David Carter wrote:

This is scary!  I flew fighters for 4905 hours.  Formation takeoff and
landings were "the norm".  We briefed and executed every one to avoid such
scary events.
    -  Wingman always on upwind side, with maybe 10 feet of lateral spacing
between adjacent wingtips during the takeoff roll and liftoff.  After gear
up, then we'd slide in closer before going into clouds.
  

The "school solution" when I was at Kingsville was 45 deg bearing, 10' wingtip separation.  Upwind side/downwind side didn't matter since you're not near wake turbulence anyway.  I didn't like that since if the leader blew a tire on the wingman side you could have a collision.  If not, at that bearing and so much separation, you had to catch up to the leader after takeoff - you ended up "sucked" about half the time, and on a zero-zero launch, you just couldn't have that. 

I started teaching and promoting rolling with 10' wingtip separation but dead abeam (nobody ever got that acute, but near enough for it to work).  After takeoff, you just slid over (which automatically dropped you back a little) and you were right in parade position.  If someone blew a tire, he couldn't hit his wingman - always passed behind him. 

    -  If flight of four (2 elements taking off in formation), a minimum of
10 seconds between brake release of 1st element and 2nd.  15 seconds was
even better.
  

We didn't do that many division (4-plane) takeoffs on a single runway.  We would split the dual runway if we had one, and roll together.  Otherwise is was the old 10-sec interval between sections.  Section landings were another matter since you couldn't fly abeam the leader and were thus vulnerable if he blew a tire or something, so we only did it if we had to. 

    -  Wingman - keep up nearer to line abreast, not tending to lag back,
and never get in close so your wingtip is behind leader's - keep a couple of
feet lateral spacing between tips.
    -  If taking off single ship, 10 second spacing, minimun.  If wind is
"right down the runway" and NOT going to blow wing wash off to side of
runway, use 20 seconds and stay on your side of the runway - don't slip
directly or nearly directly behind the leader!  You know why!!  You've been
there and survived.  "There but for the grace of God go I!"
  

We typically used 5-sec interval for individual takeoffs.

Ask me sometime about my "improvised and unplanned" division penetration and GCA (solid klag from 15,000' down to 300') to a division landing with three solo students (one of them leading) :o)