Bravo November
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| Bravo November | |
|---|---|
 Bravo November releases flares during an operation over Afghanistan in 2006 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Boeing Chinook HC6A |
| Manufacturer | Boeing Vertol |
| Owners | Royal Air Force Museum |
| Construction number | B-849 / MA-030 / M-7001 |
| Serial | ZA718 |
| Radio code | Bravo November (BN) |
| History | |
| In service | 1982 as HC.1– 2022 as HC.4 |
| Preserved at | Royal Air Force Museum Midlands |
| Fate |
|
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Bravo November is the original identification code painted on a British Royal Air Force Boeing Chinook HC6A military serial number ZA718. It was one of the original 30 aircraft ordered by the RAF in 1978 and was in service until 2022. It was upgraded several times in its history, eventually being designated as an HC6A airframe. It saw action in every major operation involving the RAF in the helicopter's 39-year service life. Since 1982 it served in the Falkland Islands, Lebanon, Germany, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan. The aircraft saw three of its pilots awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for actions whilst in command of Bravo November.
It first came to the attention of the general public for its survival of the Falklands War. In April 1982 Bravo November was loaded, along with three other Chinooks, aboard the container ship MV Atlantic Conveyor bound for the Falkland Islands on Operation Corporate. Atlantic Conveyor was hit by an Exocet missile, destroying the vessel along with its cargo. Bravo November was on an airborne task at the time and managed to land on HMS Hermes, gaining the nickname The Survivor. It was the only serviceable heavy lift helicopter available to British forces involved in the hostilities. The first of its three Distinguished Flying Crosses came for actions in the Falklands. The aircraft will be the subject of an exhibit at the Royal Air Force Museum Midlands.
Thirty Chinooks were ordered by the British Government in 1978 at a price of US$200 million.[1] These helicopters were to become British variants of the United States Army's Boeing CH-47 Chinook. ZA718 was one of the final HC1s the RAF received in February 1982. The U.S. Army introduced an upgraded Chinook, the CH-47D in the 1980s with improvements including upgraded engines, composite rotor blades, a redesigned cockpit to reduce pilot workload, redundant and improved electrical systems, an advanced flight control system (FCS) and improved avionics.[2] The RAF designation for this new standard of aircraft was the Chinook HC2 with ZA718 becoming the first RAF airframe to be converted in 1993–94.[3] Bravo November has been refitted and upgraded numerous times during its service in the British Armed Forces. There are few parts of the original aircraft that survive today, though the "main fuselage, the manufacturer's data plate in the cockpit and the RAF's serial number ZA718 clearly emblazoned on the rear of the aircraft remain ever present".[4]
The aircraft has had a number of callsigns and designations throughout its career. It had the Boeing construction number of B-849 with the RAF airframe number of ZA718 which is still visible at the rear of the aircraft.[5] The squadron code number of the aircraft has varied with the squadron in which it serves. The most famous code was Bravo November (BN, pronounced as in the NATO phonetic alphabet) which it had during the Falklands War and has been associated with it ever since.[5]
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