CH-47 Chinook

Product Spotlight: BRITFORLEB

Forces of Valor’s 1:72 scale RAF Boeing-Vertol HC.Mk 1 Chinook Heavy Lift Helicopter – No.7 Squadron, BRITFORLEB Task Force, Lebanon, 1984

The Multinational Force in Lebanon (MNF) was an international peacekeeping force created in August 1982 following a 1981 US-brokered ceasefire between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel to end their involvement in the conflict between Lebanon’s pro-government and pro-Syrian factions. The ceasefire held until June 3rd, 1982 when the Abu Nidal Organization attempted to assassinate Shlomo Argov, Israel’s ambassador to London. Israel blamed the PLO and three days later invaded Lebanon. West Beirut was besieged for seven weeks before the PLO acceded to a new agreement for their withdrawal. The agreement provided for the deployment of a Multinational Force to assist the Lebanese Armed Forces in evacuating the PLO, Syrian forces and other foreign combatants involved in Lebanon’s civil war.

The four-nation MNF was created as an interposition force meant to oversee the peaceful withdrawal of the PLO. The participants included the U.S. Multinational Force (USMNF), which consisted of four different Marine Amphibious Units (MAUs); British 1st Queens Dragoon Guards armored reconnaissance regiment; the 1st inter-arm Foreign and French Brigade, 4 Foreign Legion Regiments, 28 French Armed Forces regiments including French and Foreign paratroopers, units of the National Gendarmerie, Italian paratroopers from the Folgore Brigade, infantry units from the Bersaglieri regiments and Marines of the San Marco Regiment. Additionally, the MNF was in charge of training various units of the Lebanese Armed Forces.

The relatively benign environment at the beginning of the mission gave way to chaos as the civil war re-escalated following the assassination of President-elect Bashir Gernavel in September 1982. Subsequent political and military developments on the ground caused the MNF to be viewed not as a peacekeeper, but as a belligerent. In early 1984, after it became apparent that the government of Lebanon was no longer able to impose its will on warring factions as they entered Beirut and hostilities renewed, the MNF ended its presence mission in Beirut and went offshore before completely leaving Lebanon in July of the same year in the aftermath of the October 1983 barracks bombing that killed 241 U.S. and 58 French servicemen. It was replaced by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) already present in Lebanon since 1978 under the leadership of Ghanian Lieutenant General Emmanuel Erskine.

The involvement of British forces in the Multinational Force was agreed by the UK Government on December 15th, 1982. The American request for UK military support posed a dilemma for Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who was wary of entanglement in the complex conflict in Lebanon. However, she agreed to a small, limited commitment as a token effort to support the UK-US ‘special relationship’. The contingent of BRITFORLEB, code-named Operation Hyperion, was limited to an armored reconnaissance squadron equipped with Ferret armored cars with, at most, 115 deployed personnel. British Forces were based in the East Beirut district of Regie Hadath. The contingent did not suffer any fatalities and was withdrawn, with the other multinational contingents, in February 1984. BRITFORLEB consisted of three squadron-sized rotations from armored reconnaissance units: C Sqn (Feb-Aug 1983) and A Sqn (Aug-Dec 1983) from the 1st Queens Dragoon Guards, and A Sqn (Dec 1983-Feb 1984) of the 16th/5th The Queen’s Royal Lancers.

Looking to pay tribute to the “special relationship” that continues to exist between the US and UK as well as the British contribution to the UN peackeeping mission, Waltersons will be releasing a 1:72 scale replica of a helicopter that participated in BRITFORLEB – the British effort to bring peace to Lebanon in the early 1980s. Their newest British-based Chinook proudly wears an over-sized Union Jack on its rear pylon as well as its fuselage underside and capitalizes on the success of Walterson’s range of CH-47 Chinook helicopters. Expect their newest rotary wing aircraft to soar over Beirut and the diecast battlefield this April.

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Forces of Valor Revs Up its Engines

Now that we’re getting close to the roll out of Walterson’s revamped Forces of Valor brand, we thought we’d approach things a bit differently. As pictures and information surface, we’re going to be covering them as if they were subjects of their wartime national publications: Signal for the Germans, Pravda for the Russians, and of course, Stars and Stripes for the US arsenal. So, without further ado, here’s our opening installment for our Forces of Valor profile.

Forces of Valor’s 1:72 scale US Army Boeing-Vertol CH-47D Chinook Heavy Lift Helicopter – A Company, 7th Battalion, 101st Airborne Division, Afghanistan, 2003

‘The Chinook is an awesome aviation airframe. It is able to lift single heavy-duty pieces of equipment and light vehicles and is one of the most reliable airframes in service in the entire United States Military. It can lift up to 50,000 pounds and nearly 26,000 can be slung below the helicopter from the center hook. It has redundancy built in that many people did not realize, which makes it a very safe airframe. Each of the huge rotor blades on the Chinook CH-47 weighs 350 pounds, and the engines work together to turn the rotors. Each of the engines work about 50 percent capacity. If one engine fails the other simply goes into high gear, and functions at 100 percent allowing the helicopter to fly just as well as it does with two engines.”

– Military.com 

If you follow their Facebook page, Waltersons has indicated that they are investing heavily in retooling many of the former Unimax Forces of Valor products. Their ultimate goal is to bring each model up to today’s standards, by adding engines and engine compartments, improving the paint wash, and, in the case of the CH-47 Chinook, redoing the front of the helicopter to make it look a bit more realistic when compared with an actual Chinook. This is one of the principal reasons why it has taken the Company so long to bring product to market, as they look to cater to diehard FOV fans and build up a new fan base all of their own.

 

The correct color palette is used for the exterior paint scheme with weathering applied to give it a battle hardened appearance.

The Chinook, which will come in several variations, nationalities and versions, will feature a detailed crew compartment, lowering rear ramp, free spinning rotors and heavy diecast metal throughout.

Lowering rear ramp and a fully detailed interior crew compartment brings this chopper to life!

Likewise, the Company has updated the product packaging, all in an effort to appeal to the many different types of collectors eager to add a Chinook to their aviation collection. The first 1:72 scale Chinooks are expected to land in September, and, best of all, a larger 1:48 scale version, with even greater detail, is already in-the-works, and will hopefully touch down before the year is out.

New packaging discusses each feature and includes information for other products in the series.

 

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