Boeing Chinook (UK variants)

Chinook
A Royal Air Force Chinook HC2 in 2008
Role Transport helicopter
Manufacturer Boeing Rotorcraft Systems
First flight 23 March 1980 (HC1)
Introduction 1980 with RAF
Status Active service
Primary user Royal Air Force
Number built 58
Unit cost
£60.1m (HC6, 2012)[1]
Developed from Boeing CH-47 Chinook

The Boeing Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). A series of variants based on the United States Army's Boeing CH-47 Chinook, the RAF Chinook fleet is the largest outside the United States.[2] RAF Chinooks have seen extensive service including fighting in the Falklands War, peace-keeping commitments in the Balkans, and action in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The Chinook aircraft, normally based at RAF Odiham, provides heavy-lift support and transport across all branches of the British armed forces, and is supported by the smaller, medium-lift helicopters such as the AgustaWestland Merlin HC.3 of the Royal Navy's Commando Helicopter Force and the RAF's Westland Puma HC.2, based at RNAS Yeovilton and RAF Benson.[3]

Design and development

Chinook HC Mk1

In March 1967 an order was placed for fifteen Chinook HC Mk1s, standing for Helicopter, Cargo Mark 1, for the Royal Air Force to replace the Bristol Belvedere.[4] This original MK1 variant was to be based on the CH-47B but the order was cancelled in a review of defence spending in November 1967.[5][6]

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.[7] These helicopters, comparable to the CH-47C with Lycoming T55-L-11E engines, were again designated Chinook HC Mk1, and entered service in December 1980. Eight more Mk1s were delivered from 1984 to 1986 with the CH-47D's Lycoming T55-L-712 turboshafts.[8]

The replacement of the Mk1's metal rotor blades with aluminium and glass fibre composite rotor blades saw these aircraft designated Chinook HC Mk1B. All surviving aircraft were later returned to Boeing and updated to the Chinook HC Mk2 standard for further service within the RAF.[9]

Chinook HC Mk2

RAF Chinook HC Mk2 in 2009

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 (FCS) and improved avionics.[10] The RAF returned their original Mk1s to Boeing for upgrading to CH-47D standard, the first of which returned to the UK in 1993.[11]

Three additional HC Mk2 Chinooks were ordered with delivery beginning in 1995. Another six were ordered in 1995 under the Chinook HC Mk2A designation;[12] the main difference between these and the standard Mk2 was the strengthening of the front fuselage to allow the fitting of an aerial refuelling probe in future.[13]

One Argentine CH-47C was captured during the Falklands War,[14] and used by the RAF as a training aid. The rear fuselage was later used to repair a crashed RAF Chinook in 2003.[15]

In 2006, the retirement dates for the Mk2 and Mk2A fleets were scheduled for 2015 and 2025 respectively,[11] but if planned upgrades are made both types could expect to be flying until 2040.[16]

Chinook HC Mk3

"One of the most incompetent procurements of all time."

Edward Leigh, then Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.[17]

Eight Chinook HC Mk3s were ordered in 1995 as dedicated special forces helicopters, which were intended to be low-cost variants of the US Army's MH-47E.[17] The Mk3s 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.[17] Although delivered in 2001, the Mk3 could not receive airworthiness certificates as it was not possible to certify the avionics software.

Unfortunately the procurement was "a profoundly inept piece of procurement": Sir Peter Spencer, who as head of Defence Procurement 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."[18]

The avionics were unsuitable due to poor risk analysis and necessary requirements omitted from the procurement contract.[19] The Times claimed that the Ministry of Defence planned to perform software integration itself, without Boeing's involvement, in order to reduce costs.[20] While lacking certification, the helicopters were only permitted to fly in visual meteorological conditions and subsequently stored in climate controlled hangars.[20]

After protracted negotiations to allow them to enter service, Air Forces Monthly reported in November 2006 that the Defence Aviation Repair Agency would likely receive a contract to install the Thales "TopDeck" avionics system on the Chinook HC Mk3s.[21] However, the Ministry of Defence 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 Mk2/2A specification.[22] The programme was estimated to cost £50–60 million.[23] 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.[24][25] On 6 July 2009 the first of the eight modified Chinook HC Mk3s made its first test flight at MoD Boscombe Down as part of the flight testing and evaluation phase of the HC Mk3 "reversion" program.[26]

