List of Soviet aircraft losses in Afghanistan

The following is a partial and unofficial list of helicopter and airplane crashes that occurred during the Soviet war in Afghanistan of 1979-89. In total, at least 333 helicopters and 118 jets crashed during the war.^[1]

This transport-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

The list is drawn from a Russian language aviation site.

Contents 1 1979 2 1980 3 1981 4 1982 5 1983 6 1984 7 1985 8 1986 9 1987 10 1988 11 1989 12 Summary by Aircraft type 13 See also 14 References 15 Source and References

1979

• 25 December 1979- An Il-76 heavy transport plane crashed into a mountain near the village of Kanzak (Northeast of Kabul) after being damaged by anti-aircraft artillery fire. Its pilot, 9-11 other crew members, 37 paratroopers and nine troops from unknown units were killed upon impact, leaving no survivors. Two vehicles in cargo, including a fuel truck, were also destroyed.^[2]

1980

• 7 February 1980- An-12 transport aircraft crashed on the outskirts of Kabul, killing its pilot.
• 13 February 1980- An Mi-24 attack helicopter was badly damaged by ground fire, and crashed in a botched emergency landing.
• 23 February 1980- An Mi-8TV Border guard helicopter was shot down, killing one passenger.
• 7 March 1980- An unidentified helicopter crashed due to a technical malfunction, killing one crew member.
• 10 March 1980- An Mi-8 transport helicopter crashed due to technical difficulties near the village of Kochek Qizil (Southwest of Mazari Sharif), killing two crew members.
• 23 March 1980- Su-17 fighter-bomber crashed due to either technical problems or poor weather conditions, killing its pilot.
• 9 April 1980- An Mi-8T transport helicopter, crashed due to either technical problems or poor weather conditions, killing two crew members.
• 11 April 1980- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down near the remote village of Shindand, killing two crew members.
• 24 April 1980- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 12 June 1980- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down, killing one crew member.
• 1 July 1980- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 5 July 1980- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 20 July 1980- An Mi-10 heavy transport helicopter was shot down, killing three crew members.
• 23 July 1980- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down, killing two crew members.
• 23 July 1980- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down, killing one crew member.
• 1 August 1980- A MiG-21 aircraft was shot down.pilot was killed.
• 25 August 1980- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 6 September 1980- An unidentified aircraft crashed due to either technical problems or bad weather, killing one crew member.
• 18 October 1980- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 12 December 1980- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.

1981

• 17 April 1981- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down, killing one crew member.
• 15 June 1981- A MiG-21 aircraft was shot down.1 crewman Mikhail Korchinsky was killed the other Yuri Moscowchuk was captured becoming the first soviet air force pilot to be prisoner of war.
• 24 July 1981- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down, killing four crew members.
• 5 September 1981- An Mi-8T transport helicopter was shot down, killing four crew members.
• 10 October 1981- An Mi-8MT transport helicopter was shot down, killing one crew member.
• 17 October 1981- An Mi-8T Board Guard helicopter was shot down, killing one crew member.
• 28 October 1981- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down, killing three crew members.
• 13 November 1981- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down, killing one crew member.
• 18 November 1981- An Mi-8MT transport helicopter was shot down, killing two crew members.

1982

• 10 March 1982- An unidentified aircraft crashed, killing one crew member.
• 15 April 1982- An unidentified aircraft was shot down, killing one crew member.
• 17 May 1982- An unidentified aircraft crashed, killing one crew member.
• 27 May 1982- An Mi-24 attack helicopter was shot down, killing one crew member.
• 27 May 1982- A MiG-21 aircraft was shot down.
•  ? June 1982- A MiG-21 aircraft was shot down.
• 13 June 1982- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down near the village of Taghaz (245 km to the Southwest of Kandahar), killing two crew members.
• 10 July 1982- An unidentified aircraft was shot down, killing one crew member.
• 6 August 1982- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 13 August 1982- A MiG-21 aircraft was shot down.pilot was killed
• 18 August 1982- A MiG-21 aircraft was shot down.
• 23 August 1982- An Mi-6 heavy transport helicopter was shot down, killing one crew member.
• 11 September 1982- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 7 October 1982- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 11 October 1982- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 12 October 1982- An unidentified helicopter was shot down, killing one crew member.
• 24 October 1982- A MiG-21 aircraft was shot down.
• 30 October 1982- An unidentified helicopter was shot down, killing three crew members.
• 4 December 1982- A Su-17 aircraft was shot down.both crewman were killed

