On March 1958, the CF-105 Avro Arrow made its first test flight at Toronto International Airport, vaulting Canada into the front ranks of military aircraft design and manufacturing. Less than a year later, the
Diefenbaker government cancelled the Arrow program, and Avro Canada went from being one of Canada’s largest corporations to a bitter memory. All completed Arrows were destroyed, and the Arrow became a subject of
controversy that continues nearly 50 years later.
Chris Gainor, a Canadian expert in the field of aerospace technology, explores the reasons for the Arrow’s demise and questions surrounding the project:
• What role did the U.S. government play in the Arrow cancelling?
• Was the Avro Arrow canceled because it was too expensive?
• Did Prime Minister John Diefenbaker cancel the Arrow program for political reasons?
• Was the Avro Arrow’s design defective, as some critics have claimed?
• At a time when intercontinental ballistic missiles were becoming a threat, was the Avro Arrow still needed for Canada’s defence?
• What took the place of the Avro Arrow in Canada’s air defence?
• Did the Royal Canadian Air Force ask for too much when it commissioned Avro to build the Arrow?
• What was the impact of the Arrow cancellation on Canada’s economy?
• What about the destruction of completed Arrows once the program was cancelled?
These questions and more are answered in this riveting and insightful
study what some would term a dark time in Canadian history.