Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow

History of the Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow

The Avro CF-105 "Arrow" was born out of Canada's homegrown aviation industry's efforts to counter the threat of new, high-flying, fast Soviet bombers during the Cold War. Both the United States and Canada have a responsibility to protect the vast airspace over North America, while attacks by Soviet forces in a total war would apparently come from anywhere in the Pacific, and could target critical warfighting infrastructure and production during open drills.

Thus, with the passage of time Over time, this threat spurred the development of several interceptor programs, including several later well-known American designs. Interceptors formed the backbone of air defense forces in the 1950s and 1960s, built around a complex avionics and weapons suite, sleek and aerodynamically refined, designed to reach speeds in excess of Mach 2.

Canadian Arrow was developed entirely by AV Roe (Avro) Canada Ltd, a subsidiary of the Hawker Siddeley Group. The Hawker Siddeley Group was established in 1934 and the pre-World War II period (1939-1945) led to the formation of Avro Canada in 1945.

During the design and development of Arrow, the company became one of the largest in the country, and its product was recognized as one of the most advanced aircraft in the world at the time - a real win for Canadian aviation.

The movement on the CF-105 is in stark contrast to the years of design, testing and development in the previous CF-100 project. In October 1957, the first "Arrow" to roll off the production line became the "RL-201" prototype, although when other development engines failed and the Iroquois was still being formalized, this Mk.1 airframe was equipped with Poorly performing Pratt & Whitney J75 engine. The official debut of the CF-105 was also intended to be a major public affair, but the successful launch of the Soviet Sputnik satellite took most of the attention away from the Canadian effort.

The delay then welcomed several proposed internal systems, which only added to the skyrocketing cost of the CF-105 program. The first flight took place on March 25, 1958, proving that the design was generally sound aerodynamically. Successive tests followed, during which the Mk.

1 officially broke the sound barrier on its third flight. It reached a top speed of Mach 1.98 at 50,000 feet. Four Mk. 1 models followed. During several months of testing, a major problem arose with the complex outrigger assembly of the main landing gear.

The design relies on two main gears mounted in series in a rather thin wing assembly, which requires the gears to rotate before fully penetrating the thin delta wing design - complicating the design and construction. After addressing several key issues, the five CF-105s were removed from AV Roe's internal testing program and handed over to official Canadian military trials scheduled to begin in 1959.

Despite promising results, the expensive CF-105 program is starting to come under fire from the newly elected Progressive Conservative government (after the outgoing Liberals), even though it has created thousands of jobs for Canadian industry . The new administration has formalized an agreement with the United States to share NORAD's capabilities in North America and serve as a dedicated air defense network to defend against Soviet attack. Ballistic missiles are now in vogue, and Soviet advances in space are beginning to minimize the threat from conventional bombers, which in turn reduces the usefulness of expensive interceptor programs like the CF-105.

At its core, the CF-105 is designed to intercept conventional bombers with fast response times and appropriate weaponry, and to counter non-target ballistic nuclear missiles launched from the ocean.

In August 1958, the formal call to cancel the CF-105 essentially marked the beginning of the end of the CF-105 dream. It was then officially cancelled on February 20, 1959, eliminating thousands of jobs that depended on the program.

In 1961, Canada again relied on the aircraft stability of its U.S. neighbors, procuring dozens of McDonnell F-101s to fill the gap (as CF-101s). The type was used in three RCAF interceptor squadrons, although interestingly it was initially rejected by the RCAF a few years ago.

Currently, only 5 Arrow prototypes have been completed (and the incomplete Mk.2, "RL-206"), and its cancellation is expected to affect a total of about 50,000 jobs - about 80% of Avro Canada - Canada The aviation industry has suffered decades of lasting damage. Data collected during its development was used for other future delta wing designs, so nothing was lost. However, all of the fuselage was scrapped and today there is little physical evidence of the arrowhead (one nose section of the prototype exists at the Canadian Air and Space Museum in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada).

During development, officials tried to sell their Arrow products to foreign Western powers, a move that failed, further hampering the plan's long-term impact. Hawker Siddeley finally ended the Avro Canada brand in 1962.

When completed (Mk. 1), the arrow was 77 feet 9 inches long, with a wingspan of 50 feet and a height of 21 feet 2 inches. The airframe has an empty weight of 49,000 pounds and a maximum takeoff weight of nearly 68,600 pounds. The installed Pratt & Whitney J75-)-3 turbojet provides up to 12,500 pounds of dry thrust and 23,500 pounds of afterburner.

Performance specifications include a maximum test speed of Mach 1.98, although it has been assumed that the aircraft will operate at speeds above Mach 2.0. Cruising will be done in the 600 mph range. The amount of internal fuel allows a combat radius of 410 miles.

The armament will revolve around up to 4 x AIR-2 Genie nuclear-tipped unguided rockets or up to 8 x AIM-4 Falcon or 3 x AIM-7 Sparrow II guided missiles (both missile projects were eventually cancelled as well). Tracking and engagement will be managed through the Hughes MX-1179 Fire Control System (FCS).

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