The de Havilland Tiger Moth, designed in 1931, served as a primary trainer for the RAF and became the foremost training airplane for the Commonwealth’s military and civilian pilots over the next fifteen years. It played a crucial role in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, with the RCAF employing over 1,500 of these aircraft from 1938 to 1948.

The Canadian-built DH.82C differed from the British DH.82A with features such as a jettisonable cockpit canopy, cockpit heating, wheel brakes, a tail wheel, and a more powerful engine. The DH.82C prototype first flew from Downsview, Ontario, in March 1940. These modifications made the DH.82C less nimble but better suited to Canadian conditions.

Tiger Moths and Fleet Finches handled all elementary flight training for the BCATP until summer 1942, with Tiger Moths outnumbering Fleet Finches by over three to one. Besides pilot training, Tiger Moths were used for basic radio operator instruction. Many Tiger Moth trainers flew at Mount Hope during WWII by No.10 Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS). An estimated 7,800 Tiger Moths were manufactured for the RAF and other Allied Air Forces, with 1,550 built in Canada between 1937 and 1944. Today, about 300 Tiger Moths remain in flying condition worldwide, with 40 in Canada.