CF-105 Arrow Structured Twill Cap

The Avro Canada CF 105 Arrow was a major Cold War interceptor program developed for the Royal Canadian Air Force. It aimed to counter long range Soviet bombers and first flew on March 25th, 1958 – only 13 years after the end of WW2. The aircraft used a large delta wing, twin engines and an internal weapons bay to support high speed interception at altitude. Early test flights showed strong performance. The Arrow reached close to Mach 1.98 in level flight and operated at about 53,000 feet with stable handling. These results confirmed that the airframe had the potential required for further development.

Avro produced five Mk 1 prototypes with the serials RL 201 to RL 205. They flew with Pratt and Whitney J75 engines. The planned Mk 2 version would have used the Canadian built Orenda Iroquois engine which produced about 30,000 pounds of thrust. Engineers expected the Mk 2 to exceed Mach 2 once the new engine entered service. The quoted dimensions of about 77 feet in length and a wingspan of 50 feet refer to the Mk 1 configuration, which was the basis for most published data.

The public rollout took place on October 4th, 1957. It received limited media attention because the launch of Sputnik 1 occurred on the same day. The program then faced rising costs and pressure from changing defence priorities. Many Western governments began investing more heavily in missile based air defence, and Canada reviewed its long term needs. Budget concerns and strategic shifts created growing uncertainty around the Arrow program.

On February 20th, 1959 the government cancelled the project and ordered all work to stop. Most prototypes, tooling and equipment were scrapped. A small number of components survived and now appear in museums and research collections. The cancellation ended a significant Canadian aerospace effort and led many skilled engineers to continue their careers in major aviation programs overseas.

References

1. Campagna, Palmiro. The Avro Arrow and Its Story. Dundurn Press, 2003.
2. Whitcomb, Randall. Avro Aircraft and Cold War Aviation. Vanwell, 2002.
3. National Museum of the RCAF overview: https://ingenium.ca/aviation/en/collection-highlight/avro-canada-cf-105-arrow
4. The Canadian Encyclopedia entry: https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/avro-arrow