I've been doing some combat autogyro designs lately for pulp or (very weird) WWII campaigns. The one I posted today is a massive one, with a fuselage about 90% the volume of a B-17 or B-24. 4000 kg of bombs at a speedy 240 kph top speed, but capable of reaching Berlin, Paris or London from inside the Netherlands (I made it a Fokker design as a nod to a Dutchman in a chat room I frequent).
In 1930, such a design would possibly have a chance against contemporary biplane fighters. In 1940 against Bf 109's? The only thing the autogyro can do is to fly low and slow -- tthe bf 109 has to either fly dangerously close to it's stall speed to line up shots or fly at normal combat speed and only have a brief time (briefer than against fixed wing bombers) to fire. The Germans in Bf 109's and FW 190's actually had trouble shooting down Russian U-2/Po-2 biplanes because their top speed was about the same as those fighter's stall speeds. Still, this isn't a trick that the autogyro can keep using for a whole fight.
For modern helicopters ... well, the fighter can just fire off an AAM at distance and not give a damn about relative speed. If guns have to be used, even a F-20 or miG 21 has better fire control systems than a Bf 109. Hell, a 109 could shoot down most modern military helicopters ...
I see helicopters -- even AH-64's -- dying quickly if there are any fighters sent against them and they don't have fighter escort.
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