CHIPMUNK

de Havilland Canada DCH-1 Chipmunk, RCAF Serial No. 18025, is dedicated to Russell William Bannock, OOnt., DSO, DFC and Bar and legend in Canadian aviation and a member of Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame. Bannock, the Royal Canadian Air Force’s second highest-scoring ace in the Second World War, slipped the surly bonds of earth on January 4, 2020, at the age of 100. In honour of Wing Commander Bannock, who had a distinguished career with de Havilland Aircraft and other civilian aviation organizations following the war, we dedicate this Chipmunk in his name. Recently, the Arnprior/South Renfrew Municipal Airport near Ottawa was renamed The Russ Bannock Airport. During the Second World War, the airport hosted No. 3 Flying Instructor School for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Russ was also an instructor there, where he taught newly winged pilots to become flying instructors.

The de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk is a tandem, two-seat, single-engined primary trainer aircraft designed and developed by Canadian aircraft manufacturer de Havilland Canada. It was developed shortly after the Second World War and sold in large numbers during the immediate post-war years, being typically employed as a replacement for the de Havilland Tiger Moth biplane.The Chipmunk was 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 nations' air forces, where it was often utilised as their standard primary trainer aircraft. The type 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.

Many Chipmunks that had been in military use were sold 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 its capability for aerobatic manoeuvres. More than 70 years after the type having first entered service, hundreds of Chipmunks remain airworthy and are in operation around the world.