Click on one of the thumbnails below to access the 10 photos of this aircraft.
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- Status: On display
- Airworthiness: Under restoration to flying condition
- Type: Trainer
- Built: 1942
- Serial Number: RCAF 8922
- Construction Number: C1724
- Civil Registration: C-GCWT
- Current Markings: RCAF 8922
- Length: 23 ft 11 in
- Wingspan: 29 ft 4 in
- Power: 145 hp
- Engine: 1 x de Havilland Gipsy Major 1C
- Maximum Speed: 107 mph
- Cruising Speed: 90 mph
- Service Ceiling: 14,200 ft
Aircraft Description
The de Havilland Tiger Moth was designed in 1931 as a primary trainer for the RAF. During the following fifteen years, the DH.82 was to become the foremost training airplane flown by the Commonwealth’s military and civilian pilots. It was one of several training aircraft that made an enormous contribution to the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. From 1938 to 1948, the RCAF employed more than 1,500 of these aircraft.
The Canadian built DH.82C differed from the British DH.82A in a number of ways, which included; a jettisonable cockpit canopy, cockpit heating, wheel brakes, a tail wheel and a more powerful engine. The DH.82C prototype was first flown from Downsview (Toronto) Ontario, in March 1940. The various Canadian modifications added both weight and drag to the aircraft, so inevitably the Canadian DH.82C was less nimble than its British counterpart, but better suited to Canadian flying conditions.
Tiger Moths and Fleet Finches did all the elementary flight training for the BCATP until the summer of 1942, with Tiger Moths outnumbering Fleet Finches by over three to one. Besides pilot training, Tiger Moths were used for basic radio operator instruction. Many Tiger Moth trainers were flown at Mount Hope during the Second World War, by No.10 Elementary Flying Training School(EFTS). An estimated 7,800 Tiger Moths were manufactured for the RAF and other Allied Air Forces. Of these, 1,550 were built in Canada between 1937 and 1944. Today, about 300 Tiger Moths remain in flying condition around the world - 40 of them in Canada.
The Museum's Tiger Moth was built at Downsview, Ontario in 1942. It saw service with No. 12 EFTS, Goderich, Ontario and No. 4 EFTS, Windsor Mills, Quebec until 1945, when it was sold to the Royal Canadian Air Force Association. The Tiger Moth was then stored for over 25 years. The Museum acquired the aircraft through George Neal, then a de Havilland Canada test pilot. The Tiger Moth was donated to the Museum by John Weir in 1973. A five year restoration program followed and late in 1977 the Tiger Moth returned to the skies.