[Pukin Dog]

More likely, they were on their way to Marshall in a Right Eschelon formation, (Lead left and out front, Wing tucked in right and low). If Lead decelerates and Wing doesn't catch it, Wing cannot break right, as his left wing would come up into Lead, and they would both likely be dead now. So, Wing pushes LEFT and low, to go under Lead, and probably caught the starboard tail on Lead's starboard wing tip. It would take a lateral impact to knock off the Vertical stab, so this is probably how it happened. Fault goes to Lead, if he did not call boards before slowing, or fault goes to Wing, if Lead called it, and he missed it.

Sorry about that.

A few definitions:

Lead: Flight or Section Leader
Wing: Wingman
Eschelon: First plane leads, second plane's nose lines up on first plane's wing, forming 2/3rd's of an arrow or delta pattern.
Break Right: Snap roll to the right and pull.
Push Left: Stick forward to nose over, then roll left.
Vertical Stab: One of the two Tomcat's twin vertical stabilizers.
Boards: Air Brakes

[TruthNtegrity]

Thanks so much.

Got it. Visuals make sense now from what you wrote.

[BlueNgold]

You shoulda left out the explanation.
I was having fun picturing the confused puppy dog stares for a moment there ...