picture 182190

Many units of the 40th Army started the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan filled with poorly-trained reservists, equipped with obsolete equipment, and ill-prepared for a prolonged war. The same was the situation with many of the V-VS units tasked with deploying to the country and providing support. It was only once the Kremlin decided to strengthen its troops in the country in 1981 that the first generation of modifications resulting from early experiences began to appear. A good example for this was this Mi-8MT from one of about a dozen helicopter regiments forward deployed in Afghanistan by 1983–1984. While still wearing its old camouflage pattern in dark green over light grey, the helicopter has already received a hoist winch above the cabin door, and flare dispensers strapped to the bottom of the boom. Nevertheless, this example is known to have been forced down by small arms fire in the winter of 1984: the crew was evacuated by another helicopter and the wreckage abandoned. (Artwork by Tom Cooper)