Polish origins
of the DHC-1
The DHC-1 Chipmunk was designed in Canada by Wsiewołod Jakimiuk — designer of the PZL P-11, P-24 and P-50 "Jastrząb" fighters. It was a training aircraft — the successor to the DH-82 Tiger Moth. The Chipmunk concept was born in Poland before the war.
PZL aircraft were all-metal and so was the DHC-1. Jakimiuk favoured an inline engine, though the choice of the DH Gipsy Major was driven by the large stocks of these engines left over from DH-82 production.
After the war, DHC had far fewer orders. Representatives of the parent DH company from Britain decided that DHC would first build a trainer. The project started in October 1945, using numerous components and parts left over from DH-82 production, as well as design solutions from the DH Mosquito.
The DHC-1 prototype was first flown on 22 May 1946. Over 200 DHC-1s were built in Canada, approximately 1,000 in England, and 66 in Portugal. The aircraft served for RAF basic training until the 1970s. About 500 DHC-1 Chipmunks are estimated to survive worldwide today.
Serial 50/1360
— Portugal 1959
Aircraft SP-YAC, serial number 50/1360, was produced by OGMA, Portugal in 1959. In 1993 it was transferred to the Aero Clube de Portugal after its military service. It was soon exchanged as part of a project to refit Portuguese DHC-1s with Lycoming engines and found its way to the United Kingdom.
It was purchased by Jacek Mainka and restored in 2010–2014 by Cooper Engineering in Wickenby. In July 2014, 50/1360 was ferried to Poland.
The aircraft carries the colour scheme of RAF WD322 from Training Command, 1951. On 31 January 1951, Tadeusz Wierzbowski Wier — a Lancaster pilot from 300 Squadron — ferried WD322 from the factory to the training unit.
To him, his colleagues from the PAF and later RFA, and to Jakimiuk and the Polish designers at DHC — this project of bringing Poland's first Chipmunk home is dedicated to them.
Jacek MainkaThe WD322 colour scheme and the story of Tadeusz Wierzbowski Wier are a tribute to Polish pilots of 300 Squadron and to the Polish contribution to Commonwealth aviation — both as pilots and engineers.
DHC-1 Chipmunk 22
Airframe
| Wingspan | 10.47 m |
| Length | 7.75 m |
| MTOW | 907 kg |
Performance
| Engine | DH Gipsy Major 8 |
| Power | 145 hp |
| Max speed | 222 km/h |
