Bravo November: The RAF's 'celebrity' Chinook
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2 жыл бұрынA ‘celebrity chinook’ has gone on display at the RAF Museum in Cosford after 40 years of service.
Many regard Bravo November as the country’s most famous helicopter.
She was one of the first chinooks to enter service when they were introduced into the force, was the only one to survive conflict in the Falklands and has served in every conflict since.
The Museum is asking anyone else with memories from her past to come forward and share their stories.
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@Rockhopper1 2 жыл бұрын
she saved my life, and several of my friends, not only that I was one of her crew as part of the IRT the forerunner to MERT. She was the aircraft that evacuated me to safety in Iraq as a casualty.
@berniecoles2337 2 жыл бұрын
Bravo November is the RAF’s equivalent to the Millennium Falcon, battered and bruised but dependable. Even though she’s a bit like Triggers broom, the airframe which is the Queen of Chinook’s, deserves her place in a museum. I will visit her soon.😊
@stevetheduck1425 2 жыл бұрын
If all of her parts are used by other Chinooks, is she like the Ship of Theseus? ;-)
@TheCainabis 2 жыл бұрын
Been following this chinook since watching it in a documentary years ago, never really have seen many episodes or docs made on it since! Glad she’s being saved and being put in a museum.
@petrolhead1960 2 жыл бұрын
Probably the luckiest Chinook in the RAF. She’s saved countless lives of servicemen and crew.
@mac2626 2 жыл бұрын
@@noonecare3012 Do yourself a huge favour dude! Change that surname??? Lewis Little Kwok 😅😂🤣😜👍🇺🇸
@anticlockwisepropeller7379 2 жыл бұрын
I'm so glad they've saved Bravo November for posterity. If ever there was an aircraft that deserved to spend her retirement pride of place in a museum, it's this one!
@Pikestnt 2 жыл бұрын
I was in Port Stanley in Oct 2016 and was lucky enough to see BN salute the war memorial. Very moving
@380Scania 2 жыл бұрын
‘BN’ enjoy your forever home she out served me in the RAF. Glad to see this wonderful airframe preserved and not sent for scrap or sold on. Per Ardua Ad Astra
@fredblogs 2 жыл бұрын
I watched her fly missions around the Falklands on the tv but it’s great to see her kept and cherished for future generations.
@aljack1979 2 жыл бұрын
I was part of the MERT on this aircraft in Afghanistan.. Awesome aircraft. I can relate to the aircrew lady. I always felt safe on Bravo November
@rogerwhittle2078 2 жыл бұрын
I'm so glad Bravo November's legendary luck didn't run out before she was finally retired. So many soldiers and airmen have been grateful for the most famous 'Wokka's' infinite ability to 'come home'. Now she really is 'home'. Well done BN.
@SimonAmazingClarke 2 жыл бұрын
I worked on BN 87-90, 18 Squadron RAF Guttersloh. She was famous then, but still a work horse. I'll have to pay her a visit.
@Pesmog 2 жыл бұрын
I visited Cosford the other day and saw her in the hanger. While I knew history, I had just assumed that BN had been flown in and not moved by road.
@samjl4 2 жыл бұрын
A shame she’s not in active service anymore, it was always more exciting to me that this venerable veteran was still serving. It felt like a continued legacy that gave confidence to those that flew in her, like living metal.
@bushmasterflash 2 жыл бұрын
Tent life with Cam-cream, gun pits, anti ambush drills, compo, barbed wire, boats (Yes Navy. If the RAF are on board it's a boat), and detachments to varied and many fields all over the world. Chinook fleet life is an oddball life in the RAF for Squadron personnel and machines alike. 20 years on Chinook I must have worked on her at some point, just one frame amongst many that served us well. Per Diem Per Noctem. See you when I come up for the Museum 10K in August.
@almac2598 2 жыл бұрын
Ex Fleet Air Arm myself, although spent a lot of time in the Defence Industry supporting the Chinook after completing 22. In the RN, a boat is a submarine. As service banter used to go, "Sail Army, Fly Navy, Walk Sideways". 😁
@bushmasterflash 2 жыл бұрын
@@almac2598 I spent more than enough time on RAF Argus. Dyslexic Fleet Auxilliary boat. RN kept insisting on RFA Argus. Not with just Chinook on board it isn't. Good old navy. Use a different word for things English already has words for. Door, wall, floor, ceiling, toilet, rubbish, bed. Did a 3 hour "tour" of a sub in the Falklands. Those guys are just plain nuts.
