7,000 workers at Downsview during WWII

De Havilland Canada

One of the most famous bush planes ever built came out of a Toronto aircraft plant that, at its wartime peak, employed 7,000 people — many of them women — at Downsview.

Our Avro Arrow guide covers one dramatic chapter of Toronto-area aircraft manufacturing. A few kilometres away, at Downsview, a different aircraft company had a much longer and steadier run.

Founded in 1928, moved to Downsview in 1929

De Havilland Aircraft of Canada was created in 1928 as a subsidiary of the British de Havilland company, initially based at De Lesseps Field in Toronto before relocating to Downsview in 1929 to build Moth trainer aircraft for Canadian pilots.

7,000 workers during WWII

The Second World War transformed the Downsview plant into one of Canada's largest aircraft manufacturers, producing planes for the RCAF and the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. At its wartime peak, the plant employed roughly 7,000 people, including thousands of women — a major driver of the local economy through the war years.

The Beaver: one of the world's most famous bush planes

De Havilland Canada's best-known aircraft, the DHC-2 Beaver, first flew at Downsview on August 16, 1947, designed specifically as a rugged bush plane that could run on wheels, skis or floats. Canada produced 1,692 Beavers over a 20-year production run, and the aircraft remains one of the most celebrated bush planes ever built — alongside the wartime Mosquito, one of Downsview's two most significant contributions to aviation history.

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