At the end of World War I Great Britain had a large number of surplus aircraft. In order to establish air forces in the Dominions and stimulate the growth of aviation the British Cabinet decided, on 29th May 1919, to make a gift of 100 aircraft to each of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada and India. In addition aircraft would be donated in order to replace the machines presented by the Dominions during the war.
New Zealand initially refused the offer but subsequently accepted 33 aircraft.
At 8th August 1921 the gifts were reported as:
| Aircraft | Qty | Engines | Qty | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avro | 35 | Puma | 37 | |
| DH.9 | 28 | 130hp Clerget | 44 | |
| DH.9A | 30 | 180hp Hisp. Viper | 1 | |
| S.E.5 | 35 | 200hp Hisp. Viper | 41 | |
| Liberty | 63 | |||
| Total | 128 | 186 |
Includes 28 extra DH.9 given to replace the gift of 41 aircraft at equivalent value (£160,000).
| Aircraft | Qty | Engines | Qty | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avro | 20 | Puma | 12 | |
| Bristol Fighter | 2 | Mono | 26 | |
| DH.4 | 2 | Falcon 3 | 2 | |
| DH.9 | 9 | Eagle 8 | 2 | |
| Total | 33 | 42 |
| Aircraft | Qty | Engines | Qty | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avro | 30 | Puma | 60 | |
| DH.4 | 10 | 130hp Clerget | 40 | |
| DH.9 | 48 | Viper I | 28 | |
| S.E.5 | 22 | Eagle 8 | 10 | |
| 90hp RAF | 4 | |||
| Total | 110 | 142 |
Includes 10 extra DH.4 given to replace the gift of 10 DH.9 aircraft at equivalent value.
| Aircraft | Qty | Engines | Qty | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avro | 63 | B.R.2 | 1 | |
| Bristol Fighter | 1 | 130hp Clerget | 71 | |
| DH.4 | 12 | Viper I | 16 | |
| DH.9A | 12 | Liberty | 28 | |
| S.E.5/S.E.5A | 12 | Falcon 3 | 2 | |
| Felixstowe F.3 | 8 | Eagle 8 | 40 | |
| Fairey IIIC | 1 | |||
| Total | 109 | 158 |
Includes 9 extra aircraft given to replace the gift of 18 aircraft at equivalent value.
| Aircraft | Qty | Engines | Qty | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avro | 40 | Mono | 53 | |
| DH.9 | 60 | B.H.P | 71 | |
| Total | 100 | 124 |
Slight changes to these totals were subsequently made following further negotiations.
Details of the actual serials and disposition of the aircraft can be found on the individual country pages below