Vickers canadiense

Orden de batalla · fabricantes de aeronaves Canadá

Vickers canadiense

Canadian Vickers Limited · Vickers Canada · Versatile Vickers

A Montreal shipyard set up to build submarines for the Royal Navy became Canada’s first serious aircraft maker, designed the bush-flying Vedette, and handed its Canso plant to the team that founded Canadair.

1911Fundado
Fusionado en Canadair en 1944Estado
9Aeronaves registradas
1Fuerzas aéreas que vuelan sus tipos
Photo: Government of Ontario / Wikimedia Commons (OGL-ON)
PaísCanadáFundado1911-06SedeMontreal, QuebecEstadoFusionado en Canadair en 1944
La historia

Canadian Vickers: the company and the aircraft that made its name

Submarines across the Atlantic

Canadian Vickers was founded in June 1911 by the British arms giant Vickers, invited by Ottawa to build ships for the new Royal Canadian Navy. Its Montreal yard on the St Lawrence opened a huge floating dock in 1912, and in 1915 it assembled ten H-class submarines for the Royal Navy, the first submarines to cross the Atlantic under their own power. The yard went on to build Flower-class corvettes, frigates, destroyers and icebreakers, and one of its wartime corvettes later became Aristotle Onassis’s yacht Christina O.

Flying boats for the bush

Aircraft came in 1923, with a contract for Vickers Viking flying boats for the young Canadian Air Force. Canadian Vickers then designed its own: the Vedette, first flown on 4 November 1924, was the first aircraft designed and built in Canada for Canadian conditions, a small flying boat for forestry survey and fire patrol. Sixty were built, and provincial governments flew them over the northern forests for years. Licence work followed, including Avro 504Ns, Fairchilds, Bellancas and 40 Supermarine Stranraers, and the Northrop Delta, the first all-metal stressed-skin aircraft built in Canada.

The Canso plant and the birth of Canadair

In July 1941 Ottawa ordered Canso amphibians, the Canadian Catalina, and built a new plant at Cartierville for Canadian Vickers to run on its behalf. By 1944 the company asked to be relieved of the job. A group of former senior Canadian Vickers staff led by Benjamin W. Franklin formed Canadair, which took over the plant on 4 November 1944. Between 1923 and 1944 Canadian Vickers built more than 400 aircraft. The shipyard carried on until 1988.

A Montreal shipyard set up to build submarines for the Royal Navy became Canada’s first serious aircraft maker, designed the bush-flying Vedette, and handed its Canso plant to the team that founded Canadair.Canadian Vickers · verified 2026-10-03
De un vistazo

Canadian Vickers in numbers

La empresa

En breve
Fundada en 1911

  • Founded in Montreal by Vickers Sons & Maxim, June 1911
  • Sold to Canadian owners led by Frank Ross, 1926–1928
  • Aircraft operations passed to Canadair, November 1944
  • Shipbuilding ceased by 1988

Producción

Más conocido por
Vedette and Canso

  • More than 400 aircraft, 1923–1944
  • Vedette flying boat, 60 built
  • Licence-built Viking, Avro 504N, Fairchild FC-2, Stranraer, Northrop Delta
  • PBV-1A Canso amphibians for the RCAF and USAAF

Hoy

Ahora
Aircraft line lives on through Canadair and Bombardier

  • Cartierville plant became Canadair, later part of Bombardier

Los números

Aviones construidos
más de 4001923–1944
Vedettes built
60
Cansos built
30 at Vickers plus 282 at Cartierville (s1); 380 PBV-1A (s3)
El avión

Every notable Canadian Vickers aircraft

Vickers Vedette canadienseLight flying boat · first flight 1924 · 60 built

Photos: Government of Ontario / Wikimedia Commons (OGL-ON)

Aeronave Role Primer vuelo Construido Estado Nota
Vickers Viking IV hidroavión 6 Jubilado First aircraft contract, for the Canadian Air Force
Vickers Vedette canadiense Light flying boat 1924 60 Jubilado Forestry survey and fire patrol
Canadian Vickers Varuna hidroavión 8 Jubilado
Canadian Vickers Vancouver hidroavión 6 Jubilado
Avro 504N Entrenador 13 Jubilado Licence-built
Fokker Super Universal Bush transport 15 Jubilado Licence-built
Delta Northrop Transport and survey aircraft 20 Jubilado First all-metal stressed-skin aircraft built in Canada
Supermarine Stranraer Hidroavión de patrulla marítima 40 Jubilado Licence-built
Canadian Vickers PBV-1A Canso Anfibio de patrulla marítima 312–380 Jubilado RCAF Canso A and USAAF OA-10A
¿Quién los pilota?

Canadian Vickers aircraft in the world’s air forces

1 air forces in the Order of Battle fly or flew Canadian Vickers types. Ninguno de ellos todavía tiene uno en servicio.

Fuerzas aéreas En servicio Anteriormente volado
Real Fuerza Aérea Canadiense Vickers Vedette canadiense
Lugares, personas, registros

Where Canadian Vickers built, who led it, what it achieved

Fábricas

  • Maisonneuve shipyard · Montreal, Quebec — Main works on the St Lawrence
  • Cartierville plant · Saint-Laurent, Montreal — Government Canso plant managed for Ottawa; became Canadair

Gente

  • Benjamín W. Franklin · senior manager, Canadair founder
  • Frank Ross · owner from 1926–1928 — Merged Montreal Dry Dock into Canadian Vickers

Récords y primicias

  • H-class submarines built in Montreal were the first to cross the Atlantic under their own power
  • Vedette: first aircraft designed and built in Canada to a Canadian specification
  • Northrop Delta: first all-metal stressed-skin aircraft built in Canada
Cronología

Canadian Vickers, year by year

1911

Canadian Vickers established in Montreal

1912

Floating dry dock opens

1915

Ten H-class submarines launched for the Royal Navy

1923

First aircraft contract: Vickers Vikings for the Canadian Air Force

1924

Vedette first flight

1928

Merged with Montreal Dry Dock under Frank Ross

1941

Contract to build Canso amphibians

1944

Canadair takes over the Cartierville aircraft plant

1988

Shipbuilding ceases

El árbol genealógico

Before and after Canadian Vickers

Vino antesVickersparent company, 1911Read the Vickers pageLlegó despuésCanadairtook over the aircraft plant, 4 November 1944Lea la página de Canadair
Preguntas y respuestas

Everything people ask about Canadian Vickers

What aircraft did Canadian Vickers design?
Its own designs included the Vedette, Varuna, Vancouver and several one-offs; the Vedette was the most successful, with 60 built.
How is Canadian Vickers related to Canadair?
Canadair was formed by former senior Canadian Vickers staff and took over the government-owned Canso plant at Cartierville in November 1944.
Did Canadian Vickers build Catalinas?
Yes, as the PBV-1A Canso for the RCAF and the OA-10A for the USAAF.
How many aircraft did Canadian Vickers build?
More than 400 between 1923 and 1944.

Continúa el recorrido

Around Canadian Vickers

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Fuentes y lecturas adicionales

Todos los datos, verificados

Verificado el 3 de octubre de 2026.