Pilot Punch Dickins Canadian Aviation Pioneer

Bomber Aviator, Flight Instructor, Northern Canada Explorer

Jun 9, 2009

Pilot Clennell Haggerston 'Punch' Dickins was a Canadian World War I flying ace, flight instructor, bush pilot, and explorer.

Born January 12, 1899 at Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, he moved to Edmonton, Alberta with his family at age ten. The source of his nickname is not clear, but may have been given by his younger brother.

Bomber Pilot Earned Distinguished Flying Cross

At age seventeen, Punch Dickins enlisted in the army, then joined the Royal Flying Corps. A bomber pilot during World War I, he flew seventy-three missions from a base in France. He was one of the few bomber pilots to be recognized as an ace. When he received the Distinguished Flying Cross, he gave full credit to his team member, Second Lieutenant Jock Adam.

Dickins remained in France until March 1919, when he was released from military service. He worked for a while at General Motors, then resumed his flying career.

Forest Fire Spotting Early Work of Bush Pilots

Bush flying began as aerial reconnaissance for spotting forest fires. Punch was a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force which, from its inception, was heavily involved in surveying and forestry patrols. In 1927 he joined Western Canadian Airways and delivered the first airmail to Fort Simpson in the Northwest Territories and to Aklavik in the Arctic Circle.

Bush flying made it possible to charter aircraft to fly almost anywhere. Services were available to trappers, missionaries, geologists, and surveyors. Injured and ill patients could be taken out quickly for medical attention.

Northern Canada Flights Advanced Aviation

Dickins often flew over unmapped Northern Canada areas, occasionally so close to the magnetic north pole that compass navigation was impossible. He was first to fly along the Arctic coastline. In 1928, he made the first flight over the Barren Lands of the Northwest Territories.

That 3,956-mile flight in a Fokker Super Universal G-CASK over vast unmapped eastern Arctic lands earned him the Trans-Canada (McKee) Trophy. The award is presented each year to the person who contributes most to the advancement of aviation in Canada.

Atlantic Ferry Command and Flight Training

Prior to the Second World War, Dickins became a general superintendent for Canadian Pacific Railways' (CPR) airline division. When war came, he again entered the military. He was operations manager of the Atlantic Ferry Command which flew desperately-needed combat aircraft to Britain during the early years of the war. The Command was turned over to the Royal Air Force in 1942. During World War II, Dickins managed six flight training schools.

When De Havilland Aircraft Company (Canada) requested ideas from bush pilots, many responded. The company wanted advice on specifications for a new utility transport plane for use in northern and Arctic regions. As a consultant hired by the company, Punch was involved in post-war airplane designs. He was instrumental in the promotion and success of the Beaver bush plane in 1947. Many believe that his greatest legacy was his contribution to the remarkable aircrafts that are world leaders in Short Takeoff and Landing.

Canadian Aviation Pioneer Honoured

Punch Dickins was honoured many times as a Canadian aviation history pioneer. The Canadian Government named him as one of the most outstanding Canadians in the nation’s first century.

As shown on the Hall’s website, Dickins was named a member of Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame with the citation: “Despite adversity, he dramatized to the world the value of the bush pilot, and his total contribution to the brilliance of Canada’s air age can be measured not only by the regard in which he is held by his peers, but by the nation as a whole.”

Dickins didn't stop flying until he was seventy-eight years old. When he died in Toronto, August 3, 1995, his son John scattered his ashes along the Mackenzie River. His wife Constance, who died in Toronto at age 99, wrote a self-published book, “I Married a Bush Pilot” in 1981.

Millions of acres remain unchanged in northern Canada since the early bush pilots’ historic flights. Aircraft equipped with skis or floats continue to make the journeys over the great land, and to serve all those who live and work in the remote areas.

Wings Across Canada: an Illustrated History of Canadian Aviation by Peter Pigott, Published by Dundurn Press Ltd., 2002

Canada from Afar: The Daily Telegraph Book of Canadian Obituaries by David Twiston Davies, Published by Dundurn Press Ltd., 1996

The copyright of the article Pilot Punch Dickins Canadian Aviation Pioneer in Explorers is owned by Kathleen Airdrie. Permission to republish Pilot Punch Dickins Canadian Aviation Pioneer in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.