Results: The Avro Canada CF105 Arrow
Published on 11/05/2024
In June 1957, when the governing Liberals lost the federal election and a Progressive Conservative government under John Diefenbaker took power, the aircraft's prospects began to noticeably change. Diefenbaker had campaigned on a platform of reining in what the Conservatives claimed was "rampant Liberal spending". Nonetheless, by 1958, the parent company had become Canada's third largest business enterprise and had primary interests in rolling stock, steel and coal, electronics, and aviation with 39 different companies under the A. V. Roe Canada banner. In August 1957, the Diefenbaker government signed the NORAD (North American Air Defense) Agreement with the United States, making Canada a partner with American command and control. The USAF was in the process of completely automating their air defence system with the SAGE project, and offered Canada the opportunity to share this sensitive information for the air defence of North America. One aspect of the SAGE system was the Bomarc nuclear-tipped anti-aircraft missile.
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Comments
1.
1.
The Arrow was the culmination of a series of design studies begun in 1953 that examined improved versions of the Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck. After considerable study, the RCAF selected a dramatically more powerful design, and serious development began in March 1955. The aircraft was intended to be built directly from the production line, skipping the traditional hand-built prototype phase. The first Arrow Mk. 1, RL-201, was rolled out to the public on 4 October 1957, the same day as the launch of Sputnik I. Were you aware of the capabilities of the Avro Arrow?
Yes
16%
343 votes
No
52%
1090 votes
Undecided
7%
139 votes
Not Applicable
25%
528 votes
2.
2.
Flight testing began with RL-201 on 25 March 1958, and the design quickly demonstrated excellent handling and overall performance, reaching Mach 1.9 in level flight. Powered by the Pratt & Whitney J75, another four Mk. 1s were completed, RL-202, RL-203, RL-204 and RL-205. Do you think they should revive the Avro Arrow?
Yes
20%
413 votes
No
15%
309 votes
Undecided
36%
764 votes
Not Applicable
29%
614 votes
3.
3.
The lighter and more powerful Orenda Iroquois engine was soon ready for testing, and the first Mk 2 with the Iroquois, RL-206, was ready for taxi testing in preparation for flight and acceptance tests by RCAF pilots by early 1959. Canada tried to sell the Arrow to the US and Britain, but no agreements were concluded. Have you seen airplane engines on display?
Yes
19%
397 votes
No
48%
999 votes
Undecided
8%
178 votes
Not Applicable
25%
526 votes
4.
4.
On 20 February 1959, Conservative Prime Minister of Canada John Diefenbaker abruptly halted the development of both the Arrow and its Iroquois engines before the scheduled project review to evaluate the program could be held. Two months later the assembly line, tooling, plans, existing airframes, and engines were ordered to be destroyed. The cancellation was the topic of considerable political controversy at the time, and the subsequent destruction of the aircraft in production remains a topic for debate among historians and industry pundits. "This action effectively put Avro out of business and its highly skilled engineering and production personnel scattered" Were you aware of the senseless cancellation of the Avro Arrow Program?
Yes
18%
373 votes
No
46%
975 votes
Undecided
9%
179 votes
Not Applicable
27%
573 votes
5.
5.
The Arrow's cancellation was announced on 20 February 1959. The day became known as "Black Friday" in the Canadian aviation industry. Diefenbaker claimed the decision was based on "a thorough examination" of threats and defensive measures, and the cost of defensive systems. More specifically, the cost would have needed to be amortized over hundreds of manufactured models. At the time the trend was "away from conventional bombers" that the Avro Arrow could intercept and "towards atmospheric weapons like intercontinental ballistic missiles", according to Global News. As a result, the foreign demand for the Avro Arrow had declined substantially. Canada's alternative to the Arrow was to purchase some American McDonnell F-101 Voodoo interceptors and Bomarc B missiles. Were you aware cancelling the Avro lead to massive unemployment and impacted businesses in the area?
Yes
17%
352 votes
No
43%
909 votes
Undecided
11%
222 votes
Not Applicable
29%
617 votes
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6.
The decision immediately put 14,528 Avro employees, as well as nearly 15,000 other employees in the Avro supply chain of outside suppliers out of work.Following the cancellation of the Avro Arrow project, CF-105 chief aerodynamicist Jim Chamberlin led a team of 25 engineers to NASA's Space Task Group to become lead engineers, program managers, and heads of engineering in NASA's manned space programs—projects Mercury, Gemini and Apollo.[96] The Space Task Group team eventually grew to 32 Avro engineers and technicians, and became emblematic of what many Canadians viewed as a "brain drain" to the United States. Were you aware that many of the engineers and scientists from Avro Arrow moved to the US and became part of NASA?
Yes
14%
301 votes
No
48%
1017 votes
Undecided
9%
194 votes
Not Applicable
28%
588 votes
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