de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk

Updated: October 2026 – A slim red-and-white low-wing aircraft rolls across the grass, the long canopy slid back, an instructor sitting behind, a student in front: for decades that was what the start of flying looked like in the Royal Air Force. After the Second World War the DHC-1 Chipmunk replaced the Tiger Moth and became the standard trainer in Great Britain and many other countries. Today it flies mostly in private hands and with historic flights. Here you learn how to identify the Chipmunk with confidence, which variants exist and where you can still experience it in Europe.

What is the DHC-1 Chipmunk?

The Chipmunk is a two-seat basic trainer with a piston engine, fixed tailwheel gear and an enclosed cabin. Instructor and student sit one behind the other under a long canopy. It was the first completely in-house design of De Havilland Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of the British manufacturer de Havilland. Only afterwards came the bush planes that made the company world famous – first and foremost the DHC-2 Beaver.

The idea behind it was simple: after the war the air forces needed a more modern successor to the Tiger Moth, the open biplane on which tens of thousands of pilots had learned to fly. A metal low-wing aircraft with an enclosed canopy was meant to bring students closer to flying modern military aircraft. The design was led by the Polish engineer Wsiewołod Jakimiuk, who worked in Canada after the war.

The first flight on May 22, 1946 at Downsview near Toronto was made by Pat Fillingham, a test pilot whom the British parent company had sent to Canada specially. The aircraft was powered by a de Havilland Gipsy Major, an inverted four-cylinder inline engine with about 145 hp – the same engine family that powers the Tiger Moth. That explains the narrow, pointed nose you see on both types.

In Great Britain the Chipmunk prevailed over competing designs such as the Fairey Primer. That began a career that lasted half a century in the Royal Air Force. Many pilots still praise the sensitive controls; the handling is often compared with that of the Spitfire.

Three countries, three production lines

Unusual for such a small aircraft: the Chipmunk was built in three countries. The numbers vary slightly depending on the source, but the orders of magnitude are clear.

Origin	Manufacturer	Built	Note
Canada	De Havilland Canada, Downsview	about 217–218	Built until 1956, including for the Royal Canadian Air Force
Great Britain	de Havilland, first Hatfield, later Hawarden near Chester	about 1,000	Main production, including 735 T.10s for the RAF
Portugal	OGMA, Alverca	about 60–66	Licence production in the 1950s for the Portuguese Air Force

The Royal Canadian Air Force took over its first Chipmunk in 1948 and flew the type until 1972. By far the largest part of the series, though, was built by the British parent company. The aircraft went to the RAF, to the Army Air Corps, to naval aviation and to numerous export customers.

Variants at a glance

From the outside, most Chipmunks look very similar. The most important differences concern the canopy, the engine version and later civil conversions.

Variant	Origin	Use	Distinguishing feature
DHC-1 (Canadian)	Canada	Royal Canadian Air Force, export	early aircraft with framed canopy, later ones with bubble canopy
T.10	Great Britain	RAF, Army, Navy	heavily framed sliding canopy, Gipsy Major 8
T.20	Great Britain	Military export	similar to T.10, Gipsy Major 10 instead of Gipsy Major 8
T.21	Great Britain	civil customers	civil version of the T.20, only about 28 built
T.22 / 22A	Great Britain	Conversions for private owners	former RAF T.10s, 22A with larger tanks
Mk 23	Great Britain	Agriculture	a few converted T.10s with spraying equipment
Super Chipmunk	Conversion (US)	Aerobatics	260 hp Lycoming, retractable gear, mostly single-seat, very rare

If you see a civil-registered Chipmunk in Great Britain today, it is often a T.22 – a former RAF aircraft converted for private operation after leaving military service. There were also touring conversions to a design by Peter Masefield, known as the “Masefield Chipmunk”. The Mk 23 was a curious offshoot: a handful of former T.10s received spraying equipment and flew in agriculture.

The Chipmunk in the Royal Air Force

The RAF received 735 Chipmunk T.10s and first used them at the Reserve Flying Schools and the University Air Squadrons, the university flying units. Later, for decades it became the aircraft in which Air Training Corps and school cadet force cadets had their first flights on so-called Air Experience Flights. Many British military pilots sat at the controls of a Chipmunk for the first time.

The most prominent student was Prince Philip, who took his first flying lessons in a Chipmunk in 1952. Later he called it his favorite aircraft.

The Chipmunk also had unusual missions. During the Cyprus conflict in 1958 it flew internal security patrols. Even more exciting is the Berlin episode: from 1956 to 1990, Chipmunks from RAF Station Gatow in Berlin took off for flights in the airspace over the divided city. Officially these were training flights; in fact the British liaison mission BRIXMIS used them for reconnaissance. An example from that time now stands in the Military History Museum, Berlin-Gatow Airfield.

