This dogfighting tactic is totally going to save your ass!
If you want to learn the tactics and maneuvers that real fighter pilots used
during World War Two, or maybe you just want to advance a couple of levels in War Thunder,
then you must know how to get the enemy off your six so that you can live to fight another day.
Okay, gamers may not want to study history,
same goes for history geeks like me. We may not want to play video games. But let's face it,
we all have a common interest, which is aerial combat, Dog fighting.
But if we're just meeting for the first time, my name is Ken Stano
and I am a World War II historian, mechanical engineer, and pilot.
This is a history channel and today we're going to reveal the best maneuver
a fighter pilot used to get the enemy off their tail.
And this definitely applies to you WarThunder gamers as well
because today we're going to talk about the Split-S maneuver.
All pilots used the Split-S maneuver as a tactic to evade the enemy
and if you weren't using this evasion tactic, you weren't simply an amateur, you were dead!
It's actually one of the simpler maneuvers, but it's one that hardly anybody is aware of,
or if they're aware of it, especially for gamers in War Thunder, you're not using it, and you should be!
Learning this historic maneuver will lend insight into how pilots
evaded the enemy when they were jumped in a surprise attack.
It's simple and it's a strategy that not only will get an enemy off your six,
but it also could result into them running into the ground. And we'll get to that later.
So what exactly is the Split-S? Basically we're taking the letter 'S' and we're cutting it in-half.
We're going to take that lower half. Hence the term 'Split-S'.
So when you find yourself in a jam and you know the enemy's behind you, think N-R-T-B....
November, Romeo, Tango, Bravo. Neutral, Roll, Throttle, Back.
And we're going to explain what each of those means. But first I want you to watch this animation...
What you're going to do basically, you're immediately going to go 'neutral', or unload.
What we're describing there is remove any application of g-forces.
You could literally let-go of the stick and make sure that your plane isn't loaded with g-forces in any direction.
Once you're what I call 'neutral', then you can start your roll.
It's a quick-snap half-roll, either to the right or to the left. It doesn't matter.
At that point also pull back your throttle. That's where the 'T' comes-in. So reduce your speed.
You're going "Why do I want to reduce my speed?"
Because now that you're inverted, reduce your throttle and you pull back on the stick,
you can turn a hell of a lot more tightly. Much tighter turn radius than the enemy behind you.
So you've rolled over on your back, you pull back on the throttle, pull back on the stick.
That other plane starts to follow you around, but they haven't unloaded their plane.
They haven't gone 'neutral' in a sense.
So they're following you over, they're doing the roll, but this is a loaded roll while they're maintaining speed.
Watch what happens. They aren't going to be able to follow you around, and I think this is the coolest thing ever,
because as you, at a reduced rate of speed, you can turn a hell of a lot tighter than the enemy can.
What do they do right there? They nose right into the ground.
If you're in the middle of the air they won't be able to follow you around and you've got some time to get away.
In other words "live another day".
These are points you're going to gain that are going to allow you to advance to another level in War Thunder.
If you're fascinated by history this is what fighter pilots did in order to,
like I said, either 'live another day' or give themselves a few seconds to get organized,
maybe get a wingman aware of the situation, get some help. It's all about buying some time.
In this next animation you can see so again. You're flying along, all of a sudden you
see bullets flying past you. You immediately unload, go 'neutral', grab the stick again,
and go into that roll. This is gonna take some practice. You gotta practice. But once you get it,
it'll just become second-nature. The moment you see the bullets fly by, just as you see
in this animation, you go neutral, grab the stick, go into a roll, and then immediately
throttle back and pull back. And you start that turn. You will see the enemy cannot make a turn
as tight as you can. They're gone either into the ground or they continue to lose altitude.
Either way, the Split-S is a fantastic, fantastic way to save your ass and
advance some levels in warthunder.
So take a look at what I've got going on here.
Notice that someone's over in my four-o'clock position
and I'm immediately going to go 'neutral' and then go over, roll, pull-back and look, they're they are.
Here I am. I've turned a lot tighter. They can't keep up. They're going way too fast.
They go right into the ground.
That is a classic example of what I am talking about.
Okay, now there are three reasons that you must start this descending maneuver from the inverted position
rather than simply nosing over.
So when the pilot pulls back on the stick, or you're in a tight loop,
the g-forces increase and our bodies can withstand those g-forces
much better than you can when you're facing negative-g's. In other words, when you're nosing over.
The same goes for a plane. And this is the second reason why you have to invert before you start this descending maneuver.
Mechanically, it's designed to be stronger when the g-forces are applied from below.
Okay, and reason number three...
The Merlin engine, which was used in a lot of British fighters, it was carbureted,
and the float valves in the carburetors would malfunction under negative g-forces,
which led to reduced power, or even a stalled engine.
Okay, now here's where a little knowledge can be really awesome.
If you're flying a digital combat simulator like War Thunder, and you're flying a German fighter
The German fighter you're flying is most likely going to be fuel injected,
whereas if you're going up against your buddy who's in a British fighter, like a Spitfire with a Merlin engine
that Merlin engine in that British fighter most likely has a carburetor; it's carbureted.
And there's a good chance that plane therefore is going to be susceptible to negative-g's.
So what? Well here's the big deal...
If that British fighter gets on your six,
and you're flying that German fighter, like a 109,
simply consider nosing over and taking on the negative-g's.
I know I said a few moments ago that negative-g's were bad, but in a life-and-death situation,
you've got a British fighter behind you, what choice do you have?
So nose-over. You, flying the German fighter, will maintain power,
while that British fighter first has to do that inverted roll
to avoid that loss of fuel flow and loss of power.
So that split-second that the British fighter loses doing that roll
means that you will gain that split second flying the German fighter by simply nosing-over.
Nice trick, huh? This is all physics. I mean if you're a kid and you hate science, well guess what....
Dog fighting is all about science. It's all about applying the laws of physics
in order to kick ass in dog fighting. I love it!
Same goes if you're a parent. If you're a parent and your kid is struggling in science,
but yet loves games like war thunder, Digital Combat Simulator, then show them this video.
Show them that dog fighting is all about physics.
When it comes to the Split-S, there are three components....
The reduction in throttle at the beginning of the maneuver means a lower velocity.
That lower velocity translates to a tighter turn-radius; your ability to turn tighter.
A tighter turn-radius means that you can turn quicker than your enemy.
And if you can turn quicker than your enemy, the sky is definitely the limit!
If this video and these tactics are helpful to you, I hope you can help me and become a subscriber.
My name is Ken Stano. Thank you for checking out History X!