Mission Summary
A total of 3,435 Lightning Bug missions were flown against Communist China, North Vietnam, and North Korea, with the mission breakdown by year as follows:
- 1964: 20
- 1965: 77
- 1966: 105
- 1967: >100
- 1968: 340
- 1969: 437
- 1970: >400
- 1971: 406
- 1972: 570
- 1973: 444
- 1974: 518 (includes flights in first half of 1975)
Almost half of the missions were flown by the Model 147SC, of which about a thousand were built. 578 drones of all types were lost, with over half shot down and the rest lost in various accidents. It is something of a compliment to the usefulness of the Model 147 that the Chinese used the Lightning Bugs shot down over their territory to copy the basic Firebee design and produce it themselves.
Read more about this topic: Ryan Model 147
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