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Fighter Group Formations |
Wingman Pair |
Vee |
Loose Deuce/Fluid Two |
Fluid Four |
Line Abreast/ Broad |
Finger Four Left |
TWO MAN FORMATIONS There are primarily two basic two ship formations. The two ship fformation is called an element. The two man fighting element is the foundation of all other fighter formations. Broken up into lead and wingman positions, if flown properly the element can be a formidable opponent against any foe and certain death to a lesser trained one. One of the key features of the element is that it affords it's users the ability to effectively watch each other's blind spot behind them. MORE THAN TWO SHIPS Two elements make up a flight, two or more flights form a squadron, two or more squadrons form a group or wing. The Vee formation is the standard three ship formation and was most commonly used by the RAF in WWII. Most fighter formations were of the four ship configuration. The number one man is the flight lead, the number two is his wingman, number three is element lead and again four is wingman. Many four ship formations like the finger four or the echelon (also called refuse) can be flown in a right or left configuration depending on the requirements, thus you might have Echelon Right or Echelon Left or Finger Four Echelon Right or Finger Four Echelon Left. Often in multiflight formations such as bomber escort where the coverage area is large and there is more than one squadron, one side of the group will fly left and the other will fly right usually with the flight or wing lead elements on the inside of the formation . |
Box |
Diamond |
Refuse/Echelon Right |
Wall |
Ladder |
Line Astern/Trail |
Wedge |
Delta Vee |
DISTANCE & SPACING The distance between ships is largely dictated by numbers and circumstances but at all times visibility should be the main goal. Not only the visibility of each part of the unit in relation to each other but scanning visibility of the surrounding area. All members of the flight should keep their heads on a swivel at all times, constantly checking each others' blind spots. In this way the flight becomes a self protecting entitiy. In relatively calm skies the seperation can be quite small anywhere from 25 - 100 meters. When the formation is limited to one or two elements or flights or when combat is imminent, the spacing should increase considerably to as muc as 150 - 300 meters bewteen ships. Flying in this manner renders the flight almost invulnerable to surprise attack from any quarter of the sky. Every pilot in the formation should be sscanning a particular part of the sky. COMMUNICATION IS KEY In any combat situation proper communication between leader and wingman is KEY. The primary notion here is that every part of the formation should maneuver in a manner that is most profitable at any given time, whether is is an element of two, a flight of four or a squadron of 8 - 16. AS stated above, the element is the basic core of any formation. For the element to work well once in combat the normal roles of wingman and leader dissolve, often becoming interchangeable as both fighters jockey back and forth in the "engaged" role of the "shooter" and the "disengaged" role of the "cover" where the roles can switch in an instant depending on who has the angle and who has the best shot, energy state etc. all the while in constant contact with each other over comms. OFFENCE OFFENCE OFFENCE When engaged in combat a fighting element should ALWAYS be offensive. Even when disengageing it is a transition to attack. For element fighting, also known as the "Loose Deuce" doctrine to work properly the fighters must retain a relatively similar energy state. Once any one of them blows his energy by maneuvering to sharply or wandering off alone in single combat the cohesive relationship of the whole becomes disjointed and falls apart. The watchword therefore is TEAMWORK. Remain aware at all times of your energy state and how your moves effect your partner's energy. |
Refuse/Echelon Left |
Finger Four Right |
Training Utilitiy Downloads |
ACM is a software utility that will render a 3D realtime representation of many of the common maneuvers associated with ACM (Air Combat Maneuvers). Simply install the software, open it up, click File > Open and select a maneuver from the 42 maneuvers listed and click Open. When you do that you will see a small display with Red & Blue aircraft on it and a PLAY button.Hit the play button. The small planes will actually move and you will see a 3D represntation of the move you selected. |
Sniper's Corner is a Excell based utility that will allow you to calculate gunnery angles from various directions and angles. For a more indepth explanation of some of the terms used in the utility the RAF GUNNERY MANUAL is a good place to start and will greatly enhance your understanding of Sniper's Corner and what it does and it's usefullness as a gunnery training tool. |
Sniper's Corner |
Il2 Wingman is a utility that will give it's user access to various allied and axis aircraft performance information in various forms. Information ranging from turn and climg rates to weapons loadouts can be accessed using this utility. |
ACM |
IL2 Wingman |
The 332nd V.F.G. uses some of the the utilities below and training packages in The Panther Room > Files > Training section to further hone our skills as virtual combat pilots. The utilities below are here on the training page because they are particularly usefull, however other utilities can be found in the links at the bottom of this page including the link to The Panther Room. While not mandatory the utilities below are recommended to enhance your overall experience in this sim. The Nugget's Guide links to the IL2Website and covers a great deal of information on getting started. It is required that all new members at least read through The Nugget's Guide before embarking farther. |
VAC aka Voice Activated Commands is a utility that is very similar to Shoot or Game Commander. It will allow you to interact with your PC using yiour voice. This is particularly useful when commanding the AI in the sim, however it can be used in any PC application. You will need to download Microsoft's speech tools in order to make it run. |
IL2 Joy 2 Key is a utility that will allow you to adjust the individual axii of your control surfaces stick sensitivity within IL2. This will allow you to set up your controls for your own individual tastes. It is a utility that expands on the settings found from the Main Menu > Hardware Setup > Input section of the sim. |
Hardball's Viewer is similar to IL2 Wingman but it differs in that there is information that is does not contain that IL2 Wingman does. What Hardball's viewer offers that Wingman doesnt is a strengths vs weakness comparison of planes. Using the two seperate views you can pull up two different aircraft and compare their strengths and weaknesses to each other. Both tools are great for assessing aircraft, but nothing beats the "hands on" approach. |
VAC |
Hardball's Aircraft Viewer |
IL2 Joy 2 Key |
332nd TRAINING |
Mission Mate |
Uber Quick Mission Generator |
IL2 Stab |
IL2 Manager |
Il2 Manager & Stab are very similar programs. Both allow you to control certain config parameters for graphics, sounds etc. IL2 Mamager comes with a built in stick config utility similar to Joy 2 Key. IL2 Stab has a diary funtion that lets you take notes on your missions and it also has a built in utility that will let you adjust your icon settings. Both prograns are very good and in their own way verey helpful to ones overall enjoyment of the sim. |
The UQMG & Mission Mate are both mission building utilities that enable the user to createmore detailed missions with the same ease of the Quick Mission Builder in the sim but with none of it's limitations. Both programs are "must haves" as although they are similar both programs do what they do slightly differently. |
Dart's IL2 Training Series Part 1: Ground and Ship Attack Part 2: Fighters Part 3: Ground Attack Part 4: Skip Bombing Part 5: Fundamentals of Gunnery Dart's Page Click on Movies>Instructonal videos |