Archie to SAM: A Short Operational History of Ground-Based Air ...

AIRMEN VERSUS GUERRILLAS
ground in the face of intense ground fire. They again realized
that attacking enemy antiaircraft positions (SAM and AAA)
was dangerous and of dubious value. Most of all, they again saw
that the tactics used in World War II and Korea were relevant
for modern air warfare.
SAMs greatly enhanced the power of the defense and presented
new difficulties to the Airmen. The SA-2s were the first
challenge. They did not destroy that many aircraft and became
less effective as the war continued, but they did force the Airmen
to lower their altitudes and put their aircraft into the teeth
of the guns. Another disturbing weapon introduced was the
man-portable SAM. Although not possessing great lethality, it
was easily concealed, highly mobile, and gave one man the
power to down a multimillion-dollar aircraft. It proved especially
effective against low-flying, slower (prop-powered) aircraft
and helicopters. Second, to counter the missiles, the Airmen
had to expand the total number of support sorties, a requirement
that increased as the war progressed. The effectiveness
of the defense is much more than the total aircraft destroyed
by the air defense system but must include the cost for the attacker
to get bombs on target. SAMs made aerial attack more
complicated, dangerous, and expensive. Clearly, the cost of
conducting the air offensive rose as the Vietnam War continued.
Countermeasures helped to keep American aircraft losses to
a manageable rate. One Air Force officer estimated that ECM
reduced losses by 25 percent, while a Navy officer put the figure
at 80 percent (fig. 66). 68 Nevertheless, air operations were
expensive in both losses and effort. Communist gunners proved
a worthy and resourceful foe, although limited by second-rate
Soviet equipment. Yet, despite the able Communist air defense
tactics and their adaptation to the changing tactical situation,
the American Airmen gradually increased their edge. The big
improvement for the offensive side came with the use of ECM
along with antiradiation, “smart,” and standoff weapons. These
weapons increased accuracy and decreased losses. In the fullscale
operations of Linebacker II, the American Airmen showed
that massive application of modern aircraft with modern
equipment could succeed against defenses limited in numbers
and quality. 69
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