KLu CH-47D Chinooks to be sold
On 9 March 2023, the Netherlands Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced the proposed sale of six Koninklijke Luchtmacht (KLu, Royal Netherlands Air Force) CH-47D Chinook helicopters to Billings Flying Services in Montana, USA.
This company is specialised in firefighting. For this purpose, the company already uses the CH-47 Chinook helicopter and with the proposed sale, they will expand their fleet with six CH-47D Chinooks.
In December 2021, Gilze-Rijen air base 298 Squadron withdrew their last CH-47D Chinook from active service. Since then, most of the CH-47Ds are still stored inside the buildings at Gilze-Rijen. With almost all CH-47F MYII CAAS Chinooks delivered to the helicopter transport unit, the KLu wants to sell the old Chinooks as soon as possible because hangar space is needed for the new aircraft.
According to the Scramble database the following CH-47Ds are still in storage at Gilze-Rijen. According to the information known at this moment, their fate will be as follows:
For instructional duties there are two candidates; D-664 and D-665.
Back in 2020, the MoD sold four CH-47F(NL) Chinooks to another firefighting company, Coulson Aviation (USA) Inc. at Portland (OR). The company operates a variety of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. The four CH-47F(NL)s that were sold are D-891, D-893, D-894 and D-895 and are currently stored at San Bernardino (CA).
Regarding the new CH-47F MYII CAAS Chinooks, seventeen CH-47Fs have been delivered to the KLu so far. These are:
D-482 is still at Woensdrecht and will be delivered to 298 squadron in the coming month. D-605 and D-606 are the last Chinooks for the Netherlands and are still in the USA for tests.
Photo by Dennis van der Wiel (Scramble Archive)