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117:, who led the second section in Thach's division, to test the idea. Thach took off with three other Wildcats in the role of defenders, O'Hare meanwhile led four Wildcats in the role of attackers. The defending aircraft had their throttles wired (to restrict their performance), while the attacking aircraft had their engine power unrestricted – this simulated an attack by superior fighter aircraft.
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attacked USN aircraft. In response, Ensigns Al Mead and
Raleigh Rhodes in their Wildcats performed the maneuver, but were outmatched and were eventually forced to ditch their ruined fighters. In another example, initially USN Lieutenant Commander Sam Silber and his wingman executed the maneuver with
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being the "hook"), the two wingmen turned in towards each other. After crossing paths, and once their separation was great enough, they would then repeat the exercise, again turning in towards each other, bringing the enemy plane into the hook's sights. A correctly executed Thach weave (assuming the
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Trying a series of mock attacks, O'Hare found that in every instance Thach's fighters, despite their power handicap, had either ruined his attack or actually maneuvered into position to shoot back. After landing, O'Hare excitedly congratulated Thach: "Skipper, it really worked. I couldn't make any
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For the first time Lt. Commander
Tadashi Nakajima encountered what was to become a famous double-team maneuver on the part of the enemy. Two Wildcats jumped on the commander's plane. He had no trouble in getting on the tail of an enemy fighter, but never had a chance to fire before the Grumman's
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in June 1942, when a squadron of Zeroes attacked his flight of four
Wildcats. Thach's wingman, Ensign R. A. M. Dibb, was attacked by a Japanese pilot and turned towards Thach, who dove under his wingman and fired at the incoming enemy aircraft's belly until its engine ignited. The
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and
Vejtasa tested the maneuver with their divisions playing attacking and defending teams. In all attempts the attackers prevailed. According to Vejtasa, he then challenged Thach himself to repeat the exercise with him in order to prove his point, but Thach ignored the challenge.
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Working at night with matchsticks on the table, he eventually came up with what he called "beam defense position", but which soon became known as the "Thach weave". The theory behind the beam attack was predicated on the
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a relative success during the Raid on
Kavieng in 1944. However, a few days later they used it again and the attackers shot down the wingman, while Silber's aircraft was severely damaged.
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It is a tactical formation maneuver in which two or more allied planes wove in regularly intersecting flight paths to lure an enemy into focusing on one plane, while the targeted pilot's
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team-mate roared at him from the side. Nakajima was raging when he got back to Rabaul; he had been forced to dive and run for safety.
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Thach had heard, from a report published in the 22 September 1941 Fleet Air
Tactical Unit Intelligence Bulletin, of the Japanese
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also adopted the Thach weave. The tactic initially confounded the
Japanese Zero pilots flying out of
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An example of the Thach weave: An enemy following planes A or B is vulnerable to attack from C and D.
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and deployed Thach weave defensive tactics when they attacked. One of the attackers was
Lieutenant
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bait was taken and followed) left little chance of escape to even the most maneuverable opponent.
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The
Japanese also eventually figured out how to break the Thach weave. For example, during the
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First Team and the
Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942
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Some pilots criticised the Thach weave. One of the most notable among them was USN ace
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The maneuver proved so effective that American pilots also used it during the
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attack without seeing the nose of one of your airplanes pointed at me."
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maneuver soon became standard among US Navy pilots and was adopted by
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when USN and IJN strike forces passed each other, Zeros from carrier
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The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway
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Seven at Santa Cruz: The Life of Fighter Ace Stanley "Swede" Vejtasa
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Thach carried out the first test of the tactic in combat during the
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145:, Flatley's division of four Wildcats encountered Zeros from
435:(New ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
416:(New ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
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Military history of the United States during World War II
266:"APPENDIX FOURTEEN: UNITED STATES NAVY FIGHTER TACTICS"
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The Pacific War Remembered: An Oral History Collection
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70:would come into position to attack the pursuer.
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398:, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press,
31:The basic Thach weave, executed by two wingmen
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86:fighters a chance in combat. While based in
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155:, who gave up after he made several runs.
59:soon after the United States' entry into
16:Aerial combat tactical formation maneuver
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396:Thach Weave: The Life of Jimmie Thach
74:Overcoming the Wildcat's disadvantage
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47:that was developed by naval aviator
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213:Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
143:Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
316:Ewing, Steve (22 March 2013).
294:Lundstrom (2005b). p. 436â438.
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375:Edwards, Ted (15 June 2018).
158:Marines flying Wildcats from
431:Lundstrom, John B. (2005b).
412:Lundstrom, John B. (2005a).
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450:Mason Jr., John T. (1986),
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187:, and it remains a viable
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379:. Naval Institute Press.
352:Edwards (2018), p. 68â71.
322:. Naval Institute Press.
141:For instance, during the
645:Aerial warfare tactics
361:Edwards (2018), p. 93.
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456:Naval Institute Press
394:Ewing, Steve (2004),
304:"Naval Aviation News"
236:Finger-four formation
115:Edward "Butch" O'Hare
100:finger-four formation
53:James H. Flatley
41:beam defense position
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606:Supermaneuverability
270:The Battle of Midway
45:aerial combat tactic
306:, JulyâAugust 1993.
84:Grumman F4F Wildcat
276:on 4 February 2012
221:led by Lieutenant
57:United States Navy
49:John S. Thach
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153:Yoshio Shiga
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575:Thach Weave
535:Finger-four
319:Thach Weave
241:Hineri-komi
189:dogfighting
185:Vietnam War
164:Guadalcanal
37:Thach weave
639:Categories
530:Pylon turn
525:Cobra Turn
335:16 January
247:References
570:Tailslide
520:Chandelle
512:Maneuvers
280:1 January
195:Criticism
125:In combat
88:San Diego
624:Category
596:Dogfight
560:Scissors
230:See also
138:pilots.
43:) is an
565:Split S
369:Sources
104:wingman
98:of the
68:wingman
55:of the
584:Topics
550:Kulbit
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168:Rabaul
148:Jun'yÅ
112:Ensign
252:Notes
218:ZuihÅ
136:USAAF
460:ISBN
437:ISBN
418:ISBN
400:ISBN
381:ISBN
337:2015
324:ISBN
282:2015
35:The
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
