Kargil Special: How Bofors became 'boon' for the Indian Army?
Kargil, July 25: The moment one hears about Bofors, it reminds most people about the Bofors scam that had rattled the political history in 1980s and gave it a new turn.
But the same controversial Bofors howitzers will, one day, chart a new chapter by strengthening the Indian Army during the 199 Kargil war and will lead to its victory by giving it "an edge", nobody could have imagined it.
During India-Pakistan Kargil conflict, when the Indian army was going through a tough phase, then the Sweden-made Bofors weapons came to the rescue of the Indian soldiers.
Bofors behind Tololing victory
On June 12th and June 13th, the Indian army had recaptured the Tololing hills range from the Pakistani intruders.
Pakistani intruders were targetting the Indian posts and logistics supplies by hiding behind the Tololing range, so, winning there was a crucial moment for the Indian army.
They were trying to weaken the Indian army by targeting more and more jawans and also by attacking at the NH-1, to take control of the Tololing range.
Then the Indian army used Bofors guns to launch counter attacks at the Pakistani intruders and its troops.
OneIndia at Kargil: Follow exclusives
Here, lets take a look at the pics of Bofors missiles to know more about what role it played during the Kargil war:
Features of Bofors
Bofors deployment during the Kargil war was one of the best steps taken by the Indian army.It can target the enemy upto the range of 42 kms and its barrel can move around till 70 degree angle.
Bofors can even kill enemy hiding underground
It was very easy for enemies to hide behind Dras mountains, but Bofors has the potential to even target the hiding enemy inside the bunkers.
Dual engine in Bofors
Bofors has the dual engine of Mercedes and has less than 68 horsepower. Every engine has a fuel capacity of 22 litres.
How were enemies hiding?
During the Kargil war, the intuders were hiding so cleverly that the Indian army soldiers had no idea from where were they attacking.
Bofors became a boon
Bofors acted as a boon to the Indian army as it attacked various Pakistani posts.
Bofors attacked Pak bunkers
Bofors missiles helped in smashing Pak posts and their bunkers behind mountain ranges.