Avro Canada
Encyclopedia
Commonly known as Avro Canada, this company started in 1945 as an aircraft plant and became within thirteen years the third-largest company in Canada, one of the largest 100 companies in the world, and directly employing over 50,000. It is best known as a Canadian
aircraft manufacturing company, in particular for the highly advanced CF-105 Arrow, but through growth and acquisition it rapidly become a major, integrated company with diverse holdings.
, Victory Aircraft
in Malton, Ontario
was Canada's largest aircraft manufacturer. Prior to 1939, as a part of National Steel Car Ltd. of Hamilton
, the concern had been one of a number of shadow factories set up in Canada to produce British aircraft designs in safety. National Steel Car had turned out Avro Anson
trainers, Handley Page Hampden
bombers, Hawker Hurricane
fighters and Westland Lysander
army cooperation aircraft. National Steel Car Corporation of Malton, Ontario was formed in 1938 and renamed Victory Aircraft Limited in 1942 when the Canadian government took over ownership and management of main plant. During the Second World War, Victory Aircraft built Avro
(UK) aircraft: 3,197 Anson
trainers, 430 Lancaster
bombers, six Lancastrian
, one Lincoln
bomber and one York
transport.
In 1945, the UK-based Hawker Siddeley Group purchased Victory Aircraft from the Canadian government, creating A.V. Roe Canada Ltd. as the wholly owned Canadian branch of its aircraft manufacturing subsidiary, UK-based A.V. Roe and Company. Avro Canada began operations in the former Victory plant. Avro Aircraft (Canada), their first (and, at the time, only) division, turned to the repair and servicing of a number of Second World War-era aircraft, including Hawker Sea Fury
fighters, North American B-25 Mitchell and Avro Lancaster
bombers. From the outset, the company invested in research and development and embarked on an ambitious design program with a jet engine and a jet-powered fighter and airliner on the drawing boards.
During the same period, with Crawford Gordon
as president, A.V. Roe Canada Ltd. purchased a number of companies, including Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation
, Canada Car and Foundry (1957), and Canadian Steel Improvement. By 1958, A. V. Roe Canada Ltd. was an industrial giant with over 50,000 employees in a far-flung empire of 44 companies involved in coal mining, steel making, railway rolling stock, aircraft and aero-engine manufacturing, as well as computers and electronics. In 1956 the companies generated 45% of the revenue of the Hawker Siddeley Group. In 1958, annual sales revenue was approximately $450 million, ranking A.V. Roe Canada as the third largest corporation in Canada by capitalization. By the time of the cancellation of the Arrow and Iroquois, aircraft-related production amounted to approximately 40% of the company's activities with 60% industrial and commercial.
In 1956, 500,000 shares were issued to the public at a total value of $8 million. By 1958, 48% of the shares of A.V. Roe Canada were publicly traded on the stock exchange. Although controlled and largely owned by UK-based Hawker Siddeley Group, all profits from A.V. Roe Canada Ltd. were retained within the company to fund development and growth. Management of the Canadian companies remained in Canadian hands.
In 1946, A.V. Roe Canada's next design, the Avro XC-100, Canada's first jet fighter, started at the end of the era of propeller-driven aircraft and the beginning of the jet age. Although the design of the large, jet-powered all-weather interceptor, renamed the CF-100 Canuck
, was largely complete by the next year, the factory was not tooled for production until late 1948 due to ongoing repair and maintenance contracts. The CF-100 would have a long gestation period before finally entering RCAF service in 1952, initially with the Mk 2 and Mk 3 variants. The CF-100 Canuck operated under NORAD to protect airspace from Soviet threats such as nuclear-armed bombers during all weather and day/night conditions. Although not designed for speeds over Mach 0.85, it was taken supersonic during a dive by test pilot Janusz Żurakowski
in December, 1952.
A small number of CF-100s served with the RCAF until 1981 in reconnaissance, training and electronic warfare (ECM) roles. In its lifetime, a total of 692 CF-100s of different variants, including 53 aircraft for the Belgian Air Force
, were produced.
Work was also underway on a jet-powered civilian short- to medium-range transport known as the C102 Jetliner
. It nearly became the first jet transport in the world when it first flew in August 1949, a mere 13 days following the first flight of the de Havilland Comet
. The Jetliner represented a new type of regional jet airliner that would not see comparable designs until the late 1950s. Despite an aggressive marketing campaign directed at U.S. airlines and the USAF, the sales prospects of the Jetliner floundered after the launch customer, Trans-Canada Airlines
, reneged on a letter of intent in 1948. The company was still attempting to get the CF-100 into production at the time and, consequently, the Canadian government cancelled any further work on the C102 due to Korean War
priorities: C. D. Howe
demanded the project be stopped to increase production of the CF-100, so the second C102 prototype was scrapped in the plant in 1951, with the first relegated to photographic duties in the Flight Test Department. After a lengthy career as a camera platform and company "hack," CF-EJD-X was broken up in 1956. The nose section now resides in the Canada Aviation Museum
in Ottawa.
