Elephant walk (aeronautics)

The term elephant walk dates to World War II when large fleets of allied bombers would conduct attacks in missions containing 1,000 aircraft.

Those who observed the taxiing of these large numbers of aircraft to take off in single file in nose-to-tail formations said that they looked like elephants walking to the next watering hole.

Over time, it was incorporated into the lexicon of the United States Air Force to identify a "maximum sortie surge".

[3] Although the tight groupings were necessary for electronic warfare, their paths were predictable and they were slow targets for North Vietnamese surface-to-air missiles.

Within two weeks,[clarification needed] the Air Force altered its tactics and began to vary the incoming paths of bombers.