[dragoon500ly]

Came across this intresting bit of info.

The SA-2 Guideline has been the premier Soviet SAM since its introduction in 1957. Its greatest moment of fame was on May 1, 1960 when it downed Francis Powers U-2, proving the ability of the SAM to strike even the highest flying aircraft....

Or did it?

During the India-Pakistani 1965 War, the Indians fired an unnumber of SA-2s but only damaged one Pakistani aircraft. The threat of the SA-2s, however, reduced the accuracy and effectiveness of the Pakistani air strikes.

The Eqyptians fired 22 SA-2s during the 1967 War. All missed and the Israelis captured one SA-2 battery.

The SA-2 was used most intensively in the Vietnam War. Its accuracy rate (as a percentage of missiles fired yielding kills) was:

1965: 194 fired, 11 kills = 5.7% accuracy
1966: 1,096 fired, 31 kills = 2.8% accuracy
1967: 3,202 fired, 56 kills = 1.75% accuracy
1968 (Jan-Mar): 322 fired, 3 kills = 0.9% accuracy
1972: 4,244 fired, 49 kills = 1.15% accuracy

Overall: 9,058 SA-2s were fired, resulting in 150 aircraft shotdown. A rather poor 1.7% accuracy.

The SA-3 Goa was also used in the Vietnam War and it is known that at least one F-4 Phantom was shot down. There is no exact infomation as to how many Goas were fired or how many US aircraft fell victim.

The SA-4 Ganef has never served outside the USSR. It is believed that this is due to its secondary role as a SSM (similar to the US Nike-Hercules).

The SA-6 Gainful saw combat service in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. It shot down large numbers of Israeli aircraft within the first two hours of the war due to technological surprise. The Israelis had developed effective countermeasures against the SA-2 and SA-3 missiles. The SA-6 replaced the "flying telegraph pole" with a highly manoeuvrable, low-altitude capability coupled with terminal radar guidance. Once the surprise wore off, the Israelis rapidly developed countermeasures and the effectiveness of the SA-6 wore off. The Israelis claimed that 1,100 SA-6s were fired for 20 kills, an accuracy rate of 1.8%. Egyptian and Syrian claims are that 840 SA-6s were fired for 20 kills, a 2.3% accuracy rating.

The SA-7 Grail first saw use in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and in Vietnam in 1972. Its initial accuracy was very high, a 33% accuracy rating being achieved against US gunships and transport helicopters. The SA-7 also shot down several slow-moving aircraft such as O-2Es, A-1s and C-130s, which were then forced to operate above 6,000ft. After this step was taken and the surprise wore off, SA-7 effectiveness wore off. Many SA-7s were observed to porpoise and miss. During the 1973 War, some 4,356 SA-7s were fired, with very disappointing results: two Israeli aircraft were definitely destroyed, four were possibles, 28 suffered tailplane damge and were out of action for a few hours, and 12 suffered engine damage and were grounded for a few days. This results in a accuracy rating of 0.05% for confirmed destruction and 0.1% if the possibles are added in.

From our previous examples, a total of 14,537 SAMs were fired, resulting in the loss of 172 aircraft. The accuracy of SAMs is 1.2% These are pretty low to hit odds! The typical AA gun requires the firing of 8,500 rounds per aircraft kill, or to kill 172 aircraft would require the firing of 1,462,000 rounds. This is an accuracy rating of 0.0001176%!!!