Posted on 08/09/2009 11:47:36 AM PDT by lizol
Taliban bring down Polish helicopter gunship
6th August 2009
Mi-24 helicopter shot down in Afghanistan, crew survive
Gazeta Wyborcza reports that on July 31 an Mi-24 helicopter gunship which was on route from Kabul to the Ghazni province in Afghanistan with nine soldiers on board caught fire.
"At around 5.30 pm flames started to come out of one of the engines. Then the second engine went off. The helicopter lost height. The lives of those on board were saved by the skills of the pilot," says the informer quoted by the daily.
While the crew survived, the zł.30 million helicopter is no longer in use. Military officials claim that they found bullet holes from a machine gun.
"The Taliban have such post soviet weapons. Their bullets hit hydraulics pipes. If the bullets had been one and a half meter further, there could have been a tragedy," said the officer.
Yeah....but it was driving down a dirt road at the time and......ummm.......never mind............
Glad the crew is ok... God bless the Poles!
Thanks for post. Glad to know everyone got out alive.
“....Military officials claim that they found bullet holes from a machine gun....”
Seems Polish ‘journalists’ are no smarter than the US version.
It is a shame they have to use left over Russian junk.
Were Poles aboard or was it “Borrowed” by the UK?
The Pols use Russian choppers?
When the Russians were in Afganistan, the MI24 was considered a “flying tank”. Now they’re called “leftover Russian junk”. I suspect neither description is very accurate.
Makes no difference a lucky shot is a lucky shot, just glade he didn’t hit any of the men.
pretty much all the important stuff is armored, must of been a real damn lucky shot if you ask me
I landed at a coalition base south of Baghdad and saw one of the Russian Hind helicopter (MI 24) which was flown by the Poles and marveled at its armamaent and appreciated its “flying tank” reputation. One of the surprises that I found in the cockpit was tnat some of the instruments had English labels.
Thanks for the info. :-)
They do, and have since their Warsaw Pact days. Typically Mi-8 and Mi-24 variants.
Regards,
Beautiful photos. I remember seeing Polish Helo’s in Bosnia and Iraq. Glad they were on our side! Also trained with the Polish Army at Ustka several years ago. Good soldiers, and I was treated like a long lost brother when I told them I was from Chicago...
Regards,
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