de Havilland Chipmunk
The de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk is a tandem two-seat primary trainer designed by de Havilland Aircraft of Canada at Downsview, Toronto, as the successor to the Tiger Moth biplane. First flown on 22 May 1946, it was de Havilland Canada's first indigenous design and the first Canadian-designed aircraft to be built abroad under licence. Production, as the sources scope it, was 217 aircraft in Canada, the last delivered in 1956; 1,000 built under licence by de Havilland in Britain; and 66 licence-built by OGMA in Portugal. The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum totals those accountings as 1,283 aircraft produced between 1946 and 1958, while Wikipedia gives 1,284 for the same three lines. The Chipmunk trained pilots for the RCAF, the RAF and other Commonwealth and foreign air forces, and RAF aircraft flew air-cadet Air Experience Flights until 1996. Many survive in private hands, hundreds are reported still airworthy, and a few remain in military service with British historic flights and, as of 2018, the Portuguese Air Force.
Why It Mattered
The Chipmunk was the primary trainer with which the Royal Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force replaced the Tiger Moth biplane after the Second World War. It was designed at Downsview, Toronto, by de Havilland Aircraft of Canada, with the Polish engineer WsiewoĊod Jakimiuk as principal designer. It was the company's first indigenous design, and the first Canadian-designed aircraft to be manufactured abroad. Far more were built overseas than in Canada. It drew wider public attention in 1952, when Prince Philip trained on the type. The Canada Aviation and Space Museum notes that it was also the first of many de Havilland Canada aircraft named after North American wildlife.
Design Notes
Where the Tiger Moth was a wooden biplane, the Chipmunk was a low-wing cantilever monoplane with an all-metal, stressed-skin fuselage. Its single-spar wing had a stressed-skin leading edge, with fabric covering aft of the spar. Student and instructor sat in tandem under an enclosed canopy; later Canadian-built aircraft replaced the multi-panelled sliding canopy with a bubble canopy. Strakes were fitted to deter spinning, and stall-breaker strips along the inboard leading edges made the stall begin at the wing root. A single 145 hp de Havilland Gipsy Major inverted in-line engine powered the aircraft. The wing was stressed for 9g, and the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum credits that strength in part for the type's later popularity as an aerobatic aircraft.
Operational History
Design work began in October 1945, and the prototype, CF-DIO-X, first flew at Downsview on 22 May 1946, piloted by Pat Fillingham. The Canadian Army accepted its first Chipmunks in 1948, for elementary pilot training at Rivers, Manitoba, and for training pilots in ranging and directing artillery fire. The RCAF ordered its first Chipmunks in 1952, once design changes including the bubble canopy were complete, and the last of the 217 Canadian-built aircraft was delivered in the autumn of 1956. Canadian-built aircraft were also sent to Egypt, Lebanon and Thailand. In Britain, de Havilland built 1,000 Chipmunks under licence, at first at Hatfield and later at Hawarden, near Chester; of these, 735 were T.10s built for the RAF. OGMA licence-built 66 more at Alverca in Portugal, from 1955 to 1961, for the Portuguese Air Force. The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum totals production at 1,283 aircraft built between 1946 and 1958 across the three lines. In RAF service the type flew with Reserve Flying Squadrons and University Air Squadrons, and it gave air cadets their first flights on Air Experience Flights until 1996.
Afterlife
The type served the Canadian military until the end of 1971, and its last Canadian example was retired in 1972; RAF use ran until the end of the 1970s. The last Chipmunks in military service are flown by the British historic flights, keeping their pilots current on tailwheel aircraft. As of 2018, the Portuguese Air Force still operated six Chipmunks with Esquadra 802, on screening, glider-towing and proficiency work. Many ex-military Chipmunks passed to private owners and flying clubs, and hundreds are reported still airworthy around the world. In the United States, re-engined Super Chipmunk conversions became noted aerobatic aircraft, flown at international air shows by Art Scholl. The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum's 1956 Chipmunk remains airworthy and is flown regularly, carrying passengers.