In 1951, during production of the CF-100 Canuck, a design was explored for a revised version with swept wings and tail modifications. Known as the CF-103
, it offered transonic performance with supersonic abilities in a dive. However, the basic CF-100 continued to improve through this period, and the advantages of the new design were greatly eroded. It was considered an interim aircraft between the CF-100 and the more advanced C-104 project, and as such development did not progress beyond creation of a full-size wooden mock-up and separate cockpit. (ref)
In 1952, two versions of a design for a delta-wing fighter known as C104 were submitted to the RCAF: the single engine C104/4 and twin-engined C104/2. The designs were otherwise similar, using a low-mounted delta-wing; the primary advantages of the C104/2 were a larger overall size which offered a much larger internal weapons bay and gave twin-engine reliability. Subsequent discussions between the RCAF and Avro examined a wide range of alternatives for a supersonic interceptor, culminating in RCAF "Specification AIR 7-3" in April 1953. Avro's response became the CF-105.
into orbit, heralding the dawn of the space age and potentially the end of the Arrow's main target, the longe-range bomber. The design was a development of the C104, but with the delta wing raised to the top of the fuselage allowing for simplified structure, easier access to the engines and the weapons bay in the belly, as well as a weapons bay larger than that of the B-24 Liberator or Lancaster
bombers. The aircraft was very advanced, powerful, and broke numerous records. Many "firsts" were included, such as fly-by-wire technology, and simultaneous development of a new weapons fire control system and the advanced Orenda Iroquois engine. The weapons were stored in an interchangeable pod in the internal weapons bay, allowing for ease of re-arming and switching from missiles to other kinds of weapons. Only the Mark 1 model (with lower-powered American engines) flew, including one that reached Mach 1.98. A total of five Mark 1 aircraft were completed with several of the 29 Mark 2 models (with more powerful Iroquois engines) on the production line nearing completion. The sudden cancellation of the Arrow project by the Canadian government on 20 February 1959 led to a massive corporate downsizing and an attempt to further diversify. Many Avro Aircraft Ltd. engineers who remained were reassigned to marine, truck and automobile projects. Numerous engineering and technical staff left Avro Canada primarily to the United Kingdom and the United States in a rapid "brain drain
".
and Gemini
programs. The engine was to be the Iroquois Mk.3, which Orenda estimated would provide 40,000 lbs of wet thrust (with afterburner). Images of the design show revised engine intakes projecting out from the fuselage to swallow the supersonic shock wave to reduce drag and increase thrust. Also proposed was capability for "probe and drogue" aerial refuelling made possible by the Arrow's revolutionary flight stability systems.
(As the Mark 2 was expected to reach Mach 1.9 with the first Iroquois engine, but in fact reached this speed with its lower-powered engine, it was later expected that the Mk.2 would have reached Mach 2.5, and the Mk.3 Mach 3+, nearly ten years before the SR-71 Blackbird and MiG-25 Foxbat achieved this.)
. Performance requirements were for a range of 1,000 miles, Mach 3, and combat altitude of 60,000 feet. In September 1957 Avro's Project Studies PS-1 and PS-2 were released. PS-1 included addition of wingtip-mounted ramjets to supplement the main engines and a canard mounted above and behind the cockpit. PS-2 included wing extensions, an extended nose with retractable canard, two additional vertical stabilizers mounted on the wings, and four large ramjets. Estimated performance included sustained speeds of Mach 3 at 95,000 feet and vertical climb rate above 40,000 feet of Mach 2.5. The thrust-to-weight ratio would have been double the F-108 and over double the SR-71.
ramjets, without the canards and nose extension, and with a titanium skin instead of a heat shield. Performance was reduced to Mach 3 and maximum combat altitude of 80,000 feet.
"-like vehicles. The only design that materialized beyond mock-up was the VZ-9-AV Avrocar, funded entirely by the U.S. military from 1956.
* Project Y1: "the Spade"
Design reports from early 1952 outlined key features of a new gas turbine propelled engine and disc-shaped vehicle: an inner disc with central eye intake with an outer, counter-rotating disc, with rear-directed thrust nozzles, later refined to include controlling the aeroplane by thrust vectoring
and stabilizing the vehicle by having the large engine rotor act as a gyroscope. The aircraft was designed for vertical take-off and landing which was thought to be hazardous and required an electronic flight-stabilization system, then not-yet available. Financed largely by Avro, the Canadian government deemed these problems too expensive to finance beyond an initial funding of $400,000. A USAF-led delegation to Avro in December 1953 gave Avro the opportunity to discuss their projects, but Y-1 was not deemed worthy of financing.
* Project Y2
In mid-1954 Frost proposed "Project Y-2: Flat Vertical Take-Off Gyroplane" in response to requests by the US Air Force and US Navy for "vertical rising point-defense fighters". In late 1954 the USAF purchased the development rights to this saucer-shaped VTOL vehicle powered by more conventional engines than, and designed to avoid many of the problems with, the Y-1. The USAF designated it Project MX-1794 and studies of the Avro saucer designs Project Silver Bug. Through 1958, Avro spent $2.5 million and the USAF $5.4 million funding the project. Numerous models were constructed and wind-tunnel testing was undertaken at MIT and Wright Patterson Air Force Base (where Roswell UFO studies were reportedly undertaken).
The design included eight Armstrong Siddeley Viper turbojet engines, a very large centre rotor/impeller with Lundstrom compressor turbines, with the cockpit mounted in the top/centre. Control was achieved through eight small exhausts at the outer edge, directed either through the top or bottom, in addition to the main turbine exhaust through the bottom/centre of the craft. A multi-engine test rig was built and tested in 1956, resulting in powerful thrust and a great deal of noise, and vibration. One Special Projects Group member reported that the prototype was secretly removed by the US Navy for further testing in California.
Avro also decided to internally fund development of a radial-flow gas turbine engine vehicle, designated PV-704, which proposed no central impeller or exhaust, but rather a large spinning turbo-disc directing all thrust to the outer rim. Funding enabled continued development but was insufficient for a prototype.
