Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow
CF-105 Arrow | |
---|---|
![]() Rollout of the first CF-105 Arrow | |
General information | |
Type | Interceptor |
National origin | Canada |
Manufacturer | Avro Canada |
Status | Cancelled (20 February 1959) |
Primary user | Royal Canadian Air Force |
Number built | 5[1][2] |
History | |
Manufactured | 1957–1959 (design work began in 1953) |
First flight | 25 March 1958 |
The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was a delta-winged interceptor aircraft designed and built by Avro Canada. The CF-105 held the promise of Mach 2 speeds at altitudes exceeding 50,000 feet (15,000 m) and was intended to serve as the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) primary interceptor into the 1960s and beyond.[3]
The Arrow was the culmination of a series of design studies begun in 1953 that examined improved versions of the
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. 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.[4]
On 20 February 1959, 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.[5] 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".[6]
Design and development
Background
In the post-Second World War period, the
Recognizing that the delays that affected the development and deployment of the CF-100 could also affect its successor, and the fact that the Soviets were working on newer jet-powered bombers that would render the CF-100 ineffective, the RCAF began looking for a supersonic, missile-armed replacement for the Canuck even before it had entered service.[14] In March 1952, the RCAF's Final Report of the All-Weather Interceptor Requirements Team was submitted to Avro Canada.[15]
Higher speeds
Avro engineering had been considering supersonic issues already at this point. Supersonic flight works in a very different fashion and presents a number of new problems. One of the most critical, and surprising, was the sudden onset of a new form of drag, known as wave drag. The effects of wave drag were so strong that engines of the era could not provide enough power to overcome it, leading to the concept of a "sound barrier".[16]
German research during the Second World War had shown the onset of wave drag was greatly reduced by using airfoils that varied in curvature as gradually as possible. This suggested the use of thinner airfoils with much longer
The Germans also discovered it was possible to "trick" the airflow into the same behaviour if a conventional thicker airfoil was used swept rearward at a sharp angle, creating a swept wing. This provided many of the advantages of a thinner airfoil while also retaining the internal space needed for strength and fuel storage. Another advantage was that the wings were clear of the supersonic shock wave generated by the nose of the aircraft.[17]
Almost every fighter project in the postwar era immediately applied the concept, which started appearing on production fighters in the late 1940s. Avro engineers explored swept-wing and tail modifications to the CF-100 known as the CF-103, which had proceeded to wooden mock-up stage. The CF-103 offered improved transonic performance with supersonic abilities in a dive. The basic CF-100 continued to improve through this period, and the advantages were continually eroded.[18] When a CF-100 broke the sound barrier on 18 December 1952, interest in the CF-103 waned.
Delta wings
At the time we laid down the design of the CF-105, there was a somewhat emotional controversy going on in the United States on the relative merits of the delta plan form versus the straight wing for supersonic aircraft ... our choice of a tailless delta was based mainly on the compromise of attempting to achieve structural and aero elastic efficiency, with a very thin wing, and yet, at the same time, achieving the large internal fuel capacity required for the specified range.
Another solution to the high-speed problem is the delta wing. The delta wing had many of the same advantages of the swept wing in terms of transonic and supersonic performance, but offered much more internal room and overall surface area. This provided more room for fuel, an important consideration given the inefficient early jet engines of the era, and the large wing area provided ample lift at high altitudes. The delta wing also enabled slower landings than swept wings in certain conditions.[20]
The disadvantages of the design were increased drag at lower speeds and altitudes, and especially higher drag while maneuvering. For the interceptor role these were minor concerns, as the aircraft would be spending most of its time flying in straight lines at high altitudes and speeds, mitigating these disadvantages.[20]
Further proposals based on the delta wing resulted in two versions of the design known as C104: the single engine C104/4 and twin-engined C104/2.[15] The designs were otherwise similar, using a low-mounted delta-wing and sharply raked vertical stabilizer. The primary advantages of the C104/2 were its twin-engine reliability and a larger overall size, which offered a much larger internal weapons bay.[21] The proposals were submitted to the RCAF in June 1952.[22]
AIR 7-3 and C105
Intensive discussions between Avro and the RCAF examined a wide range of alternative sizes and configurations for a supersonic interceptor, culminating in RCAF Specification AIR 7-3 in April 1953. AIR 7-3 called specifically for a two crew, twin engine, aircraft with a range of 300 nautical miles (556 km) for a normal low-speed mission, and 200 nmi (370 km) for a high-speed interception mission. It also specified operation from a 6,000 ft (1,830 m) runway; a Mach 1.5 cruising speed at an altitude of 70,000 ft (21,000 m); and manoeuvrability for 2 g turns with no loss of speed or altitude at Mach 1.5 and 50,000 ft. The specification required five minutes from starting the aircraft's engines to reaching 50,000 ft altitude and Mach 1.5. It was also to have turn-around time on the ground of less than 10 minutes.[23] An RCAF team led by Ray Foottit visited US aircraft producers and surveyed British and French manufacturers before concluding that no existing or planned aircraft could fulfill these requirements.[24]
In 1955 Avro estimated the performance of the Arrow Mk 2 (with Iroquois) as follows, from the January 1955 British evaluation titled Evaluation of the CF.105 as an All Weather Fighter for the RAF: "Max speed Mach 1.9 at 50,000 ft, Combat speed of Mach 1.5 at 50.000 feet and 1.84 G without bleeding energy, time to 50,000 ft of 4.1 minutes, 500-foot per minute climb ceiling of 62,000 feet, 400 nmi radius on a high-speeds mission, 630 nmi radius on a low-speed mission, Ferry range is not given, but estimated at 1,500 nmi."[25]
Avro submitted their modified C105 design in May 1953, essentially a two-man version of the C104/2. A change to a "shoulder-mounted" wing allowed rapid access to the aircraft's internals, weapons bay, and engines. The new design also allowed the wing to be built as a single structure sitting on the upper fuselage, simplifying construction and improving strength. The wing design and positioning required a long main landing gear that still had to fit within the thin delta wing, presenting an engineering challenge. Five different wing sizes were outlined in the report, ranging between 1,000 ft2 and 1,400 ft2 (93 m2 to 130 m2); the 1,200 ft2 (111 m2) sized version was eventually selected.[26]
The primary engine selection was the
Armament was stored in a large internal bay located in a "belly" position, taking up over one third of the aircraft fuselage. A wide variety of weapons could be deployed from this bay, such as the
In July 1953, the proposal was accepted and Avro was given the go-ahead to start a full design study under the project name: "CF-105".
