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Not on paper. Was a key tactic. Get a 109 on your tail, go into a tight turn. 1.5 turns later you were on its tail. words straight out of the mouth of Spitfire Ace Jonny Johnson when I met him 28 years ago (ish). Utilising the superior turn performance of the spitfire was THE key tactic if you got a 109 on your tail. Once in the turn the spit had the advantage. The 109 couldn’t peel off or they hand the advantage to the spit. In the early part of the war the 109 could only hope to get away from a spit by a negative g dive, which due to merlin carbs (vs 109 fuel injection) meant it had to do a half roll before pulling back to keep positive G on giving the 109 a chance to get away. But they introduced pressurised carbs pretty quickly to counter that. Worked for Jonny Johnson. He was alive and kicking because of it.
The tactic to defeat a fighter going into a continuous turn, is just to carry on in a straight line - then high yo yo back down on them and fire off a high deflection shot. Lots of pilots were not so lucky as Johnson when going into a basic defensive manoeuvre like that.
Sticking to someones tail and following them into a turn for a close rear shot is how a lot of pilots got themselves killed by their opponents wingmen as well.
Pappy Boyington had the right idea in the pacific - the Zeros had an awesome turn rate. Doesn't matter if you hold your speed better and fight aggressively with high deflection attacks.
A key point to keep in mind is that the Mustang was designed four years after the Spitfire, and that was a big technological difference back then.
I love the fact that the B52 flew 12 years after the Mustang and the USAF are planning to keep it in service until 2045.
Not on paper. Was a key tactic
Might be if you're Johnny Johnson, but wasn't by any means a "key tactic" for everyone, in fact because the Spit had to "climb to turn" otherwise in a flat turn it would loose altitude and speed, Pilots were warned specifically against getting into a turning fight, as 1. the 109 will likely get inside you, and 2. the 109 will straight line out if there's no advantage. The key tactic was gain height, dive, quick blast, dive away and climb for another go. Turning fights are for Hollywood. As Oakleymuppet points out nearly all HJ Marseilles kills were lead deflection shots on turning aircraft, and he shot down 158...doesn't seem like the best place to be to me.