RAF Acquisition of a CH-47A Chinook.

[SASless]

In a summary of the Chinook Helicopters built by Boeing-Vertol there is mention of a single CH-47A Aircraft going to the RAF back in the early days of the Chinook Program.

Does anyone have knowledge of that procurement of the aircraft by the RAF or MoD?

Despite the detailed information listed at that website....several aircraft remained unaccounted for due to 34 going to the VNAF (16 of which were from my unit), and others such as the one I am inquiring about.

[HaveQuick2]

An early Chinook (possibly 61-2414) ended up at the SAS training camp near Pontrilas.

[Davef68]

Interesting, there was a cancelled order for CH-47Bs in the in 60s, I wonder if it's related to that

[SASless]

Bingo! Ask and ye shall receive!

I went to the linked site and confirmed what Have Quick provided.

That database shows that A Model being "sold" to the RAF....no other information listed there as to date or anything.

I shall continue following up at some other locations.

Thank You for the nearly instant reply!


For all US Military Tail Numbers....this site is pretty good.

USASC-USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Military Aircraft Serial Numbers--1908 to Present (http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/usafserials.html)


Dave,

Memory tells me the B Model was an Interim Model built while the C Model was being finalized and the cancellation was due to the purchase of C Production models Airframes.
The B Model had the basic C Model airframe (square tail) and up-graded T-55 L-7C Engines. The A Models were also provided the up graded engines and made it a much stronger aircraft in Hot and High situations.


A bit more info....

61-02414, Boeing build number B-018, was a HC-1B helicopter. The U.S. Army acceptance date was 25 April 1963. 61-02414 accumulated 3,010 aircraft hours.

In July 1962, the Department of Defense redesignated all U.S. military aircraft to a new system. All HC-1B helicopters became CH-47A.

61-02414 was sold to the United Kingdom under Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Case UK-B-VNG on 8 January 1982.

As of 8 January 1982, the last known location of 61-02414 is unknown.



A B Model tail number 66-19103 was sold to the RAF in 1984-85 time frame.

[Davef68]

Dave,

Memory tells me the B Model cancellation was due to the purchase of C models.
.

No, it was down to lack of money (It was in 1967) - it would be another 10 years before the RAF got the Chinook (there was another abortive attempt in the early 70s cancelled due to the oil crisis.

Good info on the others though, presumably bought for ground training, I found a reference to 2414 being used as a parachute procedure trainer. There were a few D fuselages supplied at a later date, one of which was used in a repair program (89-00159 incorporated into rebuild of ZA671) and one is in the RAFM (64-13115/83--24104)

[Brewster Buffalo]

......
As of 8 January 1982, the last known location of 61-02414 is unknown.....
.
I can tell you that the 1988 edition of "Wrecks and Relics" had it located at RAF Odiham as an instructional airframe... A later edition thinks it was moved to "Aldershot" for instructional use with the "Paras" possibly in 1983.

[NutLoose]

Boeing HC-1B Chinook helicopter 61-02414. (http://www.chinook-helicopter.com/history/aircraft/A_Models/61-02414/61-02414.html)


from the site


Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter tail number history page (http://www.chinook-helicopter.com/history/history.html)

[HaveQuick2]

Location in the UK is here:-

Euro Demobbed - Out of Service Military Aircraft in Europe (http://www.eurodemobbed.org.uk/locations.php?location=11032)

[Chugalug2]

Davef68 :-

No, it was down to lack of money (It was in 1967) - it would be another 10 years before the RAF got the Chinook (there was another abortive attempt in the early 70s cancelled due to the oil crisis.
Interesting. I, along with my fellow course students, was at 5 AFTS, RAF Oakington, in the winter of 62/63. We were given a talk by two visiting SOs about the exciting future for helicopters in the RAF, with the expected introduction of the Chinook into RAF service. If we volunteered now we could be a part of that exciting future. Having just graduated after three years at Sleaford Tech we had at least learned that most basic rule of Service life, never volunteer! So as one man we didn't. The rule proved sound, the Chinooks didn't arrive until after my time in the RAF.

Mind you, we also didn't volunteer to dig out half the length and half the width of the runway there which was covered in a frozen hard mix of snow and ice, but the SWO ensured we were armed with picks and shovels and were obliged to do so. It was eventually with some satisfaction that we observed our endeavours proved insufficient as the CFI, having taken off with no problem in his Vampire, landed on our bit, ran through the next bit, and ended up in the barrier. We were training on Varsities and later flew them to Wyton to continue our flying there until mother nature achieved what we had failed to.

[brakedwell]

They buggered up the snowplan at Benson too! We were at the end of an Argosy course, which "borrowed" three Argosies that had diverted to St Mawgan and flew them to Malta via Gibraltar, where we completed the course at Luqa and Benina. A very enjoyable detachment!

[NutLoose]

We used to shovel the snow at Odiham to get the first Chinooks out of the shed, the RAF splashed out on a new sickle to be towed behind a four tonner to clear the aprons, fast forward to first heavy snow and sickle deployed straight over barbed wire coils, ripping the brush to bits and spitting out wire destroying its innards….. back to the brush and shovel!

[Martin the Martian]

The late 1960s order was far enough along the road that serial numbers had been allocated.

XV841-XV855 inclusive.