Production

To meet the timetable set by the RCAF, Avro decided that the Arrow program would adopt the
To mitigate risks, a massive testing program was started. By mid-1954, the first production drawings were issued and wind tunnel work began, along with extensive computer simulation studies carried out both in Canada and the United States using sophisticated computer programs.[35] In a related program, nine instrumented free-flight models were mounted on solid fuel Nike rocket boosters and launched from Point Petre over Lake Ontario while two additional models were launched from the NASA facility at Wallops Island, Virginia, over the Atlantic Ocean. These models were for aerodynamic drag and stability testing, flown to a maximum speed of Mach 1.7+ before intentionally crashing into the water.[36][37]
Experiments showed the need for only a small number of design changes, mainly involving the wing profile and positioning. To improve
The construction of the airframe was fairly conventional, with a semi-monocoque frame and multi-spar wing. The aircraft used a measure of magnesium and titanium in the fuselage, the latter limited largely to the area around the engines and to fasteners. Titanium was still expensive and not widely used because it was difficult to machine.[40]
The Arrow's thin wing required aviation's first 4,000
In 1954, the
After evaluating the engineering mock-ups and the full-scale wooden mock-up in February 1956, the RCAF demanded additional changes, selecting the advanced RCA-Victor Astra fire-control system firing the equally advanced United States Navy Sparrow II in place of the MX-1179 and Falcon combination. Avro vocally objected on the grounds that neither of these were even in testing at that point, whereas both the MX-1179 and Falcon were almost ready for production and would have been nearly as effective for "a very large saving in cost".[43] The Astra proved to be problematic as the system ran into a lengthy period of delays, and when the USN cancelled the Sparrow II in 1956, Canadair was quickly brought in to continue the Sparrow program in Canada, although they expressed grave concerns about the project as well and the move added yet more expense.[44]
Rollout and flight testing

Go-ahead on the production was given in 1955. The rollout of the first CF-105, marked as RL-201, took place on 4 October 1957. The company had planned to capitalize on the event, inviting more than 13,000 guests to the occasion.
The J75 engine was slightly heavier than the
The aircraft, at supersonic speeds, was pleasant and easy to fly. During approach and landing, the handling characteristics were considered good ... On my second flight ... the general handling characteristics of the Arrow Mark 1 were much improved ... On my sixth and last flight ... the erratic control in the rolling plane, encountered on the last flight, [was] no longer there ... Excellent progress was being made in the development ... from where I sat the Arrow was performing as predicted and was meeting all guarantees.
RL-201 first flew on 25 March 1958 with Chief Development Test Pilot S/L
Although no major problems were encountered during the initial testing phase, some minor issues with the landing gear and flight control system had to be rectified. The former problem was partly due to the tandem main landing gear
The stability augmentation system also required much fine-tuning.[53] Although the CF-105 was not the first aircraft to use such a system,[Note 2] it was one of the first of its kind, and was problematic. By February 1959, the five aircraft had completed the majority of the company test program and were progressing to the RCAF acceptance trials.[1]
Political issues
From 1953, some senior Canadian military officials at the chiefs of staffs began to question the program.[61] The chiefs of staff of the army and navy were both strongly opposed to the Arrow, since "substantial funds were being diverted to the air force", while Air Marshal Hugh Campbell, RCAF Chief of Staff, backed it right up until its cancellation.[62] 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.[63]
In August 1957, the Diefenbaker government signed the
Defence against ballistic missiles was also becoming a priority. The existence of Sputnik had also raised the possibility of attacks from space, and, as the year progressed, word of a "missile gap" began spreading. An American brief of the meeting with Pearkes records his concern that Canada could not afford defensive systems against both ballistic missiles and manned bombers.[67] It is also said Canada could afford the Arrow or Bomarc/SAGE, but not both.[68]
By 11 August 1958, Pearkes requested cancellation of the Arrow, but the Cabinet Defence Committee (CDC) refused. Pearkes tabled it again in September and recommended installation of the Bomarc missile system. The latter was accepted, but again the CDC refused to cancel the entire Arrow program. The CDC wanted to wait until a major review on 31 March 1959. They cancelled the Sparrow/Astra system in September 1958.[69] Efforts to continue the program through cost-sharing with other countries were then explored. In 1959, Pearkes would say the ballistic missile was the greater threat, and Canada purchased Bomarc "in lieu of more airplanes".[70]
Operational history
Foreign interest
Canada unsuccessfully tried to sell the Arrow to the US and Britain. The aircraft industry in both countries was considered a national interest and the purchase of foreign designs was rare.[4]
Nevertheless, from 1955 onwards, the UK had shown considerable interest in the Arrow. Desiring a high-performance interceptor like the Arrow, the
A new round of development produced an improved Mach 1.6 version of the thin-wing Javelin, and the Arrow was put aside for the time. But it was soon clear that the new Javelin would not enter service until at least 1961, too late to stop the new M-4s and with the F.155 designs coming on only two years later. In April 1956, the UK's
Procurement of the Arrow from Canada, and setting up a production line in the UK, was studied. The unit price per aircraft built in the UK was estimated at £220,000 each for a production run of 100 aircraft, as opposed to the estimate of £150,000 per aircraft for the thin wing Javelin.[71] The CF-105 would serve as a stopgap until the F.155 project came to fruition, but with the F.155 due in 1963 and the Arrow not likely to reach the RAF before 1962, there was little point in proceeding.[72]
The infamous 1957 Defence White Paper,[73] described as "the biggest change in military policy ever made in normal times", led to the cancellation of almost all British manned fighter aircraft then in development,[74] and completely curtailed any likelihood of a purchase. In January 1959, the UK's final answer was no; Britain countered with an offer to sell Canada the English Electric Lightning.[75]
