Three examples (ZA706, ’716 and
’719) were lost in one attack during the
Falklands War when the requisitioned
British merchant navy ship SS Atlantic
Conveyor, carrying the helicopters, was hit
by an Exocet air-to-surface missile, fired by
an Argentine Navy 2 Escuadrilla Dassault
Super Étendard, on May 25, 1982. The
ship finally sank on May 30.
The fourth Chinook HC1 initially
deployed to the South Atlantic was ZA718/
BN, but this was away from the vessel
undertaking supply missions to British ships
at the time of the attack.
It was the sole heavy-lift helicopter in
theatre and was greatly appreciated by the
military for its extensive work in the islands
during the campaign, although many troops
‘yomped’ miles to victory (marched with
heavy equipment) because the three other
aircraft were lost.
A further eight HC1s were ordered in
1983 to replace those lost in the South
Atlantic and by other incidents of attrition.FLEET
All told, 72 Chinooks have been delivered
to the RAF: HC1 (41 from new), HC2 (three
new), HC2A (six new), HC3 (eight new for
Special Forces use) and HC6 (14 new).
Upgrading the HC1s with glass fibre
composite main rotor blades resulted in the
HC1B, although they were all later returned
to Boeing for further enhancements. These
became the HC2 variant (equivalent of the
US Army CH-47D) with improved Lycoming
T55-1-712 engines, a re-configured,
ergonomically-friendly cockpit to ease pilot
workload, better electrical and avionics
systems and installation of an advanced
flight control system. The first HC2
conversion was returned to the RAF in 1993.
The six new HC2As ordered in 1995
were slightly different, in that they had a
considerably strengthened forward fuselage
to allow an air-to-air refuelling (AAR) probe
to be installed.
The Chinook was allocated for Special
Forces use, and the eight HC3s ordered
in 1995 were built to the standard of the
US Army MH-47E variant. They have an
improved range, with larger fuselage side
fuel tanks that, at 6 metric tonnes (6,000kg),
double the fuel capacity of the rest of the
fleet, making them ideal assets for long-
range insertion tasks. Fully equipped
night-vision sensors were fitted, along withimproved avionics for navigation. Externally
there is also a slight difference to the shape
of the nose profile, as well as the larger,
side fuel tanks.
Seven were delivered during 2001,
(the eighth in April 2007 as it had been
retained by the manufacturer for trials
work), but remained in storage at MOD
Boscombe Down for eight years because
the avionics were not certified. As a result,
the procurement received a ‘bad press’ at
the time.
These examples were retrofitted and
modified to the same avionic systems
standard of the HC2/HC2A configuration,
although retaining the HC3 designation.
The first post-modification helicopter flew at
Boscombe Down during July 2009 and all
eight were put into RAF service between
August 2009 and November 2010.
They have now been improved to the
HC5 variant under Project Julius, with
further upgraded avionics.
From 2008 a total of 46 HC2/2A variants
were put through this programme, receiving
more powerful Honeywell (Lycoming) T55-714 engines and a comprehensive avionics
suite upgrade with multifunctional displays
(MFDs) replacing all the analogue flight
instruments. This work was undertaken at
Vector Aerospace, Fleetlands, Hampshire,
and the aircraft became the HC4 variant.
The new digital flight deck is based on
the Thales TopDeck avionics system with
new primary flight and navigation displays
(PFD/ND) as well as a mission management
digital moving map display (FM/DMap). The
HC4 has a night-vision capability thanks to
the installation of a nose-mounted forward
looking infra-red (FLIR) sensor. The FLIR
turret can be removed if not required – the
HC5 and HC6As also have the capability
for FLIR installation. The first modified HC4
flew on December 9, 2010 and all were
completed by 2016.FURTHER UPGRADES
It was announced in July 2017 that 38 of
the HC4s will be improved to the HC6A
variant; the first two (ZH892 and ZH894)
returned to service with 27 Sqn during
August. This modification, undertakenhttp://www.aviation-news.co.uk 49Top: An 18(B) Sqn Chinook HC1 ZD981/BD in- The Aviation Photo Company
Left: Chinook HC4 ZA710 undertaking under-
slung load training at RAF Odiham. Peter
Cooper, unless stated
Right: RAF Chinook HC2s from 1310 Flight
taking off from Camp Bastion airfield in
Helmand, Afghanistan. Crown copyright 2011
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