Assembly of Consolidated 'Canso' A flying boat at Canadian Vickers Ltd., Montreal, P.Q., April 1944. Photo : National Film Board

The War Economy and Controls: Aircraft Production

During the Second World War, the Canadian aircraft industry grew to employ nearly 116,000 workers, 30,000 of whom were women. It delivered 16,418 aircraft to fill Allied orders, chiefly from Britain and the United States, but also for use by the RCAF and BCATP. Before the war, there had been only eight small plants in the entire country, making about forty aeroplanes annually.

The federal government was the industry's parent and guardian angel. The Aircraft Production Branch of the Department of Munitions and Supply sought out orders. Crown companies, Victory Aircraft Limited and Federal Aircraft Limited, were created to ensure speedy and efficient production. Sub-contracts for aircraft parts went to firms with no experience in aircraft manufacture, such as Cockshutt Plow of Brantford, Ont., which made hydraulics, and Otaco Limited of Orillia, Ont., which designed and manufactured undercarriages. The famous Avro Lancaster bomber rolled off the assembly line at Malton, Ont., now the site of Lester B. Pearson International Airport.

Related Newspaper Articles

English Articles

• Manufacture of Aeroplanes in Canada Will Be Spurred
  The Hamilton Spectator, 07/09/1939
   
• Boys Will Make Airplane Parts
  The Globe and Mail, 21/05/1940
   
• Half Dominion's Aircraft Will Now Be Sent Overseas
  The Hamilton Spectator, 12/01/1943
   
• Canada Produces War Plane Types
  The Hamilton Spectator, 26/07/1943
   
• Background of Airborne Battle
  The Financial Post, 26/01/1945
   

French Articles

• "L'aviation, l'avenir du Canada"
  Le Devoir, 21/03/1940
   
• Le molybdène
  Le Devoir, 05/07/1940
   
• Avions fabriqués avec du matériel plastique
  Le Devoir, 18/12/1940
   
• Nouvelles usines de matériel de guerre
  Le Devoir, 05/08/1940
   
• L'avionnerie au Canada
  Le Devoir, 22/08/1940
   
• Une commande d'avions
  Le Devoir, 30/08/1940
   
• À Ottawa. L'avionnerie au Canada
  Le Devoir, 27/02/1941
   
• 808 avions d'entraînement
  Le Devoir, 18/03/1941
   
• Le Canada produit 1500 avions par an
  Le Devoir, 18/07/1941
   
• Le 'Wartime Merchant Shipping Limited'
  Le Devoir, 22/11/1941
   
• Grande activité dans l'avionnerie
  Le Devoir, 17/01/1942
   
• Fabrication au Canada de l'avion "Avro-Lancaster"
  Le Devoir, 25/08/1942
   
• Le Mosquito à l'œuvre
  Le Devoir, 18/05/1943
   
• Explosion dans une usine de guerre aérienne
  Le Devoir, 30/11/1943
   
• "Aviation, marine et armée à la kernesse-exposition"
  Le Devoir, 03/12/1943
   
• 4 des 20 meilleurs avions sont construits au Canada
  Le Devoir, 11/12/1943
   
• "70,000 femmes de plus que l'an dernier dans les usines de guerre"
  Le Devoir, 20/12/1943
   
• La fabrication d'avions à fusées au Canada
  Le Devoir, 14/08/1944
   
• DeHaviland Aircraft
  Le Devoir, 15/09/1944
   
• "Le 300e "Lancaster" produit au Canada"
  Le Devoir, 10/04/1945