The French government expressed an interest in the Iroquois engine for an enlarged version of the Dassault Mirage IV bomber, the Mirage IVB. This was one of several engines being considered, including the Olympus, with an order for 300 Iroquois being considered. Acting on media speculation that the Iroquois engine program was also in jeopardy of being cancelled, the French government chose to end negotiations in October 1958[76] and opted for an upgraded version of the indigenous Snecma Atar, instead.[77] There was never an explanation for this decision offered by the French government, even after Avro tried to offer the Iroquois as a private venture.[77]
In the US, the
Cancellation
The Arrow's cancellation was announced on 20 February 1959. The day became known as "Black Friday" in the Canadian aviation industry.[81] Diefenbaker claimed the decision was based on "a thorough examination" of threats and defensive measures, and the cost of defensive systems.[82] 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.[83] As a result, the foreign demand for the Avro Arrow had declined substantially.[84] Canada's alternative to the Arrow was to purchase some American McDonnell F-101 Voodoo interceptors and Bomarc B missiles.[83][85][86]
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.[87] Declassified records show Avro management was caught unprepared by the suddenness of the announcement by the government; while executives were aware that the program was in jeopardy, they expected it to continue until the March review. It was widely believed during this lead-up to the review, the first Arrow Mk 2, RL-206, would be prepared for an attempt at both world speed and altitude records.[88]
An attempt was made to provide the completed Arrows to the
Aftermath
Within two months of the project cancellation, all aircraft, engines, production tooling and technical data were ordered scrapped.[91] Officially, the reason given for the destruction order from cabinet and the chiefs of staff was to destroy classified and "secret" materials used in the Arrow and Iroquois programs.[92] The action has been attributed to Royal Canadian Mounted Police fears that a Soviet "mole" had infiltrated Avro, later confirmed to some degree in the Mitrokhin Archives.[93]
Rumours had circulated that Air Marshal W. A. Curtis, a World War I ace who headed Avro, had ignored Diefenbaker and spirited one of the Arrows away to be saved for posterity. These rumours were given life in a 1968 interview, when Curtis was asked directly if the rumour was true. He replied, "I don't want to answer that." He proceeded to question the wisdom of printing the story of a missing Arrow, and wondered whether it would be safe to reveal the existence of a surviving airframe only nine years later. "If it is in existence it may have to wait another 10 years. Politically it may cause a lot of trouble."[94] The legend endures that one of the prototypes remains intact somewhere.[95]

Following the cancellation of the Avro Arrow project, CF-105 chief aerodynamicist
In 1961, the RCAF obtained 66 McDonnell CF-101 Voodoo aircraft, one of the American designs the RCAF originally rejected,[101][Note 3] to serve in the role originally intended for the Avro Arrow. The controversy surrounding this acquisition, and Canada's acquiring nuclear weapons for the Voodoos and Bomarcs eventually contributed to the collapse of the Diefenbaker government in 1963.[102]
Although nearly everything connected to the CF-105 and Orenda Iroquois programs was destroyed, the cockpit and nose gear of RL-206, the first Mk 2 Arrow, and two outer panels of RL-203's wings were saved and are on display at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, alongside an Iroquois engine.[103]
With specifications comparable to then-current offerings from American and Soviet design bureaus, at the time of its cancellation, the Arrow was considered by one aviation industry observer to be one of the most advanced aircraft in the world.[9] The Arrow's cancellation eventually led to the end of Avro Aircraft Limited (Canada) and its president and general manager, Crawford Gordon Jr. was fired shortly afterward. In 1962, the Hawker Siddeley Group formally dissolved A. V. Roe Canada and transferred all its assets to Hawker Siddeley's newly formed subsidiary, Hawker Siddeley Canada.[104] According to Bill Gunston:
In its planning, design and flight-test programme, this fighter, in almost every way the most advanced of all the fighters of the 1950s, was as impressive, and successful as any aircraft in history.[9]

The nose cone section of Avro Arrow RL-206, currently on display at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, was smuggled out of the Avro Aircraft plant in Malton by members of the RCAF Flying Personnel Medical Establishment, a detachment of
One day after a change of government, the new RCAF Chief of the Air Staff came to inspect our facilities and programs and after lunch, I asked if he would like to see something special. I showed him a piece of the Arrow; cockpit section and engine nacelles and a few other bits. I asked him what we should do with it and he said to keep it hidden until the climate in Ottawa was right, and then he would arrange to have it placed in the National Aeronautical Museum in Ottawa. Eventually this was done and at least a bit of history was saved.[105]
Around 2011, a new version of the Avro Arrow was privately proposed as an alternative to a Canadian purchase of F-35 aircraft.[106] The proposal, promoted by former Canadian Forces infantry officer Lewis MacKenzie, was rejected by Ottawa in 2012 as being too risky, too costly and too time-consuming given the need to re-engineer the 1950s-era aircraft with modern communication, targeting and stealth features.[107] Member of Parliament and former Canadian Forces fighter pilot Laurie Hawn described the CF-105 as having been advanced 50 years prior, but "hopelessly behind its time" in 2012.[108]
Variants
Mark 1
The Arrow Mark 1 was the initial version powered by two Pratt & Whitney J75 turbojet engines that produced 23,500 pounds-force (105 kN) of thrust each. The Mk 1 was used for development and flight testing. Five were completed.[109]
Mark 2
The Mk 2 version was to be fitted with the Orenda PS-13 Iroquois engines and would be evaluated by RCAF acceptance pilots as well as Avro test pilots. The new PS-13S engines were designed to produce 30,000 lbf (130 kN) each. The Astra/Sparrow fire control system had been terminated by the government in September 1958 with all aircraft to employ the Hughes/Falcon combination. At the time of cancellation of the entire program, the first Arrow Mk 2, RL-206, was ready for taxi trials;[52] Avro expected it to break the world speed record, but it never flew.
