Helicopter Profile: Boeing CH-47 Chinook

Now in the inventories of 16 nations and still securing fresh orders from lead operator the US Army and export buyers alike, Boeing’s CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter is the battlefield workhorse of choice for many western operators.

Designed by the Vertol Aircraft company in the late 1950s as the Model 114, the tandem-rotor Chinook made its first flight in prototype form in 1961. Deliveries to the US Army started in 1962, and the service’s CH-47A made its combat debut during the Vietnam War in 1965.

The Chinook ordinarily performs battlefield resupply missions in combat zones such as Afghanistan and Iraq, but also routinely contributes to disaster and humanitarian relief operations. Examples include the international response to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the Pakistan earthquake, both in 2005.

The type’s large internal cargo hold and impressive external lift capabilities, coupled with a maximum payload of around 12.7t, are key contributors to its operational versatility.

Production of new-generation Chinooks, including CH-47D/Fs and special operations MH-47Gs, is likely to continue at Boeing’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania site until around 2018, and nations such as the UK expect to sustain operations of the heavylift type until at least 2040.

An HH-47 derivative won the US Air Force’s CSAR-X combat search and rescue contest in 2006, but the deal was placed in limbo after successful appeals by rival bidders Lockheed Martin/AgustaWestland and Sikorsky.

Despite its military success, the Chinook has not secured a commercial niche, with only a handful now flying in private hands.