Canada 20 Dollars Silver Coin 1995 DHC-1 Chipmunk
Aviation Commemoratives
Obverse: Profile portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II created in 1990 and notable for the grand jewelled tiara and a beautiful string of pearls, this royal effigy was designed by Canadian artist Dora de Pedery-Hunt.
Lettering: ELIZABETH II D·G·REGINA · 1995 ·
Reverse: de Havilland DHC-1 Chipmunk Aerobatics. Portrait of Russell Bannock in 24-karat gold-plated cameo, denomination below.
Lettering: CANADA 20 DOLLARS RRC.
Engraver: Robert Bradford.
Edge: Reeded & Plain Sections.
Diameter: 38 mm.
Weight: 31.103 g.
Material: Silver.
Fineness: 0.925.
Denomination: 20 Canadian Dollars.
Produced By: Royal Canadian Mint.
Bannock was born in Edmonton in 1919, and worked as a commercial pilot before the Second World War, obtaining his private pilot's license in 1938 and his commercial pilot's license in 1939.
Second World War
After entering the Royal Canadian Air Force, Bannock received his pilot's wings in 1940 and was appointed as an instructor at Trenton, Ontario. Later he was posted to Royal Air Force Ferry Command from June to August 1942. In September 1942, Bannock became chief instructor with the Flying Instructor School at Arnprior in Ontario. Bannock's request for overseas service was granted in 1944 and he joined 60 OTU based in High Ercall, England.
In June 1944, Bannock was then transferred to No. 418 Squadron RCAF, flying intruder missions over Europe with the de Havilland Mosquito Mk. VI fighter-bomber. He quickly proved adept at this type of operation and achieved his first victories. In October 1944, he was promoted to Wing Commander and took command of the squadron. Bannock also flew 'Diver' operations against the German V-1 "flying bombs" launched against London and southern England. On one mission he shot down four V-1s in one hour. A bar to his Distinguished Flying Cross was added for his missions against the V-1s.
Bannock was transferred to No. 406 Squadron RCAF in November 1944 as commanding officer, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. By April 1945, Bannock had destroyed 11 enemy aircraft (including 2 on the ground), 4 damaged in the air and 19.5 V-1's destroyed. Bannock became Director of Operations, RCAF Overseas Headquarters, in London in May 1945 until September 1945 when he attended the Royal Air Force Staff College.
Post-Second World War
Retiring from the RCAF in 1946, Bannock joined the de Havilland Canada Aircraft Company as chief test pilot, flying prototypes like the Beaver and various short take-off and landing aircraft. In 1950 Bannock became Director of Military Sales and later Vice President and President from 1976 to 1978. In 1968 he formed his own consulting business, Bannock Aerospace Ltd.
In 1956 Bannock was appointed an associate fellow of the Canadian Aeronautical Institute. He was also chairman of the Canadian Aerospace Industries Association’s Export Committee 1964-1968, and was a director from 1976-1977. Bannock was also President of the Canadian Fighter Pilots Association, Director of the Canadian Industrial Preparedness Association, and the Canadian Exporters Association.
In the late 1990s, his wartime navigator, Robert Bruce, recorded his Symphony in B flat, dedicated to Bannock and in part inspired by the night sorties they flew together. In 2011 he was made a member of the Order of Ontario "for his contributions to the aerospace industry".
de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk
The de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk is a tandem, two-seat, single-engined primary trainer aircraft which was the standard primary trainer for the Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Air Force and several other air forces through much of the post-Second World War years. The de Havilland Chipmunk was the first postwar aviation project of de Havilland Canada.
Today, over 500 DHC-1 Chipmunk airframes remain airworthy with more being rebuilt every year.