In 1957 the USAF provided additional funding to extend the project, by then highly classified and designated as Weapon System 606A. The concept developed was for a circular-winged, supersonic aircraft. Over 1,000 hours of wind-tunnel testing were performed. Drawings developed by Avro show an aircraft that appears to be a merging of flying saucer with more conventional fuselage shapes, in other words a tail-less aircraft with circular wings (when viewed from above or below).
The Avrocar was proposed to the U.S. Army as a type of "flying Jeep" that could also serve as a proof-of-concept test vehicle for a later supersonic flying saucer designs, PV-704 and Weapon System 606A. Two Avrocars were built, one for wind-tunnel testing at NASA Ames and the other for flight testing. The designs were underpowered and only operated in a ground-cushion effect, much like a hovercraft
. When the Avrocar prototypes failed to perform at heights above three feet off the ground, the U.S. Army and USAF cancelled the project, in 1961.
Both Avrocars were on public display, one in Building 22 of the Smithsonian Paul E. Garber facility, the other at the U.S. Army Transportation Museum
, Ft. Eustis, Virginia. The latter Avrocar was dismantled and put into storage c. 2002, due to increasing deterioration (it was displayed outside, and the museum is very close to the ocean). The curator of the US Army Transportation Museum stated in 2008 that it would take between US$500,000 and US$600,000 to entirely restore it. Furthermore, because it is at a federal (military) installation, the work must be done by contractors, rather than volunteers. A grant of US$80,000 was received to begin restoration, however this amount was only enough to restore one piece approximately five ft by five ft.
proposals of the 1980s, with capability for in-flight refueling, and an expected speed of 6,000 mph (Mach 8.5+). Avro's computer capacities provided capability in developing theories and methods similar to modern 3-dimensional modeling of fluid dynamics. Avro envisioned a delta-shaped vehicle with downward winglets (similar to the TSR-2's), varying engine nacelle positions, titanium skin, and first flight of a research vehicle in 1962. It should be noted that many engineers involved in this and similar Avro designs were later heavily involved in NASA Projects Mercury Gemini, and Apollo.
Founded in 1944 as crown corporation Turbo Research Ltd., it was established to conduct research and cold-weather testing of jet engines for the RCAF during the Second World War. Initial studies were undertaken into centrifugal-flow engine design, which later were eclipsed by a new axial-flow design, the TR.4, later known as the Chinook
, the first Canadian-designed jet engine. In 1948, Turbo Resarch was sold to A.V. Roe Canada Ltd. and merged with its Gas Turbine Division. The Chinook was developed into the TR.5 Orenda
designed for the CF-100 Canuck, but was also installed in several variants of the Canadair Sabre. In 1954 Avro Canada was re-organized and the Gas Turbine Division became Orenda Engines Limited. To power the CF-105 Arrow supersonic interceptor, Orenda developed the PS.13 Iroquois engine between 1953 and 1954. The Iroquois program was cancelled, along with the Arrow, on 20 February 1959. The company continued building jet engines, under licence, for the RCAF
from Avro and Canadair Aircraft Ltd
in the 1960s. In 1962, it was transferred to Hawker Siddeley Canada
and continued as a major repair and overhaul business. In the 1980s Orenda was purchased by Magellan Aerospace
, which is now known as Magellan Repair, Overhaul & Industrial.
and DEVCO). Other subsidiaries included mining, engineering, shipping, rail car manufacturing, shipbuilding:
’s Special Products division to form SPAR Aerospace
Ltd. (Special Products and Applied Research), developer of the Canadarm remote manipulator system for the Space Shuttle
.
. Avro Aircraft was closed.
Hawker Siddeley Canada, at that time, among its diverse holdings, included major manufacturing units:
The former Avro aircraft factory in Malton was sold to de Havilland Canada
in the same year. This facility located on the north end of Toronto Pearson International Airport
(the village of Malton was incorporated into the City of Mississauga
in 1974), was subsequently owned and operated by several others:
By the late 1990s, Hawker Siddeley Canada had been diminished into a holding company after divesting itself of almost everything other than its pension fund.
DOSCO's assets were nationalized to become DEVCO
and SYSCO
. CC&F closed its operations and the plants demolished. CC&F's Thunder Bay plant, after several changes of ownership, is now part of Bombardier Transportation
.
Orenda Aerospace
, as part of the Magellan Aerospace Corporation, is the only remaining original company from the A.V. Roe empire, although greatly diminished in both the size and scope of its operations.
In mid-2005, with the completion of the last shipset of Boeing 717 wings, The Boeing Company discontinued its operations at the former Avro plant.
The Malton plant, which had comprised several very large buildings and hangar-like structures, was demolished in progressive stages from 2004 onwards. The approximate 113 acres (45.7 ha) of land that the plant resided on at the time of its closure was sold to the Greater Toronto Airports Authority
(owner of the Toronto Pearson International Airport) and the title was transferred after the property site had completed its environmental soil remediation.
Some of the brickwork of the site's historic main "C" assembly building, next to the high-bay doors that the Arrow, Jetliner, CF-100 and thousands of other aircraft and major assemblies emerged from, was retained by the Canadian Air and Space Museum
in Downsview, Toronto, for future use alongside a number of their Avro displays, which include a full scale replica of the CF-105 Arrow.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
aircraft manufacturing company, in particular for the highly advanced CF-105 Arrow, but through growth and acquisition it rapidly become a major, integrated company with diverse holdings.