@stephensmith4480 2 жыл бұрын
She must have been in very high demand when her sister aircraft were lost in The Falklands. The Atlantic Conveyor was from my home city of Liverpool, she was the first British merchant ship lost to enemy fire since WW2.
@markfryer9880 2 жыл бұрын
She was indeed in very high demand because of the Falklands terrain and her solo survivor status. She was ferrying wounded soldiers, bringing back artillery guns and ammunition as well as being overloaded with troops in an emergency leapfrog attempt to get the jump on the Argentinean Forces. She, along with the various Sea King models basically worked their guts out to help win the British Victory. I watched much of it unfold in television reports and the subsequent Documentary " I counted them all out and I counted them all back. Mark from Melbourne Australia
@stephensmith4480 2 жыл бұрын
@@markfryer9880 Yes, I remember it too, that Documentary became famous. I saw an interview some years ago with The Sea Harrier pilot that landed back on deck and gave a thumbs up after he had downed enemy planes during a Dogfight, he was down to his last Sidewinder but he made it count. I don`t know if you have ever seen the film of a young guy standing in the front of a Lifeboat with a big Cheesy grin on his face as they were coming ashore onto the Beach but he used to drink in one of the Local Pubs I used to go to.
@benwilson6145 2 жыл бұрын
Not true, the SS Springfjord was sunk in Central America by the USA in 1954.
@stephensmith4480 2 жыл бұрын
@@benwilson6145 It is True. I said ENEMY FIRE. Since when has the CIA been our enemy. I didn`t say it was the first British Merchant ship sunk but it WAS the first to be sunk by ENEMY ACTION. So wind your Neck in.
@grahamdobson7428 Жыл бұрын
Rest now you done your service. You will live on.
@j.dunlop8295 2 жыл бұрын
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol. However, maintenance of the RAF, probably most critical factor of this Craft's survival! Engineers! 👍
@stephenhogg2472 2 жыл бұрын
Even being in the army I knew of BN from being the lone surviving chinook from the Falklands campaign through to Afghan, if ever there was an aircraft that deserved its retirement into a museum it is without doubt BN.
@johnwilsdon5456 2 жыл бұрын
Well done Chinook RAF. Good that folks recognize these warrior crafts as heroes and put them in museums. The parts donated for other Chinook's is like donating an organ. In the future, the West will need many museum pieces and documentation of bravery - I fear we are entering into an era when Stalin-like individuals will test our metal. Long live, UK.
@davidwilliams3856 2 жыл бұрын
Enjoy your well earned rest BN. It was fun working with you. Well, sometimes !!!
@melted_cheetah 2 жыл бұрын
REally awesome to hear this story about Bravo Novemeber and many crew members that served on it.
@grinningpinhead3961 2 жыл бұрын
Bravo november saved so many lives over her long service. Took everything the enemy could throw skyward and has the battle scars to prove it. This is a perfect and very well earned retirement for this grand old war horse.
@cjmaddox4702 Жыл бұрын
Saw it at cosford last week was so nice to see it and just be in its presence
@chriswalford9228 2 жыл бұрын
Falklands Chinook I'm the last one with no hope to keep flying I'll have to give up . Tom Kinsella not if I can help it. Pass my Loo rolls and salt containers. Fantastic true British spirit, heart, passion and an endeavour to overcome a setback .
@geofo60 2 жыл бұрын
British ingenuity at its best. Toilet paper and salt pots. 👏👏👏👏.
@chriswalford9228 2 жыл бұрын
Had the honour of producing Harrier jet parts for the spares that went to the Falklands unfortunately they were on Atlantic conveyor
@bartley7953 2 жыл бұрын
Happy retirement Bravo November , well earned .
@johnallen8618 2 жыл бұрын
Brilliant work RAF museum Cosford
@harryfaber 2 жыл бұрын
Makes me feel old, I was a passenger in BN, and then I had to think about when, it was after the Falklands, maybe 1983. I was a passenger 'for fun', as were quite a few others, I wonder how many passengers she carried, and how many tons of stores.
