Mil Mi-4 Hound
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Warpaint Series 144
Author: Jakub Fojtik
Publisher: Guideline Publications
ISBN: 978-1-916759-19-0
Binding: Softcover
Pages: 84
While helicopters are extremely common today and are often the most seen aviation by the average person, early helicopters were a different thing. With limited power and heavy construction, it was challenging to manufacture an effective helicopter design. In the Soviet Union, the Mil Mi-4 was the first successful mainstream helicopter in that country, serving in both military and civilian capacity locally and abroad.
This new title in the Warpaint Series shines a light on this early helicopter design, one that remained in service for quite some time and thus established itself in rotary wing history. It is not an easy story to tell, though, as finding detailed and accurate accounts of Soviet aviation industry and operations from this era is not as easy as that of, say, an American helicopter from the same period. The author has done a good job on that front, though, and the result is a well written and detailed history of the Mi-4. This is further improved upon by the plentiful photos and color profile illustrations spread throughout the book, helping put that story into visual perspective. A set of scale drawings and some detail close-up photos of surviving Mi-4s round out the package.
Given the limited availability of early Soviet helicopters as the subject of books, this is likely going to find its way onto the shelves of many Soviet aviation enthusiasts, or early helicopter fans in general. My thanks to Guideline Publications for the review copy.