Mil Mi-4

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

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 and of the Civil Air Fleet. The Mi-4 went out of service with the development of the Mi-8. 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 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 of 1971. The Mi-4 was the workhorse of the Indian Air Force{{Cite web|url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Galleries/Aircraft/Vintage/Helicopters/Mi4/|title=Indian Air Force Gallery :: Mil Mi-4 - Bharat Rakshak|website=Bharat Rakshak|language=en-US|access-date=2017-11-05}} 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 helilift of a battalion of Indian troops to the outskirts of Sylhet 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.{{cite web |author=John Pike |title=Mi-4 HOUND (MIL) |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/mi-4.htm |access-date=2012-10-28 |publisher=Globalsecurity.org}}

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.Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/p0yNcM4kV6g Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20141011221659/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0yNcM4kV6g Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0yNcM4kV6g| title = 朝鲜空军飞行技术大赛 North Korea Air Force combat flying skills contest | website=YouTube| date = 15 May 2014 }}{{cbignore}}

;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.{{Cite web|url=http://aviadejavu.ru/Site/Crafts/Craft19963.htm|title=Миль Ми-4|website=aviadejavu.ru|access-date=2017-10-19}}

;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.{{Cite web|url=http://modelgrad.com/akl-201707-aviacollection-2017-7-mil-mi-4-hound-military-and-civil-transport-helicopter.html|title=AKL-201707 AviaCollection 2017/7 Mil Mi-4 Hound Military and Civil Transport Helicopter|website=modelgrad.com|language=en|access-date=2017-10-19}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.airwar.ru/enc/sh/mi4m.html|title=Миль Ми-4М|website=www.airwar.ru|access-date=2017-10-19}}

;Mi-4ME

:Export modification of Mi-4M.

;Mi-4VM

:Slightly modified version of Mi-4M, differed by some avionics system.{{Cite web|url=http://aviadejavu.ru/Site/Crafts/Craft22112.htm|title=Миль Ми-4М|website=aviadejavu.ru|access-date=2017-10-19}}

;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.

;{{AFG}}

• Afghan Air Force{{cite web | title = Military Helicopter Market 1971 pg. 575| url = http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%202085.html| access-date = 2013-04-03}}

File:Mi-4 Riga.jpg

;{{ALB}}

• 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.

;{{DZA}}

• Algerian Air Force

;{{flag|Bangladesh}}

• Bangladesh Air Force{{cite web|url= http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1981/1981%20-%202499.html|title= Military Helicopter Market 1981 pg. 321|publisher= flightglobal.com |access-date=3 April 2013}}

;{{flagicon|People's Republic of Bulgaria}} People's Republic of Bulgaria

• Bulgarian Air Force
• Bulgarian Navy{{cite web|url= http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1975/1975%20-%201653.html|title= Military Helicopter Market 1975 pg. 293|publisher= flightglobal.com |access-date=3 April 2013}}

;{{CAM}}

• Cambodian Air Force{{cite web | title = Military Helicopter Market 1971 pg. 576 | url = http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%202086.html| access-date = 2013-04-03}}

;{{CHN}}

• People's Liberation Army Air Force

;{{CUB}}

In 1961 and 1974, 85 Mi-4 Hound A were imported[https://www.aeroflight.co.uk/waf/americas/cuba/Cuba-af-Mi4.htm].

• Revolutionary Armed Forces

;{{CZS}}

• Czechoslovak Air Force

;{{DDR}}

File:Helikopter SFRJ MI-4.jpg]]

• East German Air Force{{cite web | title = Military Helicopter Market 1971 pg. 577 | url = http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%202091.html | access-date = 2013-04-03}}
• East German NavyMeyer, Manfred. Mi-1 und Mi-4 - die ersten Hubschrauber, "Fliegerrevue" Nr. 9/1999, p.55-59 (in German)
• Lufthansa
• Interflug

;{{EGY}}

• Egyptian Air Force

;{{FIN}}

• Finnish Air Force

;{{flagicon|HPR}} Hungarian People's Republic

• Hungarian Air Force{{cite web | title = Military Helicopter Market 1971 pg. 578 | url = http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%202092.html| access-date = 2013-04-03}}

;{{IND}}

• Indian 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.{{cite web |last=Gupta |first=Anchit |title=The Accidental Fleet of the IAF |url=https://iafhistory.in/2024/03/27/the-accidental-fleet-of-the-iaf/ |website=IAFHistory |date=27 March 2024 |access-date=5 May 2025}}

;{{IDN}}

• Indonesian Air Force
• Indonesian Army{{cite web | title = Daffa Athaya's picture |website = Facebook| url = https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1880082252121122&set=p.1880082252121122&type=3&theater| access-date = 2019-02-25}}

;{{IRQ}}

• Iraqi Air Force

;{{flag|Khmer Republic}}

• Khmer Air Force

;{{flagdeco|Laos|1952}} Laos

• Royal Lao Air ForceConboy and Morrison, Shadow War: The CIA's Secret War in Laos (1995), p. 102 (Notes 2, 9).{{cite web|url=http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/waf/aa-eastasia/laos/laos-af2-all-time.htm|title=Royal Lao Air Force Aircraft Types|work=aeroflight.co.uk|access-date=19 December 2016}}

