Second World War female aeronautical engineer Elsie MacGill gets Heritage Minute

Pioneering female aeronautical engineer Elsie MacGill is the focus of a new Heritage Minute.

Historica Canada released a tribute to MacGill’s influential role in the Second World War on Thursday to mark the first day of Women’s History Month.

MacGill was one of the first women admitted to the engineering program at the University of Toronto in 1923, and would earn a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Michigan six years later.

The Heritage Minute clip picks up after those achievements, centring on her role at the Canadian Car & Foundry in what is now Thunder Bay.

That’s where she oversaw the production of more than 1,400 Hawker Hurricane aircraft, some which were flown by Canadian airmen in the Battle of Britain.

Her involvement helped earn her the nickname “Queen of the Hurricanes.”

The Heritage Minute was written and directed by Scooter Corkle, who also produced a 2019 tribute to Japanese-Canadian baseball team the Vancouver Asahi.

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Watch Elsie MacGill’s Heritage Minute on YouTube: http://histori.ca/ElsieMacGill

This report by The Canadian Press was first published October 1, 2020.

The Canadian Press

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version incorrectly named the university where MacGill earned her master’s degree. She graduated from the University of Michigan.