The de Havilland DH28a Tiger Moth was one of the most successful, prolific and charismatic training aircraft of all time. The cessation of World War II meant there was a need for a suitable replacement.

The de Havilland Aircraft Company of Canada stepped up to the mark and Polish designer Wsiewolod Jakimuk put pen to paper on the aircraft that would eventually become the Chipmunk. As the first indigenous aircraft produced by the company, it was designed DHC-1 and the prototype first took to the skies on 22 May 1946 with Pat Fillingham at the controls.

The all metal, low winged monoplane was an instant success and after evaluation by the Aircraft and Armaments Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) at RAF Boscombe Down an order was placed for the first of what would become 735 aircraft – all powered by the 145hp Gipsy Major engine. The last batch of RAF Chipmunks were finally retired from service with Air Experience Flights as late as 1996 – nearly fifty years after the first example entered RAF service. Even today the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) retains a pair of Chipmunks for tail-wheel training and pilot currency.

Total production ran to nearly 1,300 with more than 1,000 built in the UK at Hatfield and Hawarden aerodrome near Chester. Others were built in Canada and under licence in Portugal. Today they are much prized private aircraft used for aerobatics, glider towing and just plain and simple ‘bimbling’ – it is estimated more than 500 remain airworthy