Planes of the RCAF

The Royal Canadian Air Force lists 229 historic aircraft that have been flown by Canadians in service of their country, including those piloted during the First World War before the official formation of the RCAF. Here is a closer look at some of the most outstanding airplanes and those who flew them.

Sopwith Camel

Introduced in the summer of 1917, the Sopwith Camel quickly became the most successful fighter of the First World War, bringing down more enemy aircraft than any other plane. Difficult to handle but deadly in the air, the Camel boasted a top speed of 190 kilometres per hour. Canadians flying the Camel included Donald MacLaren, Canada’s third-highest-scoring ace, with fifty-four confirmed kills in 1918, and William Barker, who earned a Victoria Cross and was Canada’s most decorated flyer of the First World War. Barker was so successful on the Italian front that his Sopwith Camel B6313 was retired from service as the single most successful Camel of the war, with 379 hours of flying time and forty-six downed enemy aircraft.

Vickers Vedette

The Vickers Vedette shares a special place in the history of the RCAF. It entered service in 1924, the same year the RCAF was officially established, and it was the first commercially produced aircraft designed and manufactured entirely in Canada. The Vedette was ideal for exploring the lakes and rivers of the Canadian North. A total of sixty aircraft were constructed, the majority of which served the RCAF in the interwar years. Although none remain today, there are two painstakingly restored replicas — one at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada in Winnipeg and one at the Western Development Museum in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

F-86 Sabre

The F-86 Sabre entered service in 1947 after the end of the Second World War. The versatile aircraft provided the RCAF with a modern fighter that served NATO through-out the early Cold War in Europe. During the Korean War, twenty-one RCAF pilots volunteered to serve, flying F-86 Sabres alongside their American counterparts and completing more than nine hundred combat missions. In 1959, the RCAF Golden Hawks were formed as an official national aerobatic team to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of powered flight in Canada. The iconic golden F-86 Sabre aircraft were led by Fern Villeneuve, an experienced RCAF pilot who guided the demonstration squadron through more than 134 air shows across North America.

CF-100 Canuck

Canada’s only combat aircraft that was entirely designed and built in Canada deserves special recognition on the anniversary of the RCAF. The CF-100 Canuck was designed and built by Avro Canada and took its first flight on January 19, 1950. The aircraft was an interceptor, designed to meet potential Soviet bombers, and served throughout the Cold War until 1981. It was powered by Canadian-designed Orenda engines, and a total of 692 were built by 1958. At that time Avro Canada was one of the largest companies in the country, employing more than fifty thousand people. The cancellation of the CF-100’s successor, the better-known Avro Arrow, led to the eventual dissolution of the company in 1962.