The Avro Arrow - There Never Was essays

The Avro Arrow - There Never Was essays It was supposed to be the biggest, fastest, and most powerful plane that the world, and especially Canada, had ever laid its eyes upon. It was in a class of its own, at least twenty years ahead of any other country technology-wise. It was to be the most technologically advanced supersonic jet fighter in the world, a combination of sheer brain and willpower of 14 000 world-class engineers and technicians. And yet, the Avro Arrow, which gave Canadians a sense of pride bigger than itself, was never meant to be. Formally named the CF-105, the Avro Arrow was a dream denied. The Arrow was built by A.V. Roe Canada to counterattack the air superiority of the Soviet bombers that would presumably carry nuclear warheads over North America. Ironically enough, the day it was unveiled, the public had its eye fixed on the launch of the first Sputnik, a product that would jumpstart the Soviet Unions space race. However, the Arrow didnt stay unnoticed for very long. It was soon the talk of th e town in various parts of the world. Unfortunately, the Avro Arrow didnt last very long. On February 20, 1959, John Diefenbaker, then the Prime Minister of Canada, stood up in the House of Commons and stated, The government of Canada has carefully examined and re-examined the probable need for the Arrow aircraft... The conclusion arrived at is that the development of the aircraft...should be terminated now (Campagna, Palmiro pg.54). This announcement came as a shock to everyone, and suddenly 14 000 very highly qualified engineers were left on the streets. The British, the French and the Americans wasted no time in grabbing these individuals, who later became instrumental in helping the Americans putting a man on the moon, as well as the development of the Anglo-French Concorde. Also, the Diefenbaker government immediately ordered the scrapping of the six existing aircraft and the 34 still in the production stage. Also, all rec...