During the early years of WW11, the British and their allies were making plans to build as many aircraft as possible. If some of this manufacturing could be done out of range of Nazi bombers, the process would become simpler and more reliable. The United States was not involved in the war at this stage and so Britain turned to Canada which, in a surprisingly short time, was rolling out thousands of various smaller aircraft both for operational use as well as for trainers.
On September 18, 1941, a decision was made to build Lancaster Bombers in Canada. The first drawings arrived in January 1942. For a country just recovering from a decade of depression, the challenge was immense. More than 500,000 manufacturing operations were involved in building a Lancaster aircraft. More than 55,000 separate parts, even when engines and turrets were only considered as one, and small items such as rivets, nuts, and bolts were not included, illustrates the enormity of the undertaking.
A Lancaster from England was flown across the Atlantic in August, 1942 to act as a ‘pattern’ and a Crown Corporation named Victory Aircraft was formed to do the work. The plant was located on the south-west corner of the 6th Line (Airport Road) and Derry Road in Malton. After the war, Victory Aircraft would become A.V. Roe Canada Limited and then AVRO Canada. Initially, the contract was to be awarded to the National Steel Car Corporation of Malton which, at that time, was building Lysander aircraft as well as being involved as a subcontractor in the manufacturing of Hurricanes, Ansons and Hampdens. However, concerns that the project should proceed under government control, led to establishing Victory Aircraft Limited on November 4th as a Crown Corporation to manufacture the aircraft instead. A Lancaster bomber (R-5727) was then flown from England across the Atlantic in August 1942.
National Steel Car Corporation was a boon to Malton’s economy. Established in 1938, the firm employed more than 900 workers. At its peak, the firm was building Anson aircraft (pictured above) along with Lysander and Hampden aircraft. However, the Canadian Government felt the management should be under the control of a Crown Corporation and expropriated National Steel Car to establish Victory Aircraft. Photo National Steel Car.