Canada 20 Dollars Silver Coin 1997 Canadair F-86 Sabre
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 · 1997 ·
Reverse: Canadair F-86 Sabre & RCAF Golden Hawks Logo and RCAF Golden Hawks air demonstration team in the background. Portrait of Fern Villeneuve in 24-karat gold-plated cameo, denomination below.
Lettering: CANADA 20 DOLLARS RRC
Engraver: Ross Buckland.
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.
The Canadair Sabre was a jet fighter aircraft built by Canadair under licence from North American Aviation. A variant of the North American F-86 Sabre, it was produced until 1958 and used primarily by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) until replaced with the Canadair CF-104 in 1962. Several other air forces also operated the aircraft.
North American F-86 Sabre
The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, was a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept wing fighter that could counter the similarly-winged Soviet MiG-15 in high-speed dogfights over the skies of the Korean War (1950–1953). Considered one of the best and most important fighter aircraft in that war, the F-86 is also rated highly in comparison with fighters of other eras. Although it was developed in the late 1940s and was outdated by the end of the '50s, the Sabre proved versatile and adaptable, and continued as a front-line fighter in numerous air forces until the last active operational examples were retired by the Bolivian Air Force in 1994.
Its success led to an extended production run of more than 7,800 aircraft between 1949 and 1956, in the United States, Japan and Italy. Variants were built in Canada and Australia. The Canadair Sabre added another 1,815 airframes, and the significantly redesigned CAC Sabre (sometimes known as the Avon Sabre or CAC CA-27), had a production run of 112. The Sabre was by far the most-produced Western jet fighter, with total production of all variants at 9,860 units.
Fern Villeneuve
Lt. Col (Ret.) Joseph Armand Gerard Fernand "Fern" Villeneuve was born 2 July 1927 in Buckingham, Quebec, Canada. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in 1950 and was the first leader of the RCAF's Golden Hawks aerobatic team. He flew for 32 years as a military jet fighter pilot Villeneuve was inducted into the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame in 2006.
Aviation career
Villeneuve learned to fly as a civilian in a Piper J-3 Cub. In 1946 he obtained his Canadian Private Pilot Licence, and in 1948, he went on to acquire his Canadian Commercial Pilot Licence. In 1950, Villeneuve joined the RCAF in which he had a long and distinguished career as a fighter pilot. He flew the Harvard propeller trainer, the North American P-51 Mustang Second World War piston fighter, and several fighter jets over the decades: Canadair CT-133 Silver Star, de Havilland DH.100 Vampire, Canadair Sabre, Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck, McDonnell CF-101 Voodoo, and the Mach 2+ Canadair CF-104 Starfighter. Villeneuve was a squadron leader three different times, on the CF-104 and the T-33 and CF-101. Villeneuve retired as a Lieutenant-Colonel in 1982. He has logged more than 13,000 hours.
Golden Hawks
The "Golden Hawks" were a Canadian military aerobatic flying team established in 1959 to celebrate the 35th anniversary or the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and the "Golden" 50th anniversary of Canadian flight. Initially a six-plane team was envisioned as performing for only one year with the Canadair Sabre 5, but the Golden Hawks were so popular after their 1959 show season that the team was re-established for 1960, under the command of LCol Jack Allan with Villeneuve flying as the lead pilot with the team. The Golden Hawks continued performing for three more seasons, changing to the Mk 6 in 1961, until they were disbanded on 7 February 1964, having flown a total of 317 shows across North America.
Villeneuve was the first leader of the RCAF Golden Hawks jet fighter aerobatic demonstration team in 1959, and then again in 1960. S/L Villeneuve was with the Hawks from the beginning in 1959 as leader of the team, moving to flying the lead position when F/L Jim McCombe became the leader. He had to leave the team when he became married, under the Hawks rule of only two years for married men. He then went on to Training Command. Villeneuve was awarded the rare RCAF Air Force Cross for his skillful piloting of a disabled F-86 Sabre in 1960.
Villeneuve is an advisor on the "Hawk One" F-86 Sabre project at Vintage Wings of Canada in Gatineau, Quebec. In 2012 he was still flying his civilian Globe Swift with the registration C-GLYN, 66 years after he first soloed in 1946.
Honours and recognition
Villeneuve was awarded the RCAF Air Force Cross on 20 May 1961 for an engine-out landing of an Canadair F-86 Sabre. In 1997 he became one of two living people to have their image on Canadian coins, the other being the Queen. Villeneuve was inducted into the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame in 2006, he was appointed as Honorary Colonel of 8 Air Maintenance Squadron in Trenton, Ontario, from 2008 to 2012.
Canadian Coins
Canada 20 Dollars Silver Coin 1997 Canadair F-86 Sabre