Vickers Canada
| Fate | absorbed into Canadair in 1944 |
|---|---|
| Successor | Canadair and Versatile Vickers (using Canadian Vickers as brand only) |
| Founded | 1911 |
| Defunct | 1944 |
| Headquarters | Montreal, QC Canada |
| Parent | Vickers Limited |
Canadian Vickers Limited was an aircraft and shipbuilding company that operated in Canada during the early part of the 20th century until 1944. A subsidiary of the UK parent, it built its own aircraft designs as well as others under licence. Canadair absorbed the Canadian Vickers Ltd. aircraft operations in November 1944.
British ship building and weapons manufacturing conglomerate Vickers Sons & Maxim was invited by the Government of Canada in 1911 to establish a Canadian division to manufacture vessels for the nascent Royal Canadian Navy. Vickers Sons & Maxim established Canadian Vickers Ltd. and constructed Maisonville Shipyard at Viauville (Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve) in the east end of Montreal near Boulevard Viau and rue Notre-Dame Est.
Today the old shipyard buildings are gone replaced by silos and port facilities now owned by the Port of Montreal.
During World War I the yard built the Holland 602 type submarine for the British and the Italian Navy. They were known as the British H class submarine in the Royal Navy:
This shipyard would go on to produce many civilian and military ships in Canada, including:
Canadian Vickers also manufactured luxury yachts and vessels that were later converted as yachts:
Canadian Vickers was sold in 1926 and reacquired by Vickers in 1956. Renamed Vickers Canada Limited in 1978 after being sold to Canadian interest and renamed several times again by the last owners Marine Industries (as Versatile Vickers Inc in 1981 and MIL Vickers in 1987). Shipbuiding operations ceased by 1988.
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 (Royal Canadian Air Force from 1924). 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 license.
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