The Mil Mi-4 (

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

/DoD reporting name "Type 36",

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

reporting name "Hound")'' Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1963-1964'', p. 303 is a Soviet transport

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

that served in both military and civilian roles.

Design and development

The Mi-4 was designed in response to the American H-19 Chickasaw and the deployment of U.S. helicopters during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. While the Mi-4 strongly resembles the H-19 Chickasaw in general layout, including the innovative engine position in front of the cockpit, it is a larger helicopter, able to lift more weight and built in larger numbers. The first model entered service in 1953. The helicopter was first displayed to the outside world in 1952 at the Soviet Aviation Day in Tushino Airfield.

Operational history

The Mi-4 transport helicopter laid the groundwork of Soviet Army Aviation. It was widely used both in the armed forces and in Soviet civil aviation, and for several decades remained the main type of helicopter in the inventory of the

Soviet Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also known as the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union, the Red Army (1918–1946) and the Soviet Army (1946–1991), were the armed forces of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republi ...

and of the Civil Air Fleet. The Mi-4 went out of service with the development of the

Mi-8 The Mil Mi-8 (, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) in the 1960s and introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1968. Russian production of t ...

. It is no longer used by the Russian Air Force, though it remained in service in some countries as a utility helicopter or as a military transport a while longer.

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

was thought to be the final country using the helicopter, and by 2005 all were out of service. The Mi-4 played a very important role in the

Bangladesh liberation war The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

of 1971. The Mi-4 was the workhorse of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

covering the medium lift role at the time. A highly successful heli-borne operation, the Meghna Heli Bridge, using Mi-4s helped the Indian Army's 57 Mountain Division clear the

Meghna River The Meghna () is one of the major rivers in Bangladesh, one of the three that form the Ganges Delta, the largest delta on earth, which fans out to the Bay of Bengal. A part of the Surma-Meghna River System, the Meghna is formed inside Banglade ...

. The helilift of a battalion of Indian troops to the outskirts of

Sylhet Sylhet (; ) is a Metropolis, metropolitan city in the north eastern region of Bangladesh. It serves as the administrative center for both the Sylhet District and the Sylhet Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Surma River and, as o ...

was the first heli-borne operation of the Indian army. Much like the UH-1 Huey, after it was gradually phased out of military service, it was used in various domestic roles: search and rescue, firefighting, polar expeditioning, construction site cargo helicopter, commercial flights and many others. An official video of a North Korean Air Force combat flying skills competition released in 2014 shows that the Mi-4 is still in limited service in North Korea.

