CASR
|
- |
|
In Detail |
|
|
|
|
Canada in Afghanistan – NATO
– Reconnaissance and Air Support – March 2007 
Ciao ‘Cino’! – Background Detail on the Esercito Italiano CH-47C Chinook Fleet 
Italy already has CH-47C Chinook medium helicopters active in Afghanistan. Intitially, the Italian machines
flew in support of Afghan Parliamentary elections from a base at Herat (also the site of the Italian PRT)
beginning in August 2005. Shortly after, Italian CH-47s were involved in the high-altitude rescue operations when a
Dutch Chinook was written off in a hard landing. From November of 2005, the Italian
helicopters were part of ISAF’s Quick Reaction Force, backing Task Force Eracle from
Kabul Int’l Airport.In past Italian Chinook deployments, the helicopters have either flown directly from Italy – as in Albania and Kosovo (where the ‘Cino’ were backed up by Agusta A129 Mangusta) – or the transport helicopters were delivered by ship – as with Iraq. Deploying the Chinooks to Afghanistan was more challenging. The CH-47s arrived in Kabul onboard giant An-124s. 
The Esercito CH-47s have been doing good work for ISAF (as have the AB412s, an Italian equivalent of the
CF’s CH-146 Griffon utility helicopters). In
deference to volatile domestic public opinion, what the Italian military in Afghanistan have been avoiding
is any combat with Taliban insurgents. The whys are not our concern. The lack of effectiveness of this
policy has been noted in an editorial. Here we will
describe Italian Chinooks and current Esercito CH-47 strengths.Online numbers for the current Esercito CH-47 fleet vary widely. A list of airframes and their status appears at the bottom of this page. First the lineage: Boeing signed an agreement for licence production of the Chinook in Italy in 1968. Elicotteri Meridionali (part of Agusta, now Gruppo Finmeccanica) built 38 CH-47C [2] Chinooks for the Esercito plus a number for export. [3] Later, 26 ‘Cinos’ were upgraded to CH-47C Plus standard (with uprated engines and fiberglass rotor blades). Esercito calls them ETM-1s (Elicottero da Trasporto Medio). 
Generally, a CH-47C is slightly lighter (and faster) than the later ’D model. In other respects, the more
powerful CH-47D has the edge. The lifting performance of a CH-47C is slightly reduced compared with the
’D. The external hoist weight capacity is about the same – a more important distinction is that the
’C has only a single sling hook, while the CH-47D – like the latest CH-47F Canada hopes
to order – has three belly hooks to help stabilize
slung cargo. Below are the CH-47C specifications listed by the Esercito Italiano (also see CH-47 Background).EMT-1 ( CH-47C ) Medium Transport Helicopter – Characteristics and Performances
Italian Chinooks are powered by twin Piaggio Aero-assembled Textron T55 turbine engines What Goes Around, Comes Around or 16-to-20 Nuovi Chinook per L’Esercito Italiano In mid March 2007, Boeing announced a direct commercial sale of 16 - 20 CH-47F Chinooks to Italy. A deal was being worked out with Finmeccanica to resume production at Agusta’s Frosinone plant (formerly Elicotteri Meridionali), the memorandum of understanding having been laid out in 2006 for co-production (AgustaWestland is the prime contractor, Boeing is lead subcontractor). Orders are expected in 2008-2009 so the CH-47Cs will soon be replaced. With pending replacements imminent, why is Italy holding back its serving CH-47Cs? The domestic political considerations aside, there is likely an economic motive, as well. The new Chinook deal will provide the Esercito with ’F model fresh from an Italian factory. But what of the then-surplus ’C models? No doubt, Boeing Helicopter will happily accept those old ’Cs as trade-ins for its CHAPS (Cargo Helicopter Alternate Procurement Strategy) program. Conteggio Degli Elicotteri – a Rough Tally of the Available Esercito CH-47C Chinooks Esercito CH-47Cs all serve within the 1° Reggimento AVES “Antares” at Viterbo (Tommaso Fabbri airport) northwest of Rome. The operational unit is 11° Gruppo Squadroni “Ercole”. Some online sources list current Italian Chinook strengths as high as 36 machines. This is obvious incorrect. [5] Other sources list 22 CH-47C currently in service. This number seems most accurate (our count shows 26 active CH-47s, likely including some gone into storage). Esercito # Tail # Serial # Squadron # / Comments [6] MM80822 E.I.800 cn M-001 