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| Disposition of the CH-47A Helicopters |
| In service to the United States Army |
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| Conducting water landings in an A model Chinook that once belonged to the Army National Guard, located at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania. |
| As of December 2002, we had generally a good idea what became of most of the A model Chinooks. Unfortunately, 45 airframes remained unaccounted for. Many of the details surrounding the demise of most of the known lost aircraft has remained a mystery. |
| Airframe Losses |
| [Excluding those lost in the Republic of Vietnam] |
| --- Unaccounted For Airframes --- |
| The following airframe continued unaccounted for. All that is known about B-001 is that it experienced an accident during the initial ground run. Apparently, the airframe was damaged to the point it would never fly and this resulted in B-002 becoming the first CH-47, then designated as an YHC-1B, to fly. B-001 was tied to the ground and accumulated 3,854.0 hours as a test device. Following that, B-001 was transferred to Aberdeen Proving Grounds, located in Maryland, where ballistic evaluations were conducted. Various items were fired at the helicopter to evaluate the impact. It is assumed that upon completion of those tests, it was scraped: |
|
| The following five airframes continued unaccounted for, and it was assumed that they were scraped: |
|
| --- Tested To Destruction --- |
| One airframe was tested to destruction without ever attaining any flight time: |
|
| --- Sold To Thailand --- |
| Two airframes were sold to Thailand: |
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| Note: Additionally, 64-13140 was sold to Thailand, but was returned at some point and converted into a D model. |
| --- Foreign Sales --- |
| One airframe was sold to the United Kingdom and was otherwise unaccounted for: |
|
| --- Museum Exhibits --- |
| As of 28 February 2006, six A models were known to exist. Two were undergoing restoration as museum exhibits 1. The remaining four airframes, one of which was converted to the BV-347 2, were located in museums: |
|
| --- Airframes Lost Due To Accidents --- |
| --- West Germany --- |
| On or about 17 February 1971, one airframe, was lost in an accident (details unknown): |
|
| --- CONUS Accidents --- |
| Six airframes were lost in the Continental United States (CONUS) (details unknown): |
|
| On or about 22 November 1974, one aircraft was destroyed in a ground accident while aft rotor blade tracking was in progress: |
|
| On 20 August 1979, one airframe was lost due to an accident. While flying in support of exercise Brave Shield XXI near Yakima, in the State of Washington, the aircraft took off at night with ground fog in the area. Almost immediately after takeoff, the aircraft impacted a 7 degree slope in it's takeoff path: |
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| On or about 31 October 1963, one airframe was lost due to an accident during a Boeing company test flight in CONUS (details unknown): |
|
| --- Lost due to Mechanical Failure --- |
| --- Republic of Korea (South Korea) --- |
| On or about 22 March 1972, one airframe was lost due mechanical failure. The Aircraft Commander (AC) reported to tower there was a chip light on the number 1 engine and it was being shut down. The aircraft was observed to descend, flare abruptly, level off and drop straight down, impacting with very high G force: |
|
| --- West Germany --- |
| On 18 August 1971, one airframe, assigned to the 4th Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), was lost near Pegnitz due to mechanical failure when the aft rotor system failed, killing all 37 on board: |
|
| --- CONUS --- |
| One airframe was lost, while assigned to the Test Activity at Fort Rucker, when the aft yellow blade spar failed in-flight: |
|
| On 15 April 1969, one airframe was lost due to mechanical failure when the aft rotor system went to full pitch in-flight: |
|
| Airframe Losses In The Republic Of Vietnam |
| One airframe was lost during an unauthorized flight by an unqualified individual. It was understood that possibly a flight engineer or crew chief took the aircraft out for a joy ride and lost control of the aircraft. It was thought that the crew member failed to turn on the stability augmentation system (SAS): |
|
| --- Airframes Lost Due To Accidents --- |
| 36 airframes were lost due to accidents (details unknown): |
| One airframe was lost due to an accident of unknown causes and for many years no sign of the crew or wreckage was found until the crash site was discovered by Vietnamese farmers on or about 4 March 1994: |
|
| One airframe was lost when, on takeoff from a confined Pick-Up Zone (PZ), with an internal load of tin panels, settled into the trees coming to rest on it's right side. A fuel cell caught fire: |
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| One airframe was lost when, while on a mission near Nui Dat in support of the Australians, and on approach to a Landing Zone (LZ), when it crashed: |
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| One airframe was lost when, while on a combat re-supply mission, the Rotor RPM drooped during takeoff from a Landing Zone (LZ) and the Rotor Blades hit the trees during the forced landing: |
|
| One airframe was lost when, while attempting to land on a foggy mountain top, with an internal load of fuel drums, the aircraft came out of ground effect: |
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| One airframe was lost when, while at a hover preparing to pick up a sling, there was an explosion in the aft pylon: |
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| One airframe was lost due to an accident when it suffered a loss of engine power during approach to landing: |
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| One airframe was lost due to an accident when, after having landed, it was later destroyed by artillery to prevent enemy capture: |
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| Two airframes were lost due to accidents caused by in-flight blade failure: |
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| One airframe was lost due to an accident during a maintenance test flight: |
|
| One airframe, a Guns-A-Go-Go helicopter, was lost in a ground taxi accident: |
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| One airframe was lost in a mid air collision with C7A Caribou: |
|
| --- Destroyed By Enemy Action --- |
| Nine airframes were destroyed on the ground by enemy satchel charges: |
|
| Two airframes were destroyed by mortar fire on the ground at Red Beach: |
|
| One airframe blew up on approach. Sabotage was suspected as the cause: |
|
| --- Shot Down In Combat --- |
| 21 airframes were shot down by small arms fire (under 50 Caliber): |
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| Five airframes were shot down by large caliber fire (.50 caliber or greater): |
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| One airframe, assigned to the 237th Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF), was shot down in Cambodia: |
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| Two airframes were shot down by Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG): |
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| Five airframes were shot down by SA-7 Heat seeking missiles: |
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| One airframe, a Guns-A-Go-Go Chinook helicopter, shot itself down: |
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| One airframe was brought down when a soldier from the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) accidentally dropped a grenade inside the aircraft: |
|
| 22 airframes were lost due to enemy action at Da Nang and / or Phu Cat (details unknown): |
|
| --- Transferred to the VNAF --- |
| A total of 34 airframes were transferred to the Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF) near the end of the United States involvement in the Vietnam conflict. |
| 32 airframes were transferred to the Vietnamese Air Force and continued otherwise unaccounted for: |
|
| One airframe transferred to Vietnamese Air Force in November 1972 was later captured by the North Vietnamese near the end of the United States involvement in the Vietnam conflict. The airframe was later rediscovered in 1996 and evaluated by Boeing for possible induction into an airframe rebuild program: |
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| One airframe was transferred to Vietnamese Air Force in November 1972 was later captured by the North Vietnamese near the end of the United States involvement in the Vietnam conflict. After capture in 1975, this helicopter was incorporated into the 917th Mixed Air Regiment of the Vietnam People's Air Force and continued otherwise unaccounted for: |
|
| --- Converted To D Model --- |
| One airframe was selected as a prototype for conversion from A model to D model: |
|
| 164 A model Chinook helicopters were converted to D models: |
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| The remaining six A model Chinook helicopters were converted to MH-47D models: |
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| The aircraft status board from the 179th Assault Support Helicopter Company - "Shimpboats", while deployed to the Republic of Vietnam, late 1967. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger version. |
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