Avro CF-105 Arrow - RIP
I'm a little ashamed that I forgot about this anniversary.
On this day in 1959, the Avro Arrow project was cancelled by the Diefenbaker government.
It remains one of the saddest days in Canadian Aerospace history and the subject of much speculation, even after the better part of 50 yrs.
Both my grandfathers worked for Avro on the Arrow project, and they both managed to remain in the Aerospace industry, with my paternal grandfather working as a production supervisor for Garrett Manufacturing, and my maternal Grandfather eventually finding his way to deHavilland (now Bombardier) where he worked as a designer on a number of projects, including the Turbo Beaver, Dash 7, and the naval equivalent of the Arrow, the HMCS Bras d'Or (he designed the hull and superstructure)
I'll leave the speculations on the aftermath of the Arrow project to the conspiracy theorists, but it's still sad to know how we really let an amazing home-grown project get run over by politics and undue influence.
I'm looking forward to the replica flight if/when it happens...
1 comment:
What about the claims of a Soviet mole in the project? (Which is supposedly why one of the later MiG's looked an awful lot like the Arrow.)
Really interesting stuff. Good post.
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