WAK 06-2010 DHC-1 Chipmunk

The de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk was a Canadian low-wing training aircraft. The drive in the basic version was provided by a single de Havilland Gipsy Major 1C engine with 145 HP. The flight of the prototype took place in 1946, and serial production continued in the years 1947-1956, ending with the production of about 1,300 copies of this aircraft. The machine did not have a permanent armament.

The DHC-1 Chipmunk was created in response to the demand of the Canadian Air Force for a modern, monoplane, training plane, intended to replace the line of Tiger Moth machines that were already obsolete after 1945. Despite short research and development works, a very successful machine was created, with high maneuverability, capable of performing simple aerobatics and highly reliable. In Canadian aviation it meant a qualitative leap in comparison with Tiger Moth planes! Several versions of this aircraft were created in the course of serial production. The first mass-produced version was the DHC-1A-1 or Chipmunk T.1. The DHC-1B-1 and DHC-1B-2 versions adapted to air shows were also created. The license for DHC-1 was also purchased by Great Britain, where the machines were manufactured under the name Chipmunk. DHC-1 planes were also sold to many countries. e.g. Belgium, Burma, Egypt, Israel and Portugal.