At the time of its first flight, the Mil Mi-6 'Hook' was the worlds largest helicopter, and surprisingly for such a behemoth it was also quite fast due to the installation of two turboshaft engines mounted side-by-side above the cabin. It was the first helicopter to exceed 300 km/h in flight and its massive fuselage can carry up to 70 fully equipped troops or a significant cargo capacity loaded via rear clamshell doors and ramps with an optional cargo sling system for bulky loads. Perhaps its most unique feature, however, are a pair of prominent stub wings used to decrease the load of the rotor in forward flight (these were removable when used as a flying-crane). It has been adopted for both military and civilian use by over a dozen Soviet client states including China although it has since been largely replaced by the even larger Mi-26 in Russian service.

The Mi-6 first took to the air on July 1957 and soon won the Sikorsky International Trophy in 1961 for its above mentioned speed record. The standard military version used primarily as a heavy transport is known as the Mi-6 'Hook-A' while other versions include the Mi-6 'Hook-B' command supoort with external antennae later improved as the Mi-22 'Hook-C'.