corkscrew

i. The action or performance of an airplane following a flight path resembling a corkscrew, as in a spiral or a tailspin. Specifically, an evasive maneuver performed in an airplane in which the plane is made to turn sharply right and left, alternately.

ii. A defensive maneuver executed effectively and widely by bombers during World War II. On sighting the enemy fighter, the bomber was made to immediately dive sharply and turn to either the port or starboard. In this process, it lost height and gained speed. The bomber was then pulled up into a climb, reversing its direction of turn once the aircraft had regained half the lost altitude, so that by the time the original altitude and course had been regained the bomber’s speed had fallen by about half the amount it had gained in the dive. This resulted in the enemy fighter overshooting its target, especially if it tried to match the bomber’s turn. The maneuver was repeated, if required. It was akin to a modern-day yo-yo.