@stevetheduck1425 2 жыл бұрын
Glad to see there were also several Jaguars still at Cosford. Will have to visit there again. I recommend that museum as there are several unique surviving aircraft there: numerous British experimental designs from when we had an aircraft industry, a Messerschmitt Me-210, and a Kawasaki Ki-100. There's a Liberator, and a number of Avro designs, like the Shackleton, the Lincoln and a Vulcan.
@lennoxpeters7792 Жыл бұрын
Brings back memories
@alistairg6770 2 жыл бұрын
Amazing story...
@philholman8520 2 жыл бұрын
Ace! Makes one feel good to know the old bird is safe at home! ☺️👍✌️🇬🇧
@MadMatt13 2 жыл бұрын
Incredible stories 🖤
@steveh5005 2 жыл бұрын
Amazing story guys
@Husker5454 2 жыл бұрын
Going to see this helicopter sometime this month :)
@jamesbradshaw4675 Жыл бұрын
What an Amazing Story and amazing people been And flew her 👏
@ianteasdale8821 2 жыл бұрын
I was at RNAY Fleetlands taking off spares from other chinooks in storage to pack in Stcs for the Atlantic Conveyor, & I’m about to retire having spent 40 years on Chinooks as a civilian- probably a record. I’ve spent many hrs on BN over the years. Fleetlands you could argue as the home of chinook maintenance.
@Villain1874 2 жыл бұрын
Excellent
@seangregorygurley8429 2 жыл бұрын
Fantastic 🇬🇧⚔️
@danbatesy5492 2 жыл бұрын
I’ve just literally been walking around it in cosford brilliant day out.
@Rat-nl1xe 2 жыл бұрын
Hope at the museum there's videos of people tell their stories of it.
@mikesuch9021 2 жыл бұрын
They will never retire the Chinook. No other military helicopter comes close to its speed. But to put it in a museum and not fly it it's very upsetting.
@terrysmith4831 2 жыл бұрын
As a former Chinook mechanic and door gunner I hate to see it stripped and put in a museum. Here in Seattle at the Boeing Museum of Flight they have a complete "D" model. Sadly BMOF is a "paperweight" museum, none of the aircraft fly. 😡
@kristoffermangila 2 жыл бұрын
Fellas, hate to remind you of one phrase in aviation that comes into play when talking about older airframes like Bravo November, which is 40+ years old and has worked extremely hard in service: Metal Fatigue. Besides, the RAF will not risk a crash of this Chinook, with its historic significance, so they prudently retired her (I've heard rumors that the D-type Chinooks, of which BN is one of them, is also about to be retired from RAF service, again due to the aforementioned metal fatigue on the airframes).
@Jabber-ig3iw 2 жыл бұрын
Why? It’s an old aircraft, reached the end of its service life and is being preserved. It’s done it’s flying. There is an RAF Chinook display aircraft to do the showing off.
@mac2626 2 жыл бұрын
Bravo November must surely be the most famous Chinook in history? 🇬🇧👍
@markfryer9880 2 жыл бұрын
Well she is certainly a top contender.
@kristoffermangila 2 жыл бұрын
Not just a top contender, BN is the GOAT Chinook, the US Army does not have any equivalent unit like her!
@ThatGuysProject 2 жыл бұрын
Hard to say really, perhaps not one that served in so many theaters as well as being the sole survivor of a war. The U.S used them in vietnam with a couple gunship versions, the 160th SOAR use them for spec ops missions in many theaters.
@51WCDodge 2 жыл бұрын
No one can own something BN. She belongs to those who served with her.
@ryanterry-babb3617 2 жыл бұрын
My old teachers husband flew her during the Falklands, even of the Atlantic Conveyor!
@tingbase84 2 жыл бұрын
Wonder if she still has the door scavenged from an argentian chinook
@mattdow9039 2 жыл бұрын
I am surprised Ft Lt Ian Fortune and Mark Brewer were not there to tell their story of BN, originally shown on Discovery Channel
@camdflage 2 жыл бұрын
Liz: please marry me. You’re absolutely gorgeous and I promise I’ll never ever get bored of hearing you speak about the ‘chook’.
@brianmackenzie5692 2 жыл бұрын
I believe that there were some in the Falklands that wanted her retired there so she would serve as a museum piece covering "their time".
@milesbrown8016 5 ай бұрын
Salute ….
@jammiedodger7040 2 жыл бұрын
The chinook is essential to the Army
@chrisaskin6144 2 жыл бұрын
She was the flying legend.
