Post–World War II air-to-air combat losses

Last updated

The last moments of a U.S. Air Force recon C-130 Hercules in gun camera of the Soviet MiG-17 (2 September 1958) C-130 60528 MiG.JPG
The last moments of a U.S. Air Force recon C-130 Hercules in gun camera of the Soviet MiG-17 (2 September 1958)
Gun camera sequence photos showing a North Vietnamese MiG-17 being hit and shot down by 20 mm shells from a U.S. Air Force F-105D Thunderchief during the Vietnam War (3 June 1967) MiG-17 shoot down sequence 3 June 1967.jpg
Gun camera sequence photos showing a North Vietnamese MiG-17 being hit and shot down by 20 mm shells from a U.S. Air Force F-105D Thunderchief during the Vietnam War (3 June 1967)

Air-to-air combat is the engagement of combat aircraft in warfare in which primarily fixed-wing aircraft attempt to destroy enemy aircraft using guns, rockets and missiles.

Contents

Background

The Korean War saw the greatest amount of air-to-air combat since World War II. During the war the United States claimed to have shot down around 700 fighters. [A 1] [2] By the end of the war, US F-86 Sabre pilots were initially credited by American sources with having shot down 792 MiGs for a loss of only 78 Sabres in air-to-air combat, a victory ratio of 10:1. [3] After the war the U.S. Air Force reviewed its figures in an investigation code-named Sabre Measure Charlie and downgraded the kill ratio of the F-86 Sabre against the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 by half to a 5:1 ratio. [1]

The research by Dorr, Lake and Thompson claimed an F-86 kill ratio closer to 2:1. [4] A recent RAND report made reference to "recent scholarship" of F-86 v MiG-15 combat over Korea and concluded that the actual kill:loss ratio for the F-86 was 1.8:1 overall, and likely closer to 1.3:1 against MiGs flown by Soviet pilots. [5] However, this ratio did not count the number of aircraft of other types (including the B-29, A-26, F-80, F-82, F-84 and Gloster Meteor) shot down by MiG-15 pilots.

One of the factors inflating US numbers was that most dogfights took place over enemy-controlled area. The only way to confirm kills was through gun camera photography. USAF pilots were credited with a kill if the gun camera showed their guns striking the enemy aircraft even if no one actually saw it go down. [6] Soviet Air Force kill claims were also exaggerated, based upon inherent flaws in their film grading procedures. For instance, the S-13 gun camera was not aligned with either the gunsight or either cannons' ballistics. It ran only while the firing buttons were depressed. Film graders commonly included unit commanders and political commisars who would confirm a "kill"—sometimes even if one had not been claimed by a pilot—when the camera's crosshairs touched the target for two movie frames. During the first 16 months of combat Soviet V-VS units claimed 218 F-86s destroyed when only 36 (35 to the two elite IADs and one to the 50th IAD) had been lost. This results in a 600 per cent inflation rate in victory credits over actual Sabres destroyed. However, these figures are complicated by the fact that the Americans routinely attributed combat losses to landing accidents and other causes. [7]

The Vietnam War saw a move away from cannon fire to air-to-air missiles. [8] Although US forces maintained air supremacy throughout the war, there were still occasional dogfights and US and North Vietnamese aces. The North Vietnamese side claimed the Vietnam People's Air Force had 17 aces throughout the war, including Nguyễn Văn Cốc, who is also the top ace of Vietnam War with nine kills: seven acknowledged by the United States Air Force.

During the 1947 conflict over Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Air Force did not engage the Pakistan Air Force in air-to-air combat; however, it did provide effective transport and close air support to the Indian Army troops. [9]

On 10 April 1959, an Indian English Electric Canberra was shot down while performing a Reconnaissance mission over Rawalpindi. The Canberra was shot down by a Pakistani F-86 Sabre flown by Flight Lieutenant M Younis of the No. 15 Squadron. The two crew members of the Canberra ejected and were later arrested by Pakistani authorities, this incident also marked the first aerial victory of the Pakistan Air Force. [10] [11] [12]

The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 was the first time the Indian Air Force actively engaged an enemy air force. [13] By the time the conflict had ended, India had lost 22 aircraft by enemy aircraft fire, while Pakistan lost 9 aircraft. [14] In total India lost 65-70 aircraft by all causes while Pakistan 20. [15]

