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The Boeing Chinook is a large,
tandem rotor A tandem-rotor aircraft is an aircraft with two large helicopter rotor assemblies mounted one in front of the other in the horizontal plane. This configuration is mainly used for large cargo helicopters. Such aircraft are often informally referr ...
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...
operated by the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
(RAF). A series of variants based on the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
's
Boeing CH-47 Chinook The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem-rotor helicopter originally developed by American rotorcraft company Piasecki Helicopter, Vertol and now manufactured by Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The Chinook is a Military transport helicopter, heav ...
, the RAF Chinook fleet is the largest outside the United States. RAF Chinooks have seen extensive service in the
Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
, the
Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
,
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
, and
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
. The Chinook, normally based at
RAF Odiham Royal Air Force Odiham or more simply RAF Odiham is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, station situated a little to the south of the village of Odiham in Hampshire, England. It is the home of the Royal Air Force's heavy lift he ...
in England, provides heavy-lift support and transport across all branches of the British armed forces since the early 1980s. The RAF has a total of sixty Chinooks in active inventory as of 2015. In 2018, the UK issued a request to the United States to purchase sixteen additional rotorcraft. The Chinook is expected to remain in RAF service until the 2040s.


Design and development


Chinook HC1

In March 1967, the United Kingdom placed an order for fifteen Boeing Vertol CH-47B Chinook to replace the Royal Air Force's Bristol Belvedere HC.1 fleet. In British service the new aircraft was to be designated as the Chinook HC Mk 1 (also formatted as HC.1 or HC1) standing for ''Helicopter, Cargo Mark 1''. However in November of that year, the order was cancelled in a review of defence spending. UK Chinook procurement ambitions were revived in 1978 with an announced requirement for a new heavy-lift helicopter to replace the Westland Wessex. Thirty Chinooks were ordered at a price of US$200 million. These helicopters, comparable to the CH-47C with Lycoming T55-L-11E engines, were again designated Chinook HC1, and entered service in December 1980. Eight more HC1 were delivered from 1984 to 1986, with the CH-47D's Lycoming T55-L-712 turboshaft engines. The replacement of the HC1s metal rotor blades with aluminium and glass fibre composite rotor blades saw these aircraft designated Chinook HC1B. All surviving aircraft were later returned to
Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
and updated to the Chinook HC2 standard for further service within the RAF.


Chinook HC2

The US Army's next generation Chinook, the CH-47D, entered service in 1982. Improvements from the CH-47C included upgraded engines, composite rotor blades, a redesigned cockpit to reduce pilot workload, redundant and improved electrical systems, an advanced
flight control system A conventional fixed-wing aircraft flight control system (AFCS) consists of flight control surfaces, the respective cockpit controls, connecting linkages, and the necessary operating mechanisms to control an aircraft's direction in flight. ...
(FCS) and improved
avionics Avionics (a portmanteau of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the Electronics, electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, Air navigation, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, and the ...
. The RAF returned their original HC1 fleet to
Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
for upgrading to CH-47D standard, the first of which returned to the UK in 1993. Three additional HC2 Chinooks were ordered with delivery beginning in 1995. Another six were ordered in 1995 under the Chinook HC2A designation; the main difference between these and the standard HC2 was the strengthening of the front fuselage to allow the fitting of an
aerial refuelling Aerial refueling ( en-us), or aerial refuelling ( en-gb), also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to ano ...
probe in future. One
Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...
CH-47C was captured during the
Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
, and used by the RAF as a training aid. The rear fuselage was later used to repair a crashed RAF Chinook in 2003. In 2006, the retirement dates for the HC2 and HC2A fleets were scheduled for 2015 and 2025 respectively, but if planned upgrades are made both types could expect to be flying until 2040.


