We have 2 Tiger Moths in our collection. One is a Canadian version and the other a UK version (read more about our UK Moth here). A British design, the de Havilland DH 82 Tiger Moth first flew in 1931. It was operated by the Royal Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force, and in many other countries, becoming one of the best known primary trainers of World War II. During the early years of the war, the aircraft was vital to the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan as thousands of Commonwealth pilots’ first solos were in Tiger Moths. A total of 8389 Tiger Moths were built by de Havilland and its licensees between 1931 and 1945.
The Tiger Moth is a two place airplane designed in a “tail dragger” configuration. The fuselage is built around a tube steel frame shaped with wood and covered in fabric. The wings are an all-wood structure also covered in fabric. It is powered by a four cylinder, air cooled Gipsy Major 1C engine.
The Tiger Moth was designed as a military trainer and was used mainly for elementary pilot training in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Modifications were made to the basic design to adapt it better to Canadian conditions. One of the best known trainers in World War II, the Tiger Moth was used by the air forces of Britain, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Denmark, Iraq, New Zealand, Persia, Portugal, South Africa, Southern Rhodesia, and Sweden.)
In the photos below, the Moth on the right is our Canadian version, not the presence of a canopy – it can get cold in Canada! The photo on the left shows the UK version in flight. Below the photos is a video clip of both Moths being run in summer 2020. You can learn more here, on the RCAF web site.
Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum & RCAF WWII Memorial 