This freed the much-needed combat pilot for combat duty.

It was one of a handful of primary trainer designs that were the first stop on a cadet's way to becoming a combat pilot.

He possessed good hand-to-hand fighting skills, and was an expert stunt-flyer and combat pilot.

As a combat pilot, he earned many aviation firsts.

In a high-speed dogfight, the tail could easily be ripped off; experienced combat pilots knew where the ragged edge of structural failure was, and they tiptoed along it.