Chapter 34 of 100

Chapter 34

14 min read3,543 words

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In fact, from the very beginning, the decision to attack this helicopter base was a gamble. Even if successful, it would be impossible to escape unscathed. After all, this was a heavily guarded place by the Soviets.

Muhammad was determined to take out these Hind helicopters, knowing that the battle would be extremely brutal. This completely went against guerrilla warfare tactics, but after being bullied by the Hinds several times, Muhammad could no longer tolerate it.

Now, the Soviets have retreated, and it’s impossible for his side to break out with the armored vehicle. If they drive out, they won’t be able to reach the mountains and will be hit by armor-piercing shells. Even now, Muhammad is gambling. By positioning himself next to the Hind, the Soviet tanks dare not fire, fearing they might hit the helicopter.

This field airport has a total of twelve Hinds, a squadron’s worth. Muhammad had already destroyed six of them on his way here, half of the Hinds. If anything happens to the remaining few, the base commander here will not be able to bear the responsibility. Even now, the losses are significant.

Because of this, as they approached the Hind and climbed aboard, the Soviets did not fire their cannons or even their guns. They were afraid of accidentally hitting the helicopter. It wasn’t until they saw the helicopter’s rotors start to turn, and the helicopter wobble and take off, and the fuel hose of the refueling truck break, that they couldn’t believe their eyes. The Afghan guerrillas, those illiterate men, could actually fly a helicopter?

"Quick, shoot! The guerrillas are trying to escape!" The situation was now clear. If they hesitated over this helicopter, they would have no chance at all. If the guerrillas managed to escape with the helicopter, the commander in Jalalabad would be even more furious about their failed operation.

The helicopter was shaking up and down, and sweat was streaming down Muhammad’s forehead. He kept operating the control stick, but the helicopter kept swaying uncontrollably. It might crash at any moment, turning them into a pile of meat.

He let go of all the control sticks and took off the armored soldier’s hat. There was no need to pretend to be a Soviet anymore, and he could throw the hat away.

As soon as he let go of the control sticks, the helicopter stabilized and hovered in the air. Muhammad immediately realized what was happening. His flight instructor had once mentioned this phenomenon, called pilot-induced oscillation. When the pilot feels the aircraft tilting forward, they immediately pull back, but if they pull too much, the aircraft tilts backward, and then they push the stick forward again, causing the oscillation to increase.

Gentle, be gentle! Muhammad gently pushed the control stick, and indeed, the helicopter slowly tilted forward and moved forward.

"Fire!" All the weapons on the ground were aimed at the sky, shooting at the helicopter.

The bottom of the Hind has a layer of armor protection, making it immune to ordinary bullets.

Muhammad operated the helicopter, flying away from the air base. The guerrillas in the rear cabin were still in a daze. In the past, they had only seen the Soviets flying arrogantly overhead, never imagining that one day they would sit in this metal contraption and fly in the sky.

The instructor is truly great, able to fly this iron bird!

The mountains were just ahead. If they flew directly into them, they would be completely out of danger. However, Muhammad gritted his teeth, pushed the control stick, and turned the Hind back.

There were still five Hinds on the airfield, and they had to be destroyed!

The Hind had rocket pods and anti-tank missiles on its short wings, but Muhammad couldn’t operate them. The weapon operator in the front cabin was supposed to do it, but now the front cabin was empty, and even if there were people, no one knew how to use those things.

It was a pity that those weapons couldn’t be used. Although the side-mounted weapons couldn’t be used, there were still weapons in the rear cabin.

The Soviets were also adaptable. After the Hinds were deployed to Afghanistan, although formal modifications had not yet begun, the Soviets themselves had installed machine guns on the side doors of the Hind’s rear cabin. This allowed the soldiers in the rear cabin to operate the machine guns and attack the guerrillas from the side if they couldn’t be deployed in time. Additionally, when the Hind was preparing to land, the machine guns on both sides could help clear a safe landing area, as the rear visibility of this large helicopter was almost zero.

Hearing Muhammad’s order and seeing the helicopter turn, the guerrillas in the rear cabin became excited again. They opened the sliding doors and pushed out the machine guns on both sides.

Durani, who was a machine gunner, grabbed the machine gun and prepared to fire.

The ground was constantly changing, and the airfield was getting closer.

