I assume because we were a much smaller target. The Chinooks only operated at night when I was there.
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Why could Black Hawks operate during the day, and Chinooks not?
Apaches have all their weapons to defend themselves.
My original thought was that they would replace C-47s and Gliders in landing troops behind the landing beaches the night before the invasion.
I had thought to replace all C-47s/paratroopers with CH-47s, but there weren't enough CH-47s built to do that.
As to point to point air movements and assault, I would imagine that the CH-47 could place troops much closer to their objective - for example, unloading troops on a road a few miles from a bridge that needs securing.
Or...since the timeline has been compromised: A-10s.Maybe we should add a wing of Buffs.
230 miles radius means the landing ops must be perfect, or the Allies know this time-storm will happen and have carriers stocked with jet fuel to get those heloes up and running again. Or simply do land-and-abandon.
Maybe we should add a wing of Buffs.
Approximately 125 miles between Portsmouth and Caen.
So I think the 230 miles radius should be plenty.
125 miles round-trip is 250 miles -- and that's assuming perfect ops, weather, no resistance -- not happening with that math.
Put the heloes on some flat-tops, then yeah, you might get a first-wave airborne assault. Still gotta figure out how to fuel turbine-powered choppers running on JP-4 when you don't have any of that fuel.
CVE flight deck approx 450-470ft long Bogue/Casablanca class. CH-47 is 98ft over the rotors. So max 3 to be ranged safely at a time. And they don't fit in the hangars (too long for lifts, too tall for hangars, even if the rotors could be folded/unfolded quickly).If you run a dozen CVE's into the Channel can't you make multiple flights during the night? Gliders were a one and done affair/C-47s have to go all the way back to an airstrip, but the WWII equivalent of an amphibious assault carrier a little ways off the coast would increase your lift substantially. Then convert the Skytrains into AC-47s - your Chinook crews should be aware of them.
And the CVE captain probably wouldn't be too upset by having all the avgas replaced by kerosene.
The combat radius of the CH-47 is listed as 230 miles, not the range.
So a round trip of ~460 miles.
Trying to see what the recommended fuel for the T55 turbines used in the CH-47, but not finding anything.
According to Wiki, JP-4 is a 50:50 mix of kerosine and petrol.
Is fuel going to be that big a problem?
Fuel is going to be that big a problem - not because it is difficult to create JP-4, but the volume you require.The combat radius of the CH-47 is listed as 230 miles, not the range.
So a round trip of ~460 miles.
Trying to see what the recommended fuel for the T55 turbines used in the CH-47, but not finding anything.
According to Wiki, JP-4 is a 50:50 mix of kerosine and petrol.
Is fuel going to be that big a problem?
Well, going by that same Wiki, 230 miles is the combat range -- not radius.
US built CVE aviation fuel capacityFuel is going to be that big a problem - not because it is difficult to create JP-4, but the volume you require.
CH-47 burns 500 gallons for your 230 mile range flight * 200 choppers = 100,000 gallons of JP-4. Multiply that by 2 or 3 flights/night and you have the fuel problem.
While a CH-47F holds just over 1,000 gallons, full tanks come at the expense of payload (and one does run tanks dry).
Fuel supply can be solved, but it would take time; not something you can drop in the day before the invasion.