A flame spurted out from the back of the rocket launcher, and then, with a gorgeous tail flame, the rocket flew forward along a graceful trajectory.
This is a scene from TV, a wonderful shot from a Hollywood blockbuster.
Unfortunately, this kind of shot does not hold true in reality.
The rocket uses a fast-burning propellant. When the rocket comes out of the rocket launcher, it has already burned out, leaving no tail smoke or flame.
The reason why this RPG-7 rocket is so powerful is that when it flies about ten meters, the second-stage propellant will burn, and the burning will be completed in an instant, but it will accelerate the rocket to three hundred meters per second. The huge energy brought by the speed gives this rocket a better armor penetration depth.
"Rocket! There's a rocket on the right! Brake immediately!" At this moment, the commander's periscope just happened to see Muhammad carrying a rocket launcher and aiming, about to fire, and he immediately shouted loudly.
It is impossible to see a rocket with the naked eye, but you can see the person who launched it and destroy it.
If the loader had not died while operating the anti-aircraft machine gun, the anti-aircraft machine gun could have been used to shoot the man carrying the rocket launcher into several pieces.
Because the ambush on the top of the mountain was discovered, the tank moved very fast, almost reaching the maximum off-road speed. Therefore, it was almost impossible to avoid the rockets by accelerating. If acceleration didn't work, then another method had to be used: slowing down!
After the commander shouted "brake", the two people in the turret grabbed the armrests of their seats at the same time.
The driver reacted instinctively and immediately pulled the left and right operating levers backwards.
For tank drivers, the main operations are these two operating levers. When they are pulled halfway, it is steering, and when they are pulled all the way, it is braking on both sides at the same time.
As the driver operated, the brake cylinder under the operating lever pressed the hydraulic oil into the brake belts on both sides of the driving wheel. The brake belts tightly hugged the driving wheel with a burnt smell.
As the driving wheel stopped rotating, the two tracks on both sides also stopped moving. However, under the huge impact force, they actually slid forward flatly.
The nearly forty-ton iron lump quickly stopped. Although the people in the tank were tied tightly to their seats with the help of safety belts, they still felt as excited as if they were riding a roller coaster. Their bodies rushed forward uncontrollably and were pulled by the safety belts, which caused them severe pain.
On the top of the turret, the body of the dead loader rolled down from the top of the turret with the brakes.
Finally dodged that damned rocket, right? Before the commander's eyes could reach the periscope, he felt the vehicle body shake, and a terrible sound entered his ears. Then, he felt extremely hot all over, and the temperature in the entire turret instantly rose by several hundred degrees.
Muhammad quickly ran for a distance, found another stone and hid himself. The location where he had just fired had been discovered, and it was very dangerous to stay there.
After hiding, he quickly reloaded the other rocket he was carrying onto the front end of the rocket launcher.
At this time, he quietly stuck his head out and saw the burning tank. He had successfully hit it again.
Rockets are uncontrolled, and tanks are on the move, so when Muhammad launched rockets, he maintained a certain lead time. The exact amount of lead time depended on the opponent's speed and the time it would take for his rocket to arrive. He had to make a quick estimate in his mind, or to put it more simply, it was determined by experience.
Muhammad's lead time was just right, but he was originally aiming at the back of the turret, but ended up hitting the front of the turret.
Muhammad's war has just begun.
Since the tank company's vehicles were traveling at high speed, when the first tank braked suddenly, the second tank was unable to dodge in time and ended up crashing into it.
The four tanks at the back stopped in time. A tank in the front was destroyed, and guerrillas were rushing over from both sides. It was obvious that this was an ambush carefully planned by the enemy.
The Afghan guerrillas were crazy to dare to rush down and attack their tanks with their flesh and blood. Belikov wanted to kill them immediately, but the mountains on both sides were too steep. He turned the turret and found that neither the artillery nor the coaxial machine gun could reach them for the time being.
The brave tank soldiers were helpless in the face of a dozen Afghan guerrillas, which made Belikov very angry.
"404 reports, 402 was destroyed, the front exit was blocked, I collided with 402, and the cooling water in the radiator leaked. I'm afraid I can't hold on for a few minutes." The commander of 404 shouted.
Damn, the exit ahead is blocked. What should I do? Turn back? Or force my way through?
The T-62 does not have the ability to turn on the spot, that is, if the two tracks rotate in opposite directions, the tank will turn 180 degrees on the spot, and then it can quickly escape along the way it came. Now, it can only achieve its goal by combining forward and backward movements. Not to mention whether the site allows it, even the time does not allow it. In a few minutes, the 404 will lose power due to engine overheating.
