The first manned flight in Canada took place in February, 1909, from an icy lake in Baddeck, Nova Scotia. A group of men, including Alexander Graham Bell, had developed an aircraft known as the "Silver Dart".
Following test flights in New York State, the aircraft was shipped to Canada, where it gradually improved its performance. The builders hoped that the Canadian army would express an interest in the plane, and arranged a test flight for military brass.
At Petawawa, Ontario, in front of a group of politicians and military officers, the Silver Dart crashed during trials. The army officers were already skeptical about the usefulness of such a craft, and any hopes the builders had of selling the Silver Dart crashed with the plane.
The First World War
In 1914, the British Empire, which included Canada, was at war. Thousands of young Canadian men enlisted in the army, and were soon trained and being shipped to fight in the trenches of Europe.
The military re-visited the idea of aviation in September of 1914. Sir Sam Hughes, Minister of Militia and Defence, authorized Captain E.L. Janney to purchase a single aircraft. Since there were no aircraft manufacturing companies in Canada, Captain Janney travelled to the United States to buy a plane.
He acquired a demonstration model from the Burgess Company of Massachusetts, for the sum of $5,000. The company, employing the design of a British lieutenant, had been contracted to construct six wooden floatplanes for the U.S. Navy. These had been destroyed in a fire, leaving the company only with the demonstration model.
The aircraft had a wingspan of almost 47 feet, was powered by a 100 horse power Curtiss piston engine, and carried no armament.
Bound for Europe
The plane was flown back to Quebec City, and Janney was joined by a second officer, Lieutenant W.F. Sharpe, who would serve as his co-pilot. A third soldier, Sergeant Harry Farr, was brought onboard as the plane's mechanic.
The trio soon found themselves, and their aircraft, aboard a troop ship sailing for Europe. Lashed to the open deck, the plane was violently bounced around and exposed to the elements.
The plane, and the three men, arrived on October 1st. Loaded onboard a truck, the Burgess-Dunne was transported to Salisbury Plain, an English training area. Back in Canada, Minister Hughes had lost interest in the aviation corps, and neglected to tell the Canadian army in England the plane was arriving.
The commanders in Europe were unsure what to do with the plane, and the men assigned to it. Left sitting on the plain, in the damp English weather, the Burgess-Dunne began to deteriorate.
End of the Canadian Aviation Corps
Captain Janney was ordered to return to Canada, while Lieutenant Sharpe enlisted with the Royal Flying Corps (Britain's air force) as an observer. He later died in a flying accident. Sergeant Farr was discharged from the Canadian army in 1915, while the Burgess-Dunne continued to rot in the field.
Eventually, it was relocated to the Central Flying School, at Avondale, and broken up. The condition had so deteriorated that it was unable to be sold even for scrap. Her flight from the factory in Massachusetts to Quebec was the one and only time the plane flew. It was a rather inglorious end to Canada's Aviation Corps.
Fortunately, the plans for the aircraft were not destroyed, and a full scale replica has been built and is on display at the Royal Canadian Air Force museum in Trenton, Ontario.
Sources:
The National Air Force Museum, Trenton, Ontario.
History of the Royal Canadian Air Force, by Christopher Shores, Royce Publications, 1984
Jason Gray - I was born and raised in the Toronto area, and am proud to be a Canadian. I have always had a strong interest in history, especially the ...
