Boeing Chinook (UK variants)
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| Chinook HC1 / HC2 / HC3 | |
|---|---|
 A Royal Air Force Chinook HC2 |
|
| Type | Cargo helicopter |
| Manufacturer | Boeing Helicopters |
| Maiden flight | 21 September 1961 (YHC-1B) |
| Introduced | 1980 with RAF |
| Status | Active service |
| Primary user | Royal Air Force |
| Number built | 48[1] |
| Developed from | CH-47 Chinook |
The Boeing Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter operated by the Royal Air Force. A series of variants based on the United States Army's CH-47 Chinook, the RAF has 48 Chinooks,[1] which is the largest fleet outside of the United States. RAF Chinooks have been widely deployed including fighting in the Falklands War, peace-keeping commitments in the Balkans, and action in the Iraq War.
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[edit] Design and development
[edit] Chinook HC1
The Chinook CH-47A entered service with the United States Army in 1962. Following the retirement of the Bristol Belvedere in 1969, also a tandem-rotor design, the RAF required a new heavy-lift helicopter and ordered 33 HC.1s in 1978. These aircraft, which entered service in December 1980, were comparable to the CH-47C, fitted with Lycoming T55-L-11E engines. Eight more HC.1s were delivered from 1984 to 1986 with the CH-47D's Lycoming T55-L-712 turboshafts.
The replacement of the HC1's metal rotor blades with glass fibre rotors saw these aircraft designated Chinook HC1Bs.
[edit] Chinook HC2
The US Army's next generation Chinook, the CH-47D, entered service in 1982. Improvements from the CH-47C included upgraded engines, fibreglass rotor blades, a redesigned cockpit to reduce pilot workload, redundant and improved electrical systems, an advanced flight control system (FCS) and improved avionics. The RAF returned their original HC1s to Boeing for remanufacture to CH-47D standard, the first of which returned to the UK in 1993. Three additional HC.2s were ordered with delivery beginning in 1995.
Six further Chinooks were ordered in 1995 as Chinook HC2As. The main difference in these and the standard HC2 was the strengthening of the front fuselage to allow the fitting of an aerial refueling probe in future.
[edit] Chinook HC3
Eight Chinook HC3s were ordered in 1995 as dedicated special forces helicopters. By 2007 the helicopters were still to enter service. The procurement was described by the Edward Leigh, then Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, "as one of the most incompetent procurements of all time."[2]
The HC3s were to be effectively low-cost variants of the US Army's SF Chinook, the MH-47E. The HC3s would include improved range, night vision sensors and navigation capability. The eight aircraft were to cost £259 million and the forecast in-service date (ISD) was November 1998 (defined as delivery of the first six aircraft).
Air Forces Monthly reported in November 2006 that The Defence Aviation Repair Agency will likely receive a contract to install the Thales "TopDeck" avionics system on the Chinook HC3s.[3] If and when the HC3s enter service they will join 7 Squadron at RAF Odiham.
The MOD announced in March 2007 that work would begin immediately in converting the helicopters from special forces support to battlefield support helicopters. The programme is estimated to cost £50-60 million and will make the aircraft available within the next 2 years.[4] In June 2008, the National Audit Office in the UK issued a scathing attack on the MOD's handling of the affair, going as far as calling it a 'gold standard cock-up'.[5]
[edit] Operational history
RAF Chinooks were widely deployed, serving in Operation Corporate (Falklands War).
Whilst the RAF has many types of helicopters in active service, the Chinook has proven itself one of the most effective. One particular example, serial ZA718 (Boeing construction number B-849) and also known by its original squadron code 'Bravo November', has seen action in every major operation the RAF has been deployed to in the helicopter's 25-year service life.
Bravo November went to the Falkland Islands in 1982 to spearhead the British landings there along with three other Chinooks. However, the container ship they were being transported on—the Atlantic Conveyor—was attacked on 25 May 1982 by an Argentine Navy Dassault Super Étendard with an Exocet sea-skimming missile. Although the rest of the aircraft were destroyed, Bravo November was airborne on an engineering test flight at the time of the attack. Having survived the destruction of the ship, it managed to make it safely to the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes and was nicknamed The Survivor.
