WW2OL flight tip: Spiral Climb

How to gain the upper hand on a Spit V thats on your tail.

In this vid I remain out of firing range throughout, but even if he were closer he would have be an amazing shot and really good at riding the stall to get a shot in. I always try to point my wing right at him during step 4 so that I present the smallest possible profile.

I rarely try this against P38s, simply because they don't have torque and can nail you from a 1000 yards while you're still climbing.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• BE
• WW2OL
• battleground
• europe
• messerschmitt
• bf109
• spitfire
• dogfight
• spiral
• climb
• konrad

[PhatFarm60]

I met a guy online tonight that probably could make that shot. He was in a P-40e, I was in a 109G2; closing on my 6 I tried to use the 109 superior climb rate to shake him but he violently nosed up and sprayed a half second burst at 400m; hit the pilot in the head...fight over. His maneuver did make his plane stall and spin, but he recovered.

Best deflection shot I ever saw, that or just crazy bad luck :(

[betty123123]

@PhatFarm60 I don't recommend doing this move if the guy is closing on you. The only reason the move works is because the 109 is very good at gaining energy because of its good climbrate at a high climb speed. If the p40 was closing on your 6 that means he had superior energy so he was able to get within 400m with enough energ to pull of the shot. If the guy is closing on you you have to remain level untill you can atleast get equal energy state with a long separation, like 1.5km or so.

[boomerlu]

Great vid - first person view helps a lot (much more helpful than theoretical discussions).

Tried it out in AH2 - works like a charm, especially w/109 G-14 and K-4. I even used it on a 190D9 - simply amazing.

[betty123123]

Thanks. Yeah, I love the fact real 109 pilots used this move in WWII and you can use it in pretty much every sim.

[boomerlu]

@betty123123 I agree, this is good advice for all rope-a-dope tactics. 1.5km seems to be the sweet spot for separation in WW2 sims.

[betty123123]

Yeah I don't recommend this move against the P38 (unless you're in a really high end 109) because they don't have any torque to worry about. A big part of the reason this move works so well is because the torque on most planes makes it impossible for the chaser to aim at such low speeds and high angles of attack.

[make1up726]

I remember using this back in my IL2 days, many a soviet fighter met their doom =) I recently played this at my friends and be careful, I played as P38 and managed to .50cal snipe a 109 as he tried this.

P.S. P38 ftw

[boomerlu]

Didn't know that the real deals used it, but 109 climb rate seems to be its main advantage against a Spit, so it makes sense.

Such a useful move - one of the "safest" reversals you can fly and it gives me something new to do on a merge rather than just getting into a turn fight (to my disadvantage).

[lazkren]

very educational, thanks

[gordak]

AWESOME video!!!