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

Chapter 8
Summary, Trends, and Conclusions
Ground-based air defenses have been a problem for Airmen
almost from the onset of manned flight. Although seldom able
to stop air power, air defenses have made air operations more
dangerous and costly. Just as aircraft have become more capable,
so too have air defenses. This extended offensive versus
defensive battle shows no sign of abating. In fact, every sign
points to it becoming more complex and costly as it continues.
Summary
Airmen have had to contend with ground-based air defense
since it downed the first aircraft in 1912. In every war except
World War I, more American aircraft have been lost to groundbased
air defenses than to fighters; nevertheless, air-to-air
combat has dominated both the public’s and the Airmen’s
mind. While this mistaken and romantic attitude is probably
understandable and excusable for the public, it is not for Airmen,
who must be held to a higher standard. They should, and
must, know better.
Probably this attitude of denigrating AAA and the defense (the
idea that the bomber would always get through) peaked in the
1930s and 1940s. In the late 1920s and the early 1930s, aviation
made great strides, and the gap between offense and defense
widened. During the early years of World War II, the offense
held the advantage, as flak was relatively ineffective. However,
between 1935 and 1944, almost to the end of the war, aviation
advanced modestly. (For example, the B-17 that first flew in
1935 was still frontline equipment in 1945, as were such fighters
as the Me 109 and Spitfire, which first flew in 1935 and
1936.) These aircraft and others like them are more representative
of air combat in World War II than the better performing
and better remembered B-29s and Me 262s that both went into
combat in June 1944.
269