Canadian Aviation in the Jet Age

Immediately after the war, commercial aviation mushroomed. From nine million passengers worldwide in 1945, the number climbed to 24 million in 1948. The widespread introduction of jet transport beginning in the late 1950s created a revolution in speed, comfort, and efficiency similar to that of the first modern airliners in the 1930s.

Most Canadians are aware that, for a brief period before the program's cancellation in 1959, the supersonic Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow interceptor made this country a world leader in jet fighter aircraft. Few Canadians know, however, that Canada had established similar leadership in jet airliners, with the Avro Canada C-102 Jetliner.

When it took off for the first time on August 10, 1949, the Jetliner was the first jet transport to fly in North America; it was only two weeks behind the first in the world, the British de Havilland Comet. Within a few flights, the Jetliner exceeded 800 km/h, whereas the most advanced transports of the day achieved about 450 km/h.

With the advent of the Korean War, the Canadian government ordered Avro Canada to concentrate on production of the CF-100 interceptor. The prototype Jetliner made its last flight in November 1956, after which it was cut up and sold for scrap.

The CF-100, first flown in January 1950, met a happier fate. The only one of Avro Canada's jets to reach production, it was considered the best all-weather fighter of its day and was used by the RCAF and the Canadian Armed Forces until the last one was retired in 1981.

The Korean War was the first time jet fighters met in combat. In the air, it was essentially a duel between the American F-86 Sabre and the Soviet MiG 15. They both have the swept-wing design developed from German research during World War II.

Although the MiG was in some ways superior, the final score in Korea was 800 MiGs lost, 78 Sabres lost. Pilot training and experience made the difference. Unlike the North Koreans, many of the allied pilots were World War II veterans.

Canadair acquired the licence to build the F-86. Later, it developed the Sabre 6 powered by the more powerful Canadian-designed Orenda engine, which gave it even better performance.

The RCAF flew them from the early fifties to 1962. It was their Golden Age. Sabre 6 pilots walked tall knowing they flew one of the best fighter aircraft in the world. For three years running they won the NATO air-to-air gunnery prize, defeating crack teams from five countries, including Britain, Germany and the United States.

In 1953, flying a Canadair Sabre, Jaquelin Cochran proved she had the "right stuff" by setting a new women's speed record and becoming the first woman pilot to break the sound barrier. Her wing man on that occasion was Chuck Yeager, the first pilot to fly faster than Mach One, the speed of sound.

The RCAF eventually replaced the Sabre with the Lockheed CF- 104, also known as the Starfighter. It could fly at twice the speed of sound. Called the Missile-with-a-man-in-it, the Wingless Wonder and Silver Sliver, it set many world records for speed, altitude and climbing time.

It was flown by our squadrons in Europe with NATO. At home, the one you are looking at set the Canadian altitude record in centennial year 1967.

In interceptors like the CF-104, pilots no longer had to get on the tail of the enemy. They did not even need to see an enemy aircraft except on radar. Missiles did the rest.

The outstanding success of the Canadian aviation industry in the postwar period is the Beaver, first flown in 1947. The Beaver is also the precursor of de Havilland Canada's advanced short take-off-and-landing (STOL) aircraft, such as the Dash 7.

Many innovations found in the Beaver were based on the answers to a questionnaire de Havilland Canada sent to bush operators across the country. The result? Just the best small utility aircraft in the world. Its all-metal structure was a first for Canadian-designed bush aircraft. Its effective wing and flap design gave it excellent STOL performance. The floor hatch and wide doors handled rolled-in fuel drums, saving time and money.

In 1950 and 1951 the U.S. Air Force and Army held competitions for aircraft of this type. The Beaver won over thirteen American entries. It was the first time a foreign-built aircraft had been purchased in peacetime for the U.S. military; the U.S. forces ordered more than 900. Operators in 62 countries bought the Beaver.

The Beaver operated in the Middle East, high in the Andes and in the polar regions. A lake, an island and a glacier in Antarctica are named Beaver after this rugged little flyer.

The aircraft also served in Korea and Vietnam, dropping supplies and evacuating casualties. In Korea they were the favourite "taxis" of the top brass and were known as the Generals' Jeep. Not widely publicized is the fact that in Korea they also made excellent ice-cream machines! They churned the ingredients by flying tight circles in the winter sky.

Eventually, the Beaver became the most numerous of all Canadian-designed aircraft with 1,691 manufactured. Hundreds of Beavers are still flying more than 50 years after the first one took off. The museum's specimen is the prototype Beaver, acquired in 1980 after almost 33 years of rugged flying.