Chinook HC3

Eight Chinook HC3 were ordered in 1995 as dedicated
special forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
helicopters, which were intended to be low-cost variants of the US Army's MH-47E. The HC3s include improved range, night vision sensors and navigation capability. The eight aircraft were to cost £259 million and the forecast in-service date was November 1998. Although delivered in 2001, the HC3 could not receive airworthiness certificates as it was not possible to certify the avionics
software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...
. The programme was widely judged to be "a profoundly inept piece of procurement": Sir Peter Spencer, who as head of the Defence Procurement Agency inherited the project, said that the "original requirement was ... actually impossible. I mean, there were 100 essential requirements. I read all of them. One of them said to give protection against any missile coming from any direction." Spencer later commented: "it is always hard to imagine why people think you would be able cost effectively to buy a bespoke requirement for a very small production run." The avionics were unsuitable due to poor
risk analysis In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environ ...
and necessary requirements omitted from the procurement contract. ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' claimed that the
Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
(MOD) planned to perform software integration itself, without Boeing's involvement, in order to reduce costs. While lacking certification, the helicopters were only permitted to fly in visual meteorological conditions and subsequently stored in climate controlled hangars. In 2004,
Edward Leigh Sir Edward Julian Egerton Leigh (born 20 July 1950) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gainsborough, previously Gainsborough and Horncastle, since 1983. Parliament's longes ...
, then Chairman of the
Public Accounts Committee A public accounts committee (PAC) is a committee within a legislature whose role is to study public audits, invite ministers, permanent secretaries or other ministry officials to the committee for questioning, and report on their findings subseque ...
described it as "One of the most incompetent procurements of all time." ''
Air Forces Monthly ''Air Forces Monthly'' (AFM) is a military aviation magazine published by Key Publishing Ltd, based at Stamford in the English county of Lincolnshire in the United Kingdom. Established in 1988, the magazine provides news and analysis on mi ...
'' reported in November 2006 that after protracted negotiations to allow them to enter service, the
Defence Aviation Repair Agency The Defence Aviation Repair Agency, better known as DARA, was an executive agency of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence, responsible for the maintenance and repair of Royal Air Force, Army and the Royal ...
would likely receive a contract to install the
Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; ; ) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic Philosophy, philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. Thales was one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Seven Sages, founding figure ...
"TopDeck" avionics system on the Chinook HC3s. However, the MOD announced in March 2007 that this so-called "Fix to Field" programme would be cancelled, and instead it would revert the helicopters' avionics to Chinook HC2/2A specification. The programme was estimated to cost £50–60 million. In June 2008, the National Audit Office issued a scathing report on the MOD's handling of the affair, stating that the whole programme was likely to cost £500 million by the time the helicopters enter service. On 6 July 2009, the first of the eight modified Chinook HC3s made its first test flight at
MOD Boscombe Down MOD Boscombe Down ' is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the south-eastern outskirts of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. The site is managed by QinetiQ, the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the D ...
as part of the flight testing and evaluation phase of the HC3 "reversion" programme.


Chinook HC4

A programme to upgrade forty-six Chinook HC2/2A and HC3 helicopters was initiated in December 2008. Known as ''Project Julius'', it included new digital flight deck avionics based on the Thales TopDeck avionics suite, comprising new multifunction displays, a digital moving map display and an electronic flight bag, installation of a nose-mounted
forward-looking infrared Forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras, typically used on military and civilian aircraft, use a thermographic camera that senses infrared radiation. The sensors installed in forward-looking infrared cameras, as well as those of other therma ...
(FLIR) detector, and upgrading the engines to the more powerful T55-714 standard. Upgraded HC2/2A and HC3 aircraft were redesignated HC4 and HC5 respectively. Deliveries were expected to commence in 2011. The first conversion, a Chinook HC4, first flew on 9 December 2010. Initial operating capability status was reached in June 2012 with seven aircraft delivered. In July 2017, it was announced that the thirty-eight Chinook HC4s were to be upgraded to a HC6A standard including the replacement of the analogue flight control systems with the Boeing Digital Automatic Flight Control System (DAFCS). By February 2022, no HC4 variants remained, with the fleet comprising HC5, HC6 and HC6A variants.


