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AVRO Arrow, CF-105

© David Newman

When Wilfrid Laurier said "The 20th Century belongs to Canada" there was still hope. Now, as the 20th century is over, we see that his predictions fell short. But there was a time where Canada's future in the military and in aviation was going to be bright. Canada would become a leader in those fields and would be, as many say, would be richer now. But Canada failed and most will point to one man, the 13th Prime Minister, The Right Honourable John George Diefenbaker. Why? Because he canceled a revolutionary program in aviation. He Cancelled the AVRO Arrow.

The Arrow, or AVRO Canada CF-105 Arrow, was a program to built the finest aircraft. The story of the Arrow begins in the 1940s when A.V. Roe built the CF-100, the A.V. Roe Canuck. A.V. Roe asks the government of Canada to have the permission to either replace the CF-100 or to make it better. The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) gave instructions on what the new craft could do. The RCAF wanted the Arrow to be able to reach the stratosphere (50,000 feet), to beat the American's speed of Mach 1.3 by placing a minimum of Mach 1.5. The Arrow would be a bomb and missile carrier and would be boarded by a pilot and a shooter/navigator.

In 1953, after abandoning the CF-103 (first plan of bettering the CF-100), A.V.Roe becomes AVRO Canada. The project aims to create the fastest military aircraft to make sure that the British or the Americans don't suck in the Canadian military. Young engineers under the leadership of Crawford Gordon propose the plans of the CF-105 to the RCAF. The problem is that the project may cost too much, but in July 1953, the project is approved.

The test are to be made with prototypes but the equipment needed is not available in Canada and the engineers are forced to make their tests at Langley Fields in Virginia. The prototypes, after failing many times, end up reaching Mach 1.8, but the project is no longer a Canadian military secret.

There were many problems, but the AVRO Arrow is finally finished and has reached a speed of Mach 2. The Arrow is publicly shown 4 octobre 1957. But that presentation is as good as it gets. When the AVRO CF-105 Arrow RL-201 is flown by Jan Zurakowski on 25 mars 1958, the end is need.

The Arrow project was conceived by the Louis St Laurent government (Liberal) and in 1957, Canadians elected a conservative, John Diefenbaker who's plans for Canada were different. There were many problems with the Arrow in all fields, technical (taking too long), economic (costs 200M$) and mostly political. The NORAD agreement pressured Diefenbaker to cancel the program because nobody, especially not the States, would buy the "fastest" plane, because the US was ready to give Canada (at Canada's cost) Bomarks for protection.