Top speed would have been limited by atmospheric frictional heating, according to project engineer James Floyd, "[t]he aluminum alloy structure which we favoured was good for speeds greater than a Mach number of 2."[110]
Other designs
Avro Canada had a wide range of advanced Arrow variants under development at the time of project cancellation. Frequent mention is made of an Arrow that could have been capable of Mach 3, similar to the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25. This was not the production version, but one of the design studies, and would have been a greatly modified version of the Arrow Mk 2, featuring revised engine inlets and extensive use of carbon steel and titanium to withstand airframe heating.[111] The Mark 2A and Mark 3 were also to have updated engines, capable of producing 39,800 lbf (177 kN) each, increasing the maximum takeoff weight by 7,700 kg (17,000 lb) and flight ceiling to 70,000 ft.[112]
Replicas
A replica Arrow built by Allan Jackson was used in

The Avro Museum, based out of Calgary/Springbank Airport (CYBW) west of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is building a 2/3rd scale, manned, high performance flying replica of the Avro Arrow (officially known as ARROW II)[115] to Canadian Aviation Experimental Aircraft Regulations in order to become an airshow demonstration aircraft. Construction began in October 2007, and by 2012 the fuselage was completed and passed its first MDRA inspection, and now has a serial number. Powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney JT-15D-4s, the ARROW II is to have a top speed of approximately 500 knots and a range of 1,800 miles. Current projections show a final cost of the project at approximately one million dollars and it was hoped that ground tests would start in about 2016 with the first flight to follow.[116] The 2018 Annual report from the museum[117] updates the previous predictions, and states
We look forward to more exciting progress in the coming year as we work towards the goal of having the Arrow II on its landing gear and able to be presented as a work in progress static display at the 2019 Springbank Airshow.
The
This replica was in storage at Toronto Pearson Intl Airport (CYYZ) after being displayed at the Toronto International Centre (across the road from where the actual aircraft were built) for a technology trade show that ran from 30 September to 4 October 2013. In late 2019, Milan Kroupa brought the replica to Edenvale Airport (CNV8), south of Georgian Bay in Southern Ontario. It is currently on display in a hangar, with weekly showings to the public.
Scale models
Between 1954 and 1957, nine Avro Arrow models, scaled at one-eighth size or about 3 m (9.8 ft) long, are believed to have been launched, using rockets, over Lake Ontario from Point Petre in Prince Edward County, Ontario as part of the process for testing the hull design. (Two others were launched in Virginia.) They travelled at supersonic speeds as onboard sensors sent data back to shore.[119] After many attempts to find the models, a new search was started in late July 2017. The Raise the Arrow project, operated by OEX Recovery Group Incorporated, was a joint venture by several companies, the Canadian Coast Guard and the Royal Canadian Military Institute. A Thunderfish autonomous submarine, equipped with an AquaPix interferometric synthetic aperture sonar, was being used to survey the relevant area of the lake bottom.[120] Any scale models found will be restored and displayed at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa and the National Air Force Museum of Canada in Trenton, Ontario.[121]
In September 2017, the Raise the Arrow Project confirmed the discovery of one of the 1/8 scale[122] Delta Test Vehicle (DTV) models at the bottom of Lake Ontario.[123] It was recovered in August 2018.[124] The model was restored and has been on display at the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum since 2019. The search for one of the more advanced Arrow test models, in cooperation with the Royal Canadian Air Force, continued.[125] In September 2020, OEX announced that a piece of another test model had been discovered; the Project was working on a method to recover that piece and to find other pieces of the same wreck.[126]
"Destroyed" plans re-discovered
On January 6, 2020, CBC News announced that the Arrow's plans, long thought to have been destroyed, were kept. Ken Barnes, a senior draftsman on the project in 1959, was ordered to destroy all documents related to the Avro Arrow project. Instead, he quietly took the blueprints home where they remained stored for decades.[127] The blueprints were on display in the Touch the Sky: The Story of Avro Canada exhibit at the Diefenbaker Canada Centre at the University of Saskatchewan until April 2020.
In 2021, the National Research Council of Canada digitized and released 595 Avro Arrow reports stored in their rare book room and the NRC Archives, both located in Ottawa.[128]
Legacy
The "Avro Arrow Private" street name commemorates the aircraft at Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport.
