What the other guys said is good advice.
In terms of gunnery now, prop wash is simulated. When flying directly behind another aircraft (especially a bigger one) you are flying through disturbed air in their wake, this has the effect of bouncing you around somewhat and makes gunnery harder.
Depending on relative size between aircraft this can be a big issue even today. For example, it's not unheard of in civil aviation for tower controllers to instruct small aircraft (like the local aeroclub's Cessna) hold for a while (5 minutes or more) before giving them take-off clearance, especially if the previous aircraft to take off was a big jet airliner.
Taking off in a small plane directly after an airliner can even be a cause of accident, because the disturbance in the air can cause all sorts of unpredictable eddies and currents, updrafts/downdrafts and so on.
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