Chapter 45: Super Bazooka

Zhang Dabiao happily picked up a wooden-handled grenade, tossed it in his hand, and said, "We're very familiar with this kind! And judging by the weight, its firepower must be considerable!"

Xu Gaoxiang nodded. "That's right. The grenades everyone usually uses are modeled after this design."

"This is the German M24 stick grenade, an offensive, long-range fragmentation grenade. As you've all probably noticed, compared to your standard grenades, this one is longer and the explosive head is larger. That's because its explosive charge is 100 grams of TNT!"

"Abroad, it goes by the nickname: the high-explosive stick grenade!"

Xu Gaoxiang motioned for Zhang Dabiao to walk a bit further away before throwing the grenade.

There was no need to explain how to use it, as everyone was already quite proficient. Zhang Dabiao unscrewed the end cap, gripped the pull cord, and gave it a sharp yank. Instantly, a wisp of blue smoke drifted from the base of the wooden handle.

Winding his arm back, Zhang Dabiao used all his strength and hurled the grenade far into the distance, where it landed in a dry riverbed.

"Boom!" With a violent explosion, dirt and rock fragments flew four to five meters into the air.

Li Yunlong laughed happily. "Hahaha, this is fantastic! Damn it, it packs the punch of an infantry gun. I'll never have to use those Border Region-made grenades that split right in half when they blow up again!"

Xu Gaoxiang patted the remaining wooden crates. "There are six hundred M24 grenades in here. That should be enough for you lot for a while."

At that moment, Li Yunlong noticed some more wooden crates stacked at the very edge. Compared to the other weapon crates, these were exceptionally long.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Li Yunlong asked, "Brother Xu, what kind of weapon is inside these?"

Xu Gaoxiang took a look and laughed. "Ah, these are good things I specifically prepared for you, Old Li. I'm sure you've never laid eyes on them before!"

This time, Xu Gaoxiang beckoned to Arnold to open the wooden crate, and pulled out a dark, barrel-like weapon that was both long and thick.

Both ends resembled flared trumpet horns, with a distinct protruding connection in the middle.

The front tube was a simple, smooth-bore seamless steel pipe, weighing about 2 kilograms, with a trumpet-shaped flame shield welded to the muzzle. Fixing rings and front sights were welded onto the exterior of the tube, and a connecting lug was welded to the rear, which matched an annular slot on the front end of the rear tube to secure the two launch tube sections together.

The rear tube weighed about 4.3 kilograms, and its main body was likewise a seamless steel pipe.

However, its structure was much more complex. The front end had a welded slot, the tail was welded with a flared protective collar, and the lower front section featured a welded grip and guard. Housed within the grip were an electromagnetic ignition generator and a large trigger.

Behind the grip, on the left side of the tube body, was a foldable sight. Below the middle of the tube body was a large shoulder rest made of bent steel plate, secured to the tube by two clamps with butterfly nuts.

These clamps also served to hold the wires in place, and a rocket baffle and wire connection fixture were welded near the top of the tube's rear end.

Li Yunlong and Zhang Dabiao crowded around, staring in astonishment as they looked over this large artillery tube.

The soldiers also gazed with wonder and bewilderment at this strange weapon.

"Brother Xu, is this... a cannon?!"

Xu Gaoxiang nodded. "You could call it a cannon. This is the M20A1 anti-tank rocket launcher! You can also call it the Super Bazooka!"

"It has a caliber of 88.9 millimeters and a total length of 1.53 meters. The launch tube is designed as a detachable two-piece unit. It fires the M28A2 high-explosive anti-tank round, with an effective range of 540 meters!"

"It's primarily used to deal with enemy tanks and armored targets, though taking out pillboxes and fortified positions is no problem either!"

"When firing the M28A2 HEAT round, the muzzle velocity exceeds 100 meters per second, and its armor-penetration capability is 279 millimeters!"

"To put it mildly, against those thin-skinned little devil tin-can tanks, a single rocket leaves nothing behind but pieces!"

