22 Facts About Mil Mi-24

Mil Mi-24 is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for eight passengers.

Soviet pilots called the Mil Mi-24 the "flying tank", a term used historically with the famous World War II Soviet Il-2 Shturmovik armored ground attack aircraft.

Mil Mi-24 proposed the design to the heads of the Soviet armed forces.

Mil Mi-24 engineers prepared two basic designs: a 7-ton single-engine design and a 10.

In 1972, following completion of the Mil Mi-24, development began on a unique attack helicopter with transport capability.

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The first Mil Mi-24 to be lost in action was shot down by guerrillas on 18 July 1979.

The Mil Mi-24 was popular with ground troops, since it could stay on the battlefield and provide fire as needed, while "fast mover" strike jets could only stay for a short time before heading back to base to refuel.

The Mil Mi-24 could carry ten 100-kilogram iron bombs for attacks on camps or strongpoints, while harder targets could be dealt with a load of four 250-kilogram or two 500-kilogram iron bombs.

Some Mil Mi-24 crews became experts at dropping bombs precisely on targets.

Besides protecting helicopter troop assaults and supporting ground actions, the Mil Mi-24 protected convoys, using rockets with flechette warheads to drive off ambushes; performed strikes on predesignated targets; and engaged in "hunter-killer" sweeps.

The inline placement of the engines was seen as so problematic in this regard that Mil designers abandoned the configuration on the planned successor to the Mi-24, the Mil Mi-28, in favour of an engine placement more akin to Western attack helicopters which vents the exhaust gasses into the helicopter's main rotor wash to dissipate heat.

Mil Mi-24 crews carried AK-74 assault rifles and other hand-held weapons to give them a better chance of survival if forced down.

Since 14 November 1995, the Mil Mi-24 has been used by the Sri Lanka Air Force in the war against the LTTE liberation group and has proved highly effective at providing close air support for ground forces.

Mil Mi-24 was heavily employed by the Iraqi Army during their invasion of Kuwait, although most were withdrawn by Saddam Hussein when it became apparent that they would be needed to help retain his grip on power in the aftermath of the war.

The Mil Mi-24 was used to strike deep into enemy territory and disrupt Krajina army communications.

One Croatian Mil Mi-24 crashed near the city of Drvar, Bosnia and Herzegovina due to strong winds.

On 26 January 2011, one Mil Mi-24 caught on fire during take-off from its base in Ghazni.

On 5 May 2014, another Ukrainian Mil Mi-24 was forced to make an emergency landing after being hit by machine gun fire while on patrol close to Slavyansk.

On 13 October 2018, a Ukrainian Mil Mi-24 shot down an Orlan-10 UAV using cannon fire near Lysychansk.

On 2 April 2016, during a clash between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces, an Azerbaijani Mil Mi-24 helicopter was shot down by "Nagorno-Karabakh" forces.

On 9 November 2020, during the Nagorno-Karabakh war a Russian Mil Mi-24 was shot down by Azerbaijani forces with a MANPADS.

Mil Mi-24 has appeared in several films and has been a common feature in many video games.