Canadian Warplanes 2: Canadian Vickers Viking

Canadian Vickers Viking

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3643581)

Canadian Vickers Viking Mk. IV, RCAF Reg. No. G-CYEV, Victoria Beach, 1923.

The Viking was a single-engine amphibious pusher biplane.  Viking amphibians were built by Canadian Vickers Limited, a subsidiary company in Montreal, Quebec, with no previous aircraft manufacturing experience.  Their involvement with the Viking led to a future line of indigenous flying boats beginning with the Canadian Vickers Vedette.  Two Type 85 (Viking Mk. IV) delivered from Britain in 1923, followed by six aircraft built in Canada by Canadian Vickers at Montreal. (Wikipedia)

Canadian Vickers Viking Mk. IV (8), RCAF Reg. Nos. G-CYES, G-CYET, G-CYEU, G-CYEV, G-CYEW, G-CYEX, G-CYEY, G-CYEZ.

The registration G-CXXX was on all civil aircraft in Canada until about 1929 when it was changed to CF-XXX.  Then in the early 1970s the prefix was changed to C-GXXX and C-FXXX.  Ultralight aircraft were marked C-IXXX.  (Barney Dunlevy)

Detailed records of all known RCAF and Canadian-built aircraft may be viewed on line in the Canadian Aircraft Serials Personnel Information Resource (CASPIR). The  CASPIR website is researched, coded, and maintained entirely by Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum (CWHM) volunteers with only one staff assisting periodically. This work has taken several years and is unlikely to be finished as continuing research leads to “new finds” and rediscovered Canadian aviation heritage and history.  The CWHM volunteer team looks forward to continuing to update and correct the record as additional information and photos are received. Check here for the Viking.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3643595)

Canadian Vickers Viking IV, RCAF Reg. No. G-CYET, Stanley Mission, Saskatchewan, Aug 1924.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3643598)

Canadian Vickers Viking Mk. IV RCAF Reg. No. G-CYET) The Pas, Manitoba, July 1924.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3203288)

Canadian Vickers Viking Mk. IV, RCAF Reg. No. G-CYEX, being assembled.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3643602)

Canadian Vickers Viking Mk. IV, RCAF Reg. No. G-CYET, equipment carried for aerial survey over Manitoba and Saskatchewan, July-Aug 1924.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3575619)

Canadian Vickers Viking Mk. IV, RCAF Reg. No. G-CYEV, 19 Sep 1923.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3575619)

Canadian Vickers Viking Mk. IV, RCAF Reg. No. G-CYEV, 19 Sep 1923.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3643580)

Canadian Vickers Viking Mk. IV, RCAF Reg. No. G-CYEV, Victoria Beach, 1923.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3643617)

Canadian Vickers Viking Mk. IV, RCAF Reg. No. G-CYEV, ground crew changing an engine, Victoria Beach, Manitoba, 15 May 1924.

(Library and Archives Canada Photos, MIKAN No. 3643623)

Canadian Vickers Viking IV with skis, Montreal, 19 Mar 1924.

(Library and Archives Canada Photos, MIKAN No. 3643624)

Canadian Vickers Viking IV with skis, Montreal, 19 Mar 1924.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3391066)

Canadian Vickers Viking Mk. IV, RCAF Reg. No. G-CYEZ, 1926.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3389794)

Canadian Vickers Viking Mk. IV, RCAF Reg. No. G-CYET, 1924, Reindeer Lake, Manitoba.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3643612)

Canadian Vickers Viking Mk. IV, RCAF, camera crew, 1924.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3391060)

Canadian Vickers Viking Mk. IV, RCAF Reg. No. G-CYEU, Victoria Beach, Manitoba, 1925.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3200384)

Canadian Vickers Viking Mk. IV Mk. flying boats, including RCAF Reg. No. G-CYEX, Victoria Beach, Manitoba, 30 May 1924.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3643606)

Canadian Vickers Viking Mk. IV RCAF Reg. No. G-CYET, being refueled, Brochet, Manitoba, July 1924.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3391057)

Canadian Vickers Viking Mk. IV, RCAF Reg. No. G-CYET, 1924, Reindeer Lake, Manitoba.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3391068)

Canadian Vickers Viking Mk. IV, RCAF Reg. No. G-CYEZ, 1926.  

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3391059)

Canadian Vickers Viking Mk. IV, RCAF Reg. No. G-CYEZ, 1926.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3391065)

Canadian Vickers Viking Mk. IV, RCAF Reg. No. G-CYEZ, 1926, Victoria Beach, Manitoba.

(DND Photo)

Canadian Vickers Viking Mk. IV, RCAF Reg. No. G-CYES, 1926.

(Author Photo)

Canadian Vickers Viking Mk. 4, G-CAEB, 7/8-scale replica.  The Viking was amphibious, which meant it could operate off water or land. It was a single-engine biplane with a nearly flat-sided hull. It was manufactured in Canada by Canadian Vickers utilizing durable, seasoned Canadian timber. Eight Vikings were ordered by the Canadian Air Force in 1923 and were operationally deployed from 1924 to 1931.  The Museum’s 7/8 scale replica of Viking G-CAEB is on loan from the Bomber Command Museum in Nanton and was originally built for the 1993 movie “Map of the Human Heart.”

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