WWII Fighters lesson 5: BNZ

Dude Joined: Jul 21, 2003 Posts: 12 Location: USA

Lesson 5: Boom and Zoom

This is lesson 5/6, to help new pilots get a handle on how to be successful at playing Jane's World War II Fighter's. Since a few people will jump to this lesson first, some of the material at the beginning is repeated. I'll try to make that repeated info look the same so you can skip it. Tactics are not maneuvers. Graphical illustrations of basic combat maneuvers can be found doing an internet search.

It is okay to have a favorite tactic, but you need to develop all your skills, and learn to recognize when you're in a position of strength or weakness. You have to learn to use all the the tools available in this game. If your only tool is a hammer, then every problem starts looking like a nail. Situational Awareness is knowing the "who, what, when, and where" of your threats or opportunities. It is foundational to the rest of these lessons, and THE most important advice I can give you.

First of all, you can't hit what you don't see. So if you are getting "blindsided" because you don't have a great setup, go back to the lesson about setting up your ww2ini and ww2keys files. Once you've reached the point of being visually aware, you will have to be able to instantly determine your greatest threats or opportunities, and automatically know the "how" to deal with the situation.

This comes with practice and repetition. Many times there just isn't enough time to remember and think. Instantly and correctly evaluating the whole situation and then executing the right move, starting your turns before the enemy does, makes you look like you are turning faster and can be quite intimidating. Mastering total situational awareness (who, what, when, where) is as much of a skill as any flight control or textbook maneuver. So get a setup that works for you, and practice it. Knowing the "how" to deal with a given situation means knowing your plane, its condition, and your style, compared to the enemy's current strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes you have no choice, but you need to be disciplined enough to keep yourself in situations that play to your strengths, never the enemys.

Tactical Styles:

Basically there are two styles of fighting TNB (turn and burn) or BNZ (boom and zoom). For both tactics, precise smooth plane movements, sharp-shooting, and good situational awareness pay huge dividends. Every good pilot in this game prides themselves on all these skills. TNB is tricking a slower turning plane into letting you get behind them. BNZ is all about getting yourself in an advantageous position, shooting the enemy, then running when you loose the advantage or the shot. The decision to use the TNB or the BNZ tactic is relative to what plane you are flying, what plane you are up against, and the current condition of each. In either case, be patient. Sometimes It is best to get the kill in one pass. Many times It is best to go for a few dings, then make the kill on another pass.

Boom and Zoom (BNZ):

Someone usually does BNZ (otherwise known as Energy Fighting) with a fast airplane. Thankfully, a fast turning plane with large wings, is almost always a slower plane. Firepower doesn't mean a lot if you can't get it pointed in the right direction. There are two basic types of BNZ, horizontal and vertical. They are both tactics where you get into an advantageous position, shoot, separate, and then repeat. More details on how to counter these tactics with wingmen will be covered in another lesson. Your shooting skill will determine how you can attack. If you are not VERY VERY good at HTH shooting, stay away from the Horizontal BNZ. The goal is to fly away by killing them first. If you can't do that consistently, you need to find a way to shoot opponents from the other angles. Sometimes it looks like all a H-BNZ guy is doing is lining up head-on shots, but H-BNZ is more tactical because shooting opportunities can be extremely short. In stead of simple "hit and run", to win you've got to have great shooting ability and the patience to pick your fights, knowing exactly when to move into a shooting position and when to run.

You gun whenever you get lined up on a target and they are in range. But if you choose the wrong direction or time to run, your nose will soon be pointed toward the ground, with the rest of your bullet riddled plane following in close formation. The key to staying in a position of strength with the BNZ tactic is to keep your energy up. Obviously, faster is better than slower (most of the time), but many times slow speed at a higher altitude is much better than high speed at a lower altitude. If you BNZ a smart TNB pilot, they will force you to turn at least a little bit to get any shot. But don't turn too far, or you'll loose more energy than you'll get back on the "Zoom" and you will not be able to get away before the TNB guy gets behind you for a shot. The running part depends on knowing when to run, and which way to run. That decision depends on a what plane you have, what plane your enemy has, the condition and energy of your plane, as well as the condition, energy, and skill of your opponent.