Variants

;V-12 :Prototype. Designation reused for the Mi-12. ;Mi-4 (NATO – Hound-A) :Basic production version. ;Mi-4A :Assault transport helicopter. ;Mi-4AV :Armed versions based on the Mi-4A. V for Vooruzhenniy (Armed). Mi-4A with additional armament. Modification of 1967 had weapons complex K-4V, included four 9М17М ATGM "Phalanga" and 96 57-mm NAR S-5M in six blocks UB-16-57U (or six 100-kg bombs or four 250-kg bombs or tanks with an incendiary substance); 185 helicopters were converted to Mi-4AV. ;Mi-4GF :Factory designation for demilitarised Mi-4 for use in the Civil Air Fleet. ;Mi-4L ''Lyukes'' :Six-seat VIP transport version, sometimes converted into an air ambulance helicopter. ;Mi-4VL :Fire-fighting version of Mi-4L. ;Mi-4M (NATO – Hound-C) :Anti-submarine warfare helicopter with searching radar station SPRS-1 ("Kurs-M"), hydroacoustic station "Baku", additional fuel tank and rescue boat with operator in under-fuselage gun turret. ;Mi-4ME :Export modification of Mi-4M. ;Mi-4VM :Slightly modified version of Mi-4M, differed by some avionics system. ;Mi-4MR :Upgraded version of Mi-4VM with the searching radar station "Rubin-V" instead of "Kurs-M". ;Mi-4P / Mi-4VP :Civil transport helicopter, with accommodation for between 8 and 11 passengers, plus eight stretchers and a medical attendant for air ambulance duties. It has square. windows compared to the circular windows of the military versions. ;Mi-4PL (NATO – Hound-B) :Anti-submarine warfare helicopter. ;Mi-4PS :SAR version. ;Mi-4S Salon :VIP transport helicopter. ;Mi-4Skh :Multi-role agricultural helicopter, with a large chemical container in the main cabin. Also used as a fire-fighting helicopter. ;Mi-4T :Major military production version, equipped with a large diameter main rotor and bulged windows. ;Mi-4VM (VM-12) :Anti-submarine warfare helicopter. ;Mi-4BT :Minesweeper with floats. ;Mi-4RI :Mi-4M equipped with the Rion experimental sonar. ;Mi-4MT :Torpedo-carrying ASW attack (killer) aircraft derived from Mi-4M. ;Mi-4MU :Attack helicopter. ;Mi-4MO :Search helicopter with Oka sonar. ;Mi-4MS :Search helicopter with Soora infra-red sensor. ;Mi-4FV (Mi-4KV) :Photographic and guidance helicopter. ;Mi-4Schch :"Polar version" of Mi-4FV for working at the Soviet Arctic and Antarctic research stations. ;Mi-4SP :Special rescue modification. ;Mi-4PG :Experimental version equipped with an external load sling system. ;Mi-4SV :Mi-4 with improved heat insulation for working in the Far North. ;Mi-4N "Filin" (Horned owl) :Experimental reconnaissance version intended for night-time use. ;Mi-4KK (Mi-4VKP) :Mobile command post. ;Mi-4KU (Mi-4VPU) :Mobile command post for controlling Air Force units. ;Mi-4U :Target-designator version carrying the Oospekh (Success) system. ;Mi-4GR :Mi-4 fitted with Grebeshok-3 (Haircomb-3) wide-range panoramic detection and relay radar. ;Mi-4TARK :TV-equipped artillery reconnaissance and spotting helicopter. ;Mi-4MK (Mi-4PP) :ECM version. ;Mi-4UM :Radio-controlled target drone version. ; Harbin Z-5 :Chinese military transport helicopter. Chinese production version. ; Harbin Z-6 :Prototype turbine powered version of the Z-5, no production undertaken. ;Xuanfeng :Chinese civil transport helicopter. Chinese production version. ;Unnamed Variants *Mi-4 minelayer version produced by converting troop-carrier helicopters. *Mi-4 modified for transporting and laying gas pipelines. *Mi-4 with Panorama 360 cin camera system produced by conversion. *Mi-4 with the Pristavka (Add-on) radio equipment developed in 1957 for guidance of remote-controlled reconnaissance balloons. *Mi-4s used as testbeds. Apart from the above-mentioned versions, the Mi-4 and Mi-4A were widely used as testbeds of various kinds for testing subassemblies and systems of future aircraft, as well as equipment for other branches of industry.

Operators

; * Afghan Air Force Mi-4 Riga

; * Albanian Air Force - Seven Mi-4As were acquired from the Soviet Union between 1957 and 1958. One was lost in an accident. After diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union were severed, the Russians received the Z-5, an identical model. ; *

Algerian Air Force The Algerian Air Force (, ) is the aerial arm of the Algerian People's National Army. History The Algerian Air Force was created to support the fight of the People's National Army against the French occupying forces. It came as part of the ...

; *

Bangladesh Air Force The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) () is the aerial warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The air force is primarily responsible for air defence of Bangladesh's sovereign territory as well as providing air support to the Bangladesh Army a ...

;

People's Republic of Bulgaria The People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB; , NRB; ) was the official name of Bulgaria when it was a socialist republic from 1946 to 1990, ruled by the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; ) together with its coalition partner, the Bulgarian Agraria ...

* Bulgarian Air Force *

Bulgarian Navy The Bulgarian Navy () is the navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; name ...

; * Cambodian Air Force ; *

People's Liberation Army Air Force The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force () or the People's Air Force (), is the primary aerial warfare service of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAAF controls most of the PLA's air assets, includi ...

; In 1961 and 1974, 85 Mi-4 Hound A were import

* Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces#Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force, Revolutionary Armed Forces ; *

Czechoslovak Air Force The Czechoslovak Air Force (''Československé letectvo'') or the Czechoslovak Army Air Force (''Československé vojenské letectvo'') was the air force branch of the Czechoslovak Army formed in October 1918. The armed forces of Czechoslovakia c ...

;

* East German Air Force * East German NavyMeyer, Manfred. ''Mi-1 und Mi-4 - die ersten Hubschrauber'', "Fliegerrevue" Nr. 9/1999, p.55-59 (in German) *

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), trading as the Lufthansa Group, is a German aviation group. Its major and founding subsidiary airline Lufthansa German Airlines, branded as Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. It ranks List of largest airlin ...

