![]() His new aircraft was designated the DHC-1 Chipmunk and flew for the first time on May 22 1946. Design leadership for DHC's first aircraft was the responsibility of W J Jakimiuk who had emigrated to Canada from Poland in 1940 and was previously responsible for the design of the PZL P-24 and PZL P-50 Jastrzab fighters and the DH-95 Flamingo airliner. With a full design workload (courtesy of the revolutionary Comet jet airliner project among others) De Havilland decided to hand design responsibility for the new trainer to its Canadian subsidiary, De Havilland Canada. Many Air Experience Flights continued to operate Chipmunks through the 1980s and into the mid-1990s.Īlthough best known as a training aircraft, RAF Chipmunks operating from Berlin were converted for covert reconnaissance missions.Affectionately known as the Chippie, De Havilland Canada's Chipmunk was designed in response to a growing need to replace the Royal Air Force's ageing Tiger Moth two seat basic trainer biplane (described separately). New trainers such as the Scottish Aviation Bulldog entered service with the RAF but they did not completely replace the Chipmunk. In 1952, the aircraft received the royal seal of approval when HRH the Duke of Edinburgh took his first flying lessons in Chipmunk (which can be seen at RAF Museum Midlands) operated by a special flight at White Waltham, Berkshire. With increased orders to meet these expanded needs, eventually totalling 735, the Chipmunk was set to repeat the success of its illustrious predecessor. The selection of the Chipmunk as the RAF’s primary trainer during the early 1950s expansion of its pilot training programme transformed the aircraft’s story. The Chipmunk was designed and produced in Canada before being adopted as the Royal Air Force’s primary trainer.īeginning in 1950, the University Air Squadrons were the first RAF units to receive Chipmunks, shortly followed by the twenty Reserve Flying Schools. An Enduring Relationship : A History of Friendship between the Royal Air Force and the Royal Air Force of Omanĭe Havilland produced another classic with the replacement for their world famous Tiger Moth.Sir Alan Cobham A Life of a Pioneering Aviator.Never Forgotten: The RAF in the Far East.Battle of Britain Aircrew 31 Aug to 6 Sep. ![]() Battle of Britain Groundcrew 7 to 13 September.Enter the RAF Museum Green Aviation Challenge.Spitfire Family Run – Design your medal!.2022 Museum Annual Conference: Meaning, Memory, and the (Mis-)Remembered Past.VJ75: Geography and Rediscovered Stories.Virtual Lecture: Together through it all – The importance of camaraderie to airmen in RAF Bomber Command.Virtual Lecture – “It’s a rum life”: Physical Space and Morale Amongst Royal Flying Corps Scout Pilots.Virtual Lecture – Why did the West overestimate Russian military capabilities and why does this matter?. ![]()
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