The High G Barrel Roll

The High G Barrel Roll

This maneuvre is used against an attacker closing fast from astern. It starts with a break, then a roll in the direction to the break. The fact that it is a high g maneuvre means that quite a lot of speed is lost, up to 100 knots in some cases, particulary if performed "over the top."

If the attacker is closing fast and is caught by surprise he may easily fly through and end up in front, the postions reversed. If he attempts to follow the barrel roll, he will probally end up high and wide of the defender who can then turn in towards him, forcing him down and in front. But woe betide the defender who attempts a barrel roll in front of a slowly closing attacker who will follow him through the manoeuvre, ending on his tail easy gun range. His only recourse in this event is to jink.

The High G Barrel Roll is a difficult maneuvre to execute successfully, and is in fact easy for the attacker to counter. It will only work if the attacker has been led into, or is in, a high angle-off, high overtake situation.

Other pages I've made

My main page
Aircraft pages
Main Maneuvers page
Pairs Maneuvres page
The Break
The Scissors
Jinking
The Spiral Dive
The Vertical Rolling Scissors
The Slpit S
The High-Speed Yoyo
The Rollaway
Lag Pursuit
The Low-Speed Yoyo
The Barrel Roll Attack
Some Skills needed for Air Combat Pilots