https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mil_Mi-24
The Mil Mi-24 (NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack
helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for eight passengers. It
is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and has been operated since 1972 by
the Soviet Air Force and its successors, along with more than 30 other nations.
In NATO circles, the export versions, Mi-25 and Mi-35, are denoted with a letter
suffix as "Hind D" and "Hind E". Soviet pilots called the Mi-24 the "flying
tank" (letayushchiy tank), a term used historically with the famous World War II
Soviet Il-2 Shturmovik armored ground attack aircraft. More common unofficial
nicknames were "Crocodile" (Krokodil), due to the helicopter's camouflage scheme
and "Drinking Glass" (??????; Stakan), because of the flat glass plates that
surround earlier Mi-24 variants' cockpits.
The core of the aircraft was derived from the Mil Mi-8 (NATO reporting name
"Hip") with two top-mounted turboshaft engines driving a mid-mounted 17.3 m
five-blade main rotor and a three-blade tail rotor. The engine configuration
gave the aircraft its distinctive double air intake. Original versions have an
angular greenhouse-style cockpit; Model D and later have a characteristic tandem
cockpit with a "double bubble" canopy. Other airframe components came from the
Mi-14 "Haze". Two mid-mounted stub wings provide weapon hardpoints, each
offering three stations, in addition to providing lift. The loadout mix is
mission dependent; Mi-24s can be tasked with close air support, anti-tank
operations, or aerial combat.
The Mi-24 fuselage is heavily armored and can resist impacts from 12.7 mm (0.50
in) rounds from all angles. The titanium rotor blades are also resistant to 12.7
mm rounds. The cockpit is protected by ballistic-resistant windscreens and a
titanium-armored tub. The cockpit and crew compartment are overpressurized to
protect the crew in NBC conditions.
Role
Attack helicopter with transport capabilities
National origin
Soviet Union/Russia
Manufacturer
Mil
First flight
19 September 1969
Introduction
1972
Status
In service
Primary users
Russian Air Force
ca. 50 other users (see Operators section below)
Produced
Number built
2,300 (estimated)
Developed from
Mil Mi-8
Flight characteristics
Considerable attention was given to making the Mi-24 fast. The airframe was
streamlined, and fitted with retractable tricycle undercarriage landing gear to
reduce drag. At high speed, the wings provide considerable lift (up to a quarter
compensate for translating tendency at a hover. The landing gear was also tilted
to the left so that the rotor would still be level when the aircraft was on the
ground, making the rest of the airframe tilt to the left. The tail was also
asymmetrical to give a side force at speed, thus unloading the tail rotor.
A modified Mi-24B, named A-10, was used in several speed and time-to-climb world
record attempts. The helicopter had been modified to reduce weight as much as
record set on 13 August 1975 over a closed 1000 km course of 332.65 km/h (206.7
mph) still stands, as do many of the female-specific records set by the
all-female crew of Galina Rastorguyeva and Lyudmila Polyanskaya. On 21 September
1978, the A-10 set the absolute speed record for helicopters with 368.4 km/h
(228.9 mph) over a 15/25 km course. The record stood until 1986, when it was
broken by the current official record holder, a modified Westland Lynx.
Comparison to Western helicopters
As a combination of armoured gunship and troop transport, the Mi-24 has no
direct NATO counterpart. While the UH-1 ("Huey") helicopters were used in the
Vietnam War either to ferry troops, or as gunships, they were not able to do
both at the same time. Converting a UH-1 into a gunship meant stripping the
entire passenger area to accommodate extra fuel and ammunition, and removing its
troop transport capability. The Mi-24 was designed to do both, and this was
Blackhawk, which used many of the same design principles and was also built as a
high-speed, high-agility attack helicopter with limited troop transport
capability using many components from the existing Sikorsky S-61. The S-67,
however, was never adopted for service. Other Western equivalents are the
Romanian Army's IAR 330, which is a licence-built armed version of the
purpose armed variant of the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk. The Hind has been called
the world's only "assault helicopter" due to its combination of firepower and
troop-carrying capability.
