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112experience was that the Chinook demonstrated that it was the helicopterof choice, yet we seem to have overlooked this when it came todesigning HMS Ocean. That ship was commissioned long after theFalklands but it is very difficult, perhaps impossible, to get a Chinookinto its hangar deck. Should we not have seen that one coming?Sir Peter Squire. Tony Stables will know the dimensions far better thanme, but my guess is that it might be possible, just, to get the aircraftbelow deck with its rotors off. But you certainly couldn%u2019t do it with therotors on and I doubt that even the Americans aim to put helicopters ofthat size below deck. Tony?AVM Stables. I think that we simply elected to handle inter-theatremovement of Chinooks either as air freight, with the rotors derigged, orby equipping them for air-to-air refuelling to permit them to self-deploy,both of these options are, incidentally, also exercised by the AmericanArmy. That said, we have deployed Chinook by sea; in fact they went toIraq on HMS Ocean, although they will have travelled as deck cargo.Once in the Gulf, they operated initially from Ocean, although theyeventually moved ashore. Incidentally, having used it extensively inAfghanistan and now in Iraq, the Royal Marines have got a real taste forthe Chinook and I think that we may well see some pressure to buy somemore.Gp Capt Jock Heron. Could I pursue one of Sir Richard Johns%u2019 points,about the MOD%u2019s failure to %u2018down declare%u2019 the G%u00fctersloh Harrier Force %u2013because I was one of the Staff Officers in Germany who sympathised(Laughter) %u2026%u2026..with the position. G%u00fctersloh%u2019s problems were notconfined to the shortage of aircraft and pilots, the ground supportequipment was also being shipped out, along with the cabins thatprovided the command and control in the field. All of this was beingreported to MOD by signal. We followed up by telephone, seekingreassurance that we were doing the right thing, but we never got a formalacknowledgement by signal. Is there anyone here who can shed anylight, because Sir Richard and I would both really like to know whythere was such an apparent lack of support from London. (There wassome more %u2013 embarrassed? %u2013 laughter, but no response)Sqn Ldr Graham Stagg. As SATCO at Leuchars in 1982, I was notpersonally involved in Operation CORPORATE, but my brother was a