De Lesseps Field
Encyclopedia
De Lesseps Field was a small, but important airfield in early aviation in Toronto
.
Opened sometime before 1910, an airfield was created from three farms by engineer William G. Tretheway (1865–1926). The airfield was located near present day Hearst Circle on a 600 acres (2.4 km²) site in Mount Dennis (or Weston, Ontario).
The grassy airfield was later used by French
aviator Count
Jacques Benjamin de Lesseps
(1883–1927) and later renamed after him. The property remained in the hands of the Tretheway family after the death of Tretheway, but in 1928 Tretheway's son Fred sold it to airline Skyways Limited. de Havilland Canada
established their first home here in 1928 to build Gipsy Moth
and Tiger Moth
aircraft, but left for Downsview in 1929. Skyways remained owners until some time after 1931 and the airline moved to the Malton Airport. The farm and airfield was later re-developed as residential housing. No trace of the airfield remains in the area.
Besides aircraft manufacturing, the airfield hosted air shows starting in 1910 (hosted by the Ontario Motor League).
This airfield was one of many airfields in the greater Toronto area during the early 20th Century, but most of the airfields disappeared before World War II:
Most of the airfield related buildings were temporary or converted from farm use. De Havilland's first factory was in an old vegetable warehouse because it had double doors wide enough to accommodate assembled aircraft. A larger hangar was built in 1929, but it was moved along with the aircraft manufacturer to Downsview.
The later owners of the airfield, Skyways Limited, used the facilities to train pilots.
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
.
Opened sometime before 1910, an airfield was created from three farms by engineer William G. Tretheway (1865–1926). The airfield was located near present day Hearst Circle on a 600 acres (2.4 km²) site in Mount Dennis (or Weston, Ontario).
The grassy airfield was later used by French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
aviator Count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
Jacques Benjamin de Lesseps
Jacques de Lesseps
Jacques Benjamin de Lesseps was a French aviator born in Paris on 5 July 1883, killed in an air accident presumably on 18 October 1927 along with his flight engineer Theodor Chichenko. He was the son of French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps...
(1883–1927) and later renamed after him. The property remained in the hands of the Tretheway family after the death of Tretheway, but in 1928 Tretheway's son Fred sold it to airline Skyways Limited. de Havilland Canada
De Havilland Canada
The de Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. company was an aircraft manufacturer with facilities based in what is now the Downsview area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
established their first home here in 1928 to build Gipsy Moth
De Havilland DH.60 Moth
The de Havilland DH 60 Moth was a 1920s British two-seat touring and training aircraft that was developed into a series of aircraft by the de Havilland Aircraft Company.-Development:The DH 60 was developed from the larger DH 51 biplane...
and Tiger Moth
Tiger moth
Tiger moths are moths of the family Arctiidae.Tiger moth may also refer to:*de Havilland Tiger Moth, an aircraft; an aerobatic and trainer tailwheel biplane*de Havilland DH.71 Tiger Moth, an earlier monoplane produced by de Havilland...
aircraft, but left for Downsview in 1929. Skyways remained owners until some time after 1931 and the airline moved to the Malton Airport. The farm and airfield was later re-developed as residential housing. No trace of the airfield remains in the area.
Besides aircraft manufacturing, the airfield hosted air shows starting in 1910 (hosted by the Ontario Motor League).
This airfield was one of many airfields in the greater Toronto area during the early 20th Century, but most of the airfields disappeared before World War II:
- Armour Heights FieldArmour Heights FieldArmour Heights Field was home to a Royal Flying Corps airfield in Toronto, Canada during World War I, and was one of three in the area. Many RFC pilots trained in Canada due to space availability. The airfield was opened in July 1917, but closed in 1919 as the war had ended...
1917-1919 - Barker FieldBarker FieldBarker Field was one of several airfields in the Downsview area of Toronto, Ontario.-History:Opened in 1927, it was a civilian airfield for the early era of flying in Canada and was named after William George Barker, a First World War fighter ace and Victoria Cross recipient. It remained in use...
1927-1953 - Downsview Airfield 1929–present
- Leaside AerodromeLeaside AerodromeLeaside Aerodrome was an airport in the Town of Leaside, Ontario . It opened in 1917 as a Royal Flying Corps airfield during the First World War....
1927-1931 - Long Branch AerodromeLong Branch AerodromeLong Branch Aerodrome was an airfield located west of Toronto, Ontario and just east of Port Credit, now Mississauga, and was Canada's first aerodrome. The airport was opened by the Curtiss Flying School, part of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, as a pilot training school in 1915...
1915-1919 - Toronto AerodromeToronto AerodromeToronto Aerodrome, also known as Canadian Air Express Airport was an aerodrome located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. One of the historical airfields of Canada, operated from 1928 to 1939, it was situated at the current Downsview subway station on Dufferin Street and Sheppard Avenue West...
1928-1939
Most of the airfield related buildings were temporary or converted from farm use. De Havilland's first factory was in an old vegetable warehouse because it had double doors wide enough to accommodate assembled aircraft. A larger hangar was built in 1929, but it was moved along with the aircraft manufacturer to Downsview.
The later owners of the airfield, Skyways Limited, used the facilities to train pilots.