1983

• 4 January 1983- An unidentified helicopter was shot down near the village of Kholm (East of Mazari Sharif), killing one crew member.
• 15 February 1983- An An-12 was shot down while on approach to Jalalabad. The five crew members were killed.^[3]
• 22 February 1983- An Mi-6 heavy transport helicopter was shot down, killing one crew member.
• 5 June 1983- An Mi-24 attack helicopter was shot down, killing two crew members.
• 19 July 1983- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down, killing one crew member.
• 24 July 1983- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down near Jalalabad, killing two crew members.
• 7 August 1983- An unidentified helicopter was shot down, killing one crew member.
• 9 September 1983- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down 120 km South of Faizabad, killing one crew member.
• 16 September 1983- An Antonov An-12 transport plane was shot down, killing four crew members.
• 3 October 1983- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 18 October 1983- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down near the Kajaki reservoir (Helmand province), killing two crew members.
• 21 October 1983- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 25 October 1983- An unidentified aircraft crashed, killing one crew member.
• 29 October 1983- A MiG-21 aircraft was shot down.
• 15 November 1983- An Mi-6 heavy transport missed the Soviet landing strip near the town of Kunduz and crashed due to a faulty tail rotor. Two crew members were killed.

1984

• 16 January 1984- An Su-25 strike jet was shot down, killing its pilot.
• 6 March 1984- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 2 April 1984- An unidentified helicopter crashed either due to bad weather or a technical failure. One crew member was killed.
•  ? May 1984- 4 MiG-21 Aircraft were destroyed on the ground.
• 9 May 1984- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 5 June 1984- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 6 June 1984- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 2 July 1984- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down, killing one crew member.
• 3 July 1984- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 5 July 1984- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down, killing one crew member.
• 6 July 1984- An Mi-6 heavy transport helicopter was shot down on approach to its base (while returning from a mission). All three crew members were killed. It is possible that this helicopter was captured by Afghan guerrillas.
• 14 July 1984- An unidentified helicopter crashed. One crew member was killed.
•  ? August 1984- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 6 August 1984- An unidentified helicopter was shot down. One crew member was killed.
• 23 August 1984- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 27 August 1984- An unidentified helicopter was shot down. One crew member was killed.
• 19 September 1984- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down, killing all three crew members in addition to a unit of paratroopers.
• 23 September 1984- An unidentified helicopter crashed. One crew member was killed.
• 16 October 1984- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down while landing a group of soldiers near the town of Baghlan. All three crew members and four disembarking troops were killed.
• 18 October 1984- An Su-25 strike jet was shot down, killing its pilot.
• 18 October 1984- An unidentified helicopter (probably an Mi-24) was shot down, killing two crew members.
• 27 October 1984- An Il-76 heavy transport plane was shot down during landing, 20 km to the South East of Kabul. Five were killed.^[4]
• 28 October 1984- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down in the Panshir Valley, killing two crew members.
• 8 November 1984- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 27 November 1984- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 1 December 1984- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 10 December 1984- An Su-25 strike jet was shot down.