Chinook HC Mk4 / Mk5 / Mk6

Mk6 makes its first flight, June 2014

A programme to upgrade 46 Chinook Mk2/2A and Mk3 helicopters was initiated in December 2008. Called Project Julius, it includes 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 FLIR detector, and upgrading the engines to the more powerful T55-714 standard.[27] Upgraded Mk2/2A and Mk3 aircraft will be redesignated Mk4 from Mk2/2a, and Mk5 from Mk3. Deliveries are expected to commence in 2011.[28] The first conversion, a Chinook HC Mk4, first flew on 9 December 2010.[29] Initial operating capability status was reached in June 2012 with seven aircraft delivered.[30]

The Chinook HC Mk6 designation has been assigned to the 24 (later reduced to 14) CH-47F-derived Chinooks ordered in 2009. These will have Boeing digital flight-control systems and are expected to be delivered during 2013.[27][28] Three had been delivered by June 2014.[31]

Operational history

Overview

RAF Chinook at Camp Davis in 1996

RAF Chinooks have been widely deployed in support of British military engagements, serving their first wartime role in Operation Corporate, the Falklands War, in 1982. Chinooks were used in Operation Granby in the 1991 Gulf War, attached to large peace-keeping commitments in the Balkans, the continued British presence in Afghanistan, and in Operation Telic in the 2003 Iraq War. They provide routine supply and support missions to the British military, notably in Operation Banner in Northern Ireland. The helicopter has also been of use in military humanitarian missions and the extraction of civilians from warzones, such as the evacuation of Sierra Leone in 2000, and the evacuation from Lebanon in 2006.

One Chinook in particular, known by its original squadron code Bravo November, has come to widespread public recognition due to its remarkable service record.[32] It has seen action in every major operation involving the RAF in the helicopter's 25-year service life,[33] including the Falkland Islands, 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, five Chinooks were loaded aboard the container ship MV Atlantic Conveyor bound for the Falkland Islands, to support the British operations.[34] On 25 May 1982, the Chinook Bravo November was sent to pick up freight from HMS Glasgow. While the helicopter was airborne, the Atlantic Conveyor was attacked by an Argentine Navy Dassault Super Étendard with an Exocet sea-skimming missile. Bravo November avoided the ship's destruction, assisted in the evacuation of the ship, and later landed on the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes, gaining the nickname "The Survivor".[35] Owing to the rapid spread of fire and smoke aboard the Atlantic Conveyor after the Exocet strike, it was not possible to fly any of the helicopters that remained on the ship's deck.[36]

One Argentine Army Chinook was captured intact by British Army forces after the surrender. RAF Chinooks were part of an estimated force of 40 helicopters in the British task force, alongside Westland Sea King and Westland Wessex helicopters.[37] Post-war, two Chinooks were operated by No. 78 Squadron 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 craft for operations in Afghanistan.[38]

First Gulf War

The Chinook became a vital transit tool during the 1991 Gulf War in Iraq. They were used for moving troops into the region at the start of the conflict;[39] a Chinook was used on 22 January 1991 to transport a Special Air Service (SAS) patrol on the infamous Bravo Two Zero mission.[40][41] In the aftermath of the conflict as many as nine British Chinooks delivered food and supplies to thousands of Kurdish refugees from Iraq.[42][43]

Kosovo

RAF Chinook HC2 in 2008

On 6 June 1999, two Chinooks of No. 27 Squadron left base at RAF Odiham in Hampshire, carrying paratroopers to join NATO forces serving in the Balkans;[44] six more arrived the following week in Kosovo to support operations such as casualty evacuations and transporting vital supplies.[45] On 12 June 1999, waves of Chinooks, escorted by Westland Lynx 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.[46] 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.[47]

Sierra Leone

In May 2000, several Chinook helicopters airlifted British and European Union citizens out of Freetown in Sierra Leone in an evacuation due to regional instability.[48] In September 2000 Chinooks were being used to evacuate casualties from fighting in Freetown to RFA Sir Percivale, a support ship docked there.[49]

Lebanon

In July 2006, 3 Chinook helicopters of No. 27 Squadron deployed to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus to evacuate British citizens from Lebanon;[50] the squadron also flew the EU foreign affairs representative Javier Solana to Beirut at the start of the crisis.[51] Members of the SAS and Special Boat Service (SBS) units were deployed via Chinooks into Lebanon to locate and make contact with British citizens.[52]

