Avro Arrow

The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was a two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, supersonic interceptor. The Arrow was conceived in the early 1950s as the Royal Canadian Air Force's state-of-the-art contribution to the defence of North America against Soviet nuclear bombers. The project expanded rapidly to encompass four complex components—airframe, engine, electronics system, and missile armament—developed concurrently and domestically; as a result, costs skyrocketed and delays occurred. Sales to allies would have made the enterprise more economical, but American and British admiration never translated into orders. In 1957, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker's government inherited the project. Diefenbaker initially temporized when confronted with the air force's ambitions, but soon he and the military reluctantly concluded that Canada could not afford the Arrow within anticipated defence budgets, especially in a time of strategic flux as the missile age dawned and the bomber threat diminished. On 20 February 1959 Diefenbaker terminated the project; all existing Arrows were scrapped. The companies involved laid off nearly 15,000 workers, with many of the best engineers leaving the country. It was a logical decision under the circumstances, but popular culture has vilified Diefenbaker for sacrificing Canada's opportunity to have a world-leading military aircraft industry.

View more Miscellaneous videos