;{{LAO}}

• Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force

;{{MLI}}

• Mali Air Force{{cite web|url= http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1975/1975%20-%201679.html|title= Military Helicopter Market 1975 Force Aerienne du Mali|publisher= flightglobal.com |access-date=3 April 2013}}

File:Mil mi-4fi.jpg

;{{MGL}}

• Mongolian Air Force{{cite web|url= http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%202093.html|title= Military Helicopter Market 1971 pg. 579 |publisher= flightglobal.com |access-date=3 April 2013}}

;{{PRK}}

• North Korean Air Force{{cite web | title = Military Helicopter Market 1975 pg. 304| url = http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1975/1975%20-%201678.html| access-date = 2013-04-03}}

;{{flagicon|PPR}} Polish People's Republic

• Polish Air Force{{cite web | title = Military Helicopter Market 1971 pg. 580 | url = http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%202094.html| access-date = 2013-04-03}}
• Polish Navy

;{{flagicon|RSR}} Socialist Republic of Romania

• Romanian Air Force

;{{SOM}}

• Somali Air Corps{{cite web|url= http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1981/1981%20-%202544.html|title= Military Helicopter Market 1981 pg. 372|publisher= flightglobal.com |access-date=3 April 2013}}

;{{USSR}}

• Aeroflot{{cite web|url= http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1972/1972%20-%202045.html|title= Military Helicopter Market 1972 pg. 202|publisher= flightglobal.com |access-date=3 April 2013}}
• Soviet Air Force
• Soviet Navy{{cite web|url= http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1981/1981%20-%202546.html|title= Military Helicopter Market 1981 pg. 374|publisher= flightglobal.com |access-date=3 April 2013}}

;{{SUD}}

• Sudanese Air Force

;{{SYR}}

File:Mil Mi-4 Szolnok 2010 01.jpg

• Syrian Air Force{{cite web | title = Military Helicopter Market 1971 pg. 581 | url = http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%202097.html| access-date = 2013-04-03}}

;{{VIE}}

• Vietnam People's Air Force

;{{flag|North Yemen}}

• North Yemen Air Force

;{{YUG}}

• Yugoslav Air Force

File:MIL Mi-4 HOUND.png

{{Aircraft specs

|ref=www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/mi-4-specs.htm

|prime units?=met

|crew=1 or 2

|capacity=16 troops or up to {{cvt|1600|kg|0}} of cargo

|length m=16.8

|length note=

|height m=4.4

|height note=

|empty weight kg=5100

|empty weight note=

|gross weight kg=7150

|gross weight note=

|max takeoff weight kg=7550

|max takeoff weight note=

|fuel capacity=

|more general=

|eng1 number=1

|eng1 name=Shvetsov ASh-82V

|eng1 type=14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine

|eng1 kw=1250

|eng1 note=

|rot number=1

|rot dia m=21

|rot area sqm=346.4

|rot area note=

|max speed kmh=185

|max speed note=

|cruise speed kmh=

|cruise speed note=

|never exceed speed kmh=

|never exceed speed note=

|range km=500

|range note=

|combat range km=

|combat range note=

|ferry range km=

|ferry range note=

|endurance=

|ceiling m=5500

|ceiling note=

|climb rate ms=

|climb rate note=

|time to altitude=

|disk loading kg/m2=41

|disk loading note=

|fuel consumption kg/km=

|power/mass={{cvt|0.21|kW/kg}}

|more performance=

|avionics=

}}

{{aircontent

|related=

• Harbin Z-5

|similar aircraft=

• Sikorsky H-19
• Sikorsky H-34
• Westland Wessex

|lists=

• List of most-produced rotorcraft

}}

{{Reflist}}

• Bill Gunston, An Illustrated Guide to Military Helicopters, Salamander Books Ltd, London 1981. {{ISBN|978-0861011100}}
• Bob Ogden, Aviation Museums and Collections of The Rest of the World, UK: Air-Britain 2008. {{ISBN|978-0-85130-394-9}}
• Kenneth Conboy with James Morrison, Shadow War: The CIA's Secret War in Laos, Boulder CO: Paladin Press, 1995. {{ISBN|978-1-58160-535-8}}
• {{cite journal|title=Pentagon Over the Islands: The Thirty-Year History of Indonesian Military Aviation|journal=Air Enthusiast Quarterly |date=n.d. |issue=2 |pages=154–162 |issn=0143-5450}}

{{commons|Mil Mi-4|Mil Mi-4}}

{{Mil aircraft}}

{{Czech helicopters}}

{{USAF/DoD reporting names}}

{{aviation.ru}}

Mi-04

Category:Mil aircraft

Category:1950s Soviet cargo aircraft

Category:1950s Soviet military transport aircraft

Category:1950s Soviet helicopters

Category:Single-engined piston helicopters

Category:Aircraft first flown in 1952

Category:Single-rotor helicopters

Category:Aircraft with fixed quad landing gear