On May 6, 1968, a decree was issued by the government of the USSR and the Central Committee of the CPSU on the development of a combat helicopter under the designation B-24. Subsequently, the rotorcraft had the official name Mi-24, and among the military helicopter received the nickname "Crocodile".
The Mi-3 made its debut flight with the TV117-24 family engine on September 15, 1969. In the subsequent tests, the car demonstrated outstanding speed characteristics. Combat and transport modifications of the future Mi-24 accelerated to 320 and 340 km / h. At the same time, the cruising speed was 270 and 280 km / h, respectively. In NATO, the Mi-24 was called the "Doe" for its high speed qualities.
The Mi-24 was created on the basis of the legendary Mi-8 and the Mi-14 rotary-wing amphibian and is considered the first domestic attack helicopter. The car received a classic single-screw scheme. Part of the armament was built-in, some were placed on six suspension points. The basis of the arsenal of the "Crocodile" was the rapid-fire gun GSh-23 designed by Vasily Gryazev and Arkady Shipunov, guided and unguided missiles, bombs. Machine guns and grenade launchers could be used from the helicopter.
"Much attention in the design was paid to the high combat survivability of the helicopter and the safety of the crew, which was to be ensured by the reservation of the cabins and the most important units and the duplication of the main systems, as well as the use of means that reduce the likelihood of explosion and fire in case of damage in combat conditions," the materials of the Victory Museum say.
"Flying Tank"
According to experts, the implementation of the Mi-24 project was designed to fill the gap in air fire support for ground units. In addition, a certain role was played by the American experience of the Vietnam War, where the US Army widely used helicopters, in particular the AH-1 Huey Cobra, to raid the positions of pro-communist forces.
"The Soviet command was well aware that a successful military operation was impossible without the use of an aircraft component, including helicopters. Our country needed a kind of attack aircraft, a "flying tank" capable of effectively fighting tanks, artillery, destroying engineering structures, that is, directly supporting troops on the battlefield, "said retired Major General Vladimir Popov, Honored Military Pilot of the Russian Federation, in an interview with RT.
According to the expert, the Mi-24 became such an "attack aircraft". According to Popov, the Mil Design Bureau and other defense enterprises of the USSR managed to realize the key advantages of a modern combat helicopter in the Crocodile: the ability to take off and land from almost any site, strike with missile weapons at troops on the front line, land tactical airborne assault, conduct reconnaissance and issue target designation.
- Mi-24 on exercises in 1977
- RIA Novosti
- © Yakutin
As the former head of the anti-aircraft missile forces of the special forces command of the Russian Air Force, reserve colonel Sergei Khatylev, explained in a commentary to RT, the Mi-24 can be called the first full-fledged attack helicopter.
"Our designers and military very carefully studied the experience of armed conflicts, of course, followed the development of military equipment and weapons of Western countries. The appearance of the Mi-24 is a product of this analysis, painstaking work to create the first full-fledged attack rotorcraft capable of effectively supporting troops on the battlefield, "Khatylev said.
According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the normal take-off weight of the Mi-24 was 11 tons, the maximum weight of the combat load was 1480 kg, the dynamic ceiling was 4500 m, the flight range with a normal take-off weight was 480 km.
Depending on the modification, the crew of the helicopter was two or three people (pilot, navigator-operator, flight mechanic). Armored windshields and armor plates protected the pilots from enemy shells and fragments.
Serial production of the Mi-24 started in the early 1970s. At the same time, the Mil Design Bureau was engaged in the development of more advanced versions of the Crocodile. The pinnacle of design thought, as experts noted, at that time was the modification of the Mi-24V with the Sturm-V weapon system.
The complex included a variety of equipment and guided missiles "Sturm" and "Attack", which were placed in transport and launch containers. The missiles were highly noise immunity and were capable of hitting targets at distances of five and six kilometers, respectively.
Initially, the Mi-24V was the carrier of four missiles, but later the helicopter was able to lift up to 16 shells of the Sturm-V complex into the air. In the 1980s, the arsenal of this modification was replenished with P-60 missiles capable of shooting down air targets.
- Armament of the Mi-24
- RIA Novosti
- © Pavel Lisitsyn
In total, 3,5 thousand helicopters of the Mi-24 family were produced. The machine was massively delivered abroad under the designation Mi-35 - to the countries of the Warsaw Pact, other allies and partners of Moscow.
"The Mi-24 is probably the most popular helicopter of the XX century. It was delivered to dozens of countries and took part in dozens of armed conflicts, where it established itself as an extremely reliable and tenacious machine. For our army, the experience of using the Mi-24 in Afghanistan and Chechnya, where the crews of the Crocodile had to operate at low altitudes and in difficult mountainous terrain, was of great importance, "Khatylev said.
According to the expert, in Afghanistan and Chechnya, the crews of the Mi-24 inflicted unexpected strikes on the militants, landed troops, delivered cargo and evacuated the wounded. In addition, the "Crocodiles" often covered the "workhorses" of the Mi-8, who performed mainly transport tasks, Khatylev said.
"Of course, the Mi-24 often came under fire, there were losses, the pilots sometimes barely reached the airfields. However, from the experience of combat use, it can be concluded that the creators of the "Crocodile" have worked out well the issues of booking and maintainability. This is an excellent strike platform," Khatylev emphasized.
A similar point of view was expressed by Vladimir Popov. According to him, the Mi-24 demonstrated outstanding combat qualities and had no equal in performance.
The only serious drawback of the "Crocodile" expert called the complexity of work in the dark. This circumstance was one of the main reasons that prompted the Mil Design Bureau to create the Mi-28 reconnaissance and attack helicopter, nicknamed the "Night Hunter".
Simultaneously with the Mi-28, the Kamov Design Bureau developed the legendary Ka-50 Black Shark single-seat helicopter. Later, by order of the military, the Ka-52 "Alligator" appeared on the basis of this machine. Now this helicopter, together with the Night Hunter, is actively used in the NWO. In addition, both platforms are undergoing upgrades.
Crocodile Update
Despite the fact that Russia has more modern attack helicopters, Vladimir Popov believes that the combat path of the Mi-24 has not yet ended. The expert recalled that the Crocodile has been repeatedly modernized, including for export, and now it is performing tasks in the NWO zone.
So, in 2020, Viktor Litvinov, a representative of the Rostvertol plant, told RT about the completion of tests of the Mi-35P transport and combat helicopter, created on the basis of the Mi-24P for sale to foreign customers.
This modification received modern means of communication, an aiming and computing system, a surveillance and sighting station with a target detection range at a distance of up to 10 km, as well as an autopilot.
In March 2022, specialists from the Mil and N.I. Kamov National Helicopter Center (NCV) patented the appearance of an attack transport helicopter, which will be a deep modernization of the multipurpose Mi-24P.
It is assumed that the updated machine will be equipped with a digital flight and navigation system and a surveillance and sighting station capable of directing guided missiles and operating at any time of the day. Also, the helicopter will receive an airborne defense system and sensors for detecting external threats, which will be placed on the outer pylons of the wing consoles.
According to Vladimir Popov, the Mi-24 retains a serious modernization potential, which can be realized through the installation of more modern onboard equipment and guided missiles. In addition, the helicopter retained all the capabilities for hitting tanks, which is important in the context of the supply of Western armored vehicles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"The use of our army aviation is to a certain extent constrained by the presence of the enemy's air defense. Nevertheless, in the current situation, it is completely inappropriate to abandon the Mi-24. The fleet of these machines needs to be modernized and used in battle. Attack helicopters can play a significant role in the destruction of Western tanks and the disruption of possible offensive actions of our enemy, "Popov concluded.