FORMATIONS
The formations used by ground platoons are a legacy from Microprose M1 Tank Platoon, where a platoon of four M1A2s, was subdivided into two sections of two tanks. All the formations used in Gunship represent these two sections acting in unison as a full platoon, whilst retaining their original platoon positions. M1 Tank Platoon was based (heavily) on US Army Field Manual 'FM 17-15 Tank Platoon'. Most formations, action drills, engagement types and more, come from its pages. The game manual also reproduced many of its illustrations.
However, the vehicle numbering system in the manual, doesn't match the game. I think that Microprose adjusted the numbering system to suit the sequential numbering used by the game mechanics. Some formations were also adjusted, because of the need for vehicle 1 to lead each formation. In Gunship, vehicle 1 is the platoon leader with vehicle 3 as his section wingman. Vehicle 2 is 2nd section leader (platoon sergeant) with vehicle 4 as his wingman. If you view the platoon as two sections (1,3 and 2,4) then the relative vehicle positions do make sense. When formed into Line for instance, the two section lead tanks (1 and 2) form up side by side with their 'wingmen' on the flanks. Column, Vee, Wedge and Diamond follow a similar pattern.
The illustrations below show all of the formations used in Gunship in the correct vehicle order. The formations are always the same for all types of vehicles and nationalities. The examples show a four vehicle Tank platoon, but the vehicle order will remain the same irrespective of the number of vehicles involved.
Formations are not just for show and do seem to have an impact on the platoon's chances of survival. I believe (but cannot prove) that the formation chosen in Gunship does increase or decrease a platoon's response to certain threats. For instance, a Column engaged from the flank, will return fire much more readily than a Line. The following descriptions of the various formations are taken from FM 17-15 and are also quoted in the M1TP manual.
Column The column provides excellent control and fire to the flanks, but permits less fire to the front. It is used when speed is critical, when the platoon is moving through restrictive terrain on a specific route and/or when enemy contact is unlikely.
Staggered Column This is a modified Column formation with one section leading and one section trailing behind to provide overwatch. The Staggered Column permits good fire to the front and flanks. It is used when speed is critical, when there is a limited area for lateral dispersion and/or when enemy contact is possible.
Wedge The Wedge permits excellent firepower to the front and good firepower to the flanks. It is employed when the platoon is provided by overwatch from another element and is moving in open or rolling terrain.
Echelon The Echelon formation permits excellent firepower to the front and to one flank. It is used to screen an exposed flank of the platoon or of a larger moving force.
Vee The Vee formation provides excellent protection and control, but limits firepower to the front. This formation is used when terrain restricts movement or when overwatch within the platoon is required.
Line The Line formation provides maximum firepower to the front. It is used when the platoon crosses danger areas and is provided with overwatch by another element or when the platoon assaults enemy positions.
Diamond This formation does not appear in US Army field manuals and would seem to be an invention of Microprose. Although platoons in Diamond formation can move, the nearest real life equivalent is the Coil formation, which is used by stationary vehicles to provide all round defense. In Gunship its effect is similar to a Staggered Column.
Formation Changes
The vehicle order also influences the order in which vehicles move off, when travelling between WPs. Although this has little influence on missions in general, it can serve to illustrate how formations can degrade. The platoon leader (vehicle 1) always moves first, with the rest of the platoon moving off a little behind. Note that vehicle 1 will always lead the formation slightly, even when formed in Line. As the vehicles move off they must speed up to align themselves in the formation. If the new formation requires that vehicle 4 aligns itself with vehicle 1 and the platoon is moving fast, then the closest you will get is a cross between Staggered Column and Wedge. Vehicle 1 is already travelling at its maximum rate and the lead vehicle will not slow down to allow the rest to catch up.
This will vary greatly and depends on the relative formations. Column to Echelon for instance should be fairly smooth, with all the vehicles falling in behind the leader and only vehicles 2 and 3 needing to swap positions. Column to Vee would require vehicle 2 to move up alongside vehicle 3, but vehicle 4 would need to catch up and align itself with vehicle 1. The platoon would need to cover a lot of ground to complete this transition at anything other than slow speed. At what point a formation is deemed to be 'formed' is not easy to judge, but an unformed platoon, definitely suffers if engaged.
Fratricide
One section of FM 17-15 that wasn't successfully incorporated into M1TP, was the chapter on the avoidance of Fratricide. Certain formations will mask the fire of vehicles in some directions and firing into those arcs is always restricted. Unfortunately, in the game, if an element thinks it has a shot, it will try. Moving vehicles will fire danger close to their own side's vehicles, which then move into the line of fire. Infantry AT teams will also hide behind their own carriers and then try to fire through them. In fact 'blue on blue' incidents are actually quite common, we just rarely see them.