* Interflug ; *

Egyptian Air Force The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) () is the aviation branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces that is responsible for all airborne defence missions and operates all military aircraft, including those used in support of the Egyptian Army, Egyptian Navy ...

; *

Finnish Air Force The Finnish Air Force (FAF or FiAF; ; ) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of readiness formations for wartime conditions. The Finnish Air ...

;

Hungarian People's Republic The Hungarian People's Republic (HPR) was a landlocked country in Central Europe from its formation on 20 August 1949 until the establishment of the current Hungary, Republic of Hungary on 23 October 1989. It was a professed Communist_state# ...

* Hungarian Air Force ; *

India inducted the Mi-4 helicopter in the early 1960s, forming the backbone of its initial rotary-wing capability. It was acquired amidst geopolitical shifts and was later joined by the Mi-8 and other types, leading to a mixed-fleet scenario. ; *

Indonesian Air Force The Indonesian Air Force (, sometimes shortened as IDAF / IdAF) is the Air force, aerial branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. The Indonesian Air Force is headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, and is headed by the Chief of Staff of th ...

Indonesian Army The Indonesian Army ( (TNI-AD), ) is the army, land branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It has an estimated strength of 300,400 active personnel. The history of the Indonesian Army has its roots in 1945 when the (TKR) "People's Se ...

; *

Iraqi Air Force The Iraqi Air Force (IQAF; ) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It is responsible for the defense of Iraqi airspace as well as the policing of its international borders. The IQAF also acts as a support force for t ...

; * Khmer Air Force ;

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

* Royal Lao Air ForceConboy and Morrison, ''Shadow War: The CIA's Secret War in Laos'' (1995), p. 102 (Notes 2, 9). ; * Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force ; * Mali Air Force ; *

Mongolian Air Force The Mongolian Air Force () is the air force service branch of the Mongolian Armed Forces . History Early years and WWII On 25 May 1925, a Junkers F.13 piloted by Lieutenant Colonel D. Shatarragchaa entered service as the first aircraft in Mo ...

; * North Korean Air Force ;

Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...

Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force () is the aerial warfare Military branch, branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 26,000 military personnel an ...

Polish Navy The Polish Navy (; often abbreviated to ) is the Navy, naval military branch , branch of the Polish Armed Forces. The Polish Navy consists of 46 ships and about 12,000 commissioned and enlisted personnel. The traditional ship prefix in the Polish ...

;

Socialist Republic of Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania (, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989). From 1947 to 1965, the state was ...

Romanian Air Force The Romanian Air Force (RoAF) () is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, five air bases, a logistics base, an air defense brigade, an air defense regiment and an ISR (Intel ...

; * Somali Air Corps ; *

Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (, ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; , , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. Aeroflot is headquartered in the Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow, with its hub being Sheremetyevo Interna ...

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...

Soviet Navy The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...

; *

Sudanese Air Force The Sudanese Air Force () is the air force, aerial warfare branch of the Military of Sudan, Sudanese Armed Forces. It was established in 1956 following Sudan's independence earlier that year, and first saw action in the First Sudanese Civil War. ...

;

Syrian Air Force The Syrian Air Force () is the air force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It was established in 1948, and first saw action in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Under Ba'athist Syria until December 8, 2024, it was known as the Syrian Arab Air Forc ...

; *

Vietnam People's Air Force The Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF; ), officially the Air Defence - Air Force Service (ADAF Service; ) or the Vietnam Air Force (), is the Aerial warfare, aerial, Anti-aircraft warfare, air and Space warfare, space defence service branch of ...

; * North Yemen Air Force ; *

Yugoslav Air Force The Air Force and Air Defence ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Ратно ваздухопловство и противваздушна одбрана, Ratno vazduhoplovstvo i protivvazdušna odbrana ; abbr. sh-Cyrl-Latn, label=none, separator=/, РВ и ПВ� ...

Specifications (Mi-4A)

Notes

References

*Bill Gunston, ''An Illustrated Guide to Military Helicopters'', Salamander Books Ltd, London 1981. *Bob Ogden, ''Aviation Museums and Collections of The Rest of the World'', UK: Air-Britain 2008. *Kenneth Conboy with James Morrison, ''Shadow War: The CIA's Secret War in Laos'', Boulder CO: Paladin Press, 1995. *

External links

{{aviation.ru Mi-04 Mil aircraft 1950s Soviet cargo aircraft 1950s Soviet military transport aircraft 1950s Soviet helicopters Single-engined piston helicopters Aircraft first flown in 1952 Single-rotor helicopters Aircraft with fixed quad landing gear