@bBersZ 2 жыл бұрын
Constipated for ten days? Nothing like being in the field, living on MRE's. I feel your pain sir
@clivehudson8707 2 жыл бұрын
Bravo November she's a hero flying battlefield casualties two safety will be buy Argentinian forces she still stayed in the air took a lot of damage brother November really ease and arrow from the Falklands war
@davidrobertson5700 2 жыл бұрын
Have a good retirement Bravo November, tears off happiness From a Brighton in a BN postcode lol
@newton18311 2 жыл бұрын
So have they sorted the Avionics out.
@gordonstewardson7683 6 ай бұрын
More than meets the eye. If I had to point to one vehicle in the history of the that had a spark, it would be BN.
@fc90airrescue90 2 жыл бұрын
Heard of this earlier
@sebastiansanchez-cabello456 2 жыл бұрын
What a beautiful machine, the chinook has got to be my favourite aircraft of all time, I’m sorry if this is a stupid question but how come bravo November had to be disassembled and driven by road to the museum I would think it would have been easier to fly it there under its own power.
@51WCDodge 2 жыл бұрын
Old Chinnoks never die, the usable bits are in other machines. Cost and avaiablity of parts, never waste any.
@sebastiansanchez-cabello456 2 жыл бұрын
@51WCDodge thanks I can imagine that new aircraft parts are expensive so that does make a lot of sense.
@tams805 2 жыл бұрын
As said, in the video, they took parts from her. They wouldn't have been able to fly her there.
@JammyDodger45 2 жыл бұрын
Because to display her she needs all of her fluids draining out and that requires specific kit and disposal methods none of which are available at Cosford, also a lot of her 'insides' were already removed so she wasn't airworthy.
@SCscoutguy 2 жыл бұрын
@@tams805 I read in an article that they took all of the parts that had hours left on them to use for the rest of the fleet. Apparently they had been saving parts for a while now that had to many hours on them and could no longer be used on a flying aircraft to replace them for display in the museum.
@grahamprice3230 2 жыл бұрын
ET was another long serving aircraft.Flown in her many times .
@Tonius126 2 жыл бұрын
Fine American engineering right there.
@Sammyjane72x 2 жыл бұрын
Since RAF cosford is also an active service RAF station, why wasn't the last trip a flight?
@JammyDodger45 2 жыл бұрын
Because draining all the fluids out of it requires specific kit, equally a lot of her 'insides' were already removed so she wasn't airworthy.
@stevetheduck1425 2 жыл бұрын
Time-expired or fatigue-expired aircraft tend to become 'Christmas Trees' for other airframes, so BN was probably missing a lot of items. Cheaper and quicker than making her serviceable, flying her to Cosford, then trucking all those good parts right back again.
@clivehudson8707 2 жыл бұрын
Clive Hudson I made these comments brother November
@dp0004 2 жыл бұрын
Chinook, a word from an ignored original native American language, Big Wind. Where I was there were SAS men and a few women soldiers took off. When they returned, something exciting had happened for the women.
@stephenrose5250 Жыл бұрын
Flt lt Ian fountuine took a round to the cockpit but still managed to get her back to camp bastion he was a mert mission at the time
@RNS681 2 жыл бұрын
👍🇬🇧🇬🇧
@geek9642 2 жыл бұрын
Does it still have an Argentine door on it?
@ivanhartley4378 2 жыл бұрын
why is she being retired? i thought she had just recieved a huge upgrade package?
@kristoffermangila 2 жыл бұрын
BN, prior to its retirement, is one of the oldest Chinooks in service in the RAF. Her last upgrade was during her Afghanistan service (engine, electronics and A/C upgrades for "hot and high" conditions). The latest Chinook upgrade will benefit E-series Chinooks onwards, since BN is a D-series unit she won't be compatible with some of the new upgrade items, not to mention metal fatigue on her frame is a big factor in her retirement.
@hughfranklin3072 2 жыл бұрын
She looked after crews now its time to look after her.
@vitaliyvyntu4566 2 жыл бұрын
Hello from Ukraine
@SpoonyJeffUK 2 жыл бұрын
I think I'm not allowed to say that... Umm awkward..
@welsh_Witch 2 жыл бұрын
so if BN was still in good condition why didn't they fly her there or was it not allowed to fly
@krashd 2 жыл бұрын
She wasn't in good condition, she was retired and being cannibalised for parts.