Vertical BNZ (V-BNZ):

For Vertical BNZ fighters, energy means starting from and running to a higher altitude. If the altitude difference is great enough, the goal is to force your opponent to climb for any kind of a shot, and then to stay just out of their gun range while they climb and dump airspeed, waiting for signs of the enemy plane starting to stall. As opposed to most other tactics, when executed correctly, you get to shoot at a fairly slow moving (sometimes stationary) enemy, without the enemy being able to return fire. Many times, the enemy comes to you expending energy, while you get to store up more energy climbing. Before the enemy gets into a hard stall, start your reversal. The goal is to be in shooting position just after they've lost enough airspeed to keep their plane in the air or point their guns at you. They'll be floundering at full throttle, many times fighting the stick hard to get their nose up again, which only makes their stall worse. If you time it right, they'll be in a nose-up hard-stall, with no airspeed. You shred their plane, and while they're making derogatory remarks about your ancestry, you can laugh all the way back up to the altitude bank, storing up more energy for when they revive thousands of feet below.

Rolling into an attack is simple when you are higher than your enemy. Watch for their wings to start wavering and their nose to start swimming. Just be careful that they are not faking. Knowledge of each plane's performance envelope pays off here. 20 seconds is about the limit a plane can stay vertical in this game. Staying nearly level maintaining speed while they are climbing, allows you to time your angles of attack, and simply roll into them. But until then, you are exposing the belly of your plane to fairly easy shots. Be sure to use the "PlayerToTarget" view, F7-key (G-Key in my setup) to get a handle on the vertical separation.

Even if they are not in a pure vertical climb, and pull some kind of fake on you, chances are they'll have very little energy or time to pull their nose up and hold it for a credible shot. If you are not sure that they're really stalling, fake a dive attack. That trick will usually get them to tip their hand. The Hammerhead maneuver is a good vertical reversal and a way to trick the enemy into thinking you are in a hard-stall as well. This move is done at low airspeeds and uses the propeller wash against a hard left rudder to force the nose down in a half-flat spin. This move lends it self to attacking opponents directly below you. If your energy level is only slightly more than the enemy, and you have plenty of speed, you might want to slow your decent as you jockey for position. I don't like to do this, but the theory is that whoever is loosing energy at a slower rate, will end up with more energy later in the fight.

Skilled BNZ pilots can make any plane work for them, but the P-47, P-51, and the Me109 (with gun pods) are best bets. The P-47 has the firepower, durability, dive-speed, and stability to make it a good overall choice. The P-51's overall marginal qualities mean that it is best in the hands of highly skilled pilots. The Me109 with the optional Gun Pods has the same performance as a clean 109, so always use these extra cannons for greater firepower. Its got a good dive-speed, the best climb rate, and its durability is second to the 47 (in this game). Just be sure to activate the Methanol on the Me109 with the #6 key.

Horizontal BNZ (H-BNZ):

For Horizontal BNZ pilots, energy means speed. H-BNZ pilots rely on speed and their shooting skills as their position of advantage. Success requires at least 80% Head-To-Head kill rate against good pilots, who try to make you take high deflection shots and survive at least 50% of the time. The hardest thing about doing the Horizontal BNZ against a good TNB pilot is know when and where to run. Most H-BNZ pilots will not turn very much for a shot, but a few can do a full loop-turn against a Spitfire before choosing the right exit. It just costs too much speed to hang around any longer than that. For the H-BNZ pilot, how much and where to turn is always relevant to what the planes are, their condition, and who is in the driver seats.