Afghanistan

View out of a Chinook flying over Helmand province, Afghanistan in 2007

Chinook helicopters have been relied upon heavily to support the British forces in Afghanistan continuously since the start of the war in Afghanistan in 2001;[3] Operation Snipe saw the helicopters used to assist the 1,000 British Commandos sweeping a region of southeathern Afghanistan.[53] Due to the threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) scattered throughout the terrain by insurgents, transport helicopters have become highly valued and demanded units in this style of warfare.[54][55] By April 2006 six Chinooks had been deployed by C-17 transport planes to Kandahar in Southern Afghanistan, in support of Operation Herrick.[56] Two RAF Chinooks were lost in August 2009 during combat operations with the Taliban, one of which was brought down by enemy fire,[57][58] in spite of warnings months before of Taliban plans to attack the helicopters.[59]

The continued operation of the fleet was made more cost effective when maintaince and support regimes were altered in 2006–7.[60] On 15 December 2009 the British government announced its Future Helicopter Strategy including the purchase of 24 new build Chinooks, 22 to expand the force and two to replace losses in Afghanistan, to be delivered to the Royal Air Force from 2012.[61][62] The number of additional Chinooks was cut to 12 with the October 2010 defence review, however.[63][64] This will bring the total fleet size to 60 aircraft; as of 2009, the RAF had 48 Chinooks in inventory.[2]

Variants

A RIB of the Royal Marines slung from a Chinook in 2009
The Chinook has been the workhorse of Operation Herrick in Afghanistan
Chinook HC Mk1
New-build aircraft for the RAF based on the CH-47C, 41 built.
Chinook HC Mk1B
Modification of the 41 Mk1s with metal rotor blades, survivors converted to Mk2.
Chinook HC Mk2
Conversion by Boeing of 32 surviving Mk1Bs to CH-47D standard, and 3 new build-aircraft
Chinook HC Mk2A
Similar to the HC2 with strengthened fuselage using milled structure manufacturing techniques, 6 built.
Chinook HC Mk3
Special forces variant based on the CH-47SD, 8 built.
Chinook HC Mk4
Mk2/2A aircraft with upgraded engines and avionics under Project Julius. 46 conversions planned.
Chinook HC Mk5
Mk3 aircraft with upgraded avionics under Project Julius.
Chinook HC Mk6
New-build Chinooks announced in 2009, expected to be delivered beginning in 2014. Originally 24 aircraft, later reduced to 14 [65] (12 helicopters plus 2 attrition replacements).

Operators

Apache and Chinook at sea on HMS Ocean in November 2014

RAF Odiham

RAF Benson

There is a suggestion that 78 Squadron, which previously operated the Merlin HC.3 from RAF Benson, could reform as a new Chinook squadron when new HC.6 aircraft on order from Boeing are delivered.[66]

The day-to-day maintenance of Nos. 18 and 27 Squadron aircraft is carried out by 18/27 (Engineering) Squadron, a separate Squadron using the innovative 'fight by flight' structure to provide the efficiencies of combined engineering whilst maintaining aircrew/ground crew relationships when deployed.

When deployed, the detachment of Nos. 18 and 27 Squadron aircrew and 18/27 (Engineering) Squadron groundcrew is known as No. 1310 Flight. The RAF has a total of 48 Chinooks in inventory as of late August 2009.[2]

Notable incidents and accidents

Specifications (Chinook)

Data from Royal Air Force.[2][11]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

