RAF Chinooks

I don’t think that there is anywhere in the country that has not had a Chinook fly over it. Even if you don’t see it, you can hear the distinctive 'Chop, Chop' sound the twin rotors make as they keep the craft in the air. Living near the Ashdown Forest and close to an Army camp situated just south of Crowborough, we perhaps hear them more than many. Last summer one was seen circling part of the open area of the forest for over an hour on some sort of manoeuvres. Even close to Gaugemaster HQ near Arundel they can be often heard in the area, where it is believed there is a training landing site for the large helicopters close by. The Chinook is based on an original design by Vertol for a passenger carrying aircraft in the 1950s, in fact during the 60s Pan Am used to fly them from JFK to the 800ft high roof of their New York base, now the MetLife building in central Manhattan. Even before the Boeing acquisition of Vertol in 1960, the US military had shown interest in the design and ordered the twin rotored CH46 Sea Knight which saw use in Vietnam along with its subsequent larger brother the CH47 Chinook.

The Royal Air Force had been interested in this heavy lift rotor aircraft since the early 1970s and an initial order was placed with Boeing for 30 Chinooks in 1978, with the first of them entering service with the RAF in December 1980. Just over 16 months later they were to be forced into military action as part of the task force sent down to the South Atlantic for the Falklands War. The Chinook was hugely successful during the war and was often seen dropping off troops or equipment on newsfeeds on UK television at the time. The RAF versions could hold up to 55 fully-armed troops or equipment weighing 22,000lbs, it was also armed with two M134 mini guns and a 7.62mm M60D machine gun. Sadly, three were destroyed while onboard the Atlantic Conveyor along with a terrible cost of human lives.

This extremely rugged aircraft has since seen action with the RAF in various hotspots over the last forty years, including both Gulf Wars and will continue to be an integral part of the UKs defence force. It has also been used in peacekeeping and relief operations across the globe. The UK now operates 60 aircraft and is the largest user of the type outside of the United States. I was pleased to see that at the 100-year anniversary of the RAF fly-by down the Mall, six Chinooks made up part of the helicopter display, the sound was incredible.

A lovely period print of the Vertol 107, the commercial predecessor of the Chinook flying over Manhattan in the early 1960s.