[caldrail]

Many, many Thunderbolt pilots were killed in mock dogfights at low altitude with British Sptifire pilots; they had to actually ban them from doing so, because the Spitfire would pull a hard turn, the Jug would try to follow, and the pilot would lose control with no space to recover.

Many, many Thunderbolt pilots? That doesn't sound right to me. I certainly haven't heard of any death toll from this activity. Why were P47's fighting mock dogfights against Spitfires when they should have been fighting real ones over Europe? In cases where mock fights are documented, they almost always occur between pilots of the same squadron.

However, Russian pilots did use this tactic against 109's in combat. They would turn tightly at low level and entice the German pilot to follow, hoping he would lose control. It worked.