The latest volume in the Red Star series from the most prolific Yefim Gordon and company is on the heavylift helicopters of OKB Mil. The book covers the three production helos, Mi-6, Mi-10, and Mi-26 as well as the prototype V-12, probably one of the most interesting large helos ever designed.

In line with the rest of the Red Star series, there is a full development history of each type as well as a variants section that includes specialty modifications and prototypes. These sections include an operational history as well.

The first helo discussed is the Mi-6 'Hook', the Soviet's first true heavy lift helo. This huge aircraft was fitted with short wings in order to improve the handling and the speed of the helo. It also set the stage for what was to come in terms of general layout and the power train. A massive cabin with rear clamshell doors was able to handle a wide variety of cargos from passengers to military vehicle. The Mi-6 attained some small success in the export market as well with helos going to Vietnam, India, and Egypt to name a few.

The next was the Mi-10 'Flying Crane'. Like the US CH-54, this helo was initially on very stalky undercarriage so that it could carry a pallet on which various vehicles could be placed. It was later realized that the tall gear wasn't really needed for most missions so a later variant was built much closer to the ground, but with the same heavy lift capabilities.

By far the most interesting of these helos was the V-12. This massive helicopter was powered by four engines and had them mounted far outboard of the fuselage along with the rotors. If you have ever seen photos of the German tandem rotor helo of WWII  then you can understand the layout of this monstrous Russian Helo. It definitely placed it in the super-heavylift category. Unfortunately, the weapons system it was designed to transport, was not built and there really was no need for such a large helo as the further development of the V-12 into the Mi-12 would take away from the new Mi-26 so no further machines were built beyond the two prototypes.

The Mi-26 is the current heavylift helo in the Russian inventory. It has taken all the lessons of the previous aircraft and applied them into what has developed into a superb helicopter. It is not only being used by Russian military forces, but has been exported to a number of other countries and is still under developement.

In addition to the historical sections there is a section of drawings followed by several pages of superb color photos of the types in the book.

Overall, an excellent look at Russian heavy helos and a must for the Russian aviation or helicopter enthusiast.

November 2005

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