How Canada's dream supersonic interceptor became a national nightmare

The Avro Arrow meant to be one of the most advanced aircraft of its era, dispatching the threat of Soviet nuclear bombers and making Canada a world leader in military aviation and engineering.

It was meant to be one of the most advanced aircraft of its era, dispatching the threat of Soviet nuclear bombers and making Canada a world leader in military aviation and engineering.

The Avro Arrow, also known as the CF-105, had a lot resting on its wings.

However, the dream turned into a nightmare when the program was cancelled less than a year after the plane’s first flight, and well before it entered into service.

To this day, 65 years later, the Avro Arrow remains one of Canada’s biggest collective regrets and still fuels public discourse, as recently unveiled documents have shed some light on exactly what happened to the doomed project.

“This aircraft was completely Canadian,” says Richard Mayne, chief historian of the Royal Canadian Air Force, “and the performance markers during its development very much showed that it was at least on par with the most advanced designs of the time.”

“When it got cancelled, that was one of Canada’s ’what if’ moments,” he adds. “The Arrow has still got a grip on our national psyche.”

The Avro Arrow was a direct response to the perceived threat from the Soviet Union, following the end of World War II, of bombers capable of flying over the Arctic and reaching North America with a nuclear payload.