@Obi-won

5 months ago

The famous (and classic) Mil Mi-24 "Hind" helicopter stemmed from a Soviet Cold-War requirement for a heavily armed and armored transport helicopter following in the mold of the equally famous American Bell UH-1 "Huey" model. American activity in the Vietnam War considering their helicopter usage directly influenced the form and function of the Soviet design, developing one of the most iconic aircraft of its time. The type went on to see combat operations throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s and continues on in a more assault-oriented role even today - despite its Cold War upbringing. The Hind remains a feared, flexible and proven battlefield implement. Its strengths have been formulated into the more potent Mil Mi-28 "Havoc" which is currently seeing deliveries to the Russian Army. While the Mi-28 is a more dedicated anti-tank platform developed specifically to combat enemy armor with crew and systems survivability as a priority, the Mi-24 - its days appearing numbered - still finds a use on the battlefields of today. Origins and Development Following the end of hostilities that was the Korean War, attention turned to the evolving nature of the battlefield as it related to the helicopter. The Korean War saw the first large-scale use of the helicopter in a variety of roles and the Soviet Army lacked any viable use of the vehicle type. War across Europe - should the Cold War ever go hot - would involve the coordination of thousands of troops coupled with air support and ground support to wage an effective war along multiple fronts. While armored vehicle carriers certainly had their place in Soviet doctrine, thought was given to move mechanized warfare into a new category by delivering a heavily armed assault helicopter capable of transporting combat-ready personnel into critical situations. Various designs were tossed about with the Soviet firm of Mil heading the initiative. American involvement in the Vietnam War ushered in the new and viable concept of the armed helicopter as both transport and gunnery platform and Soviet authorities were convinced of a similar design. The Soviets initially took to arming their Mil Mi-4 "Hound" helicopters for the role but this was nothing more than an interim attempt. Mil - with founder Mikhail Mil in the lead role himself - eventually was tabbed for the endeavor and the ground work was laid for a competing armed helicopter of Soviet origin. The formal Soviet request occurred on May 6th, 1968 for a heavily armed and armored, twin-engine helicopter of great capability an survivability. The official Mil design (to be known as the Mi-24) was signed off in February of 1969. Development of the new helicopter essentially stemmed from the strengths of Mil's preceding product - the Mi-8 "Hip". This included the engine arrangement as well as a slightly-modified main rotor attached to a two-person cockpit ahead of a passenger cabin. The fuselage was all-new in its design approach, intended to provide a much smaller head-on target to the enemy. The cockpit design saw the pilot and co-pilot seated in tandem under a joined glass cockpit, heavily framed and boxy in appearance. First flight of a prototype occurred on September 19th, 1969, this days after a tethered prototype went airborne. These prototypes were eventually joined y ten developmental vehicles which eventually culminated in evaluations beginning June of 1970. This produced several design changes to the original arrangement (including flipping the direction of the tail rotor and adding the Hind-style ordnance-carrying wings to the mix). The type was finally accepted for serial production and formally introduced into Soviet military service in 1972 - beginning the legacy of what would become the most remembered and identifiable Soviet military machine of the Cold War and staff multitudes of inventories of Warsaw Pact nations. Its initial inception and ultimate global reach became a serious concern to NATO warplanners throughout the Cold War.

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