Salute!
Looking at the graphic, I think the crew made the pattern without any thot of what it would look like from the ground.
Sheesh.
I never flew in an area like Washington or Britain wherre there were strong and presistent cons.
The pattern looks like a basic holding one and then zooming in toward the threat radars and coming back to safety. I flew a similar pattern a hundred years ago on the wing of a Spark Vark. My Viper wingie was on the other side of the vark. We held for timing, then raced in to hit an SA-4 site. The Spark Vark shower of power protected us even after he turned a 180 and we got within bombing distance before the SAM site found us. Too, bad and it was dust 20 seconds later.
Gums recalls