Mi-6 Helicopter in Chernobyl

The first design of this aircraft of unprecedented size, with a 5-blade rotor with a diameter of 30 m (98 ft), appeared in 1952. And in 1954, the first version of the rotorcraft, officially called the Mi-6 (product 50), was built. The Mi-6 was considered a “new means of transporting troop units and almost all types of divisional artillery” and could carry 6 tons of cargo with normal take-off weight, 8 tons with reloading, and 11.5 tons for shorter distances.

The dimensions of the Mi-6 cargo compartment are similar to that of the An-8 and An-12; the fuselage is a metal-riveted semi-monocoque. This helicopter and many of its subsequent modifications were very popular with the military and civilians, and was in demand abroad. It had a baptism of fire in Afghanistan, as part of the legendary Independent Guards Airborne Regiment, known as the “Poltinnik” (“Fifty”). The 51st GDHR, a flight squadron, began operating in the Zone during the first days after the disaster at the Chernobyl NPP, just six months after returning from the Afghanistan war. Mi-6s and Mi-6As (modified in 1971 with a maximum take-off weight of up to 44 tons) were used for transport; then they started to use an external sling and dump lead and sand into the crater of the hot reactor. Most helicopter pilots received huge doses of radiation. In Chernobyl, a large part of the Soviet Mi-6 fleet remained, including those that served in Afghanistan and other wars.

This article was published in the book Interesting Chernobyl.
You could download this book in PDF file for free here.

© Sky Horse Publishing House (Kyiv) / Nahs Haus, 2019
Copying and publication of this article is possible only with the written permission of the publishing house.
Official website of the Awesome Heritage series: awesomeheritage.com

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