What Does CH Stand For On The CH-47 Chinook Helicopter?

Boeing's CH-47 Chinook is one of the oldest and most recognizable helicopters operated by the U.S. Military, thanks to its obvious tandem-rotor design. Besides being known for its striking looks, the CH-47 has cemented its place in the U.S. Military history books thanks to its sheer versatility and longevity. The helicopter, today, is used for a wide variety of applications, from transporting troops, artillery, and equipment and supplies to performing rescue missions.

Introduced by Veritol Aircraft Corporation more than 60 years ago at the height of the Vietnam War, the helicopter continues to be manufactured by Boeing, which acquired Veritol in 1960. Over the years, the original CH-47 Chinook has undergone several modernization upgrades and spawned numerous variants, including the combat-focused MH-47 Chinook , all while retaining most of the original design language and airframe.

Like other helicopters operated by the U.S. military, the CH-47 derives its nickname from Native American culture, specifically the Chinookan people of the Northwestern United States. But what do the letters and numbers in the rest of the helicopter's name — "CH-47" — actually mean? Upon scouring for answers, we quickly realized that most websites label the CH in CH-47 as a "Cargo Helicopter." While this is not entirely incorrect, there is a whole lot of nuance attached to this rather simplified explanation.

The naming of military aircraft works very differently compared to civilian planes. With civilian planes and helicopters, the manufacturer typically follows their own naming convention, a system designed to make sense internally and appeal to potential buyers. With U.S. military aircraft, each name must conform to the United States Tri-Service Aircraft Designation System, which has standardized the naming scheme for aircraft across all three wings of the U.S. Military using what is referred to as an MDS (Mission-Design-Series) designation.

Adopted in 1962, this system mandates that the first letter of an aircraft should denote its primary function or capability. For example, an aircraft model that starts with "F" is a "Fighter," and those that begin with "K" are Tanker aircraft. On similar lines, U.S. military aircraft models that start with "C" are classified as Transport planes, essentially aircraft intended to carry cargo (likely where the "C" comes from), passengers, or medical patients. Within the Aircraft Designation System, the second alphabet (which is optional) would indicate the type of the vehicle.

Planes like Lockheed's large C-5 Galaxy, and Boeing's C-17 Globemaster III skip the second letter. In the case of the CH-47, the "C" indicates that it is a transport aircraft, while the second alphabet, "H," denotes that it's a helicopter. Applying the same logic to the Boeing AH-64 Apache, it's easily understood that it's an attack helicopter (AH). The numbers that follow the first few letters are design numbers and merely indicate the model of the aircraft and the sequence in which it was introduced into the military.