The multi-layered fire of the 2K12 and ZSU-23-4 combination caused the Israeli air force to suffer heavy casualties during the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
The Israeli Air Force was considered the dominant force in the Middle East during the 1960s. During the Six Day War in 1967, Israel lost 46 planes and 24 pilots, but shot down nearly 400 enemy aircraft and tested Controlled the sky just hours after the conflict broke out.
However, during the Yom Kippur War of 1973, the Egyptian-Syrian Coalition deployed effective anti-aircraft tactics, causing the Israeli Air Force to experience the darkest and most deadly moments in history, according to WATM.
On October 6, 1973, in the hope of regaining the lost territory to Israel in a six year war, Egypt and Syria launched a coordinated campaign against Israel. Beaten by surprise, the Israeli army has let Egypt's advance into the Sinai Peninsula, and is dislodged by the Syrians from the Golan Heights, the two areas they captured earlier.
Military expert Harold Hutchison said that the Egyptian-Syrian Joint Alliance understands Israel's military superiority, especially its highly experienced, modern air force. Thus, during the Yom Kippur War, the two countries adopted the anti-aircraft defense strategy, combining the 2K12 "Kub" air defense missile and the ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" , to protect the infantry against the attack of an Israeli fighter.
The 2K12 Kub medium-range air defense system was designed by the Soviet Union in 1959, before mass production in the period 1968-1985. A 2K12 vehicle consists of four combat vehicles, each equipped with three missiles, and four trucks carrying 12 rounds of ammunition and an ammunition system. All combat vehicles and radar stations are mounted on the crawler platform, which increases the maneuverability of complex terrain, easily protects armor and improves enemy combat.
The 1S91 radar of the 2K12 complex includes 1S11 ground-based radars and 1S31 ground-based radar, as well as an IFF and optical capture channel. 1S91 was thought to be capable of detecting targets from a distance of 75 km and began firing within 28 km.
The 9M336 missile is equipped with a near-missile and near miss, with an effective range of 24 km and a maximum altitude of 14 km. The ammunition uses a propulsion system with a solid fuel accelerator, after the fuel burns out, the hollow chamber becomes a combustion chamber for the ramjet. This design is considered to be ahead of the times, surpassing the West's contemporary anti-aircraft missiles. The 9M336 can reach a top speed of 3,460 km / h, enough to threaten any modern fighter.
Meanwhile, the ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" is considered one of the world's most dangerous low-level airbases. ZSU stands for "self-propelled artillery system", 23 is a caliber in mm, while 4 is the number of cannon on each combination.
lua-lua-phong-khong-khong-quan-israel-om-han-nam-1973-1
A Syrians Shilka was disabled during the Yom Kippur War. Picture: Wikipedia.
Each ZSU-23-4 weighs 19 tons, using the GM-575 crawler chassis with 9 to 15 mm thick steel armor. Shilka's main weapon is four 23 mm caliber 2A7 cannons, led by RPK-2 "Tobol" radar. The 23 mm gun range has an effective range of 2.5 km and a maximum firing rate of 4,000 rpm.
The Israeli Air Force is renowned for its low-altitude flying tactics to avoid radar and air-to-air missiles, and then unexpectedly raids on important enemy positions. However, during the Yom Kippur War, the tactical combination of tactics between the 2K12 and the ZSU-23-4 led to heavy losses for Tel Aviv. Israel lost 109 aircraft of all sorts in just 18 days, of which six were shot down to kill a Syrian anti-aircraft gun.
The 2K12 system is highly maneuverable, ready to fight within 15 minutes of deployment. This allowed the Egyptian-Syrian Armed Forces to deploy 2K12s in various locations to create mobile air defense instead of fixed in some battles such as the S-75 missile in 1967.
The Israeli Air Force was forced to operate at extremely low altitude, to avoid locking the target and firing on the 2K12. However, this action left the aircraft in the range of the ZSU-23-4, which was arranged along the route the Israeli fighter could fly over.
Despite the heavy losses and limited operational efficiency of the air force, the Israeli army continued to win the war in Yom Kippur. Drawing on the experience of this "hug", the Israeli air force won overwhelming victory in the 1982 conflict, killing 64 aircraft and destroying 17 Syrian air defense complexes without any damage.
Duy Son