Chinook HC5, HC6 and HC6A

The Chinook HC6 designation has been assigned to the twenty-four (later reduced to fourteen) CH-47F-derived Chinooks ordered in 2009. In December 2015, the fourteenth and final HC6 was delivered to the RAF. By February 2022 the fleet consisted of HC5, HC6 and HC6A variants.


Chinook ER

In March 2024, the MoD announced its intention to purchase 14 Chinook Extended Range (ER) models which have twice the range of the 14 oldest RAF Chinooks they will replace.


Operational history

RAF Chinooks have been widely deployed in support of British military engagements, serving their first wartime role in Operation Corporate, the
Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
, in 1982. Chinooks were used in Operation Granby in the 1991
Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
. The Chinook became a vital transit tool during the war. They were used for moving troops into the region at the start of the conflict; a Chinook was used on 22 January 1991 to transport a
Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling, and in 1950 it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terr ...
(SAS) patrol on the famous Bravo Two Zero mission. In the aftermath of the conflict as many as nine British Chinooks delivered food and supplies to thousands of Kurdish refugees from Iraq. On 10 August 1999, hundreds of Chinooks around the world, including those used by the British armed forces, were grounded due to cracking discovered in the landing gear of a British helicopter during routine inspection. One Chinook in particular, known by its original squadron code '' Bravo November'', is a well recognised and decorated aircraft due to its service record; it has seen action in every major operation involving the RAF in the helicopter's almost 40-year service life, including the
Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...
, Lebanon, Germany, Northern Ireland, Iraq, and Afghanistan.


Falklands War

During the Falklands War, Chinooks were deployed by both the British and Argentinian forces. In April 1982, four Chinooks were loaded aboard the container ship MV ''Atlantic Conveyor'' bound for the
Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...
, to support the British operations.Ethell and Price 1983, pp. 147–148. On 25 May 1982, the Chinook '' Bravo November'' was sent to pick up freight from HMS ''Glasgow''. While the helicopter was airborne, ''Atlantic Conveyor'' was attacked by an
Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; ). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Argentine Army, Army and the Argentine ...
Dassault Super Étendard with an
Exocet The Exocet () is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from Warship, surface vessels, Submarine, submarines, Helicopter, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Etymology The missile's name was given by M. Guil ...
sea-skimming missile. ''Bravo November'' avoided the ship's destruction, assisted in the evacuation of the ship, and later landed on the aircraft carrier , gaining the nickname "The Survivor". Owing to the rapid spread of fire and smoke aboard ''Atlantic Conveyor'' after the Exocet strike, it was not possible to fly any of the helicopters that remained on the ship's deck.Ethell and Price 1983, pp. 151–152. One
Argentine Army The Argentine Army () is the Army, land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the commander-in-chief of the Armed For ...
Chinook was captured intact by
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
after the surrender. RAF Chinooks were part of an estimated force of forty helicopters in the British task force, alongside
Westland Sea King The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome eng ...
and Westland Wessex helicopters. Post-war, four Chinooks were operated by "ChinDet" (Chinook Detachment) which became No.1310 Flight in 1983. Subsequently, No. 78 Squadron was re-formed in 1986 from the merger of No. 1310 Flight and No.1564 Flight (Sea Kings) and operated two Chinooks as part of the Falklands Garrison. This was reduced to a single helicopter in the mid-1990s and the type was eventually withdrawn from the Falklands in 2006, in order to free up resources and aircraft for operations in Afghanistan.