1985

• 22 January 1985- An An-26 transport plane was shot down, killing one.
• 29 January 1985- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down shortly after taking off from Kandahar, en route to Kabul, killing one crew member.
• 13 February 1985- An Su-25 strike jet was shot down, killing its pilot.
• 11 March 1985- An An-30 transport plane was struck in the left engine by ground fire, causing a fire that began to spread. All non-essential crew members bailed out, while the Pilot and Co-Pilot remained, hoping to land the aircraft at Bagram Airport (near Kabul). The aircraft crashed 25 km from Kabul after the fire destroyed the aileron controls, and both were killed.
• 14 March 1985- An Mi-6 heavy transport helicopter collided with a Soviet Air Force reconnaissance plane, killing three.
• 20 March 1985- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down while transporting troops from Ghazni to Baraki(?). All five aboard were killed.
• 24 March 1985- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 27 April 1985- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down 7 km away from its destination of Lashkargah while transporting troops. Three were killed.
• 11 May 1985- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 18 May 1985- An Mi-6 heavy transport helicopter was shot down near the remote village of Bakarak, killing one.
• 1 June 1985- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 18 June 1985- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 21 June 1985- A MiG-23 fighter jet was shot down, killing its pilot.
• 21 June 1985- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down, killing one.
• 27 June 1985- An Mi-8 transport helicopter shot down, possibly with several troops on board. All those aboard were killed.
• 10 July 1985- An Mi-24 attack helicopter was shot down, killing one.
• 16 July 1985- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 11 July 1985- An unidentified ‘special missions’ aircraft was shot down, killing five.
• 22 July 1985- An Su-25 strike jet was shot down.
• 23 July 1985- A MiG-23 fighter jet was shot down.
• 25 July 1985- An unidentified aircraft crashed, killing one.
• 16 August 1985- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 19 August 1985- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 17 September 1985- An Mi-6 heavy transport helicopter was attacked on the ground, killing one.
• 21 September 1985- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 24 September 1985- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 3 October 1985- An Mi-6 heavy transport helicopter was shot down.
• 12 October 1985- An Mi-6 heavy transport helicopter was shot down 23 km South of Kabul, killing two.
• 13 October 1985- An unidentified aircraft crashed, killing one.
• 18 October 1985- An unidentified aircraft was shot down, killing one.
• 25 October 1985- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down 20 km to the Northwest of Kunduz, killing nine crew members and paratroopers.
• 1 November 1985- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down, killing one.
• 7 November 1985- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 15 November 1985- An An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 24 November 1985- An unidentified aircraft crashed, killing one.
• 6 December 1985- An Mi-8 transport helicopter shot down while transporting troops, killing seven.
• 16 December 1985- An Su-17 aircraft was shot down.
• 27 December 1985- A MiG-23 fighter jet was shot down.

1986

• 13 January 1986- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 18 January 1986- An unidentified aircraft crashed, killing one.
• 19 January 1986- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down, killing all crew members and paratroopers aboard.
• 1 February 1986- An Mi-24 attack helicopter was shot down West of Maymaneh, killing one.
• 21 February 1986- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 5 March 1986- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 3 April 1986- An Su-17 aircraft was shot down.
• 6 April 1986- An Su-25 strike jet was shot down,pilot Alexander Rutskoy safely ejects.
• 18 April 1986- An Su-25 strike jet was shot down.
• 21 April 1986- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down, killing two.
• 2 May 1986- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 17 May 1986- An Su-17 aircraft was shot down.
• 24 May 1986- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 26 May 1986- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 31 May 1986- An Mi-24 attack helicopter was shot down over Kabul airbase, killing two instantly while another died of his wounds six days later.
• 3 June 1986- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 15 July 1986- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 31 July 1986- Two Mi-8 medevac helicopters collided near Pagman, killing some of the injured passengers.
• 22 September 1986- An Su-17 aircraft was shot down.
• 25 September 1986- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 16 October 1986- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down, killing two.
• 19 October 1986- An Mi-24 attack helicopter was shot down, killing one.
• 22 October 1986- An Su-17 aircraft was shot down.
• 20 November 1986- An Su-25 strike jet was shot down.
• 29 November 1986- An An-12 transport plane was shot down while leaving Kabul Airbase en route to Jalalabad, transporting a contingent of newly-arrived Russian troops. All crew members (4-5) and all 27 passengers were killed.
• 29 November 1986- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 29 November 1986- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 3 December 1986- An Su-25 strike jet was shot down.
• 3 December 1986- An Su-25 strike jet was shot down.
• 26 December 1986- An An-26RT transport plane was shot down. All crew members bailed out, except the mechanic, who was killed either by the missile or in the crash.

