The Hind is equipped with two turboshaft engines, each with a maximum power of 13-117. Under normal conditions, each outputs only 1,200 kilowatts of power. If one is damaged in battle, the other will run at maximum power to keep the aircraft flying.
In combat, damaging a single engine happens from time to time, but having both engines damaged simultaneously is not that common.
This time, it couldn't exactly be called damage; the engines had simply sucked in too much thick smoke, causing them to stall. They just needed to be restarted.
However, an aerial restart is absolutely not like a car ignition where you just turn a key.
Wind speed, wind direction, and various external conditions are all important reference factors for restarting an engine. At this moment, even if all these conditions were met, Mehad wouldn't have enough time. The violent roll just now had caused the aircraft to lose energy, and it was now only about a dozen meters above the ground.
A dozen meters is an awkward height for any helicopter pilot.
If the altitude is high enough, then during the descent, the top rotor will continue to rotate under the force of the airflow. This rotation reduces the force of the descent, with the rotor providing lift to gradually slow the fall and save the lives of the crew.
If it were even lower, relying on the helicopter's crashworthiness, the landing gear and seats could buffer some of the force, allowing for a narrow escape from death.
As a helicopter pilot, the greatest tragedy is the lack of a parachute. If one were to eject, the rotors overhead would mercilessly shred the pilot into mincemeat.
As the Hind plummeted rapidly, the innocent, smiling face of his daughter appeared before Mehad's eyes.
"Thud!" No massive explosion occurred. Morsant was surprised to find that the aircraft had crashed into a patch of mud. They had miraculously survived, and no explosion had taken place.
allah bless the warriors of Iraq! Mehad opened his eyes. Having survived the ordeal, he thanked the almighty allah.
Rasoul and Shamsuddin watched the massive frame of the Hind plunge straight down, knowing they had finally achieved a kill. Although this helicopter hadn't been shot down by their missile but rather choked down by its smoke, they still felt satisfied. Even if they didn't survive, it was already worth it!
Now, they were immediately faced with a desperate situation.
Seeing a small Cobra brazenly attacking his formation's helicopters, Hariri had long been fuming with rage. Leading his formation, he immediately turned toward three directions around the Cobra.
This Cobra had to be taken out!
Behind the Cobra was Shahid's aircraft No. 4. This was the most advantageous position, so he was the first to launch an attack.
An AT-2 anti-tank missile, trailing a long tongue of flame, detached from the Hind's stub wing and flew toward the solitary Cobra with vengeful fury.
Avenge aircraft No. 3! Shahid had the weapon operator in the front seat fire the missile, but he wasn't satisfied. This type of missile worked well against tanks with poor maneuverability, but for a helicopter that could maneuver quickly—especially vertically—there was always a risk of missing the target.
If it missed, then they would resort to something more brutal: an aerial bayonet fight!
Rasoul and Shamsuddin knew they were in big trouble. They might vanish from this world in the next second.
But as long as there was a shred of hope, they had to give it their all!
Rasoul performed a wobbling S-turn maneuver, attempting to evade the incoming missile. Although he knew it was futile—the enemy had three helicopters, and while he might dodge the first and second with luck, could he dodge the third and fourth?
"Deploy countermeasures!" Rasoul shouted.
Shamsuddin pressed the button, and several infrared flares immediately shot out from the side of the fuselage.
(The Soviet Union's Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters were only equipped with an L-006 Birch radar warning receiver and four ASO-2V02 infrared flare dispensers, each holding 32 flares, later in the Afghanistan war when they constantly faced threats from Stinger missiles. Therefore, the Iraqi Hinds lacked flares. However, the Cobras equipped by Iran were outfitted with infrared flares from the start. This was because the US military had always prioritized electronic warfare capabilities, and the helicopters exported to Iran during their honeymoon period were almost all full-spec models.)
The AT-2 anti-tank missile was also infrared-guided, and in this era, the accuracy of infrared-guided missiles was still not high. They often even chased the sun, pursuing whatever heat source was largest.
Thus, as soon as the flares were released, the missile immediately tracked the trajectory of one and was led away from the rear of the Cobra.
Rasoul's confidence surged. They had 64 flares in total. If they used them sparingly, they might last until the enemy ran out of missiles. Then, there would still be a chance to escape.
That missile was just to toy with you; now comes the real deal. Shahid had now closed the distance to the Cobra, near enough to fire with the cannon!
Firing the missile earlier was just to force the opponent into constant S-turns, which would slow them down and allow him to catch up.
Missiles were inherently unreliable, but the cannon was different.
Beneath the Hind's large nose was a 12.7mm four-barrel "Gatling" machine gun with 700 rounds of ammunition. When this cannon fired, the sound was thunderous. Between every four bullets, there was an armor-piercing round and an incendiary round. Hitting the opponent's weak spot would definitely blow them up in mid-air.
"Rat-tat-tat!" The Hind's nose finally spat fire, fiercely pouring bullets toward the Cobra ahead.
"Bang, bang, bang." Several holes were instantly punched through the rear of the Cobra. Fortunately, they were in non-vital areas.
Accelerate and dive! Rasoul knew that if they kept getting hit, even with armor over the critical components, they wouldn't withstand the fire. Now, only a rapid dive could reduce the probability of being hit.
Rasoul shoved the control stick down hard.
I knew you'd do that! Shahid followed into the dive. This time, the bullets struck the rotor directly with a series of loud bangs.
"Aim for the rotor gearbox and swashplate below." Shahid told the weapon operator in front. The rotors themselves had armor protection and weren't easily damaged, but the mechanical devices beneath them were relatively fragile.
At this time, the two Hinds on either side, aircraft 01 and 02, also closed in on the Cobra. Their lower turrets could rotate left and right, and they flew side-by-side, firing simultaneously. The bullets from all three helicopters rained down on the Cobra together.
Three against one, and still can't bring it down?
Rasoul grew desperate. There was no escape, so he would take one more down with him! He kicked the rudder hard, steering toward the Hind beside him.
Even at a distance of fifty meters, it was extremely dangerous for two helicopters to be so close. If the rotors touched, it would be a tragic crash with no survivors.
Now, Rasoul wanted to collide with the enemy. If he could take down another one, his death would be worth it!
Just then, with a "boom," the Cobra's fuel tank was hit first by aircraft 02 on the right.
Rasoul only felt a burst of fire from behind, followed by being enveloped in a searing heat. He lost consciousness in an instant.
Having taken out the Cobra that had suddenly appeared, Hariri found it very strange. What was the opponent doing lurking here?
Perhaps there really was a hidden secret in this marshland. However, it had just rained heavily, and no matter how capable the enemy's armored groups were, they couldn't fly over.
With more than half the fuel consumed, Hariri decided to return.
On the surface, today's battle looked like a one-to-one draw. However, everyone knew that they had lost this aerial duel between helicopters. With four of their own against one of the enemy's, they had actually been ambushed and lost one aircraft, two pilots, plus two additional rescue personnel.
Flying to the crash site, Jaber first saw that the downed Hind hadn't exploded but had plunged headfirst into the marsh. On top of that massive rotor, a person was standing and waving at them.
They weren't dead!
Those who have experienced the fires of war care about the lives of their comrades. Now, seeing their comrades had survived, how could they not feel overjoyed?