FAMEPedia:Today's featured article/July 13, 2021

In Australia, Boeing CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters have been operated by the Australian Defence Force for most of the period since 1974. Thirty Chinooks have entered Australian service, comprising twelve CH-47C variants, eight CH-47Ds and ten CH-47Fs. They have been operated by both the RAAF and Australian Army. Twelve CH-47C Chinooks were ordered in 1970 and entered service with the RAAF in 1974. The eleven surviving Chinooks were retired in 1989 as a cost-saving measure, but it was found that the Australian Defence Force's other helicopters could not replace their capabilities. As a result, four were upgraded to CH-47D standard, and returned to service in 1995 with the Australian Army. The army acquired two more CH-47Ds in 2000 and another pair in 2012. The CH-47Ds were replaced with ten new CH-47F Chinooks during 2015 and 2015. They have mainly been used to support the Australian Army, though they have performed a wide range of other tasks. Chinooks formed part of the Australian contribution to the Iraq War in 2003 and to the war in Afghanistan.