de Havilland Canada DHC-1

de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk
Chipmunk at Avalon Airport, Australia, 2005
Type:	Trainer aircraft
Design country:	Canada
Manufacturer:	de Havilland Canada
First flight:	May 22, 1946
Number of pieces:	1292

The de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk ( " chipmunk ") was a two-seat training aircraft from 1946, which of the standard training aircraft British military in the aftermath of the Second World War has been and wide in later versions use in civil applications such. B. found as an agricultural aircraft.

history

The DHC-1 Chipmunk was the successor to the legendary De Havilland Tiger Moth DH.82 - biplane designed. It first flew on May 22, 1946 in Toronto-Downsview . It was the first complete design of de Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd . The main developer was the Pole Vziewolod Jakimiuk . The prototype was equipped with a de Havilland Gipsy Major 1C with 108 kW (145 PS).

Two aircraft were tested by the Airplane and Armament Experimental Establishment at Boscombe Down . With its good-natured aerobatic characteristics, the Chipmunk immediately became the standard trainer of the Royal Air Force (RAF). Prince Philip got his first flying lessons on a chipmunk in 1952. The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) also adopted the Chipmunk as the standard trainer.

A special variant is the Super Chipmunk built by Art Scholl. Equipped with a retractable landing gear and a more powerful engine as well as shortened wings, the Super Chipmunk was designed for spectacular show aerobatics.

218 chipmunks were built in Toronto by 1956, 1,014 units were built in Great Britain. 60 Chipmunks were built in Portugal from 1955 to 1960 under license from OGMA for the Portuguese Air Force . Chipmunks built in Canada were designated T.Mk 30 and included the DHC-1B-1 with the Gipsy Major 1C and the DHC-1-B2 with the Gipsy Major 10-3. Production was stopped after 158 machines were delivered. Another 60 machines were later produced for the RCAF. British-built versions of the Chipmunk are the T.Mk 10 and T.Mk 20 and the civilian T.Mk 21, 1,014 of which were built in the UK.

one of the later chipmunks with a teardrop hood

The Chipmunk Mk.23, which first flew on June 6, 1958, is a heavily modified single-seat version of the Chipmunk Mk.10 trainer aircraft. In the new version, the front cockpit was replaced by a container or tank that holds 254 kg of solid or 363.7 l of liquid material. The container space could also be used as a cargo space with a level floor or for a passenger seat. The rear seat has also been raised for better visibility. A device for spraying these materials in flight was attached to the wing's trailing edge across the span. The arrangement of the flaps was changed so that the stall occurred at lower flight speeds. This reduced the tipping speed with a full load for spraying to 70.8 km / h.

The British and early Canadian chipmunks were very different from the later RCAF and Lebanese models. The new models had bubble-like canopy glazing. The Chipmunk was also a successful civil aircraft since the 1950s. It was used for aerobatic training and as a spray aircraft in agriculture.

The RAF received 735 British-made chipmunks. The machines initially served in the University Air Squadrons . Some machines were used in the Cyprus conflict in 1958 and for flights in Berlin . They remained in service until 1996 and were then replaced by Scottish Aviation Bulldog , who in turn were replaced by Grob Tutor in 1999-2000. The last chipmunks were used in the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight for historic RAF aircraft.

Other countries such as Burma , Ceylon , Chile , Columbia , Denmark , Egypt , Ireland , Iraq , Israel , Jordan , Lebanon , Malaysia , Saudi Arabia , Syria , Thailand and Uruguay also used the machine.

Military users

a Danish

a Portuguese chipmunk

 Egypt

 Belgium

2 pieces from 1948 for evaluation

 Denmark

 Ghana

 Ireland

 Iraq

 Israel

1 copy

 Jordan

 Canada

 Kenya

 Lebanon

 Malaysia

 Myanmar

 Norway

 Portugal

 Rhodesia

 Zambia

 Saudi Arabia

 Sri Lanka

 Syria

 Thailand

 Uruguay

 United Kingdom

• Army Air Corps
• Royal Air Force
• Royal Navy

Technical specifications

de Havilland DHC-1 Chipmunk

Parameter	Data
crew	Flight instructor and student pilot
length	7.75 m
span	10.47 m
Wing area	16.0 m²
height	2.1 m
Empty mass	646 kg
Takeoff mass	953 kg
drive	a de Havilland Gipsy Major 8 ; 145 PS (108 kW)
Top speed	222 km / h
Range	445 km
Service ceiling	5200 m

Web links

Commons : DHC-1 Chipmunk  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

• The Gatower Chipmunk WG466 at the Military History Museum of the Bundeswehr - Berlin-Gatow airfield
• RAF Museum
• Chipmunk in the colors of Skylark Aviation
• Royal Canadian Air Force Museum
• Two chipmunks at Quax, the association for the promotion of historical aircraft