Origins
During the Second World WarWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Victory Aircraft
Victory Aircraft
Victory Aircraft Limited was a Canadian manufacturing company that, during the Second World War, built mainly British-designed aircraft under license. It acted as a shadow factory, safe from the reach of German bombers....
in Malton, Ontario
Malton, Ontario
Malton is a neighbourhood in the northeastern part of the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, located to the northwest of Toronto. The neighbourhood has a population of approximately 36,400 as of 2002....
was Canada's largest aircraft manufacturer. Prior to 1939, as a part of National Steel Car Ltd. of Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, the concern had been one of a number of shadow factories set up in Canada to produce British aircraft designs in safety. National Steel Car had turned out Avro Anson
Avro Anson
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and numerous other air forces prior to, during, and after the Second World War. Named for British Admiral George Anson, it was originally designed for maritime reconnaissance, but was...
trainers, Handley Page Hampden
Handley Page Hampden
The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden was a British twin-engine medium bomber of the Royal Air Force serving in the Second World War. With the Whitley and Wellington, the Hampden bore the brunt of the early bombing war over Europe, taking part in the first night raid on Berlin and the first 1,000-plane...
bombers, Hawker Hurricane
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
fighters and Westland Lysander
Westland Lysander
The Westland Lysander was a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft used immediately before and during the Second World War...
army cooperation aircraft. National Steel Car Corporation of Malton, Ontario was formed in 1938 and renamed Victory Aircraft Limited in 1942 when the Canadian government took over ownership and management of main plant. During the Second World War, Victory Aircraft built Avro
Avro
Avro was a British aircraft manufacturer, with numerous landmark designs such as the Avro 504 trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the delta wing Avro Vulcan, a stalwart of the Cold War.-Early history:One of the world's...
(UK) aircraft: 3,197 Anson
Avro Anson
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and numerous other air forces prior to, during, and after the Second World War. Named for British Admiral George Anson, it was originally designed for maritime reconnaissance, but was...
trainers, 430 Lancaster
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
bombers, six Lancastrian
Avro Lancastrian
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Franks, Richard A. The Avro Lancaster, Manchester and Lincoln: A Comprehensive Guide for the Modeller. London: SAM Publications, 2000. ISBN 0-9533465-3-6....
, one Lincoln
Avro Lincoln
The Avro Type 694, better known as the Avro Lincoln, was a British four-engined heavy bomber, which first flew on 9 June 1944. Developed from the Avro Lancaster, the first Lincoln variants were known initially as the Lancaster IV and V, but were renamed Lincoln I and II...
bomber and one York
Avro York
The Avro York was a British transport aircraft that was derived from the Second World War Lancaster heavy bomber, and used in both military and airliner roles between 1943 and 1964.-Design and development:...
transport.
Avro Canada
In 1944, an Advisory Committee on Aircraft Manufacture was established by the Canadian government, the Canadian Director of Aircraft Production wrote to Minister of Munitions and Supply C.D. Howe in 1944 to express the "utmost importance to Canada" of the establishment of a Canadian aircraft industry, and UK-based Avro also established in 1944 a company searching for post-war opportunities. Bob Leckie of the RCAF was a strong advocate for years for an industry to design and build aircraft in Canada yet the Department of National Defense, according to Avro's Roy Dobson, gave "a cold reception" to doing more than building under licence. Howe, as Minister of Reconstruction and Minister of Munitions and Supply (later Reconstruction and Supply), brokered the deal with the Hawker Siddeley Group to take over the Victory Aircraft plant in 1945 with Frederick T. Smye hired by HSG's Roy Dobson as its first employee. Smye, born in Hamilton, Ontario, had risen through the ranks of the government's departments overseeing wartime aircraft production, to Assistant General Manager of Federal Aircraft Limited, the Crown Corporation managing production of the Avro Anson at the National Steel Car/Victory Aircraft plant.In 1945, the UK-based Hawker Siddeley Group purchased Victory Aircraft from the Canadian government, creating A.V. Roe Canada Ltd. as the wholly owned Canadian branch of its aircraft manufacturing subsidiary, UK-based A.V. Roe and Company. Avro Canada began operations in the former Victory plant. Avro Aircraft (Canada), their first (and, at the time, only) division, turned to the repair and servicing of a number of Second World War-era aircraft, including Hawker Sea Fury
Hawker Sea Fury
The Hawker Sea Fury was a British fighter aircraft developed for the Royal Navy by Hawker during the Second World War. The last propeller-driven fighter to serve with the Royal Navy, it was also one of the fastest production single piston-engined aircraft ever built.-Origins:The Hawker Fury was an...
fighters, North American B-25 Mitchell and Avro Lancaster
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
bombers. From the outset, the company invested in research and development and embarked on an ambitious design program with a jet engine and a jet-powered fighter and airliner on the drawing boards.
Expansion and Diversification
A.V. Roe Canada Ltd. was restructured in 1954 as a holding company with two aviation subsidiaries: Avro Aircraft Ltd. and Orenda Engines Ltd., which began operating under these names on 1 January 1955. Each companies' facilities were each were located across from each other in a complex at the perimeter of Malton Airport. The total labour force of both aviation companies reached 15,000 in 1958.During the same period, with Crawford Gordon
Crawford Gordon
Crawford Gordon Jr. was a leader of wartime defense production in Canada under Minister of Munitions and Supply C.D. Howe during the Second World War. He was perhaps one of the greatest industrialists and business minds in Canadian history.-Early years:Gordon was born in Winnipeg in 1914. He was...
as president, A.V. Roe Canada Ltd. purchased a number of companies, including Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation
Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation
The Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation was a Canadian coal mining and steel manufacturing company.Incorporated in 1928 and operational in 1930, DOSCO was predated by the British Empire Steel Corporation which was a merger of the Dominion Coal Company, the Dominion Iron and Steel Company and the...
