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

FROM GUNS TO MISSILES
Figure 39. F-51 Mustang. The North American Mustang, the P-51 of
World War II fame, saw action as the F-51. It suffered the highest number
of USAF losses to enemy action, of which 95 percent of the known
losses were to ground fire. (Reprinted from USAF.)
In early 1952, American losses to ground fire prompted remedial
action. One factor in the equation involved how close
the aircraft flew to the ground; but, despite the wealth of data
from World War II, it apparently took an operations analysis
study in early 1952 to bring this fact to the attention of the decision
makers. One study indicated that in the first four months
of 1952, Fifth Air Force aircraft sustained half of their groundfire
hits below 2,500 feet. 13 Following a Communist flak success
on 10 July 1952, Fifth Air Force ordered a minimum recovery
altitude of 3,000 feet. Similarly, in reaction to B-26 losses,
Fifth Air Force established a 4,000-foot attack altitude for light
bombers with only selected crews permitted to operate lower.
In August, the Navy adopted a 3,000-foot minimum pullout altitude.
As a result, losses to AAA declined. 14 In the first four
months of 1952, Fifth Air Force studies concluded that ground
fire destroyed or damaged 21.6 aircraft per 1,000 sorties;
whereas, in the period 1 September 1952 through 30 April
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