From the mid-1970s the Scottish Aviation Bulldog took over in many roles, but the Chipmunk stayed in service with the Air Experience Flights for a long time. In 1996 the last regular unit, No. 10 AEF at Woodvale, flew its Chipmunks out. Later the Grob Tutor, a version of the Grob G 115, took over basic training. As a farewell, in 1997 two RAF Chipmunks flew around the northern hemisphere in a long multi-leg flight.

Tailwheel training with the historic flights

With the end of regular training, the Chipmunk did not disappear from the British military. The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight at RAF Coningsby uses the Chipmunk to keep its pilots in practice with tailwheel aircraft. Today’s military pilots come from jets and trainers with nosewheels. Before they fly a Spitfire, a Hawker Hurricane or the Avro Lancaster, they practice takeoffs and landings with a tailwheel on the Chipmunk. The historic flights of the Royal Navy and the Army Air Corps also used the type for this reason.

For you as a spotter that means: around the BBMF season it can be worth watching for the little trainers at the RAF Coningsby viewing area too – they often fly inconspicuous circuits while everyone waits for the Spitfire.

Other military users

The Chipmunk was an export hit. Besides Great Britain and Canada, air forces in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America flew it. Users included Denmark, Ireland, Portugal and Belgium (only a few aircraft there), as well as Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Ghana and Uruguay.

Portugal held on to the type for an especially long time. Its air force received its first Chipmunk in 1951, and from 1989 the Epsilon took over basic training. Some aircraft nevertheless stayed in service: in 2018 a Portuguese squadron still flew six Chipmunks. Whether and to what extent that is still the case today is best checked currently before a trip.

The three features that are enough to identify it

The Chipmunk is small and usually flies low and slow. With three looks you will have identified it in most cases.

If you want to practice old types systematically, the article Recognizing classic aircraft in the sky offers a good method. British Chipmunks carry a G- registration; how to read it and look it up in the register is explained in British G- registrations. Many ex-RAF aircraft also still fly with their old military serial number on the fuselage as part of the livery.

Chipmunk or something else?

At classic aircraft meetings several trainers often stand next to each other. The finder helps narrow it down.

Private ownership in Europe: where to find the Chipmunk

After retirement many military Chipmunks came onto the civil market. According to figures from the early 2000s, several hundred aircraft were flying in private hands at that time. Today the Chipmunk is a sought-after classic aircraft: cheaper to maintain than a warbird, aerobatic-capable and with real history. It is used for sightseeing flights, aerobatic training, glider towing and simply for the fun of flying.

The focus is clearly on Great Britain. Chipmunks stand there in clubs, private hangars and collections at many small airfields. In central Europe they are rarer but show up regularly at classic aircraft meetings and fly-ins.

Place	What to expect	Why it is worth it
Shuttleworth Collection, Old Warden	Flying days on a grass airfield	Chipmunk alongside the Tiger Moth and other historic trainers
IWM Duxford	Museum and airshows	Many privately owned classics at the airfield, see Duxford airshows
RAF Coningsby	Home of the BBMF	Chipmunk training flights alongside the Spitfire and Lancaster
RAF Museum Cosford	Museum of the Royal Air Force	Large collection of British military aircraft
Berlin-Gatow	Military History Museum	Chipmunk as a reminder of the Berlin reconnaissance flights
Danmarks Flymuseum, Stauning	Museum at the airfield	Chipmunk in a hall full of sport and training aircraft

In Germany, the classic aircraft meeting at Hahnweide, where historic trainers fly in from all over Europe, is especially worthwhile. In addition, airfield festivals in Germany offer opportunities again and again. You can find where the small airfields are with the guide Finding small airfields on maps. An overview of larger events is given in Airshows in Europe for plane spotters.

For the history of the manufacturer, the de Havilland Aircraft Museum in England is worth a visit. And if you are traveling in Canada, you can discover the Canadian side of the story at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa.

Planning a spotting day

You usually experience Chipmunks on grass airfields and small airfields, not at big commercial airports. That has advantages: you often get close and can look at the aircraft on the ground at your leisure.

For planning the light, the guide Planning the sun position for your photo spot helps. If you spot in Great Britain, the article Spotting in Great Britain is also worth knowing.

Photo tips for the Chipmunk

The Chipmunk is small, slow and nimble – a rewarding subject if you keep a few points in mind.

Common mix-ups and how to rule them out

Conclusion

The DHC-1 Chipmunk is the link between the biplane era and modern pilot training: De Havilland Canada’s first design of its own, built in three countries and in service with the Royal Air Force for half a century. Today it is a popular classic in private hands, above all in Great Britain. If you want to see it fly, plan an air day at Old Warden or Duxford, watch for the little BBMF trainers at Coningsby, or keep your eyes open at classic aircraft meetings in Germany.