The Soviet Union's ubiquitous and versatile helicopter, first flown in 1961 and still in production, and which has served worldwide and participated in many conflicts and in many roles, is fully documented here from first-hand Russian sources, with much fresh information and photos. Over the years, the Mi-8 and its variants have become veritable aerial workhorses, participating in countless conflicts. Its best-known role was probably in the Soviet war in Afghanistan, where the type provided sterling service in transport, close air support, search and rescue and medical evacuation. Other wars in which the Mi-8 had been involved include the Indo-Pakistani conflict, the Arab-Israeli wars, the civil wars in Angola and Sri Lanka and the Chechen wars, to name but a few. On the other hand, the type has been actively used for peacekeeping and humanitarian missions by the UN. The Mi-8 has seen service in virtually every country of the world and is still in production. The fact that new versions keep appearing testifies that the Mi-8s full potential has not yet been used up!

The Yakovlev design bureau started life in 1927 when Aleksandr Sergeyevich Yakovlev (1894-1977) brought out his first aircraft, the two-seat AIR-1. The first nine designs created by Yakovlev remained in prototype form, being developed largely at his own initiative; in 1935, however, his fortune changed when the UT-2 primary trainer entered large-scale production. In the immediate pre-war years and during World War Two the Yakovlev OKB proved quite versatile, developing such varied aircraft as the Yak-4 light bomber of 1939, the Yak-6 light transport and the Yak-1 fighter of 1940. The latter was the progenitor of a highly successful series of fighters including the Yak-7, Yak-9 and Yak-3. After the war, diversity continued. For a while, fighters were still strongly on the agenda; the Yak-15 first flew on 24th April 1946, the same day as the MiG-9, and evolved into the Yak-17 and Yak-23 featuring the same 'pod-and-boom' layout. The twinengined Yak-25 interceptor was brought out in 1952, again becoming the first in a line of twinjet tactical aircraft — mostly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Civil aircraft development also continued on a large scale, the OKB developing such successful aircraft as the Yak-18 trainer/aerobatic aircraft family, the Yak-40 feederliner (1966) and the Yak-42 short/medium-haul airliner (1974). The company even tried its hand at helicopters: the tandem-rotor Yak-24 was brought out in 1952, entering small-scale production in 1955. Though overshadowed as a 'fighter maker' by Mikoyan and Sukhoi, the Yakovlev OKB did not give up. The Yak-38 VTOL attack aircraft first flew in 1970, entering service with the Soviet Navy in 1976. A major success was achieved in 2002 when the Yak-130, the company's latest trainer, was selected by the Russian Air Force.