Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow

(Avro Photo via Richard David Van Roi)
Avro CF-105 Arrow Mk. I (Serial No. 25201), coded RL.

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 RCAF's primary interceptor into the 1960s and beyond. The Arrow was the culmination of a series of design studies begun in 1953 that examined improved versions of the Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck. After considerable study, the RCAF selected a dramatically more powerful design, and serious development began in March 1955. The aircraft was intended to be built directly from the production line, skipping the traditional hand-built prototype phase. The first Arrow Mk. I, RL-201, was rolled out for public viewing on 4 October 1957, the same day as the launch of the Soviet Union's Sputnik I satellite.

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. Is were completed, RL-202 through -205. The lighter and more powerful Orenda Iroquois engine was soon ready for testing, and the first Mk. II with the Iroquois, RL-206, was ready for taxi testing in preparation for flight and acceptance tests by RCAF pilots by early 1959.

On 20 February 1959, the development of the Arrow (and its Iroquois engines) was abruptly halted before a planned project review had taken place. Canada tried to sell the Arrow to the US and Britain, but no agreements were concluded. Two months later, the assembly line, tooling, plans and 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 contentious topic. Wikipedia

Harold A Skaarup Web Page

Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow

Avro Arrow

Edenvale Heritage Foundation

Canada Air and Space Museum

Google Link to Arrow