Канадский Викерс
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: 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.
Canadian Vickers in numbers
Компания
- Суммируя
- Основан в 1911 году.
- 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
Производство
- Наиболее известен благодаря
- Ведетт и Кансо
- 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
Сегодня
- Сейчас
- Aircraft line lives on through Canadair and Bombardier
- Cartierville plant became Canadair, later part of Bombardier
Цифры
- Самолёты, построенные
- more than 4001923–1944
- Vedettes built
- 60
- Cansos built
- 30 at Vickers plus 282 at Cartierville (s1); 380 PBV-1A (s3)
Every notable Canadian Vickers aircraft
Photos: Government of Ontario / Wikimedia Commons (OGL-ON)
| Самолёт | Роль | Первый рейс | Построен | Статус | Примечание |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vickers Viking IV | Летающая лодка | 6 | Ушедший на пенсию | First aircraft contract, for the Canadian Air Force | |
| Канадская Викерс Ведетт | Light flying boat | 1924 | 60 | Ушедший на пенсию | Forestry survey and fire patrol |
| Canadian Vickers Varuna | Летающая лодка | 8 | Ушедший на пенсию | ||
| Canadian Vickers Vancouver | Летающая лодка | 6 | Ушедший на пенсию | ||
| Avro 504N | Тренер | 13 | Ушедший на пенсию | Licence-built | |
| Fokker Super Universal | Bush transport | 15 | Ушедший на пенсию | Licence-built | |
| Нортроп Дельта | Transport and survey aircraft | 20 | Ушедший на пенсию | First all-metal stressed-skin aircraft built in Canada | |
| Супермарин Странраер | Морской патрульный гидросамолет | 40 | Ушедший на пенсию | Licence-built | |
| Canadian Vickers PBV-1A Canso | Морской патрульный амфибия | 312–380 | Ушедший на пенсию | RCAF Canso A and USAAF OA-10A |
Canadian Vickers aircraft in the world’s air forces
1 air forces in the Order of Battle fly or flew Canadian Vickers types. Ни у одной из них до сих пор нет ни одного в эксплуатации.
| военно-воздушные силы | В эксплуатации | Ранее летал |
|---|---|---|
| Королевские военно-воздушные силы Канады | Канадская Викерс Ведетт |
Where Canadian Vickers built, who led it, what it achieved
Заводы
- Maisonneuve shipyard · Montreal, Quebec — Main works on the St Lawrence
- Cartierville plant · Saint-Laurent, Montreal — Government Canso plant managed for Ottawa; became Canadair
Люди
- Бенджамин У. Франклин · senior manager, Canadair founder
- Frank Ross · owner from 1926–1928 — Merged Montreal Dry Dock into Canadian Vickers
Рекорды и первые достижения
- 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
Canadian Vickers, year by year
Canadian Vickers established in Montreal
Floating dry dock opens
Ten H-class submarines launched for the Royal Navy
First aircraft contract: Vickers Vikings for the Canadian Air Force
Vedette first flight
Merged with Montreal Dry Dock under Frank Ross
Contract to build Canso amphibians
Canadair takes over the Cartierville aircraft plant
Shipbuilding ceases
Before and after Canadian Vickers
Everything people ask about Canadian Vickers
What aircraft did Canadian Vickers design?
How is Canadian Vickers related to Canadair?
Did Canadian Vickers build Catalinas?
How many aircraft did Canadian Vickers build?
Around Canadian Vickers
Все факты проверены.
- Canadian Vickers – Wikipedia
- Canadian Vickers Vedette – Wikipedia
- Consolidated PBY Catalina – Wikipedia
Подтверждено 03.10.2026.