"404, go around 402 and rush out of the valley. Pay attention to the rocket launcher next to you." Belikov ordered.
"But there are huge rocks on both sides, and the road in the middle is blocked by 402, so we can't get through." The captain of 404 shouted anxiously.
"We must go, this is an order." Belikov insisted.
They are tank soldiers, not infantrymen. If the 404 were to abandon their tanks, they would be caught and killed by the Afghan guerrillas.
With the hatch closed, they could only rely on the periscope to observe. The visibility was poor to begin with, and it was quite dangerous to go around the front. However, the crew of 404 also knew that this was an order they had to obey.
They were very lucky to have crashed into the destroyed No. 402 tank without any damage. Now, they hoped to keep this luck. The crew of No. 404 tank were praying in their hearts.
After falling back a little, the driver of 404, regardless of the red light indicating engine overheating, stepped on the accelerator to the bottom, and in the huge black smoke, the tank rushed towards the huge rock on the side.
If the speed is too fast, it will be a violent collision. If the speed is too slow, you won't be able to rush up and it will be difficult to control.
The driver released the accelerator when he was one meter away from the boulder and pulled the left operating lever at the same time.
Slow down, turn, and go up!
When he felt the impact, the driver stepped on the accelerator to the bottom again and shifted into the lowest gear.
Although tanks seem to be able to charge forward recklessly and are invincible, in fact, they cannot travel on all roads and can also overturn.
Now, the driver of 404 is pushing the limits.
After feeling the tank tracks making contact with the boulder, the driver stepped on the accelerator to the hilt. Now, he just had to get up there!
With the roar of the engine, the tracks grabbed the boulder and went up smoothly without slipping.
The driver breathed a sigh of relief. The engine had been overheating, but as long as he could hold on, he would be safe after walking this section of the road and getting out of the valley.
"Crack, crack." At this moment, suddenly, a strange noise came from the engine compartment at the back.
Oops, the engine is too hot, it seems that the piston has stuck in the cylinder! Then the driver saw the engine tachometer in front of him, which dropped sharply and then stopped at zero.
The engine won't turn!
At this time, the center of gravity of the tank has not yet completely reached the boulder. Therefore, the T-62 at this time is like a seesaw, trying to press over it, but failing.
"Be careful!" the captain shouted. They could already feel the vehicle tilting.
"Boom!" After a violent tremor, the T-62 made an intimate contact with the ground.
The car body turned 90 degrees, the left side touched the ground, and the entire car body turned sideways.
The people inside were hit twice in succession, especially the commander, whose head hit the sight hard and he immediately fell unconscious.
"404 overturned." Tank No. 405, which was following behind Tank No. 404, originally wanted to follow, but when he saw the miserable condition of Tank No. 404, he did not continue to follow and reported to the company commander through the radio.
After losing two tanks in succession, Belikov knew that something was wrong.
This damn valley!
The guerrillas on both sides also rushed closer at this time.
The guerrillas were getting closer, and at the same time, our altitude was lower, so we could use the coaxial machine gun to deal with them.
"Retreat, use the parallel machine guns to eliminate the guerrillas on both sides." Belikov shouted on the radio: "Call the infantry unit, call Jalalabad, we need support."
His tank company lost two tanks, and the lone No. 413 tank was probably doomed to fail.
Although Belikov was very unwilling that his company was ambushed by several guerrillas, he had no other choice but to ask for help from above. It would be best to send a helicopter with elite scouts to kill all these guerrillas!
Following Belikov's order, the tank's turret rotated and, at the same time, spewed flames to both sides.
Several guerrillas who rushed forward were immediately hit by machine guns and fell down.
The people behind him immediately fell to the ground and looked for cover nearby.
In their hands, they held some homemade bottles.
These tanks are their target.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Belikov was in the turret and heard the sound of metal colliding outside. He knew that the other party was shooting at his tank with a rifle.
The outside of the tank is made of thick steel. Ordinary bullets still want to shoot his tank? Are these guerrillas crazy?
The four tanks had no turns, and the drivers put the tanks in reverse gear and moved backwards.
While retreating, they continued to attack the guerrillas with their coaxial machine guns.
Suddenly, Belikov found that he could not see anything through his periscope.
Damn it!
Belikov would never forget that there was a sharpshooter in this guerrilla unit, and that sharpshooter cunningly shot down his periscope.
This probability is very low.
The commander had no periscope, but the gunner still had it, and the turret was still rotating. Belikov didn't believe that the other party would be so lucky.
Because Belikov's periscope was broken, he did not see that the guerrillas outside, although lying down, were still crawling forward, holding some glass bottles in their hands.