During the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971, both Air Forces clashed for the second time, in this conflict the Indian Air Force lost 20 aircraft in air-to-air combat, in turn Pakistan Air Force lost 16. In total India lost 45 to 65 [16] aircraft by all causes and Pakistan 70. [17]

During the Iran–Iraq War of 1980–88, there were nearly 1,000 air-to-air engagements between Iran and Iraq, including the only known instances of helicopters dogfighting and shooting down other helicopters. [18] The Falklands War of 1982 witnessed air combat between Argentine and British military aircraft. The Falkland Islands' runways were short and thus unable to support fighter jets, forcing Argentina to launch fighters from the mainland, which had an adverse effect on their loiter time. The Argentine forces lost 23 aircraft in air-to-air combat, out of a total of 134 fixed wing aircraft and helicopters lost during the conflict.

During the Persian Gulf War; the Iraqi Armed Forces lost 23 aircraft from their iventory of 750 fixed-wing aircraft, compared to 3 coalition aircraft downed. [19] [20] [21]

Aircraft lost to air-to-air combat

ConflictAir ForceAircraft lost to air-to-air combatReference
US incursions into Yugoslav airspace (1946) Flag of the United States.svg USAAF 2 [A 2] [22]
Indonesian National Revolution British Raj Red Ensign.svg Royal Indian Air Force 2 [23]
Arab–Israeli War (1948–1949) Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg  Royal Air Force 5 [24]
Israel Air Force Flag.svg  Israeli Air Force 7 (Western claim); 0-1 (Israeli claim) [25] [26] [27] [28]
Flag of the Royal Egyptian Air Force (1922-1952).svg Royal Egyptian Air Force 15 [25]
Flag of the Syrian Arab Air Force.svg Syrian Air Force 2 [25]
Korean War (1950–1953) [A 3] Air Force Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg PLAAF
Flag of North Korea.svg North Korean Air Force
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Air Defence Forces
659 MiG-15 lost by all causes (USSR:335, PLAAF:224 and North Korea:100)
796 aircraft of all types shot down by UN aircraft (UN claims)
[29] [30] [31] [32]
Flag of the United States.svg US aircraft 2,714 aircraft lost by all causes [33]
1,106 aircraft (USSR claimed kills by MiG-15), 85 (PRC claimed kills)
147 aircraft lost by enemy aircraft (US claim)
[34] [35]
Flag of the United Nations.svg UN Coalition aircraft 197 (Soviet claim), 139 (UN claim) [A 4] [36]
Flag of the Republic of Korea Air Force.svg South Korean Air Force 135
US incursions into Soviet airspace (1950–1970) Flag of the United States.svg US aircraft 16 [A 5]
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Air Defence Forces 3 [A 6]
Catalina affair Flag of Sweden.svg Swedish Air Force 2
1953 Avro Lincoln shootdown incident Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg  Royal Air Force 1 [37]
Air battle over Merklín Flag of the United States.svg USAFE 1 [A 7] [23]
Bombing of Plaza de Mayo (1955) Flag of Argentina.svg Argentine Naval Aviation 1 [38]
Suez Crisis (1956)Air Force Ensign of Egypt.svg Egypt Air Force 7–9 [39]
Israel Air Force Flag.svg  Israeli Air Force 1 [40]
Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg  Royal Air Force 1 [A 8] [41]
Secret electronic surveillance missions Flag of the United States.svg US aircraft 2 [42]
Permesta Rebellion Flag of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.svg CIA/AUREV 1 [43]
Second Taiwan Strait Crisis [A 9] Air Force Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg PLAAF 32 (ROC claim); 5 (PRC claim) [44]
Flag of the Republic of China Air Force.svg ROCAF 14 (PRC claim); 3 (ROC claim) [44]
1959 Canberra shootdown

[A 10]