, Canada Car and Foundry (1957), and Canadian Steel Improvement. By 1958, A. V. Roe Canada Ltd. was an industrial giant with over 50,000 employees in a far-flung empire of 44 companies involved in coal mining, steel making, railway rolling stock, aircraft and aero-engine manufacturing, as well as computers and electronics. In 1956 the companies generated 45% of the revenue of the Hawker Siddeley Group. In 1958, annual sales revenue was approximately $450 million, ranking A.V. Roe Canada as the third largest corporation in Canada by capitalization. By the time of the cancellation of the Arrow and Iroquois, aircraft-related production amounted to approximately 40% of the company's activities with 60% industrial and commercial.
In 1956, 500,000 shares were issued to the public at a total value of $8 million. By 1958, 48% of the shares of A.V. Roe Canada were publicly traded on the stock exchange. Although controlled and largely owned by UK-based Hawker Siddeley Group, all profits from A.V. Roe Canada Ltd. were retained within the company to fund development and growth. Management of the Canadian companies remained in Canadian hands.
Management Team
- Fred Smye served as director of Canadian Aircraft Production during the Second World War, in 1944 joined Federal Aircraft Limited in Montreal (later Victory Aircraft). When Hawker Siddeley purchased Victory Aircraft in 1945, Smye became the first employee of A.V. Roe Canada Limited and later that year he became assistant general manager of Avro Aircraft Limited. He later served as president of Canadian Applied Research Limited and Canadian Steel Improvement Limited.
- Crawford Gordon Jr.Crawford GordonCrawford Gordon Jr. was a leader of wartime defense production in Canada under Minister of Munitions and Supply C.D. Howe during the Second World War. He was perhaps one of the greatest industrialists and business minds in Canadian history.-Early years:Gordon was born in Winnipeg in 1914. He was...
left the Department of Defense Production in 1951 to take over as President and General Manager of A. V. Roe Canada to assist with problems in development and production of the Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck. Gordon oversaw Avro Canada's restructuring and expansion during the 1950s into the third largest corporation in Canada.
CF-100 Canuck
In 1946, A.V. Roe Canada's next design, the Avro XC-100, Canada's first jet fighter, started at the end of the era of propeller-driven aircraft and the beginning of the jet age. Although the design of the large, jet-powered all-weather interceptor, renamed the CF-100 Canuck
Avro CF-100
The Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck was a Canadian jet interceptor/fighter serving during the Cold War both in NATO bases in Europe and as part of NORAD. The CF-100 was the only Canadian-designed fighter to enter mass production, serving primarily with the RCAF/CAF and in small numbers in Belgium...
, was largely complete by the next year, the factory was not tooled for production until late 1948 due to ongoing repair and maintenance contracts. The CF-100 would have a long gestation period before finally entering RCAF service in 1952, initially with the Mk 2 and Mk 3 variants. The CF-100 Canuck operated under NORAD to protect airspace from Soviet threats such as nuclear-armed bombers during all weather and day/night conditions. Although not designed for speeds over Mach 0.85, it was taken supersonic during a dive by test pilot Janusz Żurakowski
Janusz Zurakowski
Janusz Żurakowski was a renowned Polish fighter and test pilot, who, at various times, lived and worked in Poland, the United Kingdom, and Canada.-Early life:...
in December, 1952.
A small number of CF-100s served with the RCAF until 1981 in reconnaissance, training and electronic warfare (ECM) roles. In its lifetime, a total of 692 CF-100s of different variants, including 53 aircraft for the Belgian Air Force
Belgian Air Force
The Air Component, formerly the Belgian Air Force, is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces. Originally founded in 1909, it is one of the world's first air forces, and was a pioneer in aerial combat during the First World War...
, were produced.
C102 Jetliner
Work was also underway on a jet-powered civilian short- to medium-range transport known as the C102 Jetliner
Avro Jetliner
The Avro C102 Jetliner was a Canadian prototype medium-range jet airliner built by Avro Canada in 1949. It was beaten into the air by only 13 days by the de Havilland Comet, thereby becoming the second jet airliner in the world, yet the name "Jetliner" was more catchy and for many years all such...
. It nearly became the first jet transport in the world when it first flew in August 1949, a mere 13 days following the first flight of the de Havilland Comet
De Havilland Comet
The de Havilland DH 106 Comet was the world's first commercial jet airliner to reach production. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland at the Hatfield, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom headquarters, it first flew in 1949 and was a landmark in aeronautical design...
. The Jetliner represented a new type of regional jet airliner that would not see comparable designs until the late 1950s. Despite an aggressive marketing campaign directed at U.S. airlines and the USAF, the sales prospects of the Jetliner floundered after the launch customer, Trans-Canada Airlines
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and largest airline of Canada. The airline, founded in 1936, provides scheduled and charter air transport for passengers and cargo to 178 destinations worldwide. It is the world's tenth largest passenger airline by number of destinations, and the airline is a...
, reneged on a letter of intent in 1948. The company was still attempting to get the CF-100 into production at the time and, consequently, the Canadian government cancelled any further work on the C102 due to Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
priorities: C. D. Howe
C. D. Howe
Clarence Decatur Howe, PC , generally known as C. D. Howe, was a powerful Canadian Cabinet minister of the Liberal Party. Howe served in the governments of Prime Ministers William Lyon Mackenzie King and Louis St. Laurent continuously from 1935 to 1957...
demanded the project be stopped to increase production of the CF-100, so the second C102 prototype was scrapped in the plant in 1951, with the first relegated to photographic duties in the Flight Test Department. After a lengthy career as a camera platform and company "hack," CF-EJD-X was broken up in 1956. The nose section now resides in the Canada Aviation Museum
Canada Aviation Museum
The Canada Aviation and Space Museum is Canada's national aviation history museum. The museum is located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, at the Ottawa/Rockcliffe Airport...
in Ottawa.
