USAF Aircraft Losses
Feb. 1, 1962-Oct. 31, 1973
During the ten years between 1962 to 1973, US Air Forces lost over 2,000 aircraft: the majority to Anti Aircraft Artillery.
Communist AAA shot down 1,443 of the total 2.255 aircraft lost by US Air Forces to all causes i.e. almost 64 percent of losses were to AA guns while the much vaunted Surface to Air Missiles shot down only 110 aircraft ( a mere 4.8 percent of the total losses).
| Year | Ground Fire | Ground attack on airbase | SAM | Air Combat | Other combat | Operational | Total |
| 1962-66 | 298 | 21 | 9 | 4 | – | 125 | 457 |
| 1967 | 276 | 6 | 26 | 11 | – | 77 | 401 |
| 1968 | 275 | 45 | 19 | 22 | 10 | 91 | 462 |
| 1969 | 234 | 14 | – | – | 1 | 77 | 326 |
| 1970 | 177 | 3 | – | 1 | – | 76 | 256 |
| 1971 | 73 | 1 | 2 | – | – | 27 | 103 |
| 1972 | 72 | 2 | 24 | 14 | 1 | 19 | 132 |
| 1973 | 38 | 4 | 30 | 10 | 9 | 25 | 116 |
| 1974 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 1443 | 96 | 110 | 67 | 21 | 518 | 2255 |
Source: USAF Operational Summary, November 1973.
