MIL Mi-24D 'Hind'

Registration: 421 / 96+26
Country of origin: Russia
Built: Soviet Union, 1981
Manufacturer: MiL Helicopters
Constructor's Number: 110159
Engine: Two 2200shp Klimov TV3-117 turboshaft engines

Type: Two plus eight seat attack helicopter

Note: The M-24D Hind was the most heavily armed attack helicopter of the Cold War. This one served in the East German Army prior to unification with West Germany in 1991..

Details: The Mi-24 is a twin-engine Russian helicopter gunship developed as an anti-tank attack helicopter in the early 1970s for operation against NATO armoured forces on the mostly flat and open plains of Eastern Europe and Russia. This example was operated by the former East German (NVA) Army at Basepohl North East of Berlin prior to reunification, and then by HFLG-80 of the German Air Force until disbanded in 1992.

Designed by Soviet designer Mikhail Mil and developed from the Mi-8. It has a crew of two in tandem cockpits and can carry 8 troops in the internal cabin. Firepower includes a 4-barrel 12.7mm Yak-B Gatling gun and 7.62mm machine gun. External hardpoints on the external winglets can carry rocket pods, bombs and anti-tank missiles making it a formidable fighting machine.

Named "Hind" by NATO, it entered service with Soviet forces in 1970 and was used extensively during the 1980-89 Soviet-Afghan War, Iran-Iraq War, Gulf War in 1991, in Coatia, Kosovo, Chechnya, Crimea and in Syria. 2,648 have been built and used by the Russian Air Force and 48 other nations. Export versions Mi-25 and Mi-35 are known as Hind D and Hind E. The Mi-35 version is still in production.

In 1975 a modified version set up a new world speed record of 368.4 km/h (228.9mph) which stood until 1986 when the current record holder a Westland Lynx G-LYNX (here in the Helicopter Museum) broke the record at 400.87 km/h (249.09 mph).

Larger than contemporary Western attack helicopters, the Hind also differs in having a troop cabin available for casualty evacuation, troop insertion and similar roles. The pilot (rear) and weapons operator (front) sit in an armoured nose section, which features the turreted 12.7mm multi-barrel machine gun and under nose radar and missile sighting systems. As a combination of gunship and troop transport, the Mi-24 has no direct NATO counterpart. The airframe is streamlined and fitted with a retractable undercarriage to reduce drag. The cockpits are protected by ballistic-resistant windscreens and are titanium-armoured.

Performance:
Max Speed: 335km/h (208 mph)
Empty Weight: 8200kg (18078 lb)
Range: 500 km (310 miles)
Capacity/Load: 11 persons / 3800kg (8377 lb)
Power: 2 x 2225 shp Isotov TV3-117 turboshaft
Weapons: 1x 127 mm 4-barrel machine gun with 1450 rounds, 4x anti-tank missiles, 4 x rocket pods (32 x 57mm rockets ea.) or alternative pods each housing 1x 23mm cannon or 1x 12.7mm and 2x 7.62mm machine guns or 1x 30mm grenade launcher or 1500kg bombs etc. Provision for firing AK-47 guns from cabin windows.