Guerrilla air defense.pdf

James "Doc" Crabtree

Contents

Guerrilla Air Defense:

Antiaircraft Weapons and Techniques for Guerrilla Forces

by James "Doc" Crabtree

ISBN 0-87364-880-3

Printed in thc United States of America

Chapter 1

AirThreat

Chapter 2

Passive Air Defense

Chapter 3

Active Air Defense

Chapter 4

Flak Traps

Chapter 5

Dedicated Antiaircraft Weapons... 57

Guerrilla Air Defense

Chapter 6

Improvised Antiaircraft

Weapons

Appendix A

Problems of Antiaircraft

Gunnery

Appendix B

Problems of Missile Gunnery

Appendix C

A Selected Chronology of

Guerrilla Improvised

Air Defense

Warning

The Information in this book is presented for his-

torical reference and academic study only. The author,

publisher, and distributors of this book disclaim any

liability and assume no responsibility for the use or

misuse of the Information herein.

vii

Chapter 1

The Air Threat

In the 20th Century, air power has come to play

important roles in warfare. Air transport, intercep-

tion, reconnaissance, and Strategie taombing are just

a few of the missions carried out by aircraft. Of prima-

ry concern to the guerrilla are the roles of counterin-

surgency (COIN) and close air support (CAS).

The British pioneered the practice of using aircraft

against guerrillas following World War I. Using aircraft,

they were able to police up their huge colonial empire

against the threat of native uprisings in the Middle

East. Bombing and strafing natives far from the cities

and forts effectively crushed their resistance.

In recent years, helicopters, tacticaljets, and even

some propeller aircraft have been employed to fight

insurgents. In South West Africa and Angola, South

Guerrilla Air Defense

The Air Threat

African helicopters and paratroop aircraft were used

in concert to fight South West African People's

Organization (SWAPO) insurgents. In Argentina, the

government employed specially designed twin-turbo-

prop Pucara COIN aircraft against guerrillas. And, of

course, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics'

(USSR's) war in Afghanistan led to the massive use of

attack helicopters and close air support jets to attack

Mujihadeen guerrillas in a variety of ways, using

rockets, bombs, air-dropped mines, and helicopter

assault troops.

The lesson for the guerrilla is clear: air power must

be recognized as a factor in the struggle. The govern-

ment against which the insurgency is struggling will

have the advantage of comparatively vast resources at

its disposal, including army aviation and air force

assets. And even small numbers of aircraft can have a

great impact on the struggle. Let's look at how aircraft

are employed against the guerrilla.

Aircraft can be used to locate insurgents, either

through high-altitude reconnaissance or low-level

observation. There is little the guerrilla can do about

high-altitude spy aircraft and, in fact, it is often wise

to leave low-altitude scouts alone as well. Unless the

scout aircraft can be brought down with certainty, all

the guerrilla will be doing is giving away his position.

Passive air defense measures are the best means of

protecting insurgent forces against scout aircraft.

Many countries now use remotely piloted vehicles

(RPVs)—sometimes called unmanned aerial vehicles,

or UAVs—to conduct battlefield reconnaissance.

These radio-controlled aircraft are easily recognized—

they are small and often similar in appearance to

large remote-controlled model planes. Most are prop

fixed-wing modeis, although some modeis have jet

engines or are rotary-winged in design.

RPVs can be used to fly patterns over a suspect area.

A sure sign that an RPV has spotted something is a

break in its flight pattern in response to the Controllers

desire to get a better look at something. Television cam-

eras relay real time images back to the RPV Controller,

giving him a picture of the battlefield without exposing

him to danger. The RPVs small size makes it difficult to

hit and, once again, firing at them only serves to draw

unwanted attention to guerrilla positions.

Some airborne scouts do pose a direct threat, how-

ever. RPVs or small scouting aircraft might be

employed as forward air Controllers (FACs) that call in

artillery fire or strike aircraft to hit insurgent positions.

They usually operate with enemy ground forces to pro-

vide direct support. These aircraft orbit above the bat-

tlefield, making wide circles or racetrack patterns, but

they are known to break the pattern and mark targets

from the air using smoke or flares. If FACs foolishly

stick to a set pattern, it is easier to engage them.

Infiltration is another purpose for which govern-

ment or invasion forces use air power in counterin-

surgency operations. Aircraft are used to insert

scouts to look for guerrillas on the ground far from

areas under enemy control and with a minimum

Chance of detection. These operations are often per-

formed at night when regular military forces will have

the advantage of night Vision devices.

The enemy may use air assault, in which heliborne

troops are quickly inserted into an area of operations

by rappelling from the helicopter or using "fast

ropes," which are Special sleeved ropes soldiers can

grip and slide down. If conditions at the landing zone

permit, the helicopters may opt to land and discharge

their troops, or the enemy may mount an airborne

Operation. This is the insertion of paratroopers—

either overtly or covertly—into the area of operations.

There are many missions such troops could perform.

And finally, there is the direct attack against insur-

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