Several refueling trucks were quickly refueling the remaining helicopters, and the ground crew were loading ammunition. They were filled with anger.

The pilots were already seated in the helicopters, waiting for the equipment to be ready so they could take off and pursue.

This was a joke for the entire Jalalabad base, a joke for the entire Soviet army. The armed helicopter base had been raided by the guerrillas, who had destroyed six helicopters and stolen one!

The maintenance of the Mi-24 Hind is very complex. After each flight, it requires several hours of maintenance. These helicopters had returned from a mission yesterday, and it was already dark, so they hadn’t been maintained or refueled. As a result, they could only watch helplessly as the helicopter was stolen.

The helicopter pilots had not participated in the recent battle. They had been hiding in the control tower until the helicopter was stolen and left. Each pilot was a key figure, trained at great expense, and their stage was in the sky.

As soon as the refueling and ammunition loading were complete, they would take off and shoot down the stolen helicopter!

Just as the refueling was not yet complete, the sky was filled with the sound of engines again. The helicopter was flying back!

Seeing the panicked Soviet soldiers, the moving vehicles, and the helicopters on the tarmac preparing to take off, Muhammad knew he had come at the right time!

"Fire!" Durani shouted, pulling the trigger of his machine gun.

"Rattling, firing." The ammunition belt slid through the machine gun, and countless bullets flew out, hitting the ground.

One by one, the Soviet soldiers were mowed down by the machine gun, screaming as they fell. Durani continued to push the gun forward, and the bullets flew toward the tarmac.

The armor on the Hind was mainly on the bottom, designed to protect against anti-aircraft fire from below. If the Hind were attacked from above, its resistance was very weak.

On the other side, Aga operated another machine gun, and both sides fired simultaneously. The Soviet soldiers on the ground could not withstand the fire from both sides.

"Boom." A refueling truck next to a helicopter was hit and exploded, engulfing the nearby helicopter in flames.

"Soviets, taste the power of the Afghan guerrillas!" The other guerrillas were not idle. They pulled the pins on their grenades and threw them from the sky.

"Boom, boom!" Explosions and machine gun fire were everywhere, and the Soviets tasted the pain of being attacked from the air.

The sky was beginning to lighten as dawn approached.

Several helicopters on the tarmac were destroyed. Muhammad pressed the control stick, intending to fly over again for another round before leaving. However, when he looked out the side window, his eyes suddenly stopped.

Several armored vehicles were quickly approaching. From the direction, they were coming from the Kabul area. The chassis of these vehicles resembled ordinary tracked vehicles, but on top was a large turret with four relatively thin barrels, and behind the turret was a mushroom-like structure.

Damn, this thing is the real killer, the nightmare of the Afghan guerrillas!

The ZSU-23-4 Shilka 23mm quad-barreled self-propelled anti-aircraft gun!

The Shilka was the first all-weather, fully automatic multi-barreled self-propelled anti-aircraft gun in the Soviet arsenal. The system consists of an improved AZP 23mm quad-barreled automatic cannon, an enclosed turret, a GM575 chassis, and a radar fire control system. It was the first self-propelled anti-aircraft gun in the Soviet Union and the world, with fierce firepower and advanced technology.

During the 1973 Yom Kippur War in the Middle East, according to Arab coalition statistics, one-third of the over 300 Israeli aircraft lost were shot down by the Shilka.

In the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the Shilka played a versatile role. Since the guerrillas had no aircraft, it was not used to shoot down planes but to attack the guerrillas in the mountains.

Due to its large elevation and depression angles, when ambushed by guerrillas on high mountains, it could quickly fire back, covering the guerrillas' positions with a heavy rain of bullets. Meanwhile, the heavy T-62 tanks were still searching for suitable firing positions, unable to fire due to angle limitations.

If Muhammad could fully operate the armed helicopter, he could use the missiles on the sides to destroy those self-propelled guns. But now, he had only one choice: run as far as possible! The 23mm anti-aircraft guns could easily tear through the Hind’s armor and cause it to explode in mid-air.

Just as Muhammad pushed the control stick, the Shilka self-propelled guns stopped, the turrets rotated, and the barrels tilted upward. The four 23mm barrels fired a dense curtain of bullets, and countless bullets whizzed toward the Hind in the sky.

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