[5] In March 1967, the United Kingdom placed an order for fifteen Boeing Vertol CH-47B Chinook to replace the Royal Air Force's Bristol Belvedere HC.1 fleet.

Another six were ordered in 1995 under the Chinook HC2A designation;[14] the main difference between these and the standard HC2 was the strengthening of the front fuselage to allow the fitting of an aerial refuelling probe in future.

[21] The Times claimed that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) planned to perform software integration itself, without Boeing's involvement, in order to reduce costs.

[22] While lacking certification, the helicopters were only permitted to fly in visual meteorological conditions and subsequently stored in climate controlled hangars.

"[19] Air Forces Monthly reported in November 2006 that after protracted negotiations to allow them to enter service, the Defence Aviation Repair Agency would likely receive a contract to install the Thales "TopDeck" avionics system on the Chinook HC3s.

[25] In June 2008, the National Audit Office issued a scathing report on the MOD's handling of the affair, stating that the whole programme was likely to cost £500 million by the time the helicopters enter service.

Known as Project Julius, it included new digital flight deck avionics based on the Thales TopDeck avionics suite, comprising new multifunction displays, a digital moving map display and an electronic flight bag, installation of a nose-mounted forward-looking infrared (FLIR) detector, and upgrading the engines to the more powerful T55-714 standard.

[36] RAF Chinooks have been widely deployed in support of British military engagements, serving their first wartime role in Operation Corporate, the Falklands War, in 1982.

They were used for moving troops into the region at the start of the conflict;[37] a Chinook was used on 22 January 1991 to transport a Special Air Service (SAS) patrol on the famous Bravo Two Zero mission.

In April 1982, four Chinooks were loaded aboard the container ship MV Atlantic Conveyor bound for the Falkland Islands, to support the British operations.

While the helicopter was airborne, Atlantic Conveyor was attacked by an Argentine Navy Dassault Super Étendard with an Exocet sea-skimming missile.

[47] Owing to the rapid spread of fire and smoke aboard Atlantic Conveyor after the Exocet strike, it was not possible to fly any of the helicopters that remained on the ship's deck.

This was reduced to a single helicopter in the mid-1990s and the type was eventually withdrawn from the Falklands in 2006, in order to free up resources and aircraft for operations in Afghanistan.

[51] Due to the threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) scattered throughout the terrain by insurgents, transport helicopters have become highly valued and demanded units in this style of warfare.

[58] On 15 December 2009, the British government announced its Future Helicopter Strategy including the purchase of twenty-four new build Chinooks, twenty-two to expand the force and two to replace losses in Afghanistan, to be delivered to the RAF from 2012.

7 Squadron left RAF Odiham in Hampshire, carrying paratroopers to join NATO forces serving in the Balkans;[63] six more arrived the following week in Kosovo to support operations such as casualty evacuations and transporting vital supplies.

[65] In May 2000, several Chinook helicopters airlifted British and European Union citizens out of Freetown in Sierra Leone in an evacuation due to regional instability.

[69] In July 2018, three RAF Chinook helicopters were deployed under Operation Newcombe to assist French forces in the Northern Mali conflict with logistics and troop movement.