Archie to SAM: A Short Operational History of Ground-Based Air ...

OPERATIONS BETWEEN VIETNAM AND THE PERSIAN GULF
radar to guide its initial flight and rapidly changed frequencies
and then homed in on its prey using heat-seeking sensors. Perhaps
more important, it employed radar frequencies outside of
the range covered by Israeli ECM. (The SA-6 used a filter, as did
the SA-7, to counter the use of flares intended to decoy its infrared
sensor.) Its slant range of 17–25 miles is comparable to
the SA-2’s and the SA-3’s; additionally, the SA-6 can kill aircraft
flying at low altitudes. Therefore, the combination of newness,
mobility, high speed, sophisticated guidance, and low-altitude
capability gave the SA-6 great potential. While it did not produce
the 97-percent kill rate promised by the Soviets, it downed many
aircraft and forced IAF aircraft into Arab AAA, especially the
ZSU-23. 7
The ZSU-23-4 was a very effective AAA piece (fig. 68). Mounted
on a PT-76 tank chassis, its four 23 mm barrels could fire at
a maximum rate of 4,000 shots per minute, although gunners
never just held the trigger down but instead were trained to
fire in short bursts of 75 or so rounds. Radar with a 12-mile
Figure 68. ZSU-23.The ZSU-23-4 proved an unpleasant surprise for Israeli
aircraft in the 1973 Middle East War. It mounted four 23 mm cannons
guided by radar on a tracked vehicle. (Reprinted from US Army Air Defense
Museum.)
151