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Vietnam’s Forgotten Gunship: The ACH-47A Chinook

Companies I worked for made quite a few CH-47 gear boxes and other various gears. Before I retired I interacted a lot with the Boeing Aircraft Quality Rep. He was always trying to correct me because I still called it Boeing-Vertol. He also likes what he called my Boeing hat. I had to tell him it was Mcdonnell Douglas not Boeing and that Boeing took the logo after the merger because their old one was so lame.
 
I was on a sales trip to Redstone in the early 2000s and we were walking in from the parking lot and a flight of Hueys went over.

Redstone is so big the commanding general used to fly his fleet of Hueys from one side of it to the other.

Anyway, walking along the outside of the procurement and engineering building, I blundered into the AC CH47. Really off the beaten path. It looked more like a kid's playground object.

Thanks for the article.
 
First I have read about the Chinook being used this way. I have read about the C-130 and C-47 gunship conversions which were used to great affect. I believe the C-130 gunships are still in the US arsenal today, although drones and advancements in portable carried AA rockets have limited their usefulness. I couldn't imagine being under the guns of one of these. I can see why the enemy solders would cut and run when one show up on the scene.
 
The Go Go was amazing. We were working Doc To and drawing heavy fire every time in and out. Two Huey gun ships were hammering the vill but were unable to stop the firing at us or them. A Go Go ship offered their assistance and after making one assault pass the enemy fire ceased. My only experience with the Go go ships but what a show it put on.
Also had one stop at our flight line for some repairs and I saw it on my way out on a mission. Would have liked to have a better view of it but we were up and gone.
Tom Alward FE BOXCAR 165, Chu Lai April/Jan 67-68.
 
Thomas Alward said:
The Go Go was amazing. We were working Doc To and drawing heavy fire every time in and out. Two Huey gun ships were hammering the vill but were unable to stop the firing at us or them. A Go Go ship offered their assistance and after making one assault pass the enemy fire ceased. My only experience with the Go go ships but what a show it put on.
Also had one stop at our flight line for some repairs and I saw it on my way out on a mission. Would have liked to have a better view of it but we were up and gone.
Tom Alward FE BOXCAR 165, Chu Lai April/Jan 67-68.
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Thank you for your service sir.....
 
I did sheet metal training at Ft Eustis in the late spring and summer of 1968. It was on Easy Money in the air field hanger. I served with Frank Huddleston in Phu Loi 68-69 who was a crew member on Stump Jumper. I was with the 213ASH, Black Cats. Re check your facts.
Ramp Up Ready Rear
67u2f George French
 
Just the thought of having to fight in Vietnam still gives me the heebie jeebies... utmost respect for all that served there. Great article, too. Seems like it would've been a good thing to design and build a B version of this beast with a few upgrades and improvements to help our boys out.
 
Never called one, but someone else did. A AC47, which worked over the Arizona free fire zone. Very impressive, was able to follow with binos. Have pics somewhere. We Marines had nothing like the CH-47…trying to weaponize a 46 would not have been as impressive…Semper Fi…
 
I'm assisting a vet to write a memoir. The current chapter happens during the Vietnam War and concerns a Chinook supplying their ship with fresh produce. It flew from another ship with the supplies.
Can anyone help me identify what kind of ship the supplying ship might have been?
Thanks.
 
3L120 said:
Never called one, but someone else did. A AC47, which worked over the Arizona free fire zone. Very impressive, was able to follow with binos. Have pics somewhere. We Marines had nothing like the CH-47…trying to weaponize a 46 would not have been as impressive…Semper Fi…
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It wasn't a gun ship but in 1984 me and another Seabee where going into Beirut to work on what was to be the new embassy. Anyway we flew from the USS Ponce and rode in a CH46 and it had a Browning M2 stick out each side and before getting into Beirut they fired off a few rounds to make sure they were going to work
 
My son was second in his Warrant Officer class at Rucker and was offered his choice of birds. He was dead set on Apache's with a second preference of the Chinook. He was warned away from them specifically because he was 6'5" and the Chinooks have some of the tightest leg space of all of the platforms.

It was awesome to get to both pin his wings on and look at all of the different aircraft up close. I was most fascinated by the AH-56 Cheyenne, which never really got deployed. It was ahead of its time with the pusher tail mounted propellor.
Fettered-Helicopter-Cheyenne-2048x1365-2222200227.jpg
 
FNFAN said:
My son was second in his Warrant Officer class at Rucker and was offered his choice of birds. He was dead set on Apache's with a second preference of the Chinook. He was warned away from them specifically because he was 6'5" and the Chinooks have some of the tightest leg space of all of the platforms.

It was awesome to get to both pin his wings on and look at all of the different aircraft up close. I was most fascinated by the AH-56 Cheyenne, which never really got deployed. It was ahead of its time with the pusher tail mounted propellor.
View attachment 94631
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wow, nice looking helo. looks like it should be fast. Strictly a gunship... not much room for passengers or a lot of equipment.

sad story on its cancellation.

"purchase price of $500,000 each in 1965 to over three million dollars each by 1972..."
"When the program was cancelled in 1972, reasons stated included the inadequate night and all-weather capabilities as well as the aircraft being too large. The smaller AH-1 Cobra was now a proven alternative and much more affordable, though with inferior performance in many areas. By now most of the systems and avionics on the Cheyenne were becoming rapidly obsolete, and further improvements only meant ballooning costs once again. The Army initiated the AHH (Advanced Attack Helicopter) program just days after cancellation of the AH-56, the program eventually resulting in the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.", The Aviationist, March 22, 2025
 
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SH!THOOKS, only aircraft Ive been in they count the deck plate rivets before take off, and after landing.
Even with headphones on you could still hear a rivet pop.
My last duty station was a Cobra/Huey Brigade.
No more rivet counting.
 
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