CF-103
In 1951, during production of the CF-100 Canuck, a design was explored for a revised version with swept wings and tail modifications. Known as the CF-103
Avro Canada CF-103
|-See also:-References:NotesCitationsBibliography* Campagna, Palmiro. Requiem for a Giant: A.V. Roe Canada and the Avro Arrow. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2003. ISBN 1-5500-2438-8....
, it offered transonic performance with supersonic abilities in a dive. However, the basic CF-100 continued to improve through this period, and the advantages of the new design were greatly eroded. It was considered an interim aircraft between the CF-100 and the more advanced C-104 project, and as such development did not progress beyond creation of a full-size wooden mock-up and separate cockpit. (ref)
C104 Advanced Fighter
By 1950 several design proposals for a supersonic interceptor were explored which included versions with swept wings, a tail-less delta wing (similar to the Saab Viggen), side-body engine intakes, in-nose engine intakes (similar to the Mig-21), turbine engines and rocket engines, and combinations of several.In 1952, two versions of a design for a delta-wing fighter known as C104 were submitted to the RCAF: the single engine C104/4 and twin-engined C104/2. The designs were otherwise similar, using a low-mounted delta-wing; the primary advantages of the C104/2 were a larger overall size which offered a much larger internal weapons bay and gave twin-engine reliability. Subsequent discussions between the RCAF and Avro examined a wide range of alternatives for a supersonic interceptor, culminating in RCAF "Specification AIR 7-3" in April 1953. Avro's response became the CF-105.
CF-105 Arrow Mk.1 and Mk.2
The need for a newer and much more powerful interceptor aircraft was clear even before the CF-100 entered service. The CF-105 Arrow was rolled out on October 4, 1957, coincidentally the very same day the USSR launched Sputnik 1Sputnik 1
Sputnik 1 ) was the first artificial satellite to be put into Earth's orbit. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957. The unanticipated announcement of Sputnik 1s success precipitated the Sputnik crisis in the United States and ignited the Space...
into orbit, heralding the dawn of the space age and potentially the end of the Arrow's main target, the longe-range bomber. The design was a development of the C104, but with the delta wing raised to the top of the fuselage allowing for simplified structure, easier access to the engines and the weapons bay in the belly, as well as a weapons bay larger than that of the B-24 Liberator or Lancaster
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
bombers. The aircraft was very advanced, powerful, and broke numerous records. Many "firsts" were included, such as fly-by-wire technology, and simultaneous development of a new weapons fire control system and the advanced Orenda Iroquois engine. The weapons were stored in an interchangeable pod in the internal weapons bay, allowing for ease of re-arming and switching from missiles to other kinds of weapons. Only the Mark 1 model (with lower-powered American engines) flew, including one that reached Mach 1.98. A total of five Mark 1 aircraft were completed with several of the 29 Mark 2 models (with more powerful Iroquois engines) on the production line nearing completion. The sudden cancellation of the Arrow project by the Canadian government on 20 February 1959 led to a massive corporate downsizing and an attempt to further diversify. Many Avro Aircraft Ltd. engineers who remained were reassigned to marine, truck and automobile projects. Numerous engineering and technical staff left Avro Canada primarily to the United Kingdom and the United States in a rapid "brain drain
Brain drain
Human capital flight, more commonly referred to as "brain drain", is the large-scale emigration of a large group of individuals with technical skills or knowledge. The reasons usually include two aspects which respectively come from countries and individuals...
".
Avro Aircraft Experimental Designs
Additional developments of the Arrow were explored by Avro's Project Research Group under the leadership of Mario Pesando.Arrow Mk.3
Even before the Arrow first flew, Avro was designing a future version, the Mark 3. Originally designed for Mach 2.5, later revised to an estimated Mach 3 with a combat ceiling of 70,500 feet, it carried more fuel, weighed over 25% more than the Mk.2, and made greater use of CNC machining and high-temperature aluminum alloys. It was nearly ten years before the SR-71 Blackbird and MiG-25 Foxbat achieved this speed. Also proposed was a heat shield forming an ablative insulation made from carbon fibre or fiberglass in a honeycomb matrix, later used on NASA's MercuryProject Mercury
In January 1960 NASA awarded Western Electric Company a contract for the Mercury tracking network. The value of the contract was over $33 million. Also in January, McDonnell delivered the first production-type Mercury spacecraft, less than a year after award of the formal contract. On February 12,...
and Gemini
Project Gemini
Project Gemini was the second human spaceflight program of NASA, the civilian space agency of the United States government. Project Gemini was conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, with ten manned flights occurring in 1965 and 1966....
programs. The engine was to be the Iroquois Mk.3, which Orenda estimated would provide 40,000 lbs of wet thrust (with afterburner). Images of the design show revised engine intakes projecting out from the fuselage to swallow the supersonic shock wave to reduce drag and increase thrust. Also proposed was capability for "probe and drogue" aerial refuelling made possible by the Arrow's revolutionary flight stability systems.
(As the Mark 2 was expected to reach Mach 1.9 with the first Iroquois engine, but in fact reached this speed with its lower-powered engine, it was later expected that the Mk.2 would have reached Mach 2.5, and the Mk.3 Mach 3+, nearly ten years before the SR-71 Blackbird and MiG-25 Foxbat achieved this.)
