Before I entered pilot training, they used to do 4-ship close trail. This is a maneuver where we would put our canopy bow on the tailpipes of the preceding aircraft. Needless to say, it could be quite challenging.
Once in Close Trail, one of the maneuvers we would fly was a loop. To accomplish this, Lead would pick up 500 knots +. You needed a lot of smash (airspeed) to get all four aircraft over the top in formation.
On occasion, once the maneuver began you could hear:
“Terry 17-4 is breaking out,” followed shortly by,
“Terry 17-3 is breaking out,” and then,
Terry 12-2 is out,” culminated with the radio call from Lead, “Aw, sh*t!”
Now you had 4 T-38s in the same area, at different altitudes, going who knows what direction – and this is where the fun began. Trying to get the formation back together.
Lead would often “go high” to the top of the area, ensure altitude separation for everyone, and begin getting everyone back together. Not as easy as it sounds. First Lead had to find everyone. Looking for “white jets” was hard enough; can you imagine trying to find those cute little camo jets?
At any rate, most of the time it all worked out, but at the expense of a lot of gas. Other times, single-ship recoveries were necessary. In any event, the debriefs were always exciting!