Air Force Ensign of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan Air Force 0 [45] [46]
Air Force Ensign of India.svg  Indian Air Force 1 [45]
Vietnam War (1959–1975) [A 11] Flag of the Vietnam People's Air Force.svg Vietnam People's Air Force 131 (North Vietnam claim); 195 (US claim) [47] [48]
Flag of the United States.svg US aircraft 128 (US Claim), 266 (North Vietnam claim) [49] [50] [51] [52]
Flag of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force.svg Republic of Vietnam Air Force 72 [48]
Taiwanese incursion into Burma airspace Flag of the Republic of China Air Force.svg Republic of China Air Force 1 [22]
First Iraqi–Kurdish War Flag of Iraq.svg Iraqi Air Force 2[ citation needed ]
Dutch–Indonesian Conflict Flag of the Indonesian Air Force.svg  Indonesian Air Force 1 [23]
Project Dark Gene (1960–79)Flag of the Soviet Air Force.svg Soviet Air Force 1 [53] [54]
State Flag of Iran (1964).svg Imperial Iranian Air Force 6 [53] [55] [56] [57]
Bay of Pigs Invasion Flag of Brigade 2506.svg Brigade 2506 10 (Confirmed) [58]
Six-Day War (1967)Israel Air Force Flag.svg  Israeli Air Force Israeli Air Force 21 [A 12] [26] [27] [59] [28]
Air Force Ensign of Egypt.svg Egypt Air Force
Flag of the Syrian Arab Air Force.svg Syrian Air Force
Air Force Ensign of Jordan.svg  Royal Jordanian Air Force
64–72 [A 13] [60] [61]
Indo-Pakistani air war of 1965 Air Force Ensign of India.svg  Indian Air Force 22 [14]
Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan Air Force 9 [14]
War of Attrition (1967-1970)Air Force Ensign of Egypt.svg  Egyptian Air Force
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Air Defence Forces
60 (Egyptian claim);113 (Israeli claim)

4-5 (Soviet MiG-21MFs)