@stevetheduck1425 2 жыл бұрын
BN was twice completely re-built, the level of fatigue on her major parts was recorded carefully, and when she could no longer be refitted without being a different helicopter, or cost so much it was cheaper two buy two new ones, she was stripped of useful parts, rebuilt with time-expired parts and retired to a museum. Very few aircraft get that much, rather they are treated like old horses: cheap sausages, leather and glue.
@chandrachurniyogi8394 2 жыл бұрын
really don't makes sense displaying a 40 year old fighter jet or helo without it's engines & avionics . . .
@krashd 2 жыл бұрын
It will have engines and avionics, just not working versions that can be used by the rest of the fleet.
@beachcomberbloke462 2 жыл бұрын
RAF ingenuity strikes again using toilet paper to replace the filters!!
@michaelpollen8923 2 жыл бұрын
She needs to slow down
@longone844 2 жыл бұрын
We put equipment into museums that's newer than what the Russian's consider new.
@paranormalparatrooper.7413 2 жыл бұрын
So when is being sent to Ukraine?
@markfryer9880 2 жыл бұрын
Never! She has done her 40 year Tour of Duty in the hot spots of the world. Time for a well earned Museum retirement.
@Jimo1956 2 жыл бұрын
Nice one. They wouldn't mind. 😉 Some Russians might think it was a giant drone and run for it.
@uncle_saag 2 жыл бұрын
that background music is gut wrenching 🤮
@bigtrev8xl 2 жыл бұрын
I'm sorry, but the phrase "forever home" makes me want to throw up.. we have a perfectly good, English language, without resorting to americanisums
@krashd 2 жыл бұрын
They assimilate as much of our language as we do of theirs. I would agree with you if we were replacing a common phrase but we don't actually have an equivalent for forever home.
@bigtrev8xl 2 жыл бұрын
@@krashd It's all a bit childish, trying to be the coolest child, in the school playground..
@krashd 2 жыл бұрын
@@bigtrev8xl It is a wee bit childish but 99% of the time that this saying is used involves either dogs and cats going to a new home that will no doubt have children or involves foster or adoption children themselves going to a new home.. It's a sweet gesture for a sweet gesture. Admittedly it's a bit out of place being used for a helicopter but I'd never complain at it's use for animals or kids.
@bigtrev8xl 2 жыл бұрын
@@krashd LOL really
@nathanworthington4451 2 жыл бұрын
You think someone who says forever home is trying to bethe coolest kid on the playground? Must be one of those lame little nanny state British playgrounds.
@tinman3586 2 жыл бұрын
WTF is woman in the green shirt saying?
@Jorn41 2 жыл бұрын
Next time please add subtitles when people are speaking with a heavy dialect as the female pilot. Thanks'
@richardrider4885 2 жыл бұрын
It's usually seen as an insult to put subtitles on a British person's accent on a British media outlet. There's a different accent every 5-10 miles lots of people would end up annoyed.
@TheBooban 2 жыл бұрын
3:58 lol, what she saying?
@nightjarflying 2 жыл бұрын
@@TheBooban "[stutter] looks a bit stripped out really..."
@SCscoutguy 2 жыл бұрын
I am American and understood everything she said perfectly fine?
@nowtelsematters 2 жыл бұрын
Are you not a native English speak or are you intellectually challenged?
@RobBCactive 2 жыл бұрын
Uhhh, mixed feelings about Chinooks, misty weather and dodgy software
@fabricio4794 2 жыл бұрын
I Hope SAS break on thru behind Russian Lines....
@nathanworthington4451 2 жыл бұрын
Wow. That is kinda pathetic.
@JammyDodger45 2 жыл бұрын
I'll Bite... Yeah, an airframe with that sort of history, literally countless Contacts under its belt, more crew medals than any other airframe ever, hundreds of troops saved in the back of it all feels so pathetic compared to the accolades of your life that I'm sure you're about to list for us. 🤡
@1chish 2 жыл бұрын
@@JammyDodger45 That reply, Sir, was what the call a Mic Drop Moment ... 👏👏
@1chish 2 жыл бұрын
Well Nathan its not as pathetically irrelevant as your good self. Have a safe week.
@johnnunn8688 2 жыл бұрын
Meaning what, exactly?
@JammyDodger45 2 жыл бұрын
@@1chish - you're too kind Sir.
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