Canadian Vickers Limited

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Canadian Vickers Limited was an aircraft and shipbuilding company that operated in Canada during the early part of the 20th century until 1944.

A Vickers Vedette replica at the Western Canada Aviation Museum, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

1 Origins
2 Second World War
3 The birth of Canadair
4 Canadian Vickers designs

[edit] Origins

The origins of Canadian Vickers Limited can be traced back to 1911, when, at the invitation of the Government of Canada, British ship builder, Vickers Sons & Maxim, established Canadian Vickers Limited and built a shipyard in Montreal to manufacture vessels for the Royal Canadian Navy.

Canadian Vickers ventured into aircraft manufacturing in 1923 when it won a contract to supply Vickers Viking flying boats to the recently formed Canadian Air Force. Between 1923 and 1944, Canadian Vickers produced over 400 aircraft, some of which were original Vickers' designs while the remainder were other manufacturers' designs built under licence.

[edit] Second World War

In July 1941, the Canadian government awarded Canadian Vickers a contract to produce PBV-1 "Canso" amphibians (a version of the Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boat) for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). To speed Canso production, the government also authorized construction of a new manufacturing facility at Cartierville Airport in Ville Saint Laurent, on the north-western outskirts of Montreal, and appointed Canadian Vickers to supervise the plant's construction and manage its operation on the government's behalf. Independently Boeing also produced Catalinas in Canada.

[edit] The birth of Canadair

In 1944, business pressure compelled Canadian Vickers Ltd. to ask the government to relieve it of its management responsibilities regarding the Cartierville plant. Ottawa agreed and entered into a management contract with Canadair Limited, a new company founded by a small group of former senior Canadian Vickers personnel headed by Benjamin W. Franklin (no relation to his famous namesake). On 4 November 1944, Canadair Limited took over operation of the plant. In September 1946, Canadair Limited and the plant were acquired by the Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut.

In 1952, Electric Boat bought Consolidated Vultee and combined it, Canadair, and several smaller companies to form General Dynamics Corporation. General Dynamics later became one of the largest U.S. aerospace corporations. Canadair remained a General Dynamics subsidiary until January 1976 when it was re-acquired by the Canadian government.

In December 1986, the government again sold Canadair, this time to Bombardier Inc., a Quebec-based international conglomerate. Today, Canadair no longer exists having been absorbed into Bombardier Aerospace, the third largest civil aircraft manufacturer in the world.