See also

Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Related lists

References

Notes
  1. ↑ "Commons Hansard". UK Parliament. 11 June 2012. 14 HC6 cost £841m in 2012, with 5 years support and other costs bringing the total deal to ~£1bn
  2. 1 2 3 4 RAF Chinook HC2/2A/3 page. raf.mod.uk, 20 July 2009.
  3. 1 2 Great Britain: Parliament (2009). (RAF). p. 57.
  4. ↑ British Military Aircraft Serials and Markings. British Aviation Research Group. 1983. ISBN 0-906339-04-9.
  5. ↑ Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 27 November 1967. col. 65.
  6. ↑ "Britain Cancels Order for Boeing Copters As Part of Sharp Cutback in Arms Spending". The Wall Street Journal. 24 November 1967.
  7. ↑ "Boeing Unit to Make Helicopters for U.K. In $200 Million Job". The Wall Street Journal. 9 February 1978.
  8. ↑ "First and Final Add to Boeing Vertol's release on international Chinook deliveries". PR Newswire. 23 December 1986.
  9. ↑ "After Four-Day Rally, Stocks End Week Higher". The Miami Herald. 21 October 1989.
  10. ↑ Belden, Tom (21 May 1982). "This Whirlybird's an early bird: Boeing Vertol's Army copter delivered on budget". Philadelphia Inquirer.
  11. 1 2 3 "RAF Aircraft: Chinook HC Mk2". armedforces.co.uk. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  12. ↑ "Boeing and Westland split British helicopter order". The New York Times. 10 March 1995. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  13. ↑ "RAF Special Ops Chinook fiasco". Elite Forces UK. 4 June 2008.
  14. ↑ Burden 1986, p. 75
  15. ↑ "MoD uses 'cut and shut' chopper". BBC News. 18 July 2009.
  16. ↑ Hoyle, Craig (12 February 2006). "Boeing lifts massive UK Chinook deal". Flight International.
  17. 1 2 3 "Chinook blunder 'left RAF short'". BBC News. 7 April 2004.
  18. ↑ http://www.iraqinquiry.org.uk/media/48689/20100726pm-spencer.pdf
  19. ↑ "Ministry of Defence – Battlefield Helicopters". National Audit Office. 7 April 2004.
  20. 1 2 Evans, Michael (25 August 2009). "Missing software kept Chinook Mk3 helicopters in Wiltshire hangar". The Times (London).
  21. ↑ Jon, Lake (December 2006). "Fleetlands To Fix Chinook HC Mk3s?". Air Forces Monthly (Key Publishing Ltd.). p. 4.
  22. ↑ Hoyle, Craig (14 January 2010). "UK confirms plan to deploy 'new' Chinooks to Afghanistan". Flight International.
  23. ↑ "More battlefield helicopters for UK Armed Forces". Ministry of Defence. 30 March 2007.
  24. ↑ Evans, Michael (4 June 2008). "£500m ‘wasted’ on Chinooks that have never flown". The Times (London). Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  25. ↑ Hoyle, Craig (6 June 2008). "UK starts Chinook HC Mk3 'reversion' work, amid criticism". Flight International.
  26. ↑ "Modified Boeing Chinook Mk3 Successfully Completes 1st Test Flight". Boeing. 7 July 2009.
  27. 1 2 "U.K. Chinook Plans Coalesce". Aviation Week. 6 August 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  28. 1 2 "UK Joint Helicopter Command". Combat Aircraft Monthly: 54. October 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  29. ↑ Parsons, Gary. "First Project Julius Chinook flies". Key Publishing via key.aero, 24 January 2011.
  30. ↑ Hoyle, Craig (16 November 2012). "U.K. readies upgraded Chinooks for Afghanistan début". Flight International.
  31. ↑ Tomkins, Richard. "Britain unveils a new CH-47 Mark 6 helicopter" UPI, 18 June 2014. Accessed: 19 June 2014.
  32. ↑ "Bravo November – the RAF's Most Famous Chinook". RAF Museum. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  33. ↑ Almond, Peter (18 July 2009). "27 years old: the Chinook from the Falklands STILL serving in Helmand". Daily Mail.
  34. ↑ Ethell and Price 1983, pp. 147–148.
  35. ↑ Parsons, Gary (18 March 2008). "The legend of 'Bravo November'". Air-Scene UK.
  36. ↑ Ethell and Price 1983, pp. 151–152.
  37. ↑ "British air and land forces outnumbered". Boston Globe. 21 May 1982.
  38. ↑ "MoD forced to hire civilian helicopters in Afghanistan". Pak Tribune. 16 October 2006.
  39. ↑ Howlett, Debbie (28 February 1991). "Routing Iraq: Strategy, sleight of hand; Allied commander provides a comprehensive account". USA Today.
  40. ↑ Hanks, Robert (19 November 2004). "Andy McNab: The hidden face of war". The Independent (London).
  41. ↑ Lowry (2003). The Gulf War Chronicles. p. 27.
