being castigated by Goering for not sticking close by Luftwaffe bombers during escort duties, Galland answered the Reich Marshal’s query as to what his needs would be to effectively fulfill his assigned escort mission. “I’d like an outfit of Spitfires for my Geschwader!”
The Me-110 puts lead, and a lot of it, on target.
That’s not to say he preferred the Spit to his Emil; he simply recognized that the Me-109's strength was in its ability to deliver lightning fast "pounce" attacks on unsuspecting RAF fighters---not as a close quarters dogfighter which bomber escorting required. Know thine airplane, and use it right. Rowan does an outstanding job at modeling the idiosyncrasies of each airplane. Since each airplane is unique and has a learning curve all its own, it’s not a bad idea to stick to one type and learn what it can do instead of jumping around from type to type.
Spit on final
Landing or "I said 'WHOA!'"
Upon approach for landing, or "pancake" as the Brits say in the game, one thing becomes immediately apparent: most of these airplanes, particularly the Me-109 and the Spit, are extremely difficult to slow down. Pushing the prop pitch full forward (flattening out the blade's angle of attack for max RPM) while throttled back helps immensely to slow up the beasts. Luckily, flap deployment speeds seem to be fairly high, though I don't know if these are realistic or not. Regardless, you are going to need all the help you can get to slow down. Ground handling is notoriously evil, as history reflects. It's a little known fact that more of the narrow-track Me-109's were lost to ground operations accidents than combat! Great care must be taken to land into the wind (talk to the tower) and easy application of differential braking is a must.
