Procedure/Tactic at Ingress/Egress to/from target

[Kimi]

So you are saying that for example in a low alt wedge bombs attack, the tracks flown by the aircrafts are just time separation and deconfliction measures without regard for visual lookout for the one making the run-in? Why not just do a trail attack instead? That would ease up the workload.

[Gunny]

A Trail has it's disadvantages also. Especially for the tail end Charlie. He is going to be on the receiving end of a lot of fire. Due to the enemy being alerted to the leads attack. Imagine how embarrassing it would be to hear about how the enemy was firing at the first guy and just happened to hit the guy following him

[Noodle]

Yep, making a trail attack means poor mutual support leading up to the attack run too, and as Gunny said, you'd then be attacking an alert enemy along the same axis as the preceding aircraft.

Staying in WEDGE will provide mutual support up until the ACTION, and results in an offset attack axis that makes acquiring and shooting at subsequent aircraft more difficult for the Gomers.

[Scaley]

Sorry to wade in, but thought the old line might be useful here (although it might be in your TTPs, I clearly don't know :-)

"Concentration in time, distribution in space."

Old maxim of not-getting-shot-at....

Like Noodle and Gunny have said there are good reasons for not attacking out of trail or similar formations. Where frag patterns are not a concern and no one is overflying the target (forward firing ordnance, LOFT bombs) there are advantages in both (all) flight members running in at the same or very similar times to give the bad guys more targets to have to choose between (concentration in time).

Equally running in from different headings introduces more difficulty for anyone shooting at you with anything more complicated than small arms, as they have to take time to slew weapons/tracking systems onto different targets (distribution in space).

Line obviously is the formation that gives you the most concentration/distribution as above, then wedge, then finally trail which does the exact opposite. Obviously lots of other things influence the choice too...