Prospective operator
- Royal Canadian Air Force – Cancelled before entering service.[1]
Specifications (Arrow Mk 1)

External image | |
---|---|
Avro CF-105 Arrow cutaway | |
![]() Flight Global . |
Data from The Great Book of Fighters,[129] The Canadian Approach to All-Weather Interceptor Development,[110] Avro Arrow: The Story of the Avro Arrow from its Evolution to its Extinction[130]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 77 ft 9 in (23.70 m)
- Wingspan: 50 ft (15 m)
- Height: 21 ft 2 in (6.45 m)
- Wing area: 1,225 sq ft (113.8 m2)
- Airfoil: root: NACA 0003.5 (modified); tip: NACA 0003.8 (modified)[131]
- Empty weight: 49,040 lb (22,244 kg)
- Gross weight: 56,920 lb (25,818 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 68,605 lb (31,119 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × afterburning turbojet engines, 16,500 lbf (73 kN) thrust each [Note 4]dry, 23,500 lbf (105 kN) with afterburner
Performance
- Maximum speed: 1,136 kn (1,307 mph, 2,104 km/h) at 50,000 ft (15,000 m) max. recorded speed (Mach 2+ potential)[130]
- Maximum speed: Mach 1.98
- Cruise speed: 527 kn (606 mph, 976 km/h) / M0.91 at 36,000 ft (11,000 m)
- Combat range: 360 nmi (410 mi, 670 km)
- Service ceiling: 53,000 ft (16,000 m)
- Wing loading: 46.5 lb/sq ft (227 kg/m2)
- Thrust/weight: 0.825 at loaded weight
Armament
- Missiles: * 2× AIR-2A Genie unguided nuclear rockets[132]
- or
- Up to 4× AIM-7 Sparrow II2D active guidance missiles (cancelled)
Avionics
- Hughes MX-1179 fire control system
Notable appearances in media
In 1997, the CBC broadcast their two-part miniseries,
See also
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
- Convair F-106 Delta Dart
- Dassault MD.750
- English Electric Lightning
- FMA I.Ae. 48
- Lavochkin La-250
- McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II
- McDonnell F-101 Voodoo
- Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25
- North American XF-108 Rapier
- Operational Requirement F.155 Project (UK)
- Republic XF-103
- Saab 35 Draken
- Saunders-Roe SR.177
- Shenyang J-6
- Tupolev Tu-28
Related lists
References
Notes
- ^ The CF-105 used tandem main undercarriage units with two wheels and tires: one in front of and one behind the gear leg.
- ^ The CF-105 Arrow used the stability augmentation system for all three axes; other aircraft in the 1950s, were experimenting with these systems, but had only reached the stage of incorporating simple, one-axis or two-axes stability augmentation.[60]
- ^ Although the source indicates it was the F-101 that was evaluated, it was the XF-88 Voodoo that was flying at the time while the F-101 was a revised and upgraded variant only in the development stage in 1953.
- ^ A wide variety of sources confuse the J75 used in the Arrow with its smaller cousin, the Pratt & Whitney J57. The J-57 produced about 12,500 lbf (56 kN) dry and 18,500 lbf (82 kN) in afterburner.
- ^ Subsequent re-broadcasts on CBC Television as well as Discovery and other "specialty channels" in Canada, continued until 2009.
Citations
- ^ a b c Page et al. 2004, p. 117.
- ^ "Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow 2" (Archived 10 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine). aviation.technomuses.ca. Retrieved: 17 October 2010.
- ^ Page et al. 2004, p. 159.
- ^ a b Peden 1987, p. 72.
- ^ Dow 1979, p. 127; "Orenda History" (Archived 15 May 2006 at archive.today). Magellan Aerospace Corporation, 2005. Retrieved: 12 March 2009.
- ^ Payne 2006, p. 213.
- ^ Dow 1979, p. 67.
- ^ Dow 1979, p. 60.
- ^ a b c d Gunston 1981, p. 18.
- ^ Dow 1979, pp. 84–85.
- ^ Dow 1979, pp. 61–62.
- ^ Dow 1979, p. 70.
- ^ Lombardi, Mike and Larry Merritt. "Toronto's Long History of Aerospace Achievement". Boeing Frontiers (online), Volume 4, Issue 2, June 2005. Retrieved: 26 September 2010.
- ^ Dow 1979, p. 83.
- ^ a b Dow 1979, p. 84.
- ^ Anderson 2008. pp. 683, 695.
- ^ a b Whitcomb 2002, pp. 89–90.
- ^ Milberry 1984, p. 317.
- ^ a b c Floyd, James. "The Canadian Approach to All-Weather Interceptor Development. The Fourteenth British Commonwealth Lecture." Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, December 1958
- ^ a b Stimson, Thomas E. Jr. "Era of the Flying Triangles". Popular Mechanics, 106 (3). September 1956, pp. 89–94.
- ^ Campagna 1998, pp. 68–69.
- ^ Page et al. 2004, p. 11.
- ^ Dow 1979, p. 89.
- ^ Dow 1979, p. 25.
- ^ Whitcomb, R.L. Avro Aircraft & Cold War Aviation. p. 162.
- ^ Peden 2003, p. 26.
- ^ Dow 1979, p. 85.
- ^ Dow 1979, p. 86.
- ^ Campagna 1998, pp. 66–67.
- ^ Page et al. 2004, p. 12.
- ^ Peden 2003, p. 45.
- ^ Shaw 1979, p. 58.
- ^ Whitcomb 2002, p. 86.
- ^ Pigott 1997, p. 55.
- ^ Peden 2003, p. 38.
- ^ Page et al. 2004, p. 15.
- ^ Belleau, Naomi. "Domestic Operations: Trinity's "Fiona" takes the plunge in search of Avro Arrow" (Archived 13 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine) Canadian Navy. Retrieved: 11 September 2010.
- ^ Whitcomb 2002, pp. 89–91.
- ^ Campagna 1998, p. 37.
