RAF Chinook 40 Years
 

On this day 4 decades ago the first Chinook was delivered to the RAF and the rest is history from Falklands to GW1, The Balkans, Adghanistan etc.

Boeing: Celebrating 40 years of Chinook

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....c6ceef5d0.jpeg


(Photos courtesy of Boeing)

Thing was though the late Eric ‚Winkle‘ Brown Went over to fly the prototype YCH-47A at Boeing Philadelphia in 62 (?) and MoD looking at procuring it in the late 60s but did not happen.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....5f85a76b8.jpeg

cheers

Dick Forsyth talks about being the first RAF Chinook pilot.......

How time flies, I still remember it turning up as one of those on the OCU at the start of it all. Happy days, building the Tea bar out of redundant Chinook packing cases.. and each Chinook arriving with a superb set of thin Snap-On Spanners in a tool kit that were removed never to be seen again, along with the centre seats.. and the true RAF tradition of let’s cobble it together with what we have and redundant Andover long range tanks being installed in the cabs to increase the range.

I remember a few incidents we had in those days, an escape hatch window falling out over Southampton on one delivery, and corrosion found in a couple of early cabs, caused it turned out by the delivery crews practice of taking a car with them on the trip to the docks so they could drive home. Snow and salt off the vehicles would melt, drop off, then sit in the aircraft for the weeks it took to deliver slowly starting to corrode.

https://www.forces.net/technology/ai...-years-chinook

The procurement in the 1960s went a long way down the road, far enough for serial numbers to be allocated (XV841-XV855). The order was placed in March 1967, but was cancelled in November, and was for CH-47B variants.

chopper2004 :-
Indeed, our course at 5 AFTS Oakington winter 62/63 (doing ME training on Varsities) was treated to a presentation about the exciting new prospects for the RAF helicopter force being on the verge of acquiring the Chinook. We could become a part of that by simply declaring our interest, now! Having been in long enough to have learnt "Never volunteer, ever", we didn't. It turned out to be wise advice. :ok:

I seem to remember the ones delivered to Liverpool were offloaded and prepped next to the local hookers place of trade, so it was happy hookers all round ;)

Gosh this makes me feel old. I remember standing in the bar at Seletar in 1967 chatting with a couple of Belvedere pilots who were bemoaning the fact that the initial order for Chinooks for the RAF had been cancelled. At this time of course they were already very active in Vietnam. Thank goodness that decision was eventually rescinded.

Some years ago I met a chap who had been serving in the RN during the Falkland War. On the day that the Atlantic Conveyer was sunk, this chap was manning a gun (an Oerlikon I think) on his ship when the warning came that an Exocet missile was inbound. As the missile passed them at short range everybody opened up on it, but unfortunately to no affect and the Atlantic Conveyer was hit and sunk with its precious cargo of Chinooks. I thought, if somebody had managed to hit that Exocet, the whole course of the war might have been altered - almost certainly shortened. One other thing, the word "yomp" would probably never had entered the language. Still there are always "what ifs" in any war.

And my mates were on the conveyor and went for a swim.

Along with the C130 I think the CH47 is pretty close to being obsolete proof

Have we still got the first one "triggers broom".

Yes: Bravo November! ZA718. In my logbook, just before my neighbour at Odiham went and won a DFC on her on the Al-Faw peninsula.

Does the B-52 get a look in? 😉

Sadly not. ZA672 was the first one delivered to the RAF and it was subsequently destroyed at Hannover in May 1988. I’m unsure if ZA670 and 671 were delivered to Boscombe beforehand but they are still in service.

Not sure what the question is, but here’s a simple summary of the Chinook AFCS, albeit the D Model, but the tandem rotor bits are basically the same.

ZA672 FF at ODI shortly after delivery to the OCU



https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....4cc161a7a9.jpg

ZA 672 FF and ZA 673 FG the first two Chinooks on 240 OCU


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....5ba3f391a9.jpg

ZA673 FG airborne, they were the first two at Odiham, ZA670 and 671 went initially to Boscombe.


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....b9219b9529.jpg

Ah, I misread the question. BN still counts as it was among the first 30 ordered in 1978. Mk1>Mk2>Mk4.