Second World War aeronautical engineer Elsie MacGill gets her 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 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 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, 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.

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