Afghanistan

Chinook helicopters were relied upon heavily to support the British forces in Afghanistan continuously from the start of the war in Afghanistan in 2001; Operation Snipe saw the helicopters used to assist the 1,000 British Commandos sweeping a region of southeastern Afghanistan. Due to the threat of
improvised explosive devices An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional warfare, conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached t ...
(IEDs) scattered throughout the terrain by insurgents, transport helicopters have become highly valued and demanded units in this style of warfare. By April 2006, six Chinooks had been deployed by C-17A Globemaster III transport aircraft to
Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...
in Southern Afghanistan, in support of Operation Herrick. Two RAF Chinooks were lost in August 2009 during combat operations with the
Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...
, one of which was brought down by enemy fire, in spite of warnings months before of Taliban plans to attack the helicopters. The continued operation of the fleet was made more cost effective when maintenance and support regimes were altered in 2006 and 2007. On 15 December 2009, the British government announced its Future Helicopter Strategy including the purchase of twenty-four new build Chinooks, twenty-two to expand the force and two to replace losses in Afghanistan, to be delivered to the RAF from 2012. The number of additional Chinooks was cut by twelve in the
Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010 The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010 was announced by the formed Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government of the United Kingdom in May 2010, and published on 19 October 2010. The previous major review of UK defence strategy was ...
. This brought the total fleet size to sixty aircraft; as of 2009, the RAF had forty-eight Chinooks in inventory.RAF Chinook HC2/2A/3 page
. raf.mod.uk, 20 July 2009.


Other deployments

On 6 June 1999, two Chinooks of No. 7 Squadron left
RAF Odiham Royal Air Force Odiham or more simply RAF Odiham is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, station situated a little to the south of the village of Odiham in Hampshire, England. It is the home of the Royal Air Force's heavy lift he ...
in
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
, carrying paratroopers to join
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
forces serving in the Balkans; six more arrived the following week in Kosovo to support operations such as casualty evacuations and transporting vital supplies. On 12 June 1999, waves of Chinooks, escorted by
Westland Lynx The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose twin-engined military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to t ...
and American AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, were used to rapidly deploy British infantry forces into Kosovo as a part of NATO's first phase of deployment. In May 2000, several Chinook helicopters airlifted British and
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
citizens out of
Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...
in Sierra Leone in an evacuation due to regional instability. In September 2000, Chinooks were being used to evacuate casualties from fighting in Freetown to RFA ''Sir Percivale'', a support ship docked there. In July 2006, three Chinook helicopters of No. 27 Squadron deployed to RAF Akrotiri in
Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
to evacuate British citizens from Lebanon; the squadron also flew the EU foreign affairs representative
Javier Solana Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga CYC (; born 14 July 1942) is a Spanish physicist and PSOE politician. After serving in the Spanish government as Foreign Affairs Minister under Felipe González (1992–1995) and as the Secretary Gener ...
to
Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
at the start of the crisis. In July 2018, three RAF Chinook helicopters were deployed under Operation Newcombe to assist French forces in the
Northern Mali conflict {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Mali War , width = 35% , partof = the Islamist insurgency in the Sahel and the War on terror , image = MaliWar.svg , image_size = 300 , caption ...
with logistics and troop movement.


Variants

;Chinook HC1 :New-build aircraft for the RAF based on the CH-47C, forty-one built. ;Chinook HC1B :Modification of the forty-one HC1s with metal rotor blades, survivors converted to HC2. ;Chinook HC2 :Conversion by Boeing of thirty-two surviving HC1Bs to CH-47D standard, and three new build-aircraft ;Chinook HC2A :Similar to the HC2 with strengthened fuselage using milled structure manufacturing techniques, six built. ;Chinook HC3 :Special forces variant based on the CH-47SD, eight built. ;Chinook HC4 :HC2/2A aircraft with upgraded engines and avionics under ''Project Julius''. Forty-six conversions planned. ;Chinook HC5 :HC3 aircraft with upgraded avionics under ''Project Julius'' and the replacement of the analogue flight control systems with the Boeing Digital Automatic Flight Control System (DAFCS). ;Chinook HC6 :New-build Chinooks announced in 2009, originally twenty-four aircraft, later reduced to fourteen (twelve new helicopters plus two attrition replacements). The final aircraft were delivered in December 2015. ;Chinook HC6A :Upgrade of the HC4 Chinooks, with the replacement of the analogue flight control systems with the Boeing Digital Automatic Flight Control System (DAFCS).