[60] [62]
Israel Air Force Flag.svg  Israeli Air Force 4 (Israeli claim) [28]
Football War [A 14] Flag of El Salvador.svg Air Force of El Salvador 3 [63]
Indo-Pakistani war of 1971 Air Force Ensign of India.svg  Indian Air Force 20 [64] [65]
Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan Air Force 16 [65]
Turkish invasion of Cyprus Flag of Turkey.svg Turkish Air Force 1 (Greek claim) [66]
Yom Kippur War (1973)Israel Air Force Flag.svg  Israeli Air Force 7 [67]
Air Force Ensign of Egypt.svg  Egyptian Air Force
Flag of the Syrian Arab Air Force.svg Syrian Air Force
277 (Israeli claim) [28]
Egyptian–Libyan War (1977) Flag of Libya (1977-2011).svg Libyan Air Force 4–5 [68]
Air Force Ensign of Egypt.svg Egypt Air Force 1 [68]
Iranian and Soviet airspace incursions (1970s) State Flag of Iran (1964).svg Imperial Iranian Army Aviation + IIAF 2 [A 15] + 3 [57] [69] [70]
Flag of the Soviet Air Force.svg Soviet Air Force 1 [71]
Soviet–Afghan War Flag of Afghanistan (1980-1987).svg Afghan National Army Air Corps 8 (Shot down by Pakistan)
4 Rebel fighters (Shot down by Soviets)
[72] [73]
Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan Air Force 1 [72]
Flag of Iran.svg Islamic Republic of Iran Army Aviation2 [A 16] [74]
Flag of Jihad.svg Mojahedin 4 [75]
Nicaraguan Revolution Flag of Nicaragua.svg Nicaraguan Air Force 2 [76]
Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988) Flag of Iraq (1963-1991).svg Iraqi aircraft 234 (confirmed) [77] [78]
Flag of Iran.svg Iranian aircraft 73 (confirmed) [79]
Flag of the Soviet Air Force.svg Soviet Air Force 3 (Iranian claim); 0 (Soviet claim) [80] [81]
Flag of the Syrian Arab Air Force.svg Syrian Air Force 3 [82]
Flag of Algeria.svg Algerian Government aircraft1 [82]
Flag of Turkey.svg Turkish Air Force 1 [83]
South African Border War Air Force Ensign of South Africa (1982-1994).svg South African Air Force 1 [84]
Flag of Angola.svg National Air Force of Angola 2 [84]
US Freedom of Navigation operations near Libya (1980–1989) Flag of Libya (1977-2011).svg Libyan Air Force 4 [85]
Salvadoran Civil War FMLN.jpg FMLN supply aircraft 1 [86]
Falklands War Flag of Argentina.svg Argentine Naval Aviation/Argentine Air Force 23 [87]
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Army Air Corps 1 [88]
1982 Royal Air Force Jaguar shootdown incident Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg  Royal Air Force 1 [89]
1982 Lebanon War Flag of the Syrian Arab Air Force.svg Syrian Air Force 82–86 (Israeli claim) [90] [91] [92]
Air Force Ensign of Israel.svg Israeli Air Force 1 (Israeli claim); 42 (Syrian claim); 3 (ACIG claim) [93] [94] [95] [28]
Sri Lankan Civil War (1983–2009)Tamil Eelam Flag.svg Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam 1 [96]
Tanker War (1984–1988) Flag of Iran.svg Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force 1 (Iranian claim) 2 (Saudi claim) [97] [98]
Persian Gulf War (1990–1991) Flag of the United States.svg US aircraft 4 (US claim); [99] [19] 12 (Iraqi claim) [20] [21]
Air Force Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg Royal Air Force 1 (Iraqi claim) [5]
Flag of Italy.svg Italian Air Force 1 (Iraqi claim) [5]
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Royal Saudi Air Force 1 (Iraqi claim) [100]
Flag of Iraq.svg Iraqi Air Force 23 (Iraqi claim); 44 (Coalition claim) [20] [21]
Iraqi no-fly zones enforcement Flag of the United States.svg US aircraft 3 [A 17] [101]
Flag of Iraq.svg Iraqi Air Force 5
Croatian War of Independence (1991–1995) Flag of Italy.svg Italian Army 1 [A 18] [102]
1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts Flag of Venezuela.svg Bolivarianos 3 [103]
Operation Deny Flight Flag of Republika Srpska.svg Republika Srpska Air Force 5 [104]
Cenepa War (1995) Flag of Peru.svg Peruvian Air Force 1 (confirmed), 2 (Ecuadorian claim) [105]
Aegean dispute (1996) Flag of Turkey.svg Turkish Air Force 1 [106] [107]
Eritrean–Ethiopian War (1998–2000) Flag of Eritrea.svg Eritrean Air Force 2–6 [108]
Flag of Ethiopia.svg Ethiopian Air Force Up to 7 [109] [110]
NATO bombing of Yugoslavia Flag of Yugoslavia (1992-2003); Flag of Serbia and Montenegro (2003-2006).svg Yugoslav Air Force 5 + 1 heavily damaged, later destroyed on the ground [111]
Flag of NATO.svg NATO aircraft1 + 1 Tomahawk [112] [113]
1999 Pakistan Breguet 1150 Atlantic shootdown Naval Standard of Pakistan.svg Pakistan Navy 1 [114]
2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff Air Force Ensign of India.svg  Indian Air Force 1 [A 19] [115] [116]
2008 Georgian drone shootdowns Flag of Georgia.svg Georgian Air Force 1 [117] [118]
Iraq War (2003–2011) Flag of Iran.svg Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force 1 [A 20] [119]
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Flag of the United States.svg US aircraft 1 [A 21] [120]
Syrian civil war Flag of the Syrian Arab Air Force.svg Syrian Air Force 7 [121] [122] [123]
[124] [125] [126]
[127]
Flag of the Russian Air Force.svg Russian Air Force 2 [128] [129]
Pro Assad government forces3 [A 22] [130] [131] [132] [133]
Flag of Turkey.svg Turkish Air Force 1 [134]
War in Donbass Ensign of the Ukrainian Air Force.svg Ukrainian Air Force 1 [135]
Libyan civil war (2014–2020) Flag of Turkey.svg Turkish Air Force 1 [136]
2016 Turkish coup attempt Flag of Turkey.svg Peace at Home Council 2 [137]
Insurgency in Balochistan Flag of Iran.svg Iran 1 [138] [139] [140]
2019 India–Pakistan border skirmishes Air Force Ensign of India.svg  Indian Air Force 1 [141]
Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistani Air Force 0 [142] [143] [144]
Second Nagorno-Karabakh War Flag of Armenia.svg Armenian Air Force 1 [145]
Russian invasion of Ukraine Ensign of the Ukrainian Air Force.svg Ukrainian Air Force 15 (as of 2 February 2025) [146] [147] [148]
[149] [150] [151]
[152] [153]
Ensign of the Ukrainian Ground Forces.svg Ukrainian Army Aviation 2 [154] [155]
Naval ensign of Ukraine.svg Ukrainian Naval Aviation 1 [156] [157]
Flag of the United States.svg US aircraft 1 (MQ-9 Reaper UAV) [158]
Operation Sindoor Air Force Ensign of India.svg  Indian Air Force 3 [159] [160]

