What do you do when you're in a P-51 and a Bf-109 is on your tail? Slight jink from side to side, or even just fly in a straight line, while screaming for someone to clear your tail. What do you do if you can't catch those Me-262s in your P-51? Go into a 90 degree climb and climb thousands of feet and then dive on them and blow them all out of the sky. It's like Lucas heard of the boom 'n zoom and put it in reverse. How large a hole does an Me-262's 30mm cannon leave in a P-51? Looks like about a 5mm hole. You can even shoot a person with one multiple times and they won't even notice until the elation of their victory wears off. What's the turning radius of a Bf-109 or a P-51? Looks to be about the length of the plane when the script wants it to be. How much damage can a P-51 do to an Me-262? Why, shred it to pieces in a single burst, much more damage than the Me-262 can do in a burst. What happens when a B-17 is shot down? Why, it's wings fall off, every time. Lucas, you suck.
Slam the stick fully forward and the throttle to the stop. Actually...it probably can. The Mustang has six .50 caliber guns, and the 262 was not that rugged...it was highly-stressed and DID tend to break up when hit. Frequently. They would overspeed as they fell, and the wings would go. Also, an engine (or fuel tank) on fire would sometimes burn through the wing spar. I recall from Bob Johnson's book (Thunderbolt!) that most B-17's he saw go down lost one or both wings, unless they exploded in midair. (Also, many of his 28 kills--all fighters, mostly the Fw-190's...which unlike the Me262, were armored--came apart in midair.)
