Boeing CH-47 Chinook HC.1
Boeing Vertol · UK · first flew 1980 · transport aircraft
The HC.1 is the RAF's initial Chinook mark, essentially a CH-47C-standard airframe fitted to British requirements — most visibly the triple external cargo hooks — with Lycoming T55-L-11E engines; eight late-build examples received the CH-47D's T55-L-712 on the C-standard airframe.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, rotary |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 2 × turboshaft, fuselage-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 30.1 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | No tailplane |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Triple external cargo hooks (fore, centre, aft) — the defining British fit; contemporary US Army CH-47Cs carried a single centre hook
- Metal rotor blades on early examples (composite blades retrofitted later) paired with an analogue 'steam gauge' cockpit — the HC.2 upgrade brought composite blades and revised avionics
- RAF camouflage and roundels on what is otherwise a CH-47C-standard airframe — silhouette alone cannot separate an HC.1 from a US C-model
Against a US CH-47C: the triple cargo hooks and RAF markings are the giveaways — the silhouette is identical, so treat the HC.1 as a 'British C'. Against the CH-47D and RAF HC.2: the HC.1 lacks the D-standard redesigned cockpit and redundant electrics, retains analogue instruments, and early examples carry metal rather than composite rotor blades. The tandem-rotor twin-pylon silhouette is identical across all Chinook marks — fit and markings, not shape, separate them.
Specifications
- The Boeing CH-47 Chinook HC.1 has a length of 30.1 m (99 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 18.29 m (60 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 298 km/h (185 mph).
- Typical crew: 4.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
The UK ordered 33 Chinooks in 1978; the first HC.1 flew 23 March 1980 and RAF service entry followed on 22 November 1980, with No. 18 Squadron reforming at Odiham in 1981. The mark saw its combat debut during the 1982 Falklands War, where a single survivor (ZA718, 'Bravo November') after the Atlantic Conveyor sinking performed extraordinary feats carrying over 80 troops at once. Progressive upgrades eventually reclassified most as HC.2.
Variants
HC.2 (glass cockpit, T55-L-714A engines), HC.3 (special forces, CH-47SD baseline), HC.4/HC.5/HC.6 successive upgrades in RAF service.
Where you'll see it
RAF No. 7, 18, and 27 Squadrons, RAF Odiham. Surviving HC.1 airframes have been upgraded; none remain in original HC.1 configuration — museum examples at RAF Museum Cosford represent the lineage.
Related aircraft
- Boeing CH-113 Labrador
- Boeing Vertol 107
- Beechcraft C-12F Huron
- Mil Mi-18
- Boeing CH-47D Chinook
- Dornier 228-100
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