Mi-24 delivered to the German Democratic Republic

The Soviet foreign trade company AVIAEXPORT delivered a total of 54 Mi‑24 combat helicopters to the GDR, 42 Mi‑24Ds and 12 Mi‑24Ps.

The first aircraft was delivered in June 1978. This made the GDR the first member state of the Warsaw Pact to receive Mi‑24 combat helicopters. During the helicopter parade over Berlin on October 7th, 1978, the new helicopter type was presented to the public for the first time.

Notable is the procurement of 18 Mi‑24D in just four months during 1981. With 42 Mi‑24Ds, the GDR had the second largest fleet of this version after the Soviet Union. The training version Mi‑24DU, as used by the Czechoslovak Air Force, was not procured.

Compared to the air forces of Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and the Soviet Union, the GDR did not procure any Mi‑24Vs.

In December 1989, 12 Mi‑24P were delivered. This made the GDR the last member state of the Warsaw Pact to receive Mi‑24s with modern 9M114 anti-tank guided missiles. The GDR was the only operator of Mi‑24Ps outside the Soviet Union in the Warsaw Pact.

During service from 1978 to 1990, three Mi‑24s were lost in air disasters: 26Aug1980 ‑ crash of 407 after contact of the rotor blades with the tailboom (three crew members were killed), 03Jun1982 ‑ crash of 521 after hitting obstacles (pilot was killed), 26Oct1984 ‑ crash of 415 after hitting obstacle (operator was killed).