Flying The P-40 Tomahawk Analysis

Coincidentally, Japan’s aircraft had an initial effect on the Asia-Pacific region that was similar to what the Luftwaffe did in Europe. They steamrolled over the Chinese Air Force in the northeastern and eastern parts of the country and established a heavy defense that British aircraft from Burma and India found hard to penetrate (“Timeline of World War II”). Then came former General Claire L. Chennault, who managed to set up the legendary first and only major mercenary air force in the world: the American Volunteer Group (AVG), or Flying Tigers, who were made up entirely of Americans despite the fact that America was not yet at war (Regan). Flying the P-40 Tomahawk, they successfully defended the Burma Road and South China, set up a highly complex early warning and communications system across Yunnan Province, and by their disbandment in early 1942 (due to America’s state of war) toted a 4:1 kill ratio (number of confirmed enemy aircraft shot down to number of aircraft lost) and killed thousands of Japanese soldiers and airmen at a loss of 25 pilots and two mechanics (Regan).
They set the standards for all American fighters early in the war; the insights of Chennault provided the majority of American knowledge in dealing with Japanese fighters early in the war.
Despite all this, the fearful regard for which the Americans held the Zero never changed; instructors said to never start a turning fight with a Zero (usually dogfights are initiated by passing, then turning into your opponent; the aircraft with better maneuverability will turn tighter and maneuver into his opponent’s six o’clock and shoot him down) and sometimes never even start a fight with a Zero at all - just run. As a result, Lieutenant John S. Thach drew up the maneuver now known as the “Thach Weave” to use two or more relatively slow turning Wildcats to set up a trap for faster Zeroes, using the Zero’s speed against it
(O’Connell). The Thach Weave comes into play when two or more aircraft are pursued by one or more Zeroes - a lead (aircraft that engages directly in combat) and his wingman (aircraft a bit behind and off to the side, supposed to watch and protect his lead’s six o’clock) will execute a turn into each other, with one aircraft passing barely above the other at the weave’s intersection. Then they will straighten out and turn back (and do this over and over again); when a Zero attempts to get on one Wildcat’s six o’clock for a shot, that one Wildcat (the bait) will speed up and the other (the hook) will slow down, so the hook aircraft will not meet at the intersection point because he will be a bit behind, in position to shoot at the Zero crossing right in front of him after the bait (MacIsaac). Thach demonstrated this concept for three confirmed kills at the Battle of Midway, and it has been integral to the Wildcat’s survival ever since (O’Connell). Eventually, with Japanese supply lines overextended and forward air bases few and far between due to a lack of logistical planning, their expanse started to implode starting with the Guadalcanal campaign in late 1942 and early 1943, where Wildcats, often using the Thach Weave, killed many experienced Japanese pilots. Also, it was at about this time that the F6F Hellcat and F4U Corsair started entering service, surprising experienced and inexperienced Japanese pilots alike with their different skill sets (Whitman).