Boeing CH-47 Chinook

The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is an American twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter. Its primary roles are troop movement, artillery placement and battlefield resupply

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It has a wide loading ramp at the rear of the fuselage and three external-cargo hooks. With a top speed of 170 knots (196 mph, 315 km/h) the helicopter is faster than contemporary utility and attack helicopters of the 1960s

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The CH-47 is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name is from the Native American Chinook people.

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The Chinook was designed and initially produced by Boeing Vertol in the early 1960s; it is now produced by Boeing Rotorcraft Systems.

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It is one of the few aircraft of that era - along with the fixed-wing Lockheed C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft - that remain in production and front-line service, with over 1,179 built to date

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The helicopter has been sold to 16 nations with the U.S. Army and the Royal Air Force (see Boeing Chinook (UK variants)) its largest users.

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Approximately 163 CH-47Ds of various operators were deployed to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq during Operation Desert Shield and the subsequent Operation Desert Storm in 1990-91

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The Chinook helicopters of several nations have participated in the Afghanistan War, including aircraft from Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Canada, and Australia. 

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Despite the age of the Chinook, it is still in heavy demand, in part due its proven versatility and ability to operate in demanding environments such as Afghanistan

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