- ^ Whitcomb 2002, pp. 109–110.
- ^ Campagna 1998, pp. 73–74.
- ^ Pigott 1997, p. 56.
- ^ Peden 2003, pp. 46–47.
- ^ Campagna 1998, p. 68.
- ^ Gainor 2001, p. 15.
- ^ "The Arrow Unveiled". Flight International. 11 October 1957. pp. 562–563. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
- ^ Page et al. 2004, p. 161.
- ^ Campagna 1998, pp. 86–87.
- ^ a b Pigott 1997, p. 57.
- ^ Campagna 1998, p. 84.
- ^ "Air & Space Smithsonian, Volume 13". Smithsonian Institution. 1998, p. 37.
- ^ a b Campagna 1998, p. 85.
- ^ a b c Campagna 1998, p. 87.
- ^ Waechter 2015, pp. 113–18.
- ^ Waechter 2015, p. 73.
- ^ Campagna 1998, p. 70.
- ^ Campagna 1998, p. 86.
- ^ "Avro Museum". Avro Museum of Canada via web.archive.org. Retrieved: 4 September 2010.
- ^ Page et al. 2004, p. 115.
- ^ Abzug and Larrabee, 2002, p. 316.
- ^ Story, Donald C. and Russel Isinger. "The origins of the cancellation of Canada's Avro CF-105 arrow fighter program: A failure of strategy". Journal of Strategic Studies, 30(6), December 2007.
- ^ Stewart 1988, p. 235.
- ^ Stewart, 1988, p. 238.
- ^ "NORAD at 40 Historical Overview". fas.org. Retrieved: 4 September 2010.
- ^ "Good Neighbours Make Good Fences: Canadian Continental Defence Planning and the 1954 Decision to fund the Mid-Canada Early Warning Line". Conference of Defence Associates Institute, April 2009.
- ^ Campagna 1998
- ^ "Canada-U.S. Defence Problems, File: DDE Trip to Canada, Memcons, 8–11 July 1958." Eisenhower Library.
- ^ Campagna 1998, p. 88.
- ^ Campagna 1998, p. 108.
- ^ "File 79/469 Folder 19." Directorate of History, Department of National Defence
- ^ defe7-1409e06_06
- ^ Whitcomb 2002, pp. 84 and 215–216.
- ^ "1951–1964". Central Office of Information for Ministry of Defence. Retrieved: 29 June 2012.
- ^ Slessor, Sir John. "British Defense Policy". Foreign Affairs, 35(4), July 1957.
- ^ Whitcomb 2002, p. 220.
- ^ Campagna 1998, pp. 110–111.
- ^ a b Stewart 1998, pp. 290–291.
- ^ Whitcomb 2002, pp. 80, 181–182.
- ^ Campagna 1998, pp. 109–110.
- ^ Smye 2014, p. 87.
- ^ Zuuring 1999, p. 112.
- ISBN 978-1-100-12396-7.
- ^ a b Hobson, Elton (25 March 2013). "55 years later, biggest question surrounding Avro Arrow remains "what if?"". Global News.
- ISBN 978-1-57607-345-2.
- ^ Gurney, Matt (10 September 2012). "Arrows didn't make sense then, and don't now". National Post.
- ISBN 978-0-88862-284-6.
- ^ Stewart 1998, p. 269; Peden 2003, p. 157; Harrison, Mark (23 February 1959). "Diefenbaker surrenders our sovereignty?". Toronto Daily Star. p. 1.
- ^ Peden 2003, p. 78.
- ^ Whitcomb 2002, p. 202.
- ^ Shaw 1979, p. 89.
- ^ Campagna 1998, p. 121.
- ^ Stewart 1998, pp. 274–276.
- ^ Andrew and Mitrokhin 2000, p. 219.
- ^ McNenly, Pat. "Avro Arrow". Toronto Star, 30 November 1968, p. 1.
- ^ a b Bliss. Michael. "Arrow That Doesn't Fly: The CBC's miniseries about the interceptor that wasn't, is good to look at but ungrounded in facts" (Archived 17 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine). Time, 27 January 1997. Retrieved: 28 March 2010.
- ^ a b French and Burgess 2007, p. 196.
- ^ "Tecwyn Roberts". llanddaniel.co.uk. Retrieved: 5 May 2011.
- ^ Pillinger, Colin. "Red, white and blue Moon". Times Higher Education, 16 July 2009. Retrieved: 5 May 2011.
- ^ Whitcomb 1999, pp. 251–259.
- ^ "Pattern of the Industry". Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology. 1960, 32(1).
- ^ Page et al. 2004, p. 13.
- ^ Stursberg 1975, p. 122.
- ^ "Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow 2" (Archived 10 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine). aviation.technomuses.ca. Retrieved: 24 September 2010.
- ^ Bothwell and Kilbourn 1979, p. 266.
- ^ The Western Canada Aviation Museum Magazine
- ^ Harris, Kathleen (10 September 2012), "Ottawa accused of axing Avro Arrow revival too soon", CBC News website, archived from the original on 11 February 2015, retrieved 11 October 2021
- ^ Chase, Steven (11 September 2012), "Ottawa shoots down plan to revive Avro Arrow fighter plane", The Globe and Mail website, archived from the original on 17 August 2021, retrieved 11 October 2021
- ^ Campion-Smith, Bruce (10 September 2012), "Avro Arrow takes flight again in dream plan for new air force fighter", Toronto Star website, archived from the original on 21 March 2018, retrieved 11 October 2021
- ISBN 0-7607-0592-5.
- ^ a b Floyd 1958
- ^ Campagna 2003, p. 175.
- ^ Valiquette 2010, p. 89.