See also

Footnotes

  1. During the Korean War experienced Soviet pilots flew against USAF forces. [1]
  2. Two US C-47s shoot down by Yugoslavian Yak-3 over Northern Yugoslavia.
  3. First combat instance of a jet shooting down a jet happened during this war.
  4. Soviet claim of planes shot down
  5. See the US Soviet air-to-air combat article
  6. See the Air-to-air combat losses between the USSR and US article
  7. US F-84E shot down by Czech Mig-15 over Merlín.
  8. RAF Canberra reconnaissance aircraft shot down by Syrian fighter jet near Homs.
  9. First combat use of guided air-to-air missiles occurred during this war.
  10. First aerial victory of the Pakistan Air Force
  11. First combat instance of a manned aircraft shooting down a UAV happened during this war.
  12. Shot down by enemy aircraft or crashed during dogfighting
  13. Numbers include unconfirmed losses
  14. The last war in which piston-engined fighter planes fought each other.
  15. In 1978, a Soviet Mig-23 Flogger intercepted 4 Iranian CH-47 Chinook helicopters over Karakum Canal inside Soviet airspace, shooting one of them down and damaging another. The damaged helicopter managed to land inside the Soviet Union and its crew was captured by Soviet forces. Later, the crew was released and the helicopter was allowed to be repaired and return to Iran.
  16. In 1988, two Soviet Mig-23 Floggers shot down a pair of Iranian AH-1J SuperCobra attack helicopters over western Afghanistan.
  17. The 1994 Black Hawk shootdown incident, sometimes referred to as the Black Hawk Incident, was a friendly fire incident over northern Iraq that occurred on April 14, 1994 during Operation Provide Comfort. The pilots of two United States Air Force (USAF) F-15 fighter aircraft, operating under the control of a USAF airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft, misidentified two United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters as Iraqi Mil Mi-24 "Hind" helicopters. The F-15 pilots fired on and destroyed both helicopters, killing all 26 military service members and civilians from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Turkey, and the Kurdish community. The third loss was a Predator UAV shot down by a MiG-25 in December 2002.
  18. An Italian Army Bell 206 helicopter was shot down by a Serb MiG over Novi Marof, near Varaždin, Croatia, on 7 January 1992. One French and four Italian military observers were killed. The incident prompted the resignation of the Yugoslav Minister of Defence. The helicopter was part of a European Community mission in Croatia.
  19. On the night of 8 June 2002, a pair of IAI Searcher II UAV of Indian Air Force were detected inside Pakistan by "mobile observation units". The Pakistan Air Force scrambled 2 Mirage III's and 4 F-7P fighter jets which failed to detect and intercept the drones. Finally a pair of F-16B's of the Pakistan Air Force succeeded to intercept and shoot down one of the drones using their AIM-9Ls.
  20. According to U.S and Iraqi sources, in February 2009 a USAF F-16 intercepted and shot down an Iranian UAV that had violated Iraqi airspace.
  21. According to U.S sources, in September 2009 a USAF fighter intercepted and shot down an out of control armed MQ-9 Reaper UAV, near Afghan border.
  22. On June 8, 2017, an American F-15E shot down a Shahed-129 UCAV, which the US military said was attacking American-backed forces. The US military said the drone, which appeared to be made by Iran, was being operated by "pro-Syria regime" forces. [130] A second pro-regime Shahed-129 was shot down by an American F-15E on June 19. [131] A third UAS was shot down by an American F-15E on August 21, 2021, in eastern Syria. The type of UAS was not disclosed. [132] [133]

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