Quote:
Originally Posted by JtD
No, it shows that the Zero will fly slower to match the turn. It will fly a turn with a smaller radius, thus being and staying inside you, for a perfect firing solution. Don't try and out-turn it. Fly away, turn around outside of gun range and have another pass.
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Of course, a competent A6M2 pilot can easily turn to face you, either spoiling your attack or turning the fight into a series of head-on passes. In the latter case, you might be limited to making quick shots at long range before taking evasive action, since those 20mm cannons on the Zero can hurt!
If you climb to try to "bounce" the Zero from above it can keep up with most planes pretty well up to about 20,000 feet/5,000 meters. At the very least it can briefly "stand on its nose" and take a quick shot at you as you come hurtling down.
Accept that a one-on-one Boom and Zoom fight against a Zero is going to be a knife fight - the winner goes to the hospital, the loser goes to the morgue.
You extend, climb and turn into make a pass. The Zero turns into your attack and you both shoot. If you're lucky, your 50 calibers set him on fire and he misses. If not, you hope that his 20 mm cannons just punch a hole in your wing rather than killing you or taking out your engine. If your engine gets hit, the game is over since you no longer have your speed and climb advantage. Dive like hell to extend your range and try to get home ASAP.
Realistically, the way to take out a Zero is the way that the U.S. Navy did it - teamwork and attrition.