- ^ Gainor, Chris. "Modern Arrows: Movie Replica" (Archived 6 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine). avroarrow.org. Retrieved: 11 September 2010
- ^ "Aviation". Reynolds Museum. Government of Alberta. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
- ^ "Master Plan – Avro Museum". www.avromuseum.com. Avro Museum, Calgary, Canada. 2014. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
- ^ "Arrow II Project" (Archived 26 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine). Avro Museum. Retrieved: 17 June 2012.
- ^ "Avro Museum – Annual Report – AVRO MUSEUM". Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- ^ "Our Collection and Displays" (Archived 1 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine). Canadian Air and Space Museum. Retrieved: 11 September 2010.
- ^ Thestar.com
- ^ CBC.ca; Global News online
- ^ Toronto Globe and Mail online
- ^ "Raise the Arrow". Canadian Owners and Pilots Association. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ "Long-lost Avro Arrow model found at bottom of Lake Ontario". Toronto Star. 8 September 2017.
- ^ "Sunken Avro Arrow model recovered from Lake Ontario". CBC News. 22 August 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ^ JBaldwin3, Derek Baldwin (23 January 2020). "More from Derek Baldwin: Mini Arrow model expedition resumes in Lake Ontario deeps off PEC". Belleville Intelligencer. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "After decades of failed searches, the 'holy grail' of Avro Arrow artifacts uncovered at the bottom of Lake Ontario". National Post. 8 October 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
He says the team is still trying to determine how to remove the piece, and are planning on reviewing their existing sonar images nearby. Now that they've found one piece, it becomes much easier to find the rest.
- ^ Shield, David. "Avro Arrow blueprints on display after sitting in Sask. man's home for decades". CBC News, 6 January 2020. Retrieved: 8 January 2020.
- ^ "Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow". NRC Digital Repository. 10 April 2023.
- ISBN 0-7603-1194-3.
- ^ a b Page et al. 2004, p. 116.
- ^ Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ Leversedge, T.F.J. "Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow RCAF Serial 25206 (Nose Section & Components)" (PDF). Canada Aviation and Space Museum. p. 31. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
- ^ Winnipeg Jets goaltender Bob Essensa had a helmet featuring the silhouette of the Avro Arrow as noted in the Jim Hynes and Gary Smith book on hockey mask history, Saving Face."The Avro Arrow: Canada's Broken Dream". shaw.ca, 2006. Retrieved: 25 September 2010.
- ^ "The Arrow: Awards". IMDb. Retrieved: 25 September 2010.
- ^ Gainor 2007, p. 208.
Bibliography
- Abzug, Malcolm J. and E. Eugene Larrabee. Airplane Stability and Control: A History of the Technologies that made Aviation Possible. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002. ISBN 978-0-521-80992-4.
- Anderson, John D. Jr. Fundamentals of Aerodynamics. New York: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering, Fifth Edition 2008, First Edition 1984. ISBN 1-4277-9659-9.
- Andrew, Christopher and Vasili Mitrokhin. The Mitrokhin Archive: The KGB in Europe and the West. Eastbourne, East Sussex, UK: Gardners Books, 2000. ISBN 0-14-028487-7.
- Bothwell, Robert and William Kilbourn. C.D. Howe: A Biography. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1979. ISBN 0-7710-4535-2.
- Campagna, Palmiro. Storms of Controversy: The Secret Avro Arrow Files Revealed. Toronto: Stoddart, third paperback edition, 1998. ISBN 0-7737-5990-5.
- Campagna, Palmiro. Requiem for a Giant: A.V. Roe Canada and the Avro Arrow. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2003. ISBN 1-55002-438-8.
- Dow, James. The Arrow. Toronto: James Lorimer and Company Publishers, 1979. ISBN 0-88862-282-1.
- Floyd, James. "The Canadian Approach to All-Weather Interceptor Development. The Fourteenth British Commonwealth Lecture." The Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, Volume 62, no. 576, December 1958.
- French, Francis and Colin Burgess. Into that Silent Sea: Trailblazers of the Space Era, 1961–1965 (Outward Odyssey: A People's History of Space). Lincoln Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-8032-1146-9.
- Gainor, Chris. Arrows to the Moon: Avro's Engineers and the Space Race. Burlington, Ontario: Apogee, 2001. ISBN 1-896522-83-1.
- Gainor, Chris. Who Killed the Avro Arrow? Edmonton: Folklore Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-1-894864-68-8.
- ISBN 0-933424-32-9.
- Isinger, Russell. "Flying Blind: The Politics of the Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow Programme." The Evolution of Air Power in Canada 1919 to the Present Day and Beyond. Winnipeg: Department of National Defence, Papers presented at the 2nd Air Force Historical Conference, volume II, 1997.
- Isinger, Russell. "The Avro Arrow." Canada: Confederation to Present. CD-ROM. Edmonton: Chinook Multimedia Inc., 2001. ISBN 1-894785-00-2.
- Isinger, Russell. "The Avro Arrow." The Oxford Companion to Canadian History. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2004. ISBN 0-19-541559-0.
- Isinger, Russell. The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow Programme: Decisions and Determinants. MA Thesis, University of Saskatchewan, 1997.
- Isinger, Russell and D.C. Story. "The Plane Truth: The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow Programme." In The Diefenbaker Legacy: Politics, Law, and Society Since 1957. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Centre, 1980. ISBN 0-88977-091-3.
- Lukasiewicz, Julius. "Canada's Encounter with High-Speed Aeronautics." Technology and Culture, the International Quarterly Journal of the Society for the History of Technology, Volume 27, No. 2, April 1986.
- Milberry, Larry, ed. Sixty Years: The RCAF and CF Air Command 1924–1984. Toronto: Canav Books, 1984. ISBN 0-9690703-4-9.
