Chapter 4 Laying Out Anti-Aircraft Artillery Positions

  For high-flying aircraft, it is extremely difficult to hit with anti-aircraft guns, even for modern twin-barreled 35mm anti-aircraft guns equipped with fire-control radar, which requires a certain level of skill.

  Not to mention the ordinary high cannon placed outside, this kind of high cannon is simply a random shot when shooting at air targets, and the hit rate can be almost ignored.

  But if you want to know exactly the direction, speed and time of the incoming plane, that's a different story. You can arrange the anti-aircraft guns on the flight path of the opponent, so that the shells and planes meet at the same time and space.

  Operating a missile requires strict training, even Zhang Feng, a military academy graduate, couldn't guarantee that he could hit an airplane with the missile.

  However, operating the high cannon is much simpler. Even in later generations, reserve soldiers trained to operate the high cannon, sitting at the operating position of the high cannon, shaking the handle, and the high cannon would rotate with it. When it reached a suitable place, press the electric gate, and the shell would be fired out, which was not much more difficult than using a rifle.

  "Let everyone follow me and transfer the artillery to a new position!" Zhang Feng said.

  After finishing speaking, Zhang Feng strode towards the artillery position.

  High cannon, in fact, is not bad either. At least it won't be affected by electromagnetic interference. This time Israel's planes flew thousands of miles, although they wouldn't be interfered with by early warning aircraft, but it's hard to guarantee that the other side won't hang an electromagnetic jamming pod on the wing.

  Zhang Feng is an optimist, he walked to the anti-aircraft artillery position with great enthusiasm, took a look around, and saw dozens of anti-aircraft guns pointing directly at the sky. On those rotating gun emplacements, there were even several soldiers sitting!

  It was too moving for Zhang Feng, those guys operating the anti-aircraft missiles had all run away, they could at least hide in their vehicles to avoid the sun, but these high artillerymen were steadfastly guarding their positions under the scorching sun!

  "Who is the team leader here?" Zhang Feng asked.

  Seeing a large crowd coming over, and several familiar sentries, the artillerymen knew that some big shot had probably arrived.

  "Report, I am the commander of the 4th company, 2nd battalion, 3rd regiment of high artillery, 35th division, Varekh." Varekh stood up and replied loudly: "My company is on duty in this battle."

  "Alright, now I order you, immediately move all the anti-aircraft guns to a lake 20 kilometers west of here," Zhang Feng said.

  Move to the lake 20 kilometers away? Valikh was stunned, his high cannon position was defending the nuclear reactor, not protecting the lake. He couldn't help but look at Zhang Feng with suspicious eyes.

  "Just do it, I'm absolutely right, wait till tomorrow, you can be promoted to regiment commander or even division commander." Zhang Feng said, "Please believe me, I am Kusay Abdualla ibn Saddam Hussein." He changed his tone to a more patient one.

  Having clearly heard the identity of the newcomer, Waleed was extremely surprised and excited. A soldier who does not want to be a general is not a good soldier, so he naturally wanted to rise higher.

  "I'm willing to serve you, Kusayev. I have two towed howitzer batteries, eighteen towed howitzers, and a self-propelled howitzer battery, nine self-propelled howitzers. Since we're going twenty kilometers out, let's bring the self-propelled howitzers along," Varekh said.

  A battery has three platoons, a platoon has three classes. For high artillery, one class has two high artillery guns. Two people are enough to operate one high artillery gun, and the other three are responsible for loading, transporting ammunition.

  There are two types of anti-aircraft guns, one is non-motorized and needs to be towed by a car, the other is self-propelled and can move on its own to reach its destination. Comparing the two, naturally the self-propelled anti-aircraft gun is much more advanced.

  "No, we only brought the towed howitzers. Immediately have the soldiers convert the howitzers to marching status. My men will help you. We must depart within fifteen minutes," Zhang Feng said.

  The anti-aircraft gun was deployed on the position, and various leg racks were opened. The wheels were also folded, and several people worked together to load the marching equipment.

  Varikh was taken aback, going twenty kilometers away, naturally the self-propelled gun would be more suitable, but this Kusayev, the second son of the President, why did he choose to use an old-fashioned towed gun?

  Zhang Feng, however, had a plan in mind. He was fully aware of the Israeli Air Force's plans and flew low all the way until he reached 20 kilometers from the Osirak reactor, skimming over a lake that served as a guiding landmark. Then he climbed again to launch an attack.

  The logic is simple, after a long flight, the route will definitely have an error, and it's impossible to fly over the reactor again for bombing, so before that, choose a suitable reference object, which is this lake. Find this lake, then determine the location of the nuclear reactor, and then climb high, quickly fly over these twenty kilometers distance, and attack.

  In Zhang Feng's mind, this lake was the graveyard of the enemy plane!

