Research for Damage Assessments

The kind of information that can be obtained from analysis of Aircraft Vulnerability Report Forms is described, and the results of a preliminary study, made to determine the value of a larger-scale analysis, are reported. The study concludes that: (1) although hits from ground fire are uniformly distributed over both jet and conventional aircraft, the jets received a greater proportion from ahead and directly below; (2) in terms of aircraft lost per hit, the F-4U is twice as vulnerable as the F-9F, which is in turn twice as vulnerable as the AD; and, (3) the variation in vulnerability among aircraft can be markedly affected by design.