In October 1965, a model of the Army's armed version of the CH-47A Chinook was exhibited at the Annual Meeting of the Association of the United States Army in Washington D.C.. This was the first public display of the armed Chinook configuration. In this artist's conception, the armed Chinook is equipped with an M-5 40mm grenade launcher; pylons on both sides capable of carrying fixed forward-firing weapons, such as a 20mm gun, and either a 19 round 2.75" rocket pod, or a 7.62mm high rate-of-fire gatling gun; and five gunners stationed in the cabin of the aircraft provided with a 7.62mm or 50 caliber machine gun of flexible mounts. One of the flexible guns is mounted on the rear loading ramp of the cargo compartment. From this vantage point, the gunner can protect the aircraft from ground fire after passing the target area - a capability not present in existing helicopters.