The merchant ship Atlantic Conveyor was sunk during the Falklands War along with its cargo of three Chinook HC1s of 18 Squadron and six Wessex helicopters of 848 Naval Air Squadron D Flight and all the second line repair and maintenance support equipment and stores. One Argentine CH-47C was captured during the war and placed in RAF service as an HC2.[citation needed]
Later in the conflict ZA718 ran into trouble during a night mission transporting guns to the SAS when pilot Squadron Leader Dick Langworthy, unable to see clearly through a thick snow shower, hit the sea at around 100 knots (175 km/h) due to a faulty altimeter, throwing up spray and flooding the engine intakes. Fortunately Langworthy and his copilot managed to get the helicopter back in the air. With the radio damaged and unable to navigate, Bravo November returned to San Carlos and a quick inspection revealed the impact had caused little more than dents to the fuselage and damage to the radio systems.
ZA718 Bravo November went on to serve in Lebanon, Germany, Northern Ireland, Kurdistan and Iraq, being the first British helicopter to land Royal Marines ashore in Iraq. ZA718 was the first RAF Chinook to be converted to Chinook HC2 standard in 1993/94. Two pilots of ZA718 have been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Two Chinooks were maintained as part of the Falklands Garrison but were later moved to Afghanistan.
RAF Chinooks have also served in Operation Granby (Gulf War, 1991), large peace-keeping commitments in the Balkans, the evacuation of Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Operation Telic (Iraq 2003-), and the evacuation from Lebanon.
The RAF's Chinook force also provides more routine support of the British Military, particularly in Operation Banner in Northern Ireland.
Since early 2006 seven Chinooks have been deployed to Camp Bastion in Afganistan in support of Operation Herrick.
In July 2006, 3 Chinook helicopters of No.27 Squadron deployed to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus to evacuate British citizens from Lebanon. The squadron also flew the EU foreign affairs representative Javier Solana to Beirut at the start of the crisis.
[edit] Variants
- Chinook HC1
- Chinook HC1B
- Chinook HC2
- Chinook HC2A
- Chinook HC3
- Chinook HC3A
[edit] Operators
Currently three RAF squadrons operates Chinook helicopters, 7 SQN, 27 SQN and 18 SQN with day to day maintenance of 18 and 27 SQNs aircraft being maintained by a joint groundcrew known as Expeditionary Chinook Engineering Squadron (ExCES).
When deployed the detachment of 18 / 27 SQN aircrew and ExCES groundcrew is known as 1310 Flight.
[edit] Notable incidents and accidents
- On 2 June 1994 an RAF Chinook HC2 crashed on the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland killing all on board (25 passengers plus 4 crew).
[edit] Specifications (Chinook)
General characteristics
- Crew: 3-4 (pilot, copilot, one or two air loadmasters - depending on aircraft role)
- Length: 30.1 m (98 ft 9 in)
- Rotor diameter: 18.3 m (60 ft 0 in)
- Height: 5.7 m (18 ft 8 in)
- Empty weight: 10,185 kg (22,450 lb)
- Loaded weight: 12,100 kg (26,680 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 22,680 kg (50,000 lb)
- Powerplant: 2× Honeywell T55-L-712 turboshafts, 2,800 kW (3,750 hp) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 295 km/h (183 mph)
- Service ceiling 2,590 m (8,500 ft)
- Rate of climb: 10.1 m/s (1,980 ft/min)
Armament
- 2x M134 Miniguns and 1x M60 machine gun
[edit] See also
Related development
Comparable aircraft
Related lists
[edit] References
- ^ a b RAF Chinook HC2/2A/3 page on raf.mod.uk
- ^ "Chinook blunder 'left RAF short'", BBC News, 2004-04-07. Retrieved on 2006-11-16.
- ^ Jon, Lake. "Fleetlands To Fix Chinook HC.3s?", Air Forces Monthly, Key Publishing Ltd., December 2006, p. 4. Retrieved on 2006-11-15.
- ^ "More battlefield helicopters for UK Armed Forces", Ministry of Defence, 2007-03-30. Retrieved on 2007-03-31.
- ^ "£500m ‘wasted’ on Chinooks that have never flown", London: The Times, 2008-06-04. Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
- NAO: Battlefield Helicopters HC3 information edited version. "All material may be downloaded, copied or reproduced free of charge in any format or medium without requiring specific permission."
[edit] External links
- RAF Chinook HC2/2A/3 page and Chinook H2 fact sheet on raf.mod.uk
- CH-47D/F page on Boeing.com
- British Chinooks on armedforces.co.uk
- Chinook-helicopter.com
- Bravo November in the Falklands
- National Audit Office press release June 2008
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