Recently, the Libyan Government of National Unity attacked an air base controlled by the National Army led by General Haftar and captured a large amount of weapons and equipment. When the soldiers opened one of the large hangars, they found that there were multiple Mi-24A "Fern" helicopter gunships inside.
The helicopters were purchased from the Soviet Union during Gaddafi's administration and were abandoned here due to the war. Judging from the thick dust on the fuselage, it may not have been maintained for a long time, and the Syrian government itself has forgotten that it still has such a bunch of "female deer" eating ashes in the warehouse. However, due to the relatively dry local climate, the body condition is still preserved, and some accessories are also available.
What is more interesting is that these "female deer" are not the common "bubble eye" Mi-24, but the earliest production type of mi-24A of the "female deer" family, which is very rare. It is characterized by its "flower room" cockpit rather than the world-famous future, and the rather evil beauty of the tandem independent double cockpit.
米-24A
The Mi-24A was the first mass-produced Mi-24 model in the Soviet Union, first flown in 1969 and put into production in 1970.
It is very clear from the Mi-24A that the Mi-24 gunship is derived from the bloodline of the Mi-8 transport helicopter (to be precise, its naval Mi-14 helicopter), the fuselage is very similar to a transport helicopter, the crew is three people, in addition to the pilot and weapons officer there is also a mechanic. The fuselage had a huge crew compartment to carry infantry, which showed that the Soviets' original vision of it was also an assault transport helicopter rather than an armed helicopter.
The opening door in this picture is a crew compartment.
As an early model of the Mi-24 gunship, the Mi-24A has many deficiencies, such as the "flower room" cockpit wind resistance, the weapons officer's poor vision, easy to be affected by crosswinds in flight, the "Dutch roll" problem, the weak firepower of the single-barrel 12.7mm machine gun, etc., plus the Soviet army itself did not know too well how the helicopter gun should be used, so the design idea was also problematic. As a result, the Soviets were equipped with a small number of Mi-24As, which were mainly used for crew training and tactical development. Although the aircraft performed unsatisfactorily as an armed helicopter, it was still a thick-skinned, survivable assault transport helicopter that was exported to Afghanistan, Vietnam, Libya and Ethiopia, with a total production of about 240 aircraft.
The Mi-24A nose toothpick machine gun is less powerful and has a small firing range
Starting with the second model of the Mi-24D, the Soviet army clarified the application idea, thinking that the helicopter gunship was a "flying tank", and redesigned the Mi-24 accordingly, basically what we are familiar with now. The bubble-shaped tandem independent double cockpit was eliminated and the flight mechanic seat was abolished, and the one under the nose was replaced by a four-barrel 12.7 mm machine gun. Later, the Mi-24V, which was further improved, is the most classic "female deer" shape.
The picture shows the Mi-24V, the third model in the Mi-24 family, put into production in 1976, and is also the most mature model with the largest output, generally speaking of the Mi-24, it refers to this model. This model also became the basis of the Mass image of the Mi-24.
Due to the eastern camp that belongs to the opposite of the West, it has achieved solid results on the Battlefield of Afghanistan in the Soviet-Afghan War, and its rather evil beauty. In Western film and television works and games, the Mi-24 often appears as a symbol of the "evil" of the Eastern camp, and it is a key role, giving people an aura of "villain boss". This also allowed the Mi-24 to suck a wave of powder, even among non-military enthusiasts.
The Mi-24 in the game Clash World is almost a symbol of the Soviet army
The Soviet faction's air-to-ground main double-edged helicopter in red alert 3 is a morphed version of the Mi-24
The "Valkyrie" fighter of the human Empire side in the tabletop battle flag game "Warhammer 40K" is also based on the image of the Mi-24
The Mi-24A did not let much go as an early model, and appeared in film and television dramas and games many times.
The Mi-24A in Call of Duty 7: Black Ops, Vietnam does have a Mi-24A, but the timing is not quite right
The Mi-24 in the 1984 film Red Dawn was converted from a French SA 330 Cougar helicopter, and the "Flower Room" cockpit was very similar.
The Mi-24A's most famous appearance in American cinema is the Mi-24A, which appeared as a major villain in "First Blood 2" and "First Blood 3", and forced Rambo to a desperate situation several times. The Mi-24A here is the same as in Red Dawn, but because the "Flower Room" cover seriously affects the driver's field of vision (the reason for the Soviet Union's cancellation can also be seen here), there is a danger of falling apart during a slightly violent maneuver, so in "First Blood" this cover is removed, making the "Female Deer A" closer to the original appearance of the "Mountain Lion".
First Blood 2
First Blood 3
Judging from the state, the Mi-24As found by the Libyan National Unity Government are difficult to repair and put back into combat, but it is still no problem to repair a look. I believe that many buyers will be interested in buying a shelf for collection, many public or private museums will not miss such an opportunity, and the rarity is expensive, the number of Mi-24A in existence is really not much, the price is estimated to be expensive. If there is a channel, the Libyan National Unity Government is estimated to make a lot of money.