Thank you Chizh. I am always having difficulty using Russian forums, and I appreciate your patience also.

If it interests you, I am currently researching the 27 October 1982 incident in which the Mi-24 helicopter was reported to shoot down an Iranian F-4. It's very confused. Most western authors repeat the claim that the F-4 was shot down with a Shturm-V anti-tank missile, but some Russian authors claim the machine gun or the unguided rockets were used. Research of Iranian records, however, reveals that no F-4s were lost at this time, and there is evidence to indicate this event never occurred. The Western sources are based on an English-language Iraqi propaganda newspaper ("Baghdad Observer") report and are easy to reject, but the Russian sources seem more believable. Perhaps someone has some good material regarding this incident, that I do not? I have read the writings of Yefim Gordon, Nikolay Sekach, M. Nikolskiy and M. Mietelski (Polish) - no two of them agree! Behind all these conflicting stories, it would be good to know if there is a real fact, or simply air. The "Baghdad Observer" is not a good source of information and one serious researcher has already concluded this event did not occur.

Best regards, and condolences to Russians for the tragedy of the recent air accident.

-SK