BF 109G-6 vs P51-B Mustang
The P-51B: An awkward combination of great speed, good high speed handling, and pathetic firepower; the P-51B can be a painful antagonist when in the right hands. The P-51B's advantages over the gustav are speed, better dive handling, and superb energy retention. The 109G-6 is more maneuverable at slow and medium speeds, accelerates better, has greater firepower, climbs better, and is superior in a vertical fight.
What To Expect: The P-51 did not earn the nickname "Runstang" for nothing. Poor P-51 pilots may try to dogfight you, and you'll end up behind them and watch them dive away. Don't even bother chasing. If he comes back, great. If he doesn't, it's no loss. For this reason it is a good idea to only fire on a P51 when you know you can kill. Dive on him, out accelerate him, get really close and let him have it all in one shot. Most often, P51 pilots tend to "cruise" along, even in a fight, until they get pinged. Then they point towards the ground and run away. Hitting them all in one shot doesn't let that "runstang" instinct take over.
A good P51 pilot can be a real headache. He'll use energy conserving maneuvers to "Boom and Zoom" you all day, and then when you use your superior vertical ability to position on his 6 he'll run away. Frustrating as it may be, this P51 pilot is flies smart and fly to live, respect that. Since the Gustav climbs better than the P51B, by all means spend some time on climb out to gain some altitude. There is little excuse to let a P51 get above you. When P-51B's are about, stay high and then you'll kill them often!
When a P-51B is diving on you from above, go against your natural urge to execute a hard bat turn. Instead, dive a bit to gain airspeed, and execute a scissors variation or corkscrew barrel roll. Before he has actually passed you, level out and watch him pass you. If you're extremely lucky, you might be able to pull off a snap shot, but most likely he'll zoom climb up out of range. Climb moderately to narrow the gap between your relative energy states.
The Spiral Climb: This is probably the most useful maneuver the Gustav can perform against the P-51B. Use this when a P-51B is behind you but just out of guns range, and your and his airspeed is relatively low. Hit WEP, and start climbing very gently, and gradually increase your rate of climb until you have maxed out your VSI. Continue this climb for one vertical kilometer or so, and then add in a bit of left or right rudder. The trick is to start your "Spiral" part as gradually as you did your climb. At first, you want to be barely turning, then you want to increase the rate of turn until your hanging on your prop. It's important to check back behind you often to watch the P-51B. When you see him give up or stall out, strike! Now your back to "Boom and Zoom", and "Rope a Dope's!" The spiral climb can turn a bad situation into an energy advantage!
An interesting catch is when the P-51 is put in it's historical roll of bomber escort. Here, running away means certain death for the bombers the P-51 was meant to escort. Thus in this situation a good 109 tactic is for the 109G-6's to make the P-51BS's run away while the ungainly 109G-6/R6's come in to finish off the bombers
A Multi vs Multi Fight: Beware of the P-51B's wingman. If your flight of Gustavs runs across a bomber or two escorted by 2-4 P-51b's, then the fight shouldn't be so hard. In a very large fight (like you'll find in scenarios) the P51B becomes an excellent dogfighting machine. The guy who you're chasing just waits for his wingman to blast you. It is imperative for you to have a wingman with whom you can support each other viscously. In fact, I recommend using the 109's superior climb to keep all the P51s at a disadvantage and not let them employ wingman tactics to any use. Like the Spit vs 109 fight, don't fight P51s the way P51s fly. Don't chase them, stay above them and catch the unwary ones.
Top