Fighter Combat: Tactics and Maneuvering by Robert L. Shaw

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Fighter Combat: Tactics and Maneuvering by Robert L. Shaw

Postby dieg777 on Fri Apr 29, 2005 7:03 pm

Book: Fighter Combat: Tactics and Maneuvering
Author : Robert L. Shaw
Pages : 417
Photos: 0
Published 1986


This is a hard book for me to review; I know it is invaluable, that everything is well laid out and precisely described but……….. It does read at times like an engineering manual, you know; da, da, da, da, da, daa, de, dum; de, dum, de, dum.
It is iconic.
The bible on fighter combat.
Everything is covered; weapons, basic maneuvers, one vs. one, two vs. one, section tactics, division tactics, missions, intercepts and a technical appendix.
It is really the first few sections, up to 2 vs. 2, that are the most instructive to sim pilots and this covers around 260 pages; although for IL2FB some can be discounted as it covers missile situations.
Everything is there but at times the bits that you really want to get into are I think a bit too technical.
Robert Shaw does his best, the examples are highlighted with actual quotes from pilots from their experience and he has developed a clear and precise way of using diagrams, but at times the materiel just defeats this for me.
The only way I could get through it was in very small sections at a time, doing the fighter pilot thing with my hands, and ending up sometimes in knots and…. When it clicked boy did you learn it and how !!
So how do I judge it after all I have said above; well I suppose it all depends on what kind of background you have. If you are technically minded then it is a must; if you are less so then perhaps you should read it first before you buy. Persuade your local library to get a copy and see for yourself what its like. Then, when you return it, you could leave a little note inside the book telling others about IL2 and perhaps convert others to the cause ;-)
The only thing that prevents me from giving it a massive thumbs up are that I found it a bit too technical and that there are variations and interpretations of the material on the net for free … for example here http://mywebpages.comcast.net/Tailspin/index.htm
And of course
http://www.airwarfare.com/index.htm

Swinging back in favour of the book are the following: that it is just about worth it for the pilot quotes; the diagrams are great; you sometimes really can’t improve on the original; that it is in book format and well sectioned and referenced so everything is easy to access and well it is a book and I prefer reading these to screens.

Hope this has given you some food for thought
dieg777
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Robert Shaw's Fighter Combat book

Postby Ironman69 on Sun May 01, 2005 2:29 pm

I've read this book about 10 times , cover to cover, and it's as great a read at 10 times than as the first time u read it. I disagree with the first post of being too technical at times..on the contrary, I found Shaw explains every point he makes in "rookie" terms. Every combat engagement situation he explains ( from a 1v1, to a 2v2, to a 1vsMANY) is accompanied by a visual drawing of the planes and their relative motions to each other at different phases of the engagement. Almost all of the book from page 1 to the index is relavent to the IL2 community, as everything from BnZ to TnB ..to guns defence is covered here in exacting detail. I give this book a BIG TWO THUMBS WAY UP!
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Postby dieg777 on Sun Jul 24, 2005 9:53 am

some additional comments from ytareh on ubi forum

I dont know was it Dieg who posted a similar heads up about this book about 6 months ago but I jumped in and bought it at the time.(No disrespect at all intended to him,I got an absolute bargain)I feel I should emphasise to interested community members however that this is a college style textbook.In fact the author is a retired US Navy'consultant' in aerial combat .It is 415 pages of text/written word .Dont expect colour pictures,there arent any photos whatsoever, although it has numerous line drawing style diagrams to show combat maneuvres.I dont think I got beyond page 20!!!I would describe it as 'heavy going' although I am a relative noob only barely getting to grips with "full real" settings.The back dust jacket has glowing reviews from JE Johnson(RAF),Pappy Boyington and 3 other great US far eastern aces called Scott,Olds and Cunningham.(So I guess that puts my gripes into perspective!)Im sure serious online hotshots would really benefit from this tome.With that in mind anyone interested in taking it off my hands at a fair price can email me although I would think that the cost of postage (20-30 euro ,its over a kilogram...)would make it prohibitive to anyone not very interested.Its not a 'light' read in any sense of the word!
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Shaw's Fighter Combat.

Postby ytareh on Sat Jul 30, 2005 4:56 pm

Ive put my hardback edition of this book up for sale on ebay starting at £9.99GB commencing 8.45pm Saturday30 July 2005 on a 3 day listing.Feel free to have a look.Hope this doesnt contravene any board rules.Thanks.
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Postby EURO_Snoopy on Sat Jul 30, 2005 5:11 pm

You're fine ytareh, though a link may help :)
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