Long Range Arrow
In early 1957 studies began on how the Arrow Mk.2 might be developed into a "Long Range Arrow" to meet the requirements for the USAF's Long Range Interceptor Experimental (LRIX) program. This was thought to be suitable as under the terms of various agreements, statements, and promises to Allied and in particular Commonwealth nations, the US would buy weapons from an ally if they were the best available and the Arrow seemed to fit this description. Shortly in advance of the USAF visiting Avro in 1955 to review the Arrow's development, a contract was granted to North American Aviation for design studies for the LRIX, designated the XF-108 RapierXF-108 Rapier
The North American XF-108 Rapier was a proposed long-range, high-speed interceptor aircraft designed by North American Aviation. Initiated to defend the United States from supersonic Soviet bombers, the program, initially called NA-257, was cancelled in 1959 due to a shortage of funds and the...
. Performance requirements were for a range of 1,000 miles, Mach 3, and combat altitude of 60,000 feet. In September 1957 Avro's Project Studies PS-1 and PS-2 were released. PS-1 included addition of wingtip-mounted ramjets to supplement the main engines and a canard mounted above and behind the cockpit. PS-2 included wing extensions, an extended nose with retractable canard, two additional vertical stabilizers mounted on the wings, and four large ramjets. Estimated performance included sustained speeds of Mach 3 at 95,000 feet and vertical climb rate above 40,000 feet of Mach 2.5. The thrust-to-weight ratio would have been double the F-108 and over double the SR-71.
Arrow Mk.4
At the request of USAF Chief Scientist, a less radical modification of the Arrow than the PS-2 was pursued which became the Mark 4. The revised intakes of the Mark 3 were retained, but with smaller Curtiss-WrightCurtiss-Wright
The Curtiss-Wright Corporation was the largest aircraft manufacturer in the United States at the end of World War II, but has evolved to largely become a component manufacturer, specializing in actuators, aircraft controls, valves, and metalworking....
ramjets, without the canards and nose extension, and with a titanium skin instead of a heat shield. Performance was reduced to Mach 3 and maximum combat altitude of 80,000 feet.
Supersonic Avrodynes
In 1952, Avro Chief Designer John Frost selected a group of eight engineers and draftsmen to create the Avro Special Projects Group. In its intense exploration of radical aeronautical design ideas and development of new technology, as well as security, the SPG resembled Lockheed's "Skunk Works". Initial projects included research and development work on a series of "flying saucerFlying saucer
A flying saucer is a type of unidentified flying object sometimes believed to be of alien origin with a disc or saucer-shaped body, usually described as silver or metallic, occasionally reported as covered with running lights or surrounded with a glowing light, hovering or moving rapidly either...
"-like vehicles. The only design that materialized beyond mock-up was the VZ-9-AV Avrocar, funded entirely by the U.S. military from 1956.
* Project Y1: "the Spade"
Thrust vectoring
Thrust vectoring, also thrust vector control or TVC, is the ability of an aircraft, rocket or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine or motor in order to control the attitude or angular velocity of the vehicle....
and stabilizing the vehicle by having the large engine rotor act as a gyroscope. The aircraft was designed for vertical take-off and landing which was thought to be hazardous and required an electronic flight-stabilization system, then not-yet available. Financed largely by Avro, the Canadian government deemed these problems too expensive to finance beyond an initial funding of $400,000. A USAF-led delegation to Avro in December 1953 gave Avro the opportunity to discuss their projects, but Y-1 was not deemed worthy of financing.
* Project Y2
In mid-1954 Frost proposed "Project Y-2: Flat Vertical Take-Off Gyroplane" in response to requests by the US Air Force and US Navy for "vertical rising point-defense fighters". In late 1954 the USAF purchased the development rights to this saucer-shaped VTOL vehicle powered by more conventional engines than, and designed to avoid many of the problems with, the Y-1. The USAF designated it Project MX-1794 and studies of the Avro saucer designs Project Silver Bug. Through 1958, Avro spent $2.5 million and the USAF $5.4 million funding the project. Numerous models were constructed and wind-tunnel testing was undertaken at MIT and Wright Patterson Air Force Base (where Roswell UFO studies were reportedly undertaken).
The design included eight Armstrong Siddeley Viper turbojet engines, a very large centre rotor/impeller with Lundstrom compressor turbines, with the cockpit mounted in the top/centre. Control was achieved through eight small exhausts at the outer edge, directed either through the top or bottom, in addition to the main turbine exhaust through the bottom/centre of the craft. A multi-engine test rig was built and tested in 1956, resulting in powerful thrust and a great deal of noise, and vibration. One Special Projects Group member reported that the prototype was secretly removed by the US Navy for further testing in California.
Avro also decided to internally fund development of a radial-flow gas turbine engine vehicle, designated PV-704, which proposed no central impeller or exhaust, but rather a large spinning turbo-disc directing all thrust to the outer rim. Funding enabled continued development but was insufficient for a prototype.
In 1957 the USAF provided additional funding to extend the project, by then highly classified and designated as Weapon System 606A. The concept developed was for a circular-winged, supersonic aircraft. Over 1,000 hours of wind-tunnel testing were performed. Drawings developed by Avro show an aircraft that appears to be a merging of flying saucer with more conventional fuselage shapes, in other words a tail-less aircraft with circular wings (when viewed from above or below).
Avrocar
Hovercraft
A hovercraft is a craft capable of traveling over surfaces while supported by a cushion of slow moving, high-pressure air which is ejected against the surface below and contained within a "skirt." Although supported by air, a hovercraft is not considered an aircraft.Hovercraft are used throughout...
. When the Avrocar prototypes failed to perform at heights above three feet off the ground, the U.S. Army and USAF cancelled the project, in 1961.