Attrition in Afghanistan
From 1986, the CIA began supplying the Afghan rebels with newer Stinger
shoulder-launched, heat-seeking SAMs. These were a marked improvement over
earlier weapons, and while their actual military impact was not irrelevant,
their real value was their demoralization and deterrent value against air power,
and their propaganda worth to anti-Soviet groups. The Stinger missile locked on
to infra-red emissions from the aircraft, particularly engine exhaust, and was
resistant to interference from decoy flares. Countermeasure flares and missile
warning systems were later installed in all Soviet Mil Mi-2, Mi-8, and Mi-24
helicopters, giving pilots a chance to evade the missile. Heat dissipaters were
also fitted to exhausts to decrease the Mi-24's heat signature. Tactical and
doctrinal changes were introduced to make it harder for the enemy to deploy
these weapons effectively. These reduced the Stinger threat, but did not
eliminate it.
Initially, the attack doctrine of the Mi-24 was to approach its target from high
altitude and dive downwards. After the introduction of the Stinger, doctrine
changed to "nap of the earth" flying, where they approached very low to the
ground and engaged more laterally, popping up to only about 200 ft (61 m) in
order to aim rockets or cannons.
Mi-24s were also used to shield jet transports flying in and out of Kabul from
Stingers. The gunships carried flares to blind the heat-seeking missiles. The
crews called themselves "Mandatory Matrosovs", after a Soviet hero of the Second
World War who threw himself across a German machine gun to let his comrades
break through.
According to Russian sources, 74 helicopters were lost, including 27 shot down
by Stinger and two by Redeye. In many cases, however, the helicopters, thanks to
their armour and the durability of construction, withstood significant damage
and were able to return to base.
Specifications (Mi-24)
General characteristics
Capacity: 8 troops or 4 stretchers or 2400 kg (5,291 lb) cargo on an external
sling
Length: 17.5 m (57 ft 4 in)
Rotor diameter: 17.3 m (56 ft 7 in)
Wingspan: 6.5 m (21 ft 3 in)
Height: 6.5 m (21 ft 3 in)
Disc area: 235 m2 (2,530 ft2)
Empty weight: 8,500 kg (18,740 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 12,000 kg (26,500 lb)
Performance
Maximum speed: 335 km/h (208 mph)
Range: 450 km (280 miles)
Service ceiling: 4,900 m (16076 ft)
ArmamentInternal gunsflexible 12.7 mm Yakushev-Borzov Yak-B Gatling gun on most
variants. Maximum of 1,470 rounds of ammunition.
fixed twin-barrel GSh-30K on the Mi-24P. 750 rounds of ammunition.
flexible twin-barrel Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23L on the Mi-24VP and Mi-24VM. 450
rounds of ammunition.
PKB passenger compartment window mounted machine guns
External storesTotal payload is 1,500 kg of external stores.
Inner hardpoints can carry at least 500 kg
Outer hardpoints can carry up to 250 kg
Wing-tip pylons can only carry the 9M17 Phalanga (in the Mi-24A-D) or the 9K114
Shturm complex (in the Mi-24V-F).
Bomb-loadBombs within weight range (presumably ZAB, FAB, RBK, ODAB etc.), Up to
500 kg.
KGMU2V submunition/mine dispenser pods
First-generation armament (standard production Mi-24D)GUV-8700 gunpod (with a
UB-32 S-5 rocket launchers
S-24 240 mm rocket
9M17 Fleyta (a pair on each wingtip pylon)
Second-generation armament (Mi-24V, Mi-24P and most upgraded Mi-24D)UPK-23-250
gunpod carrying the GSh-23L
B-8V20 a lightweight long tubed helicopter version of the S-8 rocket launcher
9K114 Shturm in pairs on the outer and wingtip pylons
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