During a joint training exercise between Russian and Japanese forces in May of 2006, a Russian was
performing amphibious maneuvers off the coast of the island of Sakhalin when disaster struck.
Footage taken on the scene shows how the helicopter repeatedly fails to take off
from the ocean. Seconds later, its nose tips forward and its rotor blades clip the water,
followed by the helicopter breaking up into small parts.
In the chaos that ensued, the rescue forces had to act quickly to retrieve the 13 passengers
aboard the sinking helicopter… Going MAD with the Cold War
In the early 1960s, the development of submarines with nuclear capabilities was already underway,
and both the Soviet Union and the United States were building a fleet
of stealth hunters to wreak havoc in the case of imminent conflict.
The development of nuclear submarines was directly related to the doctrine of MAD
or Mutual Assured Destruction. This military strategy doctrine studied the possibilities
of how to wage a full-scale nuclear war between the world’s superpowers.
Then, during the Vietnam War and the increasing tensions of the Cold War,
the military industry became overwhelmed once again with more nuclear developments.
In addition, US Navy submarines kept patrolling the waters off the coasts of Vietnam,
Korea, Japan, and beyond, looking for enemy activity. The Soviet Navy
submarines did the same thing, and from time to time, they even spotted each other.
Still, the Soviet Navy got anxious about US submarines getting so close to Russian waters
and put its small number of modified Mil Mi-4 helicopters to good use in order to spot them.
Then, in April of 1965, the Soviet Communist Party Central Committee and Council of Ministers
issued a request to develop a short-range, shore-based, anti-submarine helicopter
that could replace the aging Mil Mi-4 Hound. It was just the beginning of the Mil Mi-14
Haze, the Soviet Navy’s most potent anti-submarine hunter.
Creating the Ultimate Submarine Hunter
The Mil Mi4 Hound helicopter was designed in response to the American Sikorsky H19
Chickasaw used during the Korean War. It was introduced in 1953 and physically resembled
its American counterpart. However, it could lift more weight and carry more payload.
From the more than a dozen variants produced, the MI4VM or VM12 was used as an anti-submarine
warfare helicopter alongside the 4M Hound-B and Hound-C types. These helicopters featured a KursM
SPRS1 radar station, an additional fuel tank, a rescue boat, and an under-fuselage gun turret.
Over 4,000 Mil Mi4s were produced before the
Soviet Air Forces began phasing it out in favor of the Mil Mi8.
The Mi8 twin-turbine helicopter was initially intended as a transport helicopter for military
and civilian usage, but it was quickly discovered that it could excel at other roles.
Its base design was inspired by its predecessor, but it also borrowed
from the American Sikorsky H34 Choctaw. In 1959, while aerospace engineer Mikhail
Mil was developing the Mi8, Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev visited the United States
and flew aboard the Presidential S58 helicopter, which was a modified H34.
Khrushchev was deeply impressed by the helicopter and ordered a Soviet version
with similar capabilities and commodities. Mil then convinced
Khrushchev that he could incorporate such features into his own project.
With enough funding, Mil eventually produced five prototypes with different engines and avionics.
The mass-production model first flew in 1964 and was approved by the Soviet government,
and the first helicopters were delivered the following year.
At first, the Soviet armed forces were not interested in the Mi8.
It was until the full swing of the Vietnam War that the army turned to the Soviet helicopter.
The wide use of the American Bell UH1 or Huey helicopter changed the Soviet perspective,
and in 1967, the Soviet Air Force introduced the Mi-8T variant that carried up to 24 men.
It was also armed with rockets, anti-tank guided missiles,
and other ordnance depending on the mission.
The Russian Mil Mi-14 Helicopter
The helicopter that would become the Mil Mi-14 was a modified
maritime conversion of the company's Mi-8T. It kept many of the critical features of its
predecessor, except that it was especially suited for submarine hunting and amphibious assaults.
The most significant difference between the Mi-8T and the Mi-14
was that it featured a boat-like hull that resembled the Sikorsky Sea King.
This allowed the helicopter to land and take off from the water during amphibious operations.
Additionally, the Mi-14’s four-point undercarriage was fully retractable,
as its wheels retracted into large sponsons located on the rear of the fuselage.
In addition, the search radar was housed beneath the nose, and the helicopter could
carry one torpedo, naval mines, and up to 8 depth charges housed in a watertight weapons
bay fitted near the fuselage center. The Mi-14 also carried a towed Magnetic
Anomaly Detector, or MAD device, that further enhanced the aircraft’s anti-submarine role.
This amphibious version was designated V14 and was powered by two Klimov TV3 turboshaft engines,
which allowed for a three-bladed tail rotor and a five-bladed main rotor.
Its maximum registered speed was 230 kilometers per hour
with an estimated range of 1,135 kilometers and an approximate service ceiling of 3,500 meters.
The Mi-14 was manned by a crew of four men, and it had plenty of space for up to 24 passengers.
The helicopter’s first test flights took place in 1969 before it went into production. From then on,
it became Russia’s primary shore-based helicopter and has also been shipped to countries like North
Korea, Poland, Romania, Libya, Germany, and Syria. Numerous variants have been developed throughout
the decades, including the PLM variant that features a dipping sonar and digital computer,
and the 14BT that is equipped for mine-towing countermeasures.
Meanwhile, other versions were converted to 24-passenger vehicles and search and rescue
variants with searchlights and sliding doors. Many of these Mi14 helicopters are currently
serving in the Black Sea and Northern Fleets of the Russian Navy.
Crashing Near Hokkaido Island
On May 12, 2006, Russian and Japanese forces were conducting a joint Search
and Rescue Exercise near Hokkaido Island in Japan.
Both navies were training amphibious crashes or landings over the sea with Mil Mi14 helicopters.
Footage from the last exercises shows the Mi14 performing some amphibious takeoffs and landings,
while a Navy vessel and several boats can also be seen in the background.
The Mi-14 is seen hovering over the water while the ocean’s current appears to tilt it forward
and backward. Then, all of a sudden, it seems as if the pilot loses control,
and the helicopter leans forward into the water.
Moments later, the tips of the rotors hit the water, and the helicopter turns into pieces.
A big splash of water suddenly covers what looks like the rotors cutting the tail fin,
and then it crumbles to the right. The helicopter’s fuselage then goes
into a violent alligator roll and begins to go down into the water, barely staying afloat.
The Mi14 was carrying 13 passengers, and they were all rescued by nearby boats.
Only three persons were severely injured and taken to a hospital in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
Unfortunately, the pilot later lost his life due to the injuries, probably as a result of
the angular momentum that was transferred to the vehicle in a fraction of a second.
Hours later, Flight International reported: (QUOTE) "An investigation has begun into
the cause of a crash into the Sea of Japan by a Russian Mil Mi-14 Haze [...] during an emergency
simulation exercise. The military-operated Mi-14, an amphibious version of the Mi-8 Hip
twin-engined helicopter, was attempting a takeoff from water during a joint emergency simulation
exercise with the Japanese coast guard.” The note clarified that one of the
helicopter’s engines failed, and the pilot did everything
he could to regain control and stabilize the aircraft. However, nothing could be done.
Later that day, the half-submerged helicopter was towed to the port of Korsakov.
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