  42. ↑ Pope, Hugh (24 April 1991). "Wartime Allies Now Combine to Carry Aid to Kurds Refugees: The number of countries helping reflects the groundswell of Western concern for their plight". Wartime Allies Now Combine to Carry Aid to Kurds Refugees: The number of countries helping reflects the groundswell of Western concern for their plight.
  43. ↑ "U.S. Troops in Turkey start relief-supply base". Philadelphia Inquirer. 17 April 1991.
  44. ↑ "Chinooks head for Kosovo". Sunday Mail. 6 June 1999.
  45. ↑ Black, Ian (27 May 1999). "Britain to send 12,000 more troops". The Guardian (London).
  46. ↑ "UK leads Nato into Kosovo". BBC News. 12 June 1999.
  47. ↑ "Chinook safety probe launched". BBC News. 10 August 1999.
  48. ↑ Austin, Mark (10 May 2000). "Once more on to the Chinook as Sister Celia takes her leave again". The Independent (London).
  49. ↑ "Paras tell of their fear under fire; 'It was scary but once we got into the fighting, the training took over'". The Herald. 12 September 2000.
  50. ↑ "Mass rescue for Lebanon Britons". BBC News. 20 July 2006.
  51. ↑ "Factsheet: Emergency in Lebanon". Ministry of Defence. 20 July 2006.
  52. ↑ Gallagher, Ian (23 July 2006). "Tanks storm across Lebanon border". Daily Mail.
  53. ↑ Clements 2003, pp. 62–63.
  54. ↑ "Royal Marine Commandos in Afghanistan". Royal Navy. 18 April 2002.
  55. ↑ Norton-Taylor, Richard (15 July 2009). "MPs' report to say helicopter shortage puts troops at risk in Afghanistan". The Guardian (London).
  56. ↑ Hoyle, Craig (15 April 2006). "Road to Helmand". Flight International.
  57. 1 2 "UK Chinook 'did come under fire'". BBC News. 21 August 2009.
  58. 1 2 "UK Chinook damaged in Afghanistan". BBC News. 30 August 2009.
  59. ↑ Harding, Thomas (2 May 2009). "Taliban planning to down British Chinook". The Telegraph (London).
  60. ↑ Great Britain: Parliament (2006). (RAF). pp. 50, 58.
  61. ↑ "As Cuts Loom, Britain Orders 24 Chinooks From Boeing", Defense News, 15 December 2009
  62. ↑ "MoD to buy 22 new Chinooks". The Telegraph (London). 15 December 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  63. ↑ "Securing Britain in an Age of Uncertainty: The Strategic Defence and Security Review" (PDF). HM Government. 19 October 2010. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
  64. ↑ Hoyle, Craig (22 October 2010). "ANALYSIS: Winners and losers of the UK defence review". Flight International. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
  65. ↑ "Defence equipment budget rises as Future Force takes shape". Ministry of Defence. 18 July 2011.
  66. ↑ "Air Assault Task Force in Army 2020". UK Armed Forces Commentary. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  67. ↑ "MoD Military Aircraft Accident Summary – Chinook HC Mk1 ZA715" (PDF). 8 November 2006. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
  68. ↑ "MoD Military Aircraft Accident Summary – Aircraft Accident to Royal Air Force Chinook HC Mk1 ZA721" (PDF). 17 March 1989. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
  69. ↑ "MoD Military Aircraft Accident Summary Chinook HC MK1 ZA672" (PDF). 8 November 2006.
  70. ↑ "Chinook ZD 576 – Report". House of Lords – UK Parliament. 31 January 2002.
  71. ↑ "Chinook crash 'may have been caused by software faults'". BBC News. 4 January 2009.
  72. ↑ Page, Lewis (4 January 2010). "Please shut up about the Mull of Kintyre Chinook crash: RAF Chinook fleet is actually a rare MoD success story". The Register.
  73. ↑ Meade, Geoff (24 September 2009). "Lost Chopper 'Brought Down By Taliban'". Sky News. BskyB. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
Bibliography
  • Burden, Rodney A; Michael I Draper; Douglas A Rough; Colin R Smith; David L Wilton (1986). Falklands – The Air War. London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 0-85368-842-7. 
  • Clements, Frank (2003). Conflict in Afghanistan: a historical encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1-85109-402-4. 
  • Ethell, Jeffrey; Alfred Price (1983). Air War South Atlantic. London: Sidgwick and Jackson. ISBN 0-283-99035-X. 
  • Great Britain: Parliament (2006). Delivering Front Line Capability to the RAF: Third Report of Session 2005–06. London: House of Commons: Defence Committee. ISBN 0-215-02694-2. 
  • Great Britain: Parliament (2009). Helicopter capability: eleventh report of session 2008–09. London: House of Commons: Defence Committee. ISBN 0-215-54002-6. 
  • Lowry, Richard S (2003). The Gulf War Chronicles: A Military History of the First War With Iraq. London: iUniverse. ISBN 0-595-29669-6. 

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