de Havilland DH82C Tiger Moth

General Description

Derived from the famous DH.60 Gipsy Moth, the prototype of the DH.82 Tiger Moth made its first flight on October 26, 1931, at Stag Lane Aerodrome in Edgware, London, England. The Gipsy Moth’s design placed the fuel tank directly above the front cockpit, which made access difficult for air force pilots wearing parachutes. To address this, the DH.82 Tiger Moth featured a redesigned wing configuration: the upper wing was moved forward and swept back to maintain proper centre-of-lift positioning. Initially, the DH.82 was powered by a 120 hp Gipsy III engine, but the DH.82A variant received the upgraded 130 hp Gipsy Major. More than 1,000 Tiger Moths were delivered before the outbreak of the Second World War. Eventually, 4,005 were built in the U.K. and shipped around the world. Production also took place in other counties, with 1,747 built in Canada, 1,085 in Australia, and 345 in New Zealand.

The first Canadian-built Tiger Moth flew in December 1937, with some early variants powered by the Menasco engine. However, the majority were DH.82C’s, equipped with a 140 hp DH Gipsy Major 1C engine. These Canadian versions featured enclosed cockpits, cockpit heaters, brakes, and tail wheels—adaptations made for cold-weather operations. Additional modifications included wider walkways on the lower wings, mass-balanced ailerons, metal interplane struts, and reinforced axles to accommodate skis.

The Tiger Moth was a basic trainer with the BCATP (British Commonwealth Air Training Plan) during WW2, whereby aircrew from all over the British Commonwealth trained with the RCAF in Canada; and with the RAF in India, South Africa and elsewhere. It is notable that in 1940 there were 120 Tiger Moths based at Boundary Bay Airport, near Vancouver, BC.

A testament to its strength as a trainer, the Tiger Moth remained in service with the RAF until it was replaced by the de Havilland Chipmunk during the early 1950s, meanwhile in Canada, the RCAF retired the majority of its Tiger Moths in 1945, and they were all officially retired by 1947. Many of the military surplus aircraft subsequently entered into civilian world with flying clubs, flying schools, and with private owners.

Locally, after returning from the war in 1945, Art Seller started the Royal City Flying Club at Vancouver Airport, with business partner Harold Foster. Their first two aircraft were both ex-RCAF Tiger Moth’s and CF-CIM and CF-CIB, but as the business flourished, the company moved to Langley Airport and changed names to Skyway Air Services. In total Skyway Air Services operated 10 Tiger Moths, with the last being purchased in 1952. These Tiger Moths were used as training airplanes, some were also employed as agricultural spraying aircraft, and at least one was fitted with floats for water operations.

Our de Havilland DH82C Tiger Moth

The Museum’s Tiger Moth built in 1941 by de Havilland Canada, in Toronto, Ontario as serial C1178 and given the designation RCAF 5875. On 29 October 1941, it was ‘taken on strength’ by No. 2 Training Command of the RCAF. It was erected at No. 8 Repair Depot in Winnipeg and then operated by No. 35 and No. 26 Elementary Flight Training Schools, both being based in Neepawa, Manitoba. Our Tiger Moth trained numerous pilot recruits for the RCAF until 27 June 1944 when it was listed as ‘pending disposal.’ This was followed by storage at No. 8 Repair Depot at Neepawa, Manitoba. By the end of its military career, our Tiger Moth was reported to have had 2366:20 hours total time. It was ‘struck off charge’ and handed over to War Assets Corporation for disposal on 13 March 1945. The records after being release from the RCAF inventory are vague but pick up again with Ed Zalesky purchasing the airframe in 1973 from an owner in California. It is unclear whether it was ever registered or flown in the USA.

In 1982 Ed Zalesky sold the Tiger Moth to the Canadian Museum of Flight, of which he was a founding director. Soon after, the project to restore the Tiger Moth back to flying condition was commenced with financial support coming from the first grant the CMF ever received from the British Columbia Provincial Government in 1983. The airplane was built up from a small pile of bare frames and parts, employing laid off apprentice aircraft mechanics from Pacific Western Airlines and CPAir, and it happened under the direction of Harry Fordham and Bill McGarrigle.

Due to prolonged outdoor display and storage, in 1999 the Tiger Moth underwent another restoration to bring the Tiger Moth back to airworthy condition. And, at that time the RCAF numbers on the side of the aircraft were changed from 5875 (original number) to 4236 in memory of Ted Harris, a museum member and volunteer who sadly passed away before the Tiger Moth was once again able to take to the skies. Tiger Moth 4236 was the first aircraft in which Mr. Harris soloed. Due to an accident that occurred during a fly-in at Delta Heritage Air Park in 2014, the Tiger Moth was heavily damaged, and it is again undergoing a complete restoration at the Museum. Visitors can watch the progress of this project as the work is being done inside the museum’s display hangar.

To see another de Havilland DH82C Tiger Moth preserved locally, you can head to the BC Farm Museum in Fort Langley, BC. They have a Tiger Moth registered civilly as CF-CIE and it was used by Skyway Air Services for agricultural spraying before being donated to their museum. Prior to that it was flown by the Chilliwack Flying Club, and in military use it was operated as RCAF 5811, and served along side our museum’s Tiger Moth in Neepawa, Manitoba during WWII.

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