- Page, Ron, Richard Organ, Don Watson and Les Wilkinson (the "Arrowheads"). Avro Arrow: The Story of the Avro Arrow from its Evolution to its Extinction. Erin, Ontario: Boston Mills Press, 1979, reprinted Stoddart, 2004. ISBN 1-55046-047-1.
- Payne, Stephen. Canadian Wings: A Remarkable Century of Flight. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 2006. ISBN 978-1-55365-167-3.
- Peden, Murray. Fall of an Arrow. Toronto: Stoddart Publishing, 2003, First edition 1978. ISBN 0-7737-5105-X.
- Pigott, Peter. Flying Canucks II: Pioneers of Canadian Aviation. Toronto: Dundurn Press Ltd, 1997. ISBN 0-88882-193-X
- Shaw, E.K. There Never Was an Arrow. Toronto: Steel Rail Educational Publishing, 1979. ISBN 0-88791-025-4.
- Smye, Fred and Randy. Canadian Aviation and the Avro Arrow. Oakville, Ontario: Amazon/Kindle ebook, August 2014. ISBN 978-1-50054-599-4.
- Stewart, Greig. Arrow Through the Heart: The Life and Times of Crawford Gordon and the Avro Arrow. Toronto: McGraw-Hill-Ryerson, 1998. ISBN 0-07-560102-8.
- Stewart, Greig. Shutting Down the National Dream: A.V. Roe and the Tragedy of the Avro Arrow. Toronto: McGraw-Hill-Ryerson, 1991. ISBN 0-07-551119-3.
- Stursberg, Peter. Diefenbaker: Leadership Gained: 1956–62. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1975. ISBN 0-8020-2130-1.
- Supersonic Sentinel. Rare Avro Arrow film footage. Available from Arrow Digital Archives Archived 2 November 2011 at the Avro Jetliner(1950).
- Valiquette, Marc-Andre. Destruction of a Dream: The Tragedy of Avro Canada and the CF-105 Arrow, Volume 1. Montreal: Marc-Andre Valiquette (self-published), 2009. ISBN 978-2-9811239-0-9.
- Valiquette, Marc-Andre (2010). Supersonic Dreams: At the Dawn of a New Era. Vol. II. Montreal: Marc-Andre Valiquette (self-published). ISBN 978-2-9811021-3-3.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - Waechter, David. Flight Test: The Avro Arrow and a Career in Aeronautical Engineering. Kitchener: David Waechter (self-published), 2015. ISBN 978-0-9948065-0-5.
- Whitcomb, Randall. Avro Aircraft and Cold War Aviation. St. Catharine's, Ontario: Vanwell, 2002. ISBN 1-55125-082-9.
- Whitcomb, Randall. Cold War Tech War. The Politics of America's Air Defense. Burlington, Ontario: Apogee Books, 2008. ISBN 1-894959-77-9.
- Zuk, Bill. The Avro Arrow Story: The Impossible Dream. Calgary: Altitude Publishing, 2006. ISBN 1-55439-703-0.
- Zuk, Bill. The Avro Arrow Story: The Revolutionary Airplane and its Courageous Test Pilots. Calgary: Altitude Publishing, 2005. ISBN 1-55153-978-0.
- Zuk, Bill. Janusz Zurakowski: Legends in the Sky. St. Catharine's, Ontario: Vanwell, 2004. ISBN 1-55125-083-7.
- Zuuring, Peter. Arrow Countdown. Kingston, Ontario: Arrow Alliance Press, 2001. ISBN 1-55056-866-3.
- Zuuring, Peter. Arrow First Flight. Kingston, Ontario: Arrow Alliance Press, 2002. ISBN 1-55056-903-1.
- Zuuring, Peter. Arrow Rollout. Kingston, Ontario: Arrow Alliance Press, 2002. ISBN 1-55056-902-3.
- Zuuring, Peter. The Arrow Scrapbook. Kingston, Ontario: Arrow Alliance Press, 1999. ISBN 1-55056-690-3.
- Zuuring, Peter. Iroquois Rollout. Kingston, Ontario: Arrow Alliance Press, 2002. ISBN 1-55056-906-6.
Additional resources
- Library and Archives Canada is the official repository of most government documents relating to the Avro CF-105 Arrow project, though there are many documents at the Department of National Defence's Directorate of History and Heritage as well. Almost all Avro Arrow documents have now been declassified.
- There Never Was an Arrow was broadcast on the CBC in March 1980 (available as an extra on the Arrow Docu-Drama DVD). Clips from the program can be seen at CBC.
- Dunning, Brian (7 December 2021). "Skeptoid #809: The Avro Arrow Conspiracies". Skeptoid. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
External links
- Aerospace Heritage Foundation of Canada Archived 23 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- Arrow Digital Archives Archived 2 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- Avro Arrow Historica Minute
- Avro Arrow Home Page
- Canada Aviation and Space Museum, remains of the RL-206 Avro Arrow and other components on display Archived 10 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- Canadian Air and Space Museum, home of an Avro Arrow replica Archived 29 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- CBC Digital Archives: The Avro Arrow, Canada's Broken Dream
- "The Great Arrow Debate" editorial on canavbooks.com Archived 30 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- "ARROW – A World-leading Intercepter (sic) by Avro Aircraft" a 1957 Flight article by Bill Gunston
- Royal Canadian Air Force – Avro CF-105 Arrow Mk.1
- The Avro Arrow & her pilot J. Zurakowski
- A new hunt for Avro Arrow models in the depths of Lake Ontario: This time the search will be different By Alexandra Sienkiewicz, CBC News, Posted: 14 July 2017