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CH-47 Chinook
Field artillery section slingloading an M-198 howitzer for airlift by a CH-47 Chinook
Type	Cargo helicopter
Manufacturer	Boeing Helicopters
Maiden flight	1961-09-21
Introduction	1962
Status	Active service
Primary users	United States Army Royal Air Force
Number built	more than 1,000[1]
Developed from	CH-46 Sea Knight
Variants	Boeing Chinook (UK variants)

The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a versatile, twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter. The contra-rotating rotors eliminate the need for an anti-torque vertical rotor, allowing all power to be used for lift and thrust. Its top speed of 170 knots (196 mph, 315 km/h) was faster than 1960s, and even many contemporary, utility and attack helicopters. Its primary roles include troop movement, artillery emplacement and battlefield resupply. There is a wide loading ramp at the rear of the fuselage and three external-cargo hooks. It has replaced the CH-54 Tarhe as a lifter.

Chinooks have been sold to 16 nations, the largest users are the U.S. Army and the Royal Air Force (see Boeing Chinook (UK variants)). The H-47 is now sold by Boeing Integrated Defense Systems.

A commercial model of the Chinook, the Boeing-Vertol Model 234, is used worldwide for logging, construction, fighting forest fires and supporting petroleum exploration operations. As of December 15, 2006 Columbia Helicopters, Inc of Aurora, Oregon has purchased the Type certificate of the Model 234 from Boeing.

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