THE MALTON LIZZIES
In the mid 1930s, National Steel Car of Canada, a major builder of rolling stock for Canadian railways, based in Hamilton, Ontario decided to venture into the aviation business as well. For their new aircraft division, they kept their iron horse company name but set up new hangars and assembly facilities at Toronto's Malton Airport, about an hour's drive north of Hamilton. Their first contract was to build under licence a number of Westland Lysander II aircraft.
They began construction of their hangars and factory in 1936 with tooling and production line construction for the Lysander beginning in April of 1938. By the next year the first Canadian-built Lysander took to the skies over Malton and the beginning of a great aircraft industry was underway. Shortly after the war began, NSC started to build the Avro Anson under contract and the facilities grew commensurate with the growth in production. Eventually the NSC factories would be purchased by the federal government and Victory Aircraft was created - becoming the largest aircraft production facility in Canada, producing more than 430 Avro Lancaster bombers and other aircraft for the air forces of the British Commonwealth in Europe. Victory aircraft would in turn mutate into Avro Canada, builders of the magnificent but failed CF-105 Arrow project.
Tucker Harris, National Steel Car’s Aircraft Division final assembly chief foreman, began work at Malton in 1939 just as the first Lysanders were being constructed. His collection of photographs provides us with a dramatic view of the first major military aircraft production in Canada in the Second World War. This photographic collection is imbued with the excitement, pride and hands on work of this grand period in Canada's aircraft production industry. As we get set to bring our Lysander up to flying status, we reflect on the first of a line of Lysanders that stretches to our Lizzie.
Harris would stay on with Victory Aircraft until close to the end of the war. Sadly, Tucker Harris was killed just a month after VE day in an airplane crash near Longueil, Quebec. He was at the time employed by a company flying supplies to mining operations in Labrador. The seaplane he was returning aboard struck a tree in dense fog along the St. Lawrence River, killing all five on board.
Vintage Wings of Canada gratefully thanks Paul Huether for not only bringing this remarkable collection to our attention, but for caring for these historic photographs and researching Harris' life and the beautiful aircraft and robust industry he helped build. Paul Huether's mother-in-law was Tucker Harris' widow and upon seeing the interest he had in Canadian aviation, she entrusted the safe keeping of these images to him. It was the right move.