Jakub Fojtik attended the Police Academy of the Czech Republic in Prague, achieving his Bachelor degree in Management of Security Forces, Security, and Law Studies. He followed up with a Master Degree in Management of Security Forces and a Master of Laws (LLM) in International Business Law. To top it off he achieved a Doctorate (JUDr.) in Security studies at the Academy of the Slovak Police in Bratislava and a Ph.D. in Management of Security Forces from the Police Academy of the Czech Republic in Prague. Jakub Fojtik is currently a University Lecturer at the Police Academy of the Czech Republic, the Vice President of Military Sales for Aero Vodochody Aerospace a.s. (Aero L-39, L-159, etc.) and an independent aviation journalist who is regularly published in aviation related journals and aviation magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Defence Helicopter, Fly Past, Flying Revue, Hobby Historie, Letectvi a Kosmonautika, 4 Rotors, and many others. He is the author of over twenty aviation books, primarily rotary wing military aircraft monographs like: Mi-8/17 Mi-8 Multipurpose Helicopter (Jakab, 2009); Mi-4: Mi-4 Multi-Purpose Helicopter (Jakab, 2011); Latest Hips [Mi-171 & Mi-17V-5 and its Subvariants] In Detail (W&WP, 2014); Albatros: Aero L39, L59, L139 (Magnet Press, 2016); Ka-50 Ka-52: Werewolf, Black Shark, Erdogan, Alligator and the Others (Kagero, 2017); Mi-28: Night Hunter and the Others (Kagero, 2017).

A native of Krakow Poland, Janusz Światłoń, is an aviation history enthusiast and military modeler. He has retired for the Polish military after serving with the 6^th Airborne Brigade. He has a long history of being published as an illustrator and as an author for many magazines and books from publishing houses as Osprey, Kagero, AF Editores, Chevron, and Mushroom Model Publications.

Dariusz Karnas is a skilled modeler and amateur aviation historian. He lives in Przemyśl, Poland. He has authored or contributed color plates and / or scale drawings for over one hundred publications. These include MMP’s Polish Wings, Scale Plans, and Inside series as well as books in the MMP Yellow series: Fieseler 156 Storch 1938-1945 (2012) and Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-15 (2004). You can find Dariusz Karnas on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/people/Dariusz-Karnas/100008987326348 .

This latest monograph from Mushroom Model Publications and Jakub Fojtik covers the Mil Mi-24 and its export versions, the Mi-25 and Mi-35. The Mil -24, with the NATO reporting name of ‘Hind’, is a large helicopter gunship with the added capacity for eight passengers. The Mil-24’s first flight was achieved September 19, 1969, and it remains in production with over 2,600 manufactured to date. Currently operated by some fifty countries it has been omni-present in most conflicts since its baptism in the Ogaden War in 1977. I counted 21 black and white photographs along with a whopping 411 color pictures. There were 20 color profiles and 38 black and white drawings in 1/72. You will also find 17 tables.

Jakub Fojtik kicks this tome off with a history of Soviet helicopter gunships starting in 1958 with the Mi-1MU armed with anti-tank guided missiles. This of course leads up to the Hind prototype in 1969, the V-24. Dariusz Karnas provides 1/72 scale drawings of each Hind version, including side, top, front, as well as scale scrap views. Janusz Światłoń provides color side profiles of each version with some very interesting paint schemes. You can see from the previous notation that this book is predominately in color with plenty of operational and detail photos of changes to date for the Hind. This includes the Mi-24A, Mi-24D, Mi-24V, Mi-24P, and the Mi-24VP. Up next is a chapter on the Special Mission variations that provides interesting insight into several one-offs, or at least where only a few Hinds were modified. One of these was the Mi-24R that was modified to use for nuclear and hazardous chemical reconnaissance. One of the modifications included sampling arms on the end of the stub wings to grab soil samples. Trainers are addressed in the chapter on ‘Training Makes the Master’ with the Mi-24U, Mi-24DU, Mi-25U, Mi-25VU, and the Mi-35U.

Jakub Fojtik addresses the Soviet modernization programs next, that would extend the life of the Hind. He follows this with the upgrades by foreign users, including Poland, Czech, Ukraine, France, Israel, and the US. Not forgotten in modernization is the chapter on the Superhinds by the ATE Company. The current production M-35M and its sub-variants is up next, followed by a discussion of the various prototypes that did not go into production. Eight pages of tables depict the Mi-24/-25/-35 Hind production by facility with supporting dates and customers. The final sixty pages or so provides a technical description, supported heavily with color photographs, of all the Hind components. This include ten pages of coverage on the M-35M.

The Table of Contents includes the following sections:

• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• First Soviet Attack Attempts
• For Attack Only
  • With the Final Shape
• First Attack Type [Page 9]
  • Just For Tests
• In Tandem [Page 37]
  • Finally With the Right Missiles
  • With Greater Firepower
• Color Profiles [Page 69]
• Special Missions
• Training Makes the Master
• In the New Era
  • Russian Modernization Programs
    • For the 21^st Century
    • Minor Modifications
  • Foreign Upgrades
    • European Operator’s Attempts
    • Ex-USSR Way
    • When West Meets East [Page 113]
    • Israeli Modifications
  • SuperHinds
  • Friend or Foe
• Keeping Fighting
• List of Mi-35M/MS Models Delivered Since 2006 (Table)
• Record Breakers
• Prototypes [Page 145]
• On the Home Front and in the World
  • Mi-24 Serial Codes Tab – Arsenyev
    • Domestic Deliveries Since 1970 (Table)
    • Domestic Deliveries Since 1973 (Table)
  • Mi-24 Serial Codes Tab – Rostov
    • Domestic and Export Deliveries Since 1978 (Table)
    • Domestic Deliveries Since 1995 with Limited Export Appliance (Table)
    • Export Deliveries Since 1978 (Table)
    • Export Deliveries Since 2007 (Table)
  • List of Mi-24 Prototypes – Mil Design Bureau (Table)
  • List of Mi-24 Production for Soviet Army (Table)
  • List of Mi-24 Production for Russian Army/Air Force/Security Bureau (Table)
  • List of Mi-24 Exports – Arsenyev Production Plant (Table)
  • List of Mi-24/25/35 Exports – Rostov Production Plant (Table)
  • List of Mi-24/25/25 Helicopters for Re-Exports (Table)
• Mi-24 Technical Description
  • The Fuselage
  • Undercarriage
  • Engines and Transmission
  • Control System
  • Hydraulic System
  • Fuel System
  • Pneumatic System
  • Air-Conditioning System
  • De-Icing System
  • Electrical System
  • Fire Suppression System
  • Oxygen System
  • Lighting System
  • Rescue System
  • Avionics
  • Defense Suite
  • Targeting System
  • Ground Covers [Page 179]
  • Mi-24 Technical Data (Table)
  • Machine Gun and Cannon Data (Table)
  • Unguided Rockets (Table)
  • Guided Missiles (Table)
• Technical Description – Mi-35M
• Mi-24 In Overhaul
• Bibliography
• Abbreviations

While this monograph is not the first on the Mi-24 Hind, and certainly won’t be the last, it certainly is the most complete that I have seen. The Mi-35M is covered extensively along with the PSV, the high speed demonstrator that was introduced in 2015. Jakub Fojtik has delivered a great history on the Mil Hind that not only covers the development and operational aspects, but provides a good basis for the modeler with nice detail shots of all the aircraft components.

My thanks to Mushroom Model Publications and IPMS/USA for the chance to review this superb book.

Highly recommended!