Air combat manoeuvring Air combat manoeuvring ( also spelled : air combat maneuvering , or ACM ) is the art of manoeuvring a combat aircraft in order to attain a position from which an attack can be made on another aircraft . It relies on offensive and defensive basic fighter manoeuvring ( BFM ) in order to gain an advantage over an aerial opponent . Historical overview . Military aviation appeared in World War I where aircraft were initially used to spot enemy troop concentrations , field gun positions and movements . Early aerial combat consisted of aviators shooting at one another with hand held weapons . The first aircraft to be shot down by another aircraft , which occurred on October 5 , 1914 , was a German Aviatik . The pilot , Feldwebel Wilhelm Schlichting , was shot with a hand gun wielded by observer Louis Quenault , riding in a Voisin Type 3 piloted by French Sergeant Joseph Frantz . The need to stop reconnaissance by enemy aircraft rapidly led to the development of fighter planes , a class of aircraft designed specifically to destroy enemy aircraft . Fixed , forward - firing guns were found to be the most effective armament for most World War I era fighters , but were nearly impossible to fire through the spinning propeller without destroying it . Roland Garros , working with Morane Saulnier Aéroplanes , was the first to solve this problem by attaching steel deflector wedges to the propeller . He achieved three kills , but was shot down by ground fire , landing behind German lines . Anthony Fokker inspected the wreckage and improved the design by connecting the firing mechanism of the gun to the timing of the engine , to allow the gun to fire through the propeller without hitting it . As technology rapidly advanced , new young aviators began to define the realm of air - to - air combat , such as Max Immelmann , Oswald Boelcke , and Lanoe Hawker . One of the greatest " aces " of World War I , Manfred von Richthofen ( the Red Baron ) , wrote in his book " The Red Fighter Pilot " , " The great thing in air fighting is that the decisive factor does not lie in trick flying but solely in the personal ability and energy of the aviator . A flying man may be able to loop and do all the stunts imaginable and yet he may not succeed in shooting down a single enemy . " Pilots achieved firing position while avoiding the threat of enemy guns by manoeuvring behind the enemy aircraft . This is known as getting on an aircraft ' s six o ' clock or tail , plus a wide variety of other terms , usually coined by air crews . This type of combat became known as dogfight ing . Oswald Boelcke , a German fighter ace during World War I , was the first to publish the basic rules for aerial combat manoeuvring in 1916 , known as the " Dicta Boelcke " . He advised pilots to attack from the direction of the sun ( toward which the defending pilot could not see ) , or to fly at a higher altitude than the opponent . Most of these rules are still as valuable nowadays as they were a century ago . Today ' s air combat is much more complicated than that of older times , as air - to - air missiles , radar , and automatic cannons capable of high rates of fire are used on virtually all modern fighter aircraft . New manoeuvres have emerged , intending to break radar lock by minimizing the Doppler signature of one ' s own aircraft ( " keeping the enemy at 3 or 9 o ' clock " ) , or to exhaust the kinetic energy of an incoming missile ( by changing the aircraft ' s course from side to side , the missile , not flying directly at target but trying to forestall it , will make sharper turns and eventually have to fly a longer path ) . However , close range fighting with infrared guided missiles and aircraft cannons still obey the same general rules laid down in the skies over Europe in the early 20th century . The master rule is still the same : do not let your opponent get on your six o ' clock , while attempting to get on his . Close - range combat tactics vary considerably according to the type of aircraft being used and the number of aircraft involved . Tactics . There are five main things which a pilot must remain conscious of when contemplating an aerial engagement , of which , getting and keeping sight is the most important . In Southeast Asia , over 85 % of all kills are attributed to the attacker spotting and shooting the defender without ever being seen . Structural limitations of both the attacking and defending fighters must be taken into account , such as thrust - to - weight ratio , wing loading , and the " corner speed " ( the maximum / minimum speed at which the aircraft can attain the best turning performance ) . Variable limitations must also be considered , such as turn radius , turn rate , and the specific energy of the aircraft . Position of aircraft must quickly be assessed , including direction , angle off tail ( the angle between flight paths ) , and closing speed . Also , the pilot must be aware of his wingman ’ s position , and maintain good communication . A pilot in combat attempts to conserve his aircraft ’ s energy through carefully timed and executed manoeuvres . By using such manoeuvres , a pilot will often make trade offs between the fighter ’ s potential energy ( altitude ) , and kinetic energy ( airspeed ) , to maintain the energy - to - weight ratio of the aircraft , or the " specific energy " . A manoeuvre such as the " low yo - yo " trades altitude for airspeed to gain closure on an enemy , and to decrease turn radius . The opposite manoeuvre , a " high yo - yo " , trades speed for height , literally storing energy in " the altitude bank " , which allows a fast moving attacker to slow his closing speed . An attacker is confronted with three possible ways to pursue an enemy , all of which are vital during chase . " Lag pursuit " happens in a turn when the nose of the attacker ’ s aircraft points behind an enemy ’ s tail . Lag pursuit allows an attacker to increase or maintain range without overshooting . " Lead pursuit " in a turn occurs when the nose of the attacking aircraft points ahead of the enemy . Lead pursuit is used to decrease the distance between aircraft , and during gun attacks where the cannons must be aimed , not at where the defender is , but where he will be when the bullets get there . " Pure pursuit " happens when the nose of the attacker points directly at the defender . Pure pursuit is when most missiles will be fired , and is the hardest position to maintain . These are known as pursuit curves . The turning battle of a dogfight can be executed in an infinite number of geometric planes . Pilots are encouraged to keep their manoeuvres out of the strictly vertical and horizontal planes , but to instead use the limitless number of oblique planes , which is much harder for an adversary to track . This infinite number of planes around a fixed point about which the aircraft turns is termed the " post and bubble " . A fighter that can maintain position between an aircraft and its imaginary post can not be attacked by that aircraft . The imaginary bubble , however , is misshapen by gravity , causing turns to be much tighter and slower at the top , and wider and faster at the bottom , and is sometimes referred to as a " tactical egg " . The manoeuvres employed by the attacker can also be used by the defender to evade , or gain a tactical advantage over his opponent . Other components may also be employed to manoeuvre the aircraft , such as yaw , drag , lift , and thrust vectors . A key factor in all battles is that of " nose - tail separation " . While getting close enough to fire a weapon , an attacker must keep his aircraft ' s nose far enough away from the tail of the defender to be able to get a good aim , and to prevent an overshoot . The defender , likewise , will use every manoeuvre available to encourage an overshoot , trying to change his own role to that of attacker .