11° Gr Sq MM80823 E.I.801 cn M-002 † written off 1978, ditched in Lago Bolsena MM80824 E.I.802 cn M-003 11° Gr Sq MM80825 E.I.803 cn M-004 † written off 1980, Abu Dubai MM80826 E.I.804 cn M-005 11° Gr Sq / was in Iraq MM80827 E.I.805 cn M-006 * stored, at Agusta, Frosinone (w/o rotor blades) MM80828 E.I.806 cn M-007 11° Gr Sq MM80829 E.I.807 cn M-008 * stored at Viterbo (Tommaso Fabbri airport) MM80830 E.I.808 cn M-009 11° Gr Sq MM80831 E.I.809 cn M-010 * stored at Viterbo (Tommaso Fabbri airport) MM80832 E.I.810 cn M-011 11° Gr Sq / was in Kosovo MM80833 E.I.811 cn M-012 11° Gr Sq / Afghanistan, ISAF TF Kabul MM80834 E.I.812 cn M-013 11° Gr Sq MM80835 E.I.813 cn M-014 11° Gr Sq MM80836 E.I.814 cn M-015 * stored, at Agusta, Frosinone (w/o rotor blades) MM80837 E.I.815 cn M-016 11° Gr Sq MM80838 E.I.816 cn M-017 * stored at Viterbo (Tommaso Fabbri airport) MM80839 E.I.817 cn M-018 * stored, at Agusta plant, Frosinone MM80840 E.I.818 cn M-019 11° Gr Sq MM80841 E.I.819 cn M-020 11° Gr Sq MM80842 E.I.820 cn M-021 11° Gr Sq MM80843 E.I.821 cn M-022 11° Gr Sq MM80844 E.I.822 cn M-023 11° Gr Sq MM80845 E.I.823 cn M-024 11° Gr Sq MM80846 E.I.824 cn M-025 11° Gr Sq MM80847 E.I.825 cn M-026 * stored at Viterbo (Tommaso Fabbri airport) Serial sequence MM80822 - MM80847 = sub-total 26 a/c, 2 x w/o, 7 x stored, 17 active MM81168 E.I.826 cn M-027 * stored at Viterbo, (without rotor blades) MM81169 E.I.827 cn M-028 * stored at Viterbo (Tommaso Fabbri airport) Serial sequence MM81168 - MM81169 = sub-total 28 a/c, 2 x w/o, 9 x stored, 17 active MM81231 E.I.830 cn M-031 * stored at Viterbo (Tommaso Fabbri airport) MM81232 E.I.831 cn M-032 11° Gr Sq / Afghanistan, ISAF TF Kabul Serial sequence MM81231 - MM81232 = sub-total 30 a/c, 2 x w/o, 10 x stored, 18 active MM81386 E.I.832 cn M-033 11° Gr Sq / was cn 12166, I-DPCF MM81387 E.I.833 cn M-034 11° Gr Sq / was cn 12167, I-DPCG Serial sequence MM81386 - MM81387 = sub-total 32 a/c, 2 x w/o, 10 x stored, 20 active MM81439 E.I.834 cn 12169 11° Gr Sq / was I-DPCH MM81440 E.I.835 cn 12170 11° Gr Sq MM81441 E.I.836 cn 12169 11° Gr Sq / was I-DPCI Serial sequence MM81439 - MM81441 = sub-total 35 a/c, 2 x w/o, 10 x stored, 23 active MM81458 E.I.837 cn 12172 11° Gr Sq / was I-DPCL MM81459 E.I.838 cn 12173 11° Gr Sq / was I-DPCM MM81460 E.I.839 cn 22680 11° Gr Sq Serial sequence MM81458 - MM81460 = Total 38 a/c, 2 x w/o, 10 x stored, 26 active So, the Esercito Italiano has at least 22 CH-47C Chinook medium-lift helicopters in active service. There may be as many as 26 machines in service with a further 10 CH-47s set aside in storage available as a source of spare parts. The question Italy’s Canadian allies have is: why is Italy holding back? The three deployed Chinooks are appreciated by ISAF. What of the 20 or more undeployed Esercito CH-47Cs? Medium-lift helicopters are in short supply – is Italy willing to “share the wealth” by providing aid to its allies engaged in combat or does Italy hope to benefit from this tight market, enriching itself with its future Chinook exports? [1] Italy’s Army Aviation branch was formerly named as such – Aviazione dell’Esercito, or AVES – but it has now been re-dubbed the Cavalleria dell’Aria or ‘Air Cavalry’. As seen above, Italian Army (Esercito Italiano) helicopters are still simply marked with ‘ESERCITO’. [2] The original CH-47C Chinook is the same model that served with the CF as the CH-147. [3] The Greek Army received 10 Italian-built CH-47Cs. Iran ordered 68 CH-47Cs from Agusta (5 still listed in service with the IRIAF). Egypt received 15 CH-47Cs from Iranian orders after the fall of the Shah. Libya bought 20 CH-47Cs (AF and army) and Morocco has 12 CH-47Cs. [4] The MG42/59 is roughly equivalent to the CF’s C6 GPMG. MG42/59 was the commercial designation for the Rheinmetall MG3 (itself a 7.62mm derivative of the WWII MG42). Italian MG42/59s were licence-built by Fabbrica d’Armi Pietro Beretta SpA and Luigi Franchi SpA. [5] The number 36 was likely arrived at by subtracting written-off CH-47Cs from the original 38 produced by Elicotteri Meridionali. However, this number also includes any helicopter in storage either with the Esercito (4° Reggimento Sostegno at Viterbo) or at the Agusta plant. [6] We have used Esercito # to mean military serial, Tail # for the “E.I.” (Elicotteri Italiano) markings, and Serial # for the manufacturer’s serial numbers (‘cn’ or construction numbers). |