Design and development
The Chipmunk was designed to succeed the de Havilland Tiger Moth biplane trainer that was widely used during the Second World War. Wsiewołod Jakimiuk, a Polish prewar engineer, created the first indigenous design of the aircraft at de Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. It is an all-metal, low wing, tandem two-place, single-engined aircraft with a conventional tailwheel landing gear and fabric-covered control surfaces. The wing is also fabric-covered aft of the spar. A clear perspex canopy covers the pilot/student (front) and instructor/passenger (rear) positions. CF-DIO-X, the Chipmunk prototype, flew for the first time at Downsview, Toronto on 22 May 1946 with Pat Fillingham, test pilot from the parent de Havilland company, at the controls. The production version of the Chipmunk was powered by a 145 hp (108 kW) inline de Havilland Gipsy Major 8 engine while the prototype was powered by a 145 hp (108 kW) de Havilland Gipsy Major 1C.
Two Chipmunk aircraft were evaluated by the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) at RAF Boscombe Down. As a result, the fully aerobatic Chipmunk was ordered as an ab initio trainer for the Royal Air Force (Prince Philip took his first flying lesson in one in 1952). The Royal Canadian Air Force also adopted the Chipmunk as their primary trainer.
British-built and early Canadian-built Chipmunks are notably different from the later Canadian-built RCAF/Lebanese versions. The later Canadian-built aircraft have a bubble canopy, while early Canadian, and all Portuguese and British examples have the multi-panelled sliding canopy, the rearmost panels of which are bulged for better instructor visibility.
From the 1950s onward, the Chipmunk also became a popular civilian aircraft, being used for training, aerobatics and crop spraying. Most civilian aircraft are ex-military.
A cabin development of the Chipmunk with side-by-side seating was designed as the DHC-2, but not built.
Canada
The RCAF accepted its first DHC-1 Chipmunks in 1948, as the first of a long production run of the 217 Chipmunks made in Canada. The Chipmunk was the first Canadian-designed aircraft to be made abroad under licence, with the majority of the home-grown production destined for the RCAF, but Canadian Chipmunks were also sent to Egypt, Lebanon and Thailand.
Of the 113 in RCAF service, 79 Chipmunks were assigned as ab initio trainers with 34 assigned to flying clubs for use in refresher training for RCAF Reserve pilots. The last example remained in service as a CF trainer until 1972, three years after unification in 1968. The Chipmunk's long service was due, in part, to its fully aerobatic capabilities and superb flying characteristics, which made it a delight to fly. It is also a mechanically sound aircraft and, consequently, many ex-RCAF Chipmunks are still operational around the world.
Landing his Chipmunk at Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on 2 June 2015, retired de Havilland Canada test pilot George Neal set the world record for oldest active licensed pilot at the age of 96 years 194 days.
Production
Downsview built 217 Chipmunks, the last in 1956. A total of 1,000 were built in Britain initially at Hatfield Aerodrome and then later at Hawarden Aerodrome. A further 66 Chipmunks were licence-manufactured by OGMA (Oficinas Gerais de Material Aeronáutico), at Alverca from 1955 to 1961 in Portugal for the Portuguese Air Force.
Specifications (DHC-1 Chipmunk)
General characteristics
Crew: 2, student & instructor
Length: 25 ft 5 in (7.75 m)
Wingspan: 34 ft 4 in (10.47 m)
Height: 7 ft in (2.1 m)
Wing area: 172 ft² (16.0 m²)
Empty weight: 1,517 lb (646 kg)
Loaded weight: 2,014 lb (953 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 2,200 lb (998 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × de Havilland Gipsy Major 1C, 145 hp (108 kW)
Performance
Maximum speed: 120 kn, 138 mph at sea level (140 mph is also given) (222 km/h)
Cruise speed: 90 kn
Range: 225 NM (445 km)
Service ceiling: 15,800 ft (5200 m)
Rate of climb: 900 ft/min (274 m/min)
Wing loading: 11.709 lb/ft² (57.82 kg/m²)
Power/mass: .072 hp/lb (.113 kW/kg)
Canadian Coins
Canada 20 Dollars Silver Coin 1995 DHC-1 Chipmunk