Operators

RAF Odiham * No. 7 Squadron – Part of the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing * No. 18(B) Squadron * No. 27 Squadron * No. 240 Operational Conversion Unit RAF – Joint Chinook and Puma HC1 Operational Conversion Unit, 1980 to 1993 RAF Benson * No. 28 Squadron – Joint Chinook and Puma HC2 Operational Conversion Unit, 2015 onwards


Notable incidents and accidents

;13 May 1986: Chinook HC1 ''ZA715'' crashed in bad weather in the Falkland Islands. The helicopter, with four crew and twelve troops, crashed into a hill four miles from its destination. With rescuers hampered by blizzards, the personnel were recovered but one crew member had died shortly after the crash, and the co-pilot and a soldier died on the way to hospital. The board of inquiry concluded that the crew had become disorientated due to " white-out" conditions. ;27 February 1987: Chinook HC1 ''ZA721'' crashed in the Falkland Islands on a test flight following servicing. After leaving
RAF Mount Pleasant RAF Mount Pleasant (also known as Mount Pleasant Airport, Mount Pleasant Complex or MPA) is a Royal Air Force station in the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands. The airfield goes by the motto of "Defend the right" (while the m ...
, the helicopter was at a normal cruising speed and an altitude of between 300 and 700 feet when it nosed down and crashed into the ground about six kilometres south-east of the airfield; it was destroyed by a subsequent fire. The board of inquiry was unable to determine the exact cause but it may have been the forward-swivelling upper boost
actuator An actuator is a machine element, component of a machine that produces force, torque, or Displacement (geometry), displacement, when an electrical, Pneumatics, pneumatic or Hydraulic fluid, hydraulic input is supplied to it in a system (called an ...
jamming. All seven on board, three crew and four technicians, were killed. ;6 May 1988: Chinook HC1 ''ZA672'' hit a pier at Hannover Airport while taxiing into position in a confined space. Its front rotor struck the underside of Pier 10, causing the helicopter to rear up vertically and then fall on its side. A fire started at the rear of the fuselage and soon spread. Three crew members were killed and one had major injuries; the Chinook was destroyed. ;2 June 1994: :Chinook HC2 ''ZD576'' crashed on the
Mull of Kintyre The Mull of Kintyre is the southwesternmost tip of the Kintyre Peninsula (formerly ''Cantyre'') in southwest Scotland. From here, the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland is visible on a calm and clear day, and a historic lighthouse, the second ...
, Scotland, killing all 25 passengers and all four crew members; the cause is disputed. It is widely regarded as the RAF's fourth-worst peacetime disaster. ;19 August 2009: Chinook HC2 ''ZA709'' made an emergency landing following a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) strike and subsequent engine fire after a cargo drop-off just north of Sangin in
Helmand Province Helmand (Pashto language, Pashto/Dari language, Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering ...
, Afghanistan. The Chinook flew two kilometres to a safe area before landing. None of the crew sustained any injuries and all evacuated the aircraft before they were rescued by a second Chinook on the same sortie. The damaged aircraft was then destroyed by coalition air strikes to prevent it falling into the hands of the Taliban. ;30 August 2009: Chinook HC2 ''ZA673'' made a hard landing while on operations near Sangin, Helmand province. It suffered damage to the undercarriage, nose and front rotor, but the crew and fifteen soldiers on board were unharmed. According to the Ministry of Defence it was not possible to safely recover the aircraft due to the location of the crash and it was destroyed with explosives deliberately. The cause of the hard landing was investigated, although it was not thought to have been shot down.


Aircraft on display

*83-24104 - Former US Army CH-47D forward section on display at Royal Air Force Museum London, modified to represent " Bravo November". *ZA717 - Chinook HC.1 preserved at Newark Air Museum in Winthorpe,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. *ZA718 - Chinook HC6A " Bravo November" on display at Royal Air Force Museum Cosford.


Specifications (Chinook HC2)


See also


References


Notes


Bibliography

* * * * * *


External links


Boeing – H47 Chinook

Royal Air Force – Chinook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boeing Chinook (Uk Variants) Boeing CH-47