The successful use of helicopters armed with machine-guns and rocket launchers by the US Army during the Vietnam War gave rise to a new class of combat aircraft, namely gunship helicopters. Several nations began developing helicopters intended for destroying enemy personnel and ground vehicles (including armoured ones) as a complement to fixed-wing attack aircraft. The Soviet Union did not miss this trend either; the first attempts to create an attack helicopter dated back to the early 1950s when the Mil’ Mi-1 (NATO reporting name Hare) was equipped with anti-tank guided missiles, but this version saw only limited use with the Soviet Air Force.
In Poland, which was entrusted with licence production of the Mil’ Mi-2 Hoplite light utility helicopter for all customers, a number of armed versions were developed (the Mi-2PPK, Mi-2URN and the like); these saw service with the air arms of Poland, East Germany and a few other countries but failed to attract interest on the part of the Soviet military. On the other hand, the eminently successful Mi-8 Hip medium utility helicopter had several mass-produced armed versions and saw action in numerous conflicts, including the Afghan War. It also paved the way for the Mi-24 combat helicopter described here – the first of the kind in the Soviet Union. In turn, the positive experience with the Mi-24 triggered the development of other helicopters tailored for combating enemy ground forces in situations when using fast jets is inexpedient and providing close air support to friendly ground forces.
This book deals with the principal attack helicopters of the present-day Russian Army. It will be of interest not only to readers with an interest in military history but also to scale modellers; the book gives an overview of the plastic kits of the helicopters described here and includes line drawings and colour schemes that will help modellers choose the best kit and build a good and correctly painted model.