My “Canada 150” moment begins with the image of Canada’s own supersonic jet fighter – the Avro Arrow.
The delta-winged Arrow was the fastest in the world (Mach 3) at 70,000 feet; could go from standing at idle to almost Mach 1 in 4.5 seconds; used a world-first computerized flight control and weapon systems; could be completely refueled and re-armed for takeoff in less than six minutes; and had a projected range of 750 miles compared to the 350 miles of the Bormarc missiles that were to replace it…and that was 1958!
The Avro Arrow – Canadian Pride
As a kid, I created a special hook shot when playing basketball that saw me sinking soaring baskets from centre court. I called it the “Avro Arrow” shot. Such was the impact on my own little world.
Then it was gone! Black Friday, February 20, 1959: The high-tech Arrow program was cancelled along with the loss of 30,000 Canadian jobs; our entire jet aviation industry devastated; and a “brain drain” of our brightest engineers and scientists – lost to NASA.
Saying it wasn’t cost-effective – but not waiting two weeks for its worldwide marketing debut – the Arrows were literary cut into pieces… despite the National Post’s position that 65% of all funding was returned to the government in taxation.
The real miscalculation: “The cancellation of the Arrow program, and the replacement Bormarc Missile System, still failing in testing, Canada was left essentially defenseless…” – Avro Museum
Money was then wasted buying used US jets – the equivalent of 130 new Arrows. Penny wise and pound foolish?
“You take what you need
And you leave the rest/
But they should never
Have taken the very best”
~ The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down by The Band
Can it happen again with Canada’s commercial jet aviation industry?
American Boeing has filed a NAFTA free trade ‘America First’ complaint against its Canadian commercial jet rival, Bombardier; yet, wants to sell Canada new military jets. Should they have it both ways?
As Retired Major General Lewis MacKenzie proposed, let’s investigate a renewed Arrow program, saving 100’s of millions of dollars buying US jets, and re-invest it in our own economy.
A former employee said, “The real crime of the Avro Arrow cancellation lies not in the economic calamity it unleashed, nasty though that was. The lasting tragedy is that confidence and hope for the future were also demolished for so many of our residents on that Black Friday in 1959 – taken apart, like so many Arrows in a hangar.” Journalist June Callwood called it a “soul-theft.”
Death row – destruction of the five flying avro arrow aircraft. 1959
Quoting Sir John A. Macdonald – his statue being featured as part of the ‘Prime Ministers Path’ at Baden Ontario’s Castle Kilbride, “We are a great country, and shall become one of the greatest in the universe if we preserve it. We shall sink into insignificance and adversity if we suffer it to be broken.”
Maybe there’ll come a time when we won’t need weapons of war. We can only hope and pray – even as we search for peace. But another “Black Friday?” Oh, Canada!
Photo Credit
Canadian Pride – Wikimedia creative commons
Death row – insuaga.com
Guest Author Bio
Fred Parry
Fred Parry lives in Southern Ontario. He is a lover of people and a collector of stories, music, wisdom, and grandchildren. His newspaper column, Music in Me, can be found in ‘The New Hamburg Independent’ Metroland Media. His book, ‘The Music In Me’ (2013) Friesen Press is Available from Amazon and Indigo / Chapters.
Blog / Website: www.fredparry.ca
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