I don’t know if these observations on aerial combat in WOFF II are of any interest. In the Campaign I’m recently arrived in France with 54 squadron and my Sopwith Pup. But I’ve also been doing some Quick Combats (without asking the CO’s permission) in the hope of improving my chances of survival. Of course the element of surprise isn’t there, but nevertheless I’ve learned a lot.

At first I was totally hopeless until: 1. I trimmed the Pup for level flight (reasoning that I’d have done this with my mechanic before going on a mission; and 2. I adopted a TIR profile which enabled me to never (well, hardly ever) lose sight of the enemy (thanks to HarryH for his profile).

I also abandoned my TM Warthog stick, which was too stiff and ‘boxy’ for me, reverting to my trusty TM Cougar with Hall sensors and modded gimbals, which gave a much lighter and smoother feel. It was also easy to change the axis curves to make the Pup as responsive as possible.

The Pup is much easier to fight in than, say, the Camel, due to its great field of view with the semi-transparent top wing panel, and it’s very manoeuvrable using rudder as elevator in turns, despite being underpowered in comparison with enemy ships.

I found it almost impossible to hit the target using Track IR, as my point of view, the rear sight, front sight and the enemy refused to line up. So I programmed a button on the stick to pause TIR and it was then only necessary to point the Pup at the target (using rudder) and get in close to hit it, then switch back to TIR.

Tactically I drew on my distant memories of Commander Robert L Shaw’s incomparable masterpiece Fighter Combat: Tactics and Maneuvering. Before the merge I put the enemy in my 10 or 2 o’clock to gain some separation, gain height if I can, and do a lead turn so I cross his path and am turning into his six as he passes me. During the fight I try hard not to lose height, declining his invitations to follow him down and so conserve my energy – in any case in a dive at full power my Pup makes loud creaking noises which tend to be followed by the wings falling off. I try to be very aggressive and get off a burst at every opportunity, which can have a cumulative effect leading to him losing height and crashing. I also remembered that you can get out of being stuck in a turning fight by extending and then resuming the turn to put yourself in his six, rather than just pulling madly on the stick and losing energy. I have to say by the way that the sight of a ‘flamer’ going is almost too horrific.

The enemy is extremely cute at disengaging if he thinks he’s getting a pasting, and it can be very frustrating to be out-climbed by him as he heads east back to his own lines. My poor old Pup trembles on the edge of a stall as I try in vain to stay with him. The answer of course is to shoot him down sooner, but even at close range it’s surprising how much empty space there is for your bullets to pass through.

The fact that all of this works (and realistically so in accord with what you read in first-hand accounts) is a testament to the authenticity of the flight models and of course the amazing AI.

It remains to be seen if when I return to 54 Squadron any of this will help me survive any longer!

Best wishes

Alan