1987

• 12 January 1987- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 13 January 1987- An unidentified aircraft crashed, killing one.
• 21 January 1987- An Su-25 strike jet was shot down.
• 21 January 1987- An unidentified aircraft crashed due to either technical problems or bad weather, killing one.
• 28 January 1987- An Su-25 strike jet was shot down.
• 5 February 1987- An unidentified aircraft was shot down, killing one.
• 27 February 1987- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 4 March 1987- Two Mi-8 transport helicopters were shot down while searching for the pilots from the two Afghan Su-22s that had been downed earlier in the day. Both crews were killed. (Two escorting Mi-24s had been delayed)
• 23 March 1987- An Mi-6 heavy transport helicopter was shot down, killing two.
• 12 April 1987- An Su-17 aircraft was shot down. This was the first Su-17 shot down by a FIM-92 Stinger missile.
• 15 April 1987- An unidentified aircraft crashed, killing one.
• 16 April 1987- A MiG-23 fighter jet was shot down.
• 21 April 1987- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 21 April 1987- All crew members and 18 paratroopers when an Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down 120 km north of Kandahar.
• 7 May 1987- Mi-8 transport helicopter crashed due to technical reasons or bad weather, killing four.
• 18 May 1987- An Mi-24 attack helicopter was shot down, killing two.
• 31 May 1987- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 1 June 1987- An Su-25 strike jet was shot down.
• 4 June 1987- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 5 June 1987- An Mi-8 Medevac helicopter carrying one wounded individual was shot down North of Kandahar, killing one.
• 9 June 1987- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 19 June 1987- An Su-17 aircraft was shot down.
• 24 June 1987- An unidentified aircraft crashed, killing one.
• 1 July 1987- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 12 July 1987- An-12 delivering ammunition was hit by ground fire while landing at Kandahar airbase, killing four crew members and one person on the ground.
• 15 July 1987- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 20 July 1987- An Su-22 was shot down near Gazni, killing one.
• 1 August 1987- An unidentified aircraft crashed, killing one.
• 13 September 1987- An-26 transport plane was shot down, killing one.
• 13 September 1987- An Su-22 strike jet was shot down, killing one.
• 29 September 1987- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 21 October 1987- An An-12 collided with an unidentified helicopter over Kabul Airbase due to the ground controller's error in clearing the helicopter for landing. All involved were killed, including 18 passengers aboard the An-12 who were en-route to Tashkent.
• 22 October 1987- An An-26 transport plane was shot down, killing two.
• 27 October 1987- An Su-17 aircraft was shot down.
• 30 October 1987- An Mi-24 attack helicopter was shot down, killing two.
• 23 December 1987- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down, killing one.

1988

• 17 January 1988- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down, killing four.
• 6 February 1988- An Mi-8 transport helicopter on a search and rescue mission was shot down with several rescued personnel aboard, killing two and wounding 6.
• 16 February 1988- An Mi-24 attack helicopter was shot down, killing one.
• 26 February 1988- An Mi-24 attack helicopter was shot down, killing one.
• 29 February 1988- An Mi-24 attack helicopter shot down 10 km Southeast of Bagram, killing one.
• 18 April 1988- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 20 April 1988- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 25 May 1988- An unidentified aircraft crashed, killing one.
• 23 June 1988- 8 Su-25 strike jets were destroyed on the ground.
•  ? June 1988- 1 Su-25 strike jet was destroyed on the ground.
• 18 July 1988- An unidentified helicopter (possibly an Mi-8) was shot down, killing one.
• 4 August 1988- An Su-25 strike jet was shot down by a Pakistani F-16,pilot Alexander Rutskoy safely ejects.
• 21 August 1988- An Mi-24 attack helicopter shot down, killing its two-member crew.
• 27 August 1988- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down.
• 4 September 1988- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down, killing one.
• 30 September 1988- An Mi-24 attack helicopter was shot down, killing two.
• 1 October 1988- An Mi-8 transport was helicopter shot down, killing one.

1989

• 7 January 1989- An Su-25 strike jet was shot down, killing its pilot.
• 19 January 1989- An Mi-8 transport helicopter was shot down, killing five.
• 2 February 1989- An Mi-24 assault helicopter was shot down, killing both crew members.

Summary by Aircraft type

• An-12 6
• An-26 4
• An-30 1
• Il-76 2
• Mi-6 10
• Mi-8 45
• Mi-10 1
• Mi-24 74
• MiG-21 12
• MiG-23 4
• Su-17 10
• Su-22 5
• Su-25 23
• Unidentified aircraft 24
• Unidentified helicopter 14

See also

List of Coalition aircraft losses in Afghanistan

References

Source and References

• A Russian aviation aficionado's translation of crash reports (found on a Soviet veteran webpage)
• Soviet AF losses in Afghanistan