De Havilland's first manufacturing plant in Downsview, Toronto

    De Havilland Canada (DHC) was incorporated March 5, 1928 as a subsidiary of British de Havilland Aircraft company.

    Britain wanted Canada to develop a strong airforce, so DHC went to work producing Moth aircraft for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).

    From the late 1920's until World War II, DHC produced Moth aircraft of different types, adapted to suit the Canadian climate.

    After World War II de Havilland Canada would make a name for itself designing and building its own planes to stand up to the challenges faced by aircraft in Canada.

    After the war DHC was producing an original aircraft for the RCAF, the Chipmunk all-metal trainer, which was also successfully sold in Canada and internationally. Chipmunks are still in use today; you can even go for a ride in a Chipmunk at Canada's National Aviation Museum.

    After the war, de Havilland saw a need for an aircraft designed to service Canada's rugged North. DHC sent an open letter to pilots asking them what they wanted in a bushplane and, with their feedback, developed what is probably the most famous bush aircraft ever built: the Beaver.

    The Beaver was widely adopted by private enterprise and the military alike but some potential clients were lost because of its size: the Beaver was commonly referred to as a flying half-ton truck. What they needed was a one-ton truck.

    What started life as the "Super Beaver" became the Otter, a larger aircraft similar in shape and functionality as the Beaver.

    Both the Beaver and Otter, named after industrious Canadian wildlife, were adopted by the U.S. Army.

    It was for the U.S. Army that de Havilland Canada developed its next two aircraft: the Caribou and the Buffalo. Similar to each other in size and design, these twin-engined aircraft were built to carry troops and cargo into short, unprepared airstrips, much as the Beaver and Otter, but had greater payloads due to their size.

    Unfortunately, the U.S. Army lost its privileges to purchase fixed wing aircraft to the U.S. Air Force who argued that the Army should be in charge of helicopters, not airplanes. This ended the DHC contract to provide aircraft to the U.S. Army and left de Havilland to find other means of generating sales.

    With the oil crisis in the 1970's, DHC was in a good position to develop a short range commuter airliner featuring STOL capabilities that was thought would link urban centers through small, commuter airports. From that need the DASH-7 was born. The DASH-7 was bought by the Canadian military and by regional airlines but, with the end of the oil crisis, the need for a commuter airliner with STOL capabilities faded. The need that the DASH-7 was created for had disappeared.

    DHC's next aircraft, the DASH-8, was similar in size to the DASH-7 but without the STOL capabilities that previous de Havilland aircraft had been known for; today, as part of the Bombardier group of companies, de Havilland Canada is successfully marketing the DASH-8 to airlines worldwide.