If both planes are healthy and moving fast, a 47 should not turn more that 45-60 degrees to get a shot before running away. Because a P-47 out-accelerate a Spitfire, but after a few miles a Spitfire will run down a P-47. In a 51 or a 190, at the most H-BNZ pilots can make one full loop with a good Spit driver, before they have to break off and run. Separate at least 1.3 miles (2 km) before executing your reversal (depending on the condition of the planes and the skill of the other pilot). As the H-BNZ pilot comes in, they should watch for the TNB pilot to avoid the boom with an upward loop or start to turn away. The BNZ pilot has to predict the continuation of the TNB pilots reversal, then exit 180 degrees away from the apex of that stern-conversion turn. Dive away only in an emergency.

If the TNB pilot turns turn away from you on their reversal, and you make a half-hearted turn towards them, you are dead. A good counter to this tricky tactic, is to make a full turn toward and then behind them. If you do not get the shot before they reach the 10 oclock (or 2 oclock) position, exit early and start another run later. This counter-tactic keeps the TNB opponent from doing a rapid stern-conversion and catches many TNB pilots off-guard, because it is generally unexpected and they may loose track of you.

Generally, the Head-To-Tail range of all the weapons on all these planes is about 3,300 feet (1 kilometer), so if you have a faster plane, once you reach that distance, you should be safe. The art form in the H-BNZ is to be just slightly out of gun range just when they get pointed at you. When you make your exit, if you end up with a larger safety margin than 3,300 feet at the start of the extension, then you can spend a little more time turning with the TNB opponent on the next pass. Funny how it works better trying to estimate how much longer you can stay on the next pass, then to get hammered and wonder how much sooner you should have exited, hehe. When you are extending, watch the plane with your target window, and roll your wingtips to the opposite of the chase plane without touching the elevator (bank turning). Note: If you are looking at the chase plane in the target window, this will look like you are rolling to the same orientation. Rolling 45 degrees will cost you very little speed, but it keeps your wings out of the horizontal-plane of your chaser, decreasing their target area. If you do have a wingman, slowly bank toward him, this will greatly cut the distance for your wingman (wingmen should vector to intercept the lead plane).

Reversals can be totally horizontal, horizontal then vertical, or totally vertical and then diving back down. The horizontal separation distance before you start your reversal needs to be AT LEAST 1.3 miles (2 km). Chasers will taunt you, but its funny how they shut up on the Boom run. The fastest and shortest reversal is the Chandelle, where you pull up and roll over at the top of the loop. Sometimes you will not have enough time to roll over, and its pretty convenient to shoot from an inverted position, especially if you are immediately put in a HTH confrontation. The trick to inverted shooting is keeping the line up perfect without having to roll. Make sure your Trim in On, and as you get in gun range start shooting above them and SLOWLY bring the bullet stream down. Be careful not to bring your nose down too soon, because you will no be able to pull it back up.

If you are at least 1,500 feet above the ground and inverted at the top of the reversal-loop, and your enemy stays low, they are either freaked out by you being inverted, or very tricky. Stay inverted and keep your altitude while you watch them. The longer they wait to do something, the better shot you are going to get when you come down on them. A good plane for H-BNZ has speed, firepower, and durability ... the trademarks of the P-47. The Fw190 has lots of firepower, its top speed and roll rate make exits easy (no Gun Pods), but its not a durable plane. The P-51's guns are surgically accurate, but in most categories, it is 2nd best.

Detailed Head to Head:

A good shot who is flying a P-47, against ANY other plane in this game, has an advantage in Head-To-Head (HTH) contests. Smart pilots in this game (again, there are exceptions to that), will avoid going HTH with a 47 not only because of its firepower, but its durability. In the hands of a sharp-shot, the 47 in a HTH battle will almost always bring the other guy down. Since the 47 is so tough, many times it will survive the encounter, even if they get badly wounded.