  The level of Israeli pilots is very high, they dare to fly continuously at an altitude of thirty meters for several hours, and their mentality is also the most tense when they are about to reach the attack point. They made a low-altitude penetration, flying extremely fast, and could not see the scattered anti-aircraft guns at all. The anti-aircraft guns, at such close range, only need to hit one shell to tear the opponent's plane apart.

  This is a quadruple-mounted quick-firing gun, with dozens of them sealing off this lake, it's still feasible.

  The F-16, this advanced fighter jet, will be destroyed under the anti-aircraft guns! Zhang Feng firmly believes that his deployment is correct.

  There was no choice but to use the self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, because in addition to the eight F-16s responsible for the attack, there were also six F-15s responsible for cover. Zhang Feng couldn't be sure whether the opponent's planes carried devices that could detect infrared radiation. After the self-propelled anti-aircraft gun was deployed, the engine would need to dissipate heat, and it might be discovered by the enemy, who would take precautions.

  In later generations, Xu Sanduo hid a hot egg in his pocket for the class leader, but was discovered by the plane. Zhang Feng did not want to make such a mistake.

  The entire base mobilized all the soldiers, and in addition to the eighteen towed anti-aircraft guns belonging to Walekh, several other anti-aircraft artillery units also converted their towed anti-aircraft guns into a marching state. The trucks drove out of the base, towing the anti-aircraft guns, heading towards a lake twenty kilometers away.

  "Warich, leave half of your men here and take charge of these self-propelled guns," Zhang Feng said.

  Although he was quite certain that the planes would come from the lake, it was better to leave some men here just in case.

  "Yes, Lord Kusatsu." Warik replied.

  "Are there any other air defense measures here?" Zhang Feng asked, a few days ago, Iran's air force came to attack the nuclear reactor and ended in defeat, so there should be multiple air defense measures here.

  "Report to Korsay Gance, there is a blockage balloon." Varikh replied.

  "Alright, assign tasks to the people who are staying behind. Within an hour, inflate and launch all the blocking balloons. The enemy will arrive at 5:30." Zhang Feng said.

  "Yes, Mr. Khazraji." Warrick's shock was beyond compare; this Mr. Khazraji must have gotten Saddam Hussein's personal authorization, or else how could he be so certain that the enemy would arrive at 5:30? This was too precise!

  Barrage balloon, a special balloon that floats in sequence and is fixed to the top of buildings to form an obstacle net to block enemy planes from passing through. Low cost, good effect, during World War II, it was used by the British to protect London's buildings.

  After leaving the task, Waleed took the remaining soldiers and boarded the car, setting off together.

  Zhang Feng returned to the sports car and drove towards the lake in the west.

  As he drove, Zhang Feng was thinking about how to use the anti-aircraft gun to shoot down low-flying planes that were flying quickly. It was also very difficult. However, fortunately, he knew that the enemy would enter Iraqi airspace from the southwest border and use this lake as a guide mark. They would leave low altitude here and turn upwards, exposing their belly to his firepower. Moreover, during the climb, they would lose speed, and due to the cover of their belly, they couldn't see the anti-aircraft gun below at all.

  Then set up a pocket! Zhang Feng made a perfect decision.

  Upon arrival at the lakeshore, all anti-aircraft guns were tense and deployed.

  Zhang Feng arranged all the anti-aircraft guns on the north and east shores of the lake, forming a fan-shaped pocket. There were forty towed anti-aircraft guns in total, with each gun having four barrels, arranged in two rows front and back. After firing simultaneously, it would absolutely be a deadly hail of bullets.

  The only drawback is that the professional high artillerymen who followed Walega were not many, bringing only forty people. However, with other personnel, it was also possible to meet the requirement of three or four people per gun.

  Let a professional gunner, with two or three newcomers, it's also an inevitable way, but it doesn't matter, as long as the shells don't get stuck, the direction of the muzzle has already been explained by Zhang Feng in advance, and the aiming direction is 50 meters above the center island of the lake.

  Due to the rising river water, the small island has been submerged in the river water, but this does not hinder the gunner's aim.

  All the anti-aircraft guns emitted a whirring sound, the handles spinning rapidly as the muzzles gradually rose. Finally, all the muzzles pointed to the predetermined location.

  Zhang Feng glanced at his watch, it was already 5:00 pm, in ten minutes, the Israeli plane would fly in low altitude across the border, and around 5:20, it would arrive here.

  Zhang Feng turned his head again, and his face changed instantly: "Fool, quickly drive all the trucks away, drive them back to the base, Gasar, take my sports car away too!"

  At first, in order not to be discovered, the tractor was used to pull the artillery, and those trucks were still left at the place where the anti-aircraft gun was just put down. The F-15 fighter jets that undertook the cover-up mission would climb high to monitor, if the other side discovered the anti-aircraft gun position here, their hard work would be in vain.

  The car started to turn around, and Zhang Feng suddenly saw a glimmer of light in front of him. He found that inside the car's compartment, there were some wooden boxes with Russian and Arabic writing on them.

  SA-7 missile!