Xu Gaoxiang patted the rocket launcher. "Because you're preparing to relocate, Old Li, and for the sake of convenience, I didn't prepare any artillery pieces for you. Just take this to tide you over for now—it should be more than enough as a breakthrough weapon!"

Looking at this magnificent baby, Li Yunlong was utterly ecstatic, beyond overjoyed. "Hahaha, what a fantastic piece of kit! This is artillery brought right to the shoulder. With this, I'm going to take the county town!"

Li Yunlong instantly realized that with this shoulder-fired weapon, their old combat methods could be discarded. No longer would his men have to risk life and limb hugging explosive charges and rushing right up to the enemy.

Moreover, compared to infantry and mountain guns that required multiple crew members, this Super Bazooka could be carried and run with by a single man. It was simply too convenient and flexible.

Its concealment was also exceptionally high; you could never guess from which corner a rocket launcher might suddenly pop out. Li Yunlong's mind was already filled with images of the little devils losing their minds as they were blown sky-high.

Before Zhang Dabiao could eagerly reach out to take the Super Bazooka, Li Yunlong enthusiastically shoved him aside. "Dabiao, you take a rest for a moment. Let me have the first taste of it!"

Zhang Dabiao's hands were itching to get hold of it as well. "Hey, Regiment Commander, you'd better let me do it. It won't do if you end up getting hurt."

Seeing Li Yunlong and Zhang Dabiao pushing and jostling each other, Xu Gaoxiang chuckled. "Hahaha, the two of you don't need to fight over it. This rocket launcher is generally operated by a two-man team—one is responsible for aiming and firing, and the other is responsible for loading the rocket."

"Old Li, you take charge of carrying the launcher and aiming, and Company Commander Zhang, I'll teach you how to load the rocket!"

Xu Gaoxiang raised his voice to address the surrounding soldiers, "Take a good look, everyone! Getting your Battalion Commander Li to act as a demonstration model is a rare sight indeed!"

"Hahaha..." The soldiers burst into happy laughter.

"Trying to make a laughingstock out of me is quite impossible," Li Yunlong said unyieldingly as he took the Super Bazooka and hoisted it onto his shoulder.

"Hey, it's actually pretty light!" Li Yunlong shrugged, shifting his body slightly. It was unexpectedly lightweight!

Taking the opportunity, Xu Gaoxiang began his explanation. "Look everyone, there is a bipod here, which can provide support when firing from the prone position or from a trench. When firing prone, you must remember to shift your body slightly to the side to avoid getting burned by the rocket's exhaust plume!"

Li Yunlong cooperated by lowering and folding back the bipod.

Xu Gaoxiang pointed to the trigger. "Inside this trigger is an electromagnetic generator. As long as you pull the trigger, it generates an electrical current."

"Then it travels along this wire to the electrode," Xu Gaoxiang's finger traced along the side of the launcher to a small electrode at the rear.

"Company Commander Zhang, please pick up the rocket." Xu Gaoxiang then had Zhang Dabiao take out an M28A2 high-explosive anti-tank round and hold it high.

He also had Liu Bao retrieve another rocket and hand it to the soldiers to pass around and examine among themselves.

"Before loading, you must first remove the safety band and the short-circuit clip from the round!"

Following Xu Gaoxiang's instructions, Zhang Dabiao removed the safety band and short-circuit clip, walked over to Li Yunlong's side, pressed the barrier tab, and inserted the rocket from the rear of the launcher.

With a crisp "click," the rocket was locked into place. Zhang Dabiao carefully picked up a thin metal wire from the tail of the rocket and wound it around the electrode at the rear of the launcher.

Preparation was complete. Choosing the standing firing position, Li Yunlong hoisted the Super Bazooka onto his shoulder and strode a distance away.

"Right here!" Li Yunlong selected his target: a smooth rock face more than two hundred meters away, consisting of an exposed mountain boulder five or six meters high.

Normally, against a massive boulder like that, even machine gun bullets would only chip off fragments the size of a fingernail.

The little devils' pillboxes and blockhouses were truly not as solid as this mountain boulder.