Canadian Warplanes 5: de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk

de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk

(RCAF Photo courtesy of the Canadian Aviation Preservation Association)

de Havilland Canada DHC-1B-2-S5 Chipmunk Mk. II, RCAF (Serial No. 18012).

The de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk is a tandem, two-seat, single-engined primary trainer aircraft designed and developed by de Havilland Canada shortly after the end of the Second World War.  Named after a small rodent, Chipmunks were made and sold in large numbers during the immediate post-war years, and were primarily employed as a replacement for the de Havilland Tiger Moth biplane.

The Chipmunk was the first postwar aviation project conducted by de Havilland Canada.  It made its first flight on 22 May 1946, and entered operational service the same year.  During the late 1940s and 1950s, the Chipmunk was procured in large numbers by military air services, including the RCAF, the RAF, and several other nations' air forces, where it was often utilised as their standard primary trainer aircraft.  The the vast majority of Chipmunks was produced under licence by de Havilland in the UK, and by Oficinas Gerais de Material Aeronáutico (OGMA) in Portugal.

Chipmunks were slowly phased out of RCAF service beginning in the late 1950s.  Many ex-military Chipmunks were sold to civilians, either to private owners or to companies, where they were typically used for a variety of purposes, often involving the type's excellent flying characteristics and its capability for aerobatic manoeuvres.  More than 70 years after the type having first entered service, hundreds of Chipmunks remain airworthy and are in operation around the world.

de Havilland DHC-1B, CT-120 Chipmunk Mk. I (3), (Serial Nos. 18001-18003), DHC-1B-2-S5 Mk. II (97), (Serial Nos. 18004 (ex CF-CXI), 18005 (ex CF-CYU), 18006 (ex CF-CYT), 18007,08, 18009 (ex CF-CYW), 18010 (ex CF-CYI), 18011 (ex CF-CYE), 18012 (ex CF-CYK), 18013 (ex CF-CLY), 18014 (ex CF-CYM), 18015 (ex CF-CYO), 18016 (ex CF-CYQ), 18017 (ex CF-CYR), 18018 (ex CF-CYS), 18019 (ex CF-CYN), 18020-62, 18063 (ex CF-CYV), 18064 (ex CF-CYX), 18065 (ex CF-CYY), 18066 (ex CF-CYZ), CF-CXA – CF-CXH, CF-CXJ-CF-CXZ, CF-CYA – CF-CYD, CF-CYF – CF-CYH, CF-CYJ, CF-CYP), for a total of 100 aircraft.

(DND Photo via James Craik)

de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk, RCAF Serial No. 18047), RCAF Station Centralia flight line, early 1960s.

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(DND Photo via Chris Charland)

de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk, RCAF Serial No. 18017).  Military display at the CNE, before Feb 1965.

(Jim Williams Photo)

de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk (Serial No. 18056), ca 1969, Camp Borden.

(AHunt Photo)

de Havilland DHC-1B-2-S5 Chipmunk Mk. II, RCAF (Serial No. 18041), C/N 179-217, C-FBXK.

(edk7 Photo)

de Havilland DHC-1B-2-S5 Chipmunk, (Serial No. 18073), Reg. No. CF-URN, Guelph Airpark, Ontario.

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