de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk primary trainer aircraft at the Shuttleworth Trust
Image details
Contributor:
Niall Ferguson / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
K2D88CFile size:
47.8 MB (2.2 MB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
4838 x 3456 px | 41 x 29.3 cm | 16.1 x 11.5 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
6 August 2017Location:
Old Warden, United KingdomMore information:
The de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk is a tandem, two-seat, single-engined primary trainer aircraft developed and manufactured by Canadian aircraft manufacturer de Havilland Canada. It was developed shortly after the Second World War and sold heavily throughout the immediate post-war years, being typically employed as a replacement for the de Havilland Tiger Moth biplane. The Chipmunk holds the distinction of being the first postwar aviation project conducted by de Havilland Canada. It performed its maiden flight on 22 May 1946 and was introduced to operational service that same year. During the late 1940s and 1950s, the Chipmunk was procured in large numbers by military air services such as the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), Royal Air Force (RAF), and several other nation's air forces, where it was often utilised as their standard primary trainer aircraft. The type was also produced under licence by de Havilland in the United Kingdom, who would produce the vast majority of Chipmunks, as well as by OGMA (Oficinas Gerais de Material Aeronáutico) in Portugal. The type was slowly phased out of service from the late 1950s onwards, although in the ab initio basic training role, this didn't actually occur within the Royal Air Force until 1996, having finally been replaced by the SA Bulldog. However, many of the Chipmunks that had been formerly in military use were sold on 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 it capability for aerobatic maneouvers. More than 70 years after the type having first entered service, hundreds of Chipmunks remained airworthy and were in operation around the world.