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- #501
Marseilles was an extraordinary pilot with a method of attack that was probably unique, he would drop into a Lufbery circle flying slower on a tight radius and fire with huge deflection,
Agreed, several of the other experten commented that nobody else seemed to be able to use this strategy safely.
it is for others to explain why P-40s would form up in Lufbery circles when only faced with Bf 109s.
Bad tactics, according to the Germans themselves - and poor training on the type according to aces like Caldwell and Bobby Gibbes who did what they could to improve the situation. There is also a sense of abandoning the Colonials to their fate which was felt by both Australian and South African pilots and commanders in particular. The Aussies made a lot of changes and took ownership of the situation, which along with certain more flexible DAF commanders like Neville Duke, led to changes across the DAF.
It's notable for example that during the early months of the Desert War - the heyday of Marseille- the RAF were flying antiquated 'vic' formations and didn't move to flying in pairs / finger four until mid 1942 and also tended to fly very low (6-8,000 ft) even when on escort, and more or less ignore the Luftwaffe - allowing the latter to pick the time nad place of the fight, as the DAF concentrated on destroying German tanks. A more Strategically astute target but at considerable detriment to their own pilots.
However the Americans changed the strategy, flying at higher altitude in general and also focusing on attacking German air bases with medium bombers, forcing a fight. This turned out to work much better. The DAF also started using finger 4 / pairs and simultaneously adopted the tactic of turning into attacks at that same time (Summer 1942) which proved effective and greatly improved combat outcomes.