Dead-On lineups are simply saying that you think you are a better shot and that your plane is tougher than theirs is. If you keep shooting until you are sure they're dead, chances are great that you will be severely wounded, and suffer a collision kill (which are always the other guy's fault, hehe). The skill in Dead-On HTH fighting comes in shooting true, believing you've scored a kill before your bullets arrive to the target, then pulling out of the oncoming enemy bullet stream to survive the encounter. This can be very impressive or a disaster by showing your belly to an angry enemy.

Skidding is slightly rolling to one side, with just a little rudder the other direction. As you are lining with your opponent (slightly offset in this tactic), target your opponents far wingtip and as you come into gun range, kick the rudder a little more to shower the enemy with bullets. This can be just enough to throw off their aim, and yours too if you are not very skillful. Try lining up on one of their wingtips and just as you come into effective gun range, slowly roll back across to their other wingtip while you blast away. As you get close, roll up to 90 degrees while shooting. As you pass, if you are still alive, you've started an early turn against a wounded bird.

Many of the TNB pilots will not let a 47 have a HTH shot. Several have mastered a Horizontal Cork-Screw maneuver. This forces the BNZ to take difficult compound high-deflection shots, and/or turn. If you have wounded someone severely enough that they can barely fly, do not go for a HTH shot, the situation has changed. Re-evaluate, if all they can do is fly straight, no matter what plane you are in, you are now in a TNB plane, so have some fun and don't let them do the only thing they can do. But if you are badly wounded, break off early, run off farther because you'll need more room to turn around, or just try to ram someone! Just don't spend a lot of time trying to fly a carcass in a large fight, give up the kill, and revive.

BNZ versus TNB:

The most important thing in either style, TNB or BNZ is to keep the fight where you want it. If you and your opponent are both healthy and high on energy, then stick with running and gunning, or turning and burning as the case may be. But keep a weather-eye out for changes in the situation. When you severely wound a Spitfire, go ahead and turn and kill them as fast as you can, but make sure they are seriously wounded. A crafty pilot in a lightly wounded Spitfire will fake some stalls, tricking the BNZ pilot into a turning fight.

When you get in behind a healthy TNB pilot, and they start into a hard bank, but you just don't have the shot, things are probably not going to get better. Get out while you still have an exit. Breaking away from a death-spiral only works when they are at your 1 O'clock, not at your 3 O'clock. The TNB pilot wants to trick you into pushing a bad position. Every moment you are turning, you are bleeding energy. So as long as you are close but don't quite have a shot, they may do some high or low YoYo's to keep you interested. Then when you get low on energy, they move in for the kill. Even if the BNZ pilot will not stay in the turning fight long enough for the TNB pilot to swing in behind them, all the TNB pilot needs to do is trick the BNZ pilot into turning long until the BNZ pilot to looses enough energy to safely extend on the exit.

Sometimes a TNB pilot will try to get pointed at the BNZ pilot before the pass for a quick "snap-shot." Then they try to quickly turn and shoot the BNZ again before the exit zoom. If the TNB pilot tries this, they'll give the BNZ pilot a chance at a close range shot, though it will be quick. Other TNB pilots won't even let a BNZ pilot get a shot at them, they will completely corkscrew around in front and to the side, actually starting their turn (called the "early-turn") even before the pass, then try to get in a few dings before the BNZ extends. In the world of TNB, this is called a "stern-conversion". To combat this, the BNZ pilot has to roll with them to get a high deflection shot, and that will not be easy. As soon as the shot is gone, but before the pass, the BNZ pilot has to turn and roll just the right way, and run. If the BNZ pilot turns too much or wastes ammo, they're bleeding out of two holes. All the best hunters are very patient. If the BNZ pilot spends too much ammo, energy, or gets bored and frustrated from one pass to the next, they may try something stupid and the TNB pilot has them (that may sound familiar). This takes a lot of time to learn and to get the feel of when to do what. But it is very satisfying to watch a TNB pilot almost break their stick off, only to waste ammo as you slowly pull way. Chasing you like a dog chasing a car.