From an information panel on site:
The British designed Westland Lysander high-wing monoplane went into service with the Royal Air Force in 1938. It was intended for RAF-Army co-operation duties but won its place in history for its role in transporting 800 Allied agents to and from occupied Europe. The Lysander's remarkable STOL (short take-off and landing) capabilities made it ideal for such duties, as well as for photo reconnaissance and the accurate spotting of enemy movements.
Five RAF squadrons of Lysanders operated in France as part of the British Expeditionary Force until the 1940 withdrawal. The early recognition that the machines were unsuited to combat duties - they were far too slow against the Messershmitt 109s - resulted in the diversion of the RAF Lysanders to air-sea rescues, target - and glider-towing, and its notorious intelligence operations.
In 1939, the Aircraft Division of the National Steel Car Corporation at Malton, Ontario, began manufacturing the Lysander to fill the orders of the Royal Canadian Air Force for an army cooperation aircraft.
The Canadian built Lysanders were produced in large numbers and outside Britain it was the RCAF that flew this type most.
Apart from a small number of Lysanders shipped to Britain in 1940 for service with RCAF Squadrons, the great majority of Canadian-built Lysanders were retained in Canada for training programs and target-towing duties with the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. After the war very few remained airworthy. Four were used for crop spraying in western Canada and other were purchased by farmers for parts rather than for flying. In the mid-1960s, collectors began to gather and assemble these remains and several of these reconstructed Lysanders can be seen in museums.
The aircraft on display was assembled and restored using British- and Canadian-built components by RCAF personnel as a Centennial project. It was flown to Rockliffe and presented to the Museum in September 1968. It is finished in the markings of a British Lysander serving with No. 110 Squadron, RCAF, in England, in 1940.
From the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum's Website:
A British single-engine observation aircraft developed by Westland Aircraft Limited and produced from 1938 to 1942
Named after Spartan general Lysander, it was also known as "Lizzie"
Short-take-off-and-landing (STOL) capabilities meant it could operate from unprepared fields
Obsolete by 1940, it was replaced by fighter planes used in a reconnaissance role
Built in Canada by National Steel Car Corporation (Malton, Ontario) for the RCAF; initially used for observation, then by bombing and gunnery schools
Delivered over a hundred agents into occupied Europe on night missions, using fields as runways
Postwar, it did not see civilian use, with the exception of the few used as crop-dusters in Western Canada
First flight was in June 1936
Artifact no.:
1968.0890
Manufacturer:
Westland Aircraft Ltd.
Manufacturer Location:
Great Britain
Manufacture Date:
1967 (Rebuilt)
Registration no.:
R9003 (RAF)
Acquisition Date:
1968
History:
The Lysander was built to a specification calling for a rugged, short-take-off-and-landing (STOL) aircraft for low-level reconnaissance and observation. Unfortunately the specification had been drawn up with First World War in mind. However excellent an airplane, the Lysander proved too vulnerable to survive modern warfare. After 1940, British Lysanders were used for search-and-rescue, and unusual missions such as flying spies in and out of the continent. Canadian-built Lysanders were used chiefly as target tugs at Canadian bombing and gunnery schools.
Called the “Lizzie”, the Lysander was a remarkable flying machine with excellent low-speed capabilities. A Lizzie drifting backward over the airfield as it flew slowly into a headwind was a remarkable sight at Canadian training bases. Spy delivery and pick-up flights were hazardous affairs during which jet-black Lizzies flew with ladders fixed outside and with the rear cockpits jammed with operatives. Landings took place at night in open country inside France or Belgium on improvised landing areas lit by flashlights held, it was hoped, by members of the resistance.
Current Location:
Second World War Exhibition, Canada Aviation and Space Museum
Provenance:
Donation from the Canadian Air Force
The Museum's aircraft was made using parts of three Lysanders. It was built as a Centennial project by the RCAF at Winnipeg, Manitoba. The exact identity of the three aircraft is uncertain, but it is known that the fuselage was manufactured by Westland Aircraft Limited in Yeovil, United Kingdom and the wings by National Steel Car Corporation in Malton, Ontario. The composite aircraft was finished in the markings of a Lysander I serving with No. 110 Squadron RCAF in England in 1940.
This Lysander was first flown on December 29, 1967 by project officer Captain Bernie Lapointe. It was used for several demonstrations in Western and Central Canada before being flown to Rockcliffe airport. It was donated to the Museum in September 1968 and was last flown in October 1970.
Technical Information:
Wing Span 15.2 m (50 ft)
Length 9.3 m (30 ft 6 in)
Height 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in)
Weight, Empty 2,118 kg (4,670 lb)
Weight, Gross 2,766 kg (6,100 lb)
Cruising Speed 274 km/h (170 mph)
Max Speed 156 km/h (97 mph)
Rate of Climb 6,100 m (20,000 ft) / 21.7 min
Service Ceiling 7,270 m (23,850 ft)
Range 966 m (600 mi)
Power Plant one Bristol Mercury XX, 870 hp, radial engine
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