thach

The Thach weave (named for Lt. Cmdr. John F. "Jimmy" Thach, in command of squadron VF3 out of San Diego in 1941)is an America tactic developed by fighter pilots for defeating the Zero. If an American fighter is traped in a one -on-one dogfight with a zero, the Japanese aircraft has a big advantage. Sticking to hit and run tactics helped, but with the Zeke's extraordinary climb and maneuverability, the IJN pilot could usually draw the helpless american into a close-quarters fight.

During one particular air battle (so legend goes), Thach had a inspiration. When a Zero got behind another American fighter, Thach radioed to the doomed pilot to fly as though he was in a scissors fight with Thach. When they came around head-to-head, the unwary Japanese pilot followed and ran right into the concentrated fire of Thach's wing guns. No Zero in the sky could hold up to this sort of fire for long, and there was no escape. Either the Japanese pilot continued to follow his target, hoping to survive long enough for one kill, or he broke off to run, exposing himself to fire from both his opponents.

The key to the Thach Weave is teamwork. Once an enemy gets behind one of your compatriots, you.ve got to start the weave pretty quickly. The fighter pilot who's acting as "bait" has to know his stuff, too. He needs to survive long enough (with the enemy right on his tail) for the "hook" pilot to get in and do his job. Executed correctly, the Thach weave is a deadly trap with no real hope of escape.