Both Avrocars were on public display, one in Building 22 of the Smithsonian Paul E. Garber facility, the other at the U.S. Army Transportation Museum
U.S. Army Transportation Museum
The U.S. Army Transportation Museum is a United States Army museum of vehicles and other transportation-related equipment and memorabilia. It is located on the grounds of Fort Eustis, Virginia, in Newport News, on the Virginia Peninsula.-History:...
, Ft. Eustis, Virginia. The latter Avrocar was dismantled and put into storage c. 2002, due to increasing deterioration (it was displayed outside, and the museum is very close to the ocean). The curator of the US Army Transportation Museum stated in 2008 that it would take between US$500,000 and US$600,000 to entirely restore it. Furthermore, because it is at a federal (military) installation, the work must be done by contractors, rather than volunteers. A grant of US$80,000 was received to begin restoration, however this amount was only enough to restore one piece approximately five ft by five ft.
Space Threshold Vehicle
Developed by the Advanced Projects Group, a June 1958 report by Avro's Engineering Department described a Space Threshold Vehicle intended to "get a man into the threshold of space and recover him, flying back through the corridor", where winged flight was possible between maximum altitude that could sustain lift from a winged vehicle and maximum tolerable structural temperature. This was estimated to be an altitude of between 150,000 and 200,000 feet. The STV would be single-stage-to-orbit aircraft, similar to Lockheed's X-30 and the UK's HOTOLHOTOL
HOTOL, for Horizontal Take-Off and Landing, was a British air-breathing space shuttle effort by Rolls Royce and British Aerospace.Designed as a single-stage-to-orbit reusable winged launch vehicle, it was to be fitted with a unique air-breathing engine, the RB545 called the Swallow, to be...
proposals of the 1980s, with capability for in-flight refueling, and an expected speed of 6,000 mph (Mach 8.5+). Avro's computer capacities provided capability in developing theories and methods similar to modern 3-dimensional modeling of fluid dynamics. Avro envisioned a delta-shaped vehicle with downward winglets (similar to the TSR-2's), varying engine nacelle positions, titanium skin, and first flight of a research vehicle in 1962. It should be noted that many engineers involved in this and similar Avro designs were later heavily involved in NASA Projects Mercury Gemini, and Apollo.
Avroskimmer
This group of vehicle designs were variations on what later became known as hovercrafts.- Avrocruisier
- Avrowagon
- Avrofliver
- Avro P470 Mobile Ground Effect Vehicle
Other Designs
- XA-20 and XA-92 Bobcats, similar to designs for later armoured tracked vehicles.
- Turbine-powered trucks, monorail transit.
- Orenda OT-4 turbine powered White 7000 transport truck with Allison engine.
- Orenda OT-4 turbine powered M-84 Patton tank. The American M1 AbramsM1 AbramsThe M1 Abrams is a third-generation main battle tank produced in the United States. It is named after General Creighton Abrams, former Army Chief of Staff and Commander of US military forces in Vietnam from 1968 to 1972. The M1 is a well armed, heavily armored, and highly mobile tank designed for...
would be the first main battle tankMain battle tankA main battle tank , also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the heavy direct fire role of many modern armies. They were originally conceived to replace the light, medium, heavy and super-heavy tanks. Development was spurred onwards in the Cold War with the development...
in production with turbine engines, in 1980. - Hydrofoil Warships: When the Arrow and related programs were terminated, twelve key engineers from this team departed for deHavilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. to work on what become HMCS Bras d'OrHMCS Bras d'OrHMCS Bras d'Or is a name used by the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Forces MARCOM for several ships, named after Bras d'Or Lake, prototype hydrofoil , experimental hydrofoil , auxiliary minesweeper See also...
, possibly the world's fastest warship to present day (2011).
Orenda Engines
Avro Canada Chinook
The Avro Canada TR.4 Chinook was Canada's first turbojet engine, designed by Turbo Research and manufactured by A.V. Roe Canada Ltd. Named for the warm Chinook wind that blows in the Rocky Mountains, only three Chinooks were built and none were used operationally...
, the first Canadian-designed jet engine. In 1948, Turbo Resarch was sold to A.V. Roe Canada Ltd. and merged with its Gas Turbine Division. The Chinook was developed into the TR.5 Orenda
Avro Canada Orenda
The Avro Canada TR.5 Orenda was the first production jet engine from Avro Canada's Gas Turbine Division. Similar to other early jet engines in design, like the Rolls-Royce Avon or General Electric J47, the Orenda nevertheless outperformed its rivals in most ways, and the Orenda-powered Canadair...
designed for the CF-100 Canuck, but was also installed in several variants of the Canadair Sabre. In 1954 Avro Canada was re-organized and the Gas Turbine Division became Orenda Engines Limited. To power the CF-105 Arrow supersonic interceptor, Orenda developed the PS.13 Iroquois engine between 1953 and 1954. The Iroquois program was cancelled, along with the Arrow, on 20 February 1959. The company continued building jet engines, under licence, for the RCAF
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
from Avro and Canadair Aircraft Ltd
Canadair
Canadair Ltd. was a civil and military aircraft manufacturer in Canada. It was a subsidiary of other aircraft manufacturers, then a nationalized corporation until privatized in 1986, and became the core of Bombardier Aerospace....
in the 1960s. In 1962, it was transferred to Hawker Siddeley Canada
Hawker Siddeley Canada
Hawker Siddeley Canada was the Canadian unit of the Hawker Siddeley Group of the United Kingdom and manufactured railcars, subway cars, streetcars, aircraft engines and ships from the 1960s to 1980s.-History:...
and continued as a major repair and overhaul business. In