Canadair
Canadair, Inc. | |
---|---|
legal form | Corporation |
founding | 1944 |
resolution | 1986 |
Seat | Montreal , Canada |
Branch | Aircraft construction |
Canadair was a Canadian aircraft manufacturer based in Montreal . The company was temporarily owned by the state and has been part of Bombardier Aerospace since 1986 .
history

Canadair was founded on November 11, 1944 by the Canadian government and took over the production facilities of Canadian Vickers in Saint-Laurent near Montreal. First, PBY Canso - flying boats for the Canadian Air Force built. From 1946 onwards, improved Douglas DC-4 models, the Canadair DC-4M "North Star" with Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, were also produced. In addition, the company secured rights to the Douglas DC-3 / C-47.
In 1946, Electric Boat acquired a majority stake in Canadair. Both companies merged in 1952 to form General Dynamics (GD). In 1954, GD Consolidated took over Vultee Aircraft Corporation and converted Canadair into a subsidiary.
In 1976 Canadair was nationalized by the Canadian government. In 1986 it was sold to Bombardier . The company became the heart of Bombardier Aerospace .
Since this acquisition, the company produces business jets and regional aircraft of the type CRJ . The Canadair brand has since been abandoned and all new developments are marketed under the Bombardier name.
Products
Canadair has a number of pioneering achievements. With the CL-44D , based on the Bristol Britannia , the rear fuselage could be folded away completely for the first time to make loading easier. The CL-89 and CL-289 were the first reconnaissance drones to go into service . The CL-84 was a vertical take-off ( VTOL ) with tilt wings , and the CL-215 was the first fire-fighting aircraft . In French today, canadair is a generic term for fire fighting aircraft in general.
Canadair was also active in other business areas. The subsidiary "Canarch" designed and produced facade systems, but also control stations for control towers of the US air traffic control FAA . Tracked vehicles and hovercraft were also designed, of which only a few were built.
Planes | description | crew | Seats | First flight | First delivery | End of production |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
North Star / Argonaut / C-4 / C-5 (further development of the Douglas DC-4 ) |
Transport / passenger aircraft | 2 | 52 | 1946 | 1948 | |
Canadair Saber (CL-13) license build North American F-86 Saber |
Fighter plane | 1 | 1950 | 1950 | 1958 | |
Canadair T-33 Shooting Star (CL-30) license build Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star |
Trainer / ECM / educator | 2 | 1952 | 1952 | ||
CL-66 / Cosmopolitan modified Convair CV-540 |
Transporter | 2 | 52 | 1959 | ||
Canadair F-104 / Starfighter (CL-90) license build Lockheed F-104 Starfighter |
Fighter aircraft / trainer | 1-2 | 1962 | 1962 | ||
Canadair CL-89 , CL-227 and CL-289 | Reconnaissance drones | no | 1964 | 1969 | ||
CL-215 | Fire-fighting aircraft | 2 | 1967 | 1969 | ||
Canadair CF-5, CF-116 under license Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter company designation CL-219 . |
Fighter plane | 1-2 | 1968 | |||
Canadair CL-415 | Fire-fighting aircraft | 2 | 1993 | 1994 | ||
Challenger ( 300 / 600 / 800 ) | Business jet | 2 | 8-19 | 1980 | 1986 | |
CRJ -100, -200, -600 and -700 series | Transporter / regional aircraft | 2 (plus flight attendant) | 50-90 | 1991 | 1992 | |
Bombardier BRJX | Transporter / regional aircraft | 2 (plus flight attendant) | 80-120 | |||
Canadair CL-227 / Sentinel | remote controlled drone | no | 1980 | |||
Canadair CL-28 / Argus | Maritime patrol | 5 (plus 4 reserve) | 1957 | 1980 | ||
Canadair CL-41 / Tutor | Trainer | 2 | 1960 | |||
Canadair CL-84 / Dynavert | Whiz kid | 2 | 15 soldiers | 1965 | Late 1960s - no series production | |
Canadair CL-44 / CC-106 Yukon | Transporter | 9 | 134 | 1959 | 1960 |