The BF 109 of the German tree is a consistent, high-powered machine that excels in energy fighting, boom n’ zooming, and generally being the best plane for victory in the hands of the master. When paired with a pilot who knows how to make best use of its strengths and avoid being baited into low-percentage fights, the BF 109 is arguably the best prop fighter in the game across its various iterations with only rare exceptions able to truly contest it.
Keep in mind that the following advice is for Air RB. While some pilots can use this advice well in Ground RB or Air Arcade, the rules of engagement and best practices listed here will serve Air RB players to the highest potential.
Before reading on, newbies of the BF 109 should understand the basic principles that the 109 likes to make use of. First, it’s a great energy fighter, which means that it retains its speed very well when performing maneuvers such as the common verticle loop. Second, it generally has a high top speed and great climb rate, especially at high altitudes, which means pulling away from opponents into a climb is a great way to retain your life. Third, it’s turn time is sub-par and flaps are slow to engage, which means engaging in horizontal turn fights is often the worst play one can make with a 109.
1) Aggressively Climb
If you’re experienced with the Spitfire, you’ve come to know just how important climbing is in Air RB. But not all planes climb in the same way or with the same intentions. With the BF 109, you’re generally trying to climb above your opponents for three main purposes:
- A greater potential energy state over your opponents to have quick access to your high top-speed.
- Access to your engine’s great performance at higher altitudes, a strength many planes do not have on their side.
- The ability to shove down opponents into the meat grinder while threatening to energy fight or boom n’ zoom.
Depending on the model of 109 you’re flying out, the exact altitude you’ll want to be at to perform optimally will change, but the rule of thumb is to always be above your opponents. If you’re not above them, be faster than them. If you’re neither faster nor above your opponents, then you’re dead (probably).
2) Assess the Situation
Upon the great merge with the opponents in the middle of the map, you’ll almost never find yourself in a weak position unless you’re flying out a stock (un-upgraded) 109. Assuming you’ve aggressively climbed to your greatest altitude available, you should be in a position to either dive down on opponents or, at least, take head-ons from a safe distance before zooming away, continuing a slight climb.
Specifically speaking, there are usually four options a 109 pilot can take to make the most of their Air RB match once they meet their enemies. These will be listed in the order of most common to least:
- Take the head-ons, fly away.
- Take the head-ons, engage in an energy fight.
- Engage in boom n’ zoom tactics.
- Bomber hunt.
When a 109 pilot takes the head-ons and flies away, they are performing the most common form of fighting a 109 takes part in. The idea is to use the fact that the 109 has great performance at high altitudes and nose-mounted weaponry to accurately fire off rounds from a distance before pulling off a head-on early and continuing a slight climb in a straight line.
The strength of this tactic lies in the fact that if your opponent turns in after you during the merge, they bleed much more energy than your 109 does in a straight line, leaving them vulnerable to either your teammates or your superior energy fighting.
When a pilot takes the head-ons and engages in an energy fight, they are doing the exact same thing as listed above except instead of flying away to retain energy, they use their 109’s current energy to engage in a fight.
If you don’t know how to energy fight, click here, otherwise, read on.
If choosing to energy fight after a head-on, a 109 pilot makes the assumption that they have a very strong understanding of their opponent’s energy state. Generally, one should only employ this tactic when the head-on opponent has to slightly climb to meet the engagement, bleeding their speed and leaving them vulnerable to energy or turn fights. Additionally, a 109 should only engage in this tactic if there are no other opponents who are currently or who could move to aid their teammate during the fight, as a 109 that is fast cannot be effectively outnumbered, but a 109 who is engaged in an energy fight absolutely can.
When a 109 pilot chooses to engage in boom n’ zoom tactics, they are declaring that they have the highest altitude out of any other opponent within a 10 kilometer radius. In other words, if there are no other enemies at their altitude, and only then, a 109 pilot can safely decide to use their potential energy to engage in strafe runs on opponents below.
The idea behind boom n’ zooming with a 109 is simple: because you can outclimb the opponents, you can also use that height advantage as a source of energy to dive down on planes and snag easy, safe kills. The downside of this tactic is that a 109 cannot safely engage in the practice until there are no enemies at equal height since the 109 will be losing altitude to engage in this fighting style, which means their engine will be performing worse and worse compared to much of their competition, leaving them vulnerable to being followed up by planes in an equal or better energy state.
When a 109 pilot chooses to engage in bomber hunting, they either don’t have any enemy fighters/interceptors at their altitude or they are forsaking those immediate threats to instead take out foes that become more dangerous in the late game. Although bombers are fairly weak in their current state in War Thunder, they still pose a threat to your team’s tickets and, if not dealt with in a timely matter, can end a game early despite being of little threat to fighters.
This tactic, admittedly, should only be taken when there’s really nothing else to do or if the enemy team is made up of a fair number of long-range bombers that pose a significant threat to your airfield.
3) Practice Textbook Flying
There are some planes that pilots need to be daring and crafty in to survive. Planes like the clipped Spitfire or the Yaks are examples of these kinds of machines: pilots need to take risks with them. The BF 109 is not that kind of plane.
When flying a 109, a pilot should engage in textbook flying. That means pulling away from opponents, maintaining a relatively high altitude and an even higher speed, and only engaging in energy fighting when isolated and when an understanding of your opponent’s energy state is accurate.
Take less risks, obey contemporary game theory, and keep that energy high.
4) Caveats
The BF 109 can out-climb its opponents and makes a great energy fighter, but this isn’t always true. Obviously, uptiers can test that theory, so be ready to fight with your back against the wall if you find yourself against higher-tiered opponents.
Additionally, there are some late models of the P-51 of the American tree that can rival the 109 both in climb rate, energy fighting, and speed at high altitudes. Against these models of the P-51, you might have to get crafty to survive, let alone defeat your enemy.
The same can be said for mixed battles, which pits the 109 against other Axis planes, such as the Re.2005 Serie 0, which is an Italian plane that can climb with the 109 and out-energy fight it.
The BF 109 is much harder to use with MEC than, for example, the Spitfire. If you’re an MEC player, make sure to either study up on the prop pitch allocations for different speeds of the 109 or keep the prop pitch on auto, as turning that sucker up to 100% will result in an over-revved engine and will kill your plane.
Other than these caveats, all a 109 pilot has to do is focus on keeping their speed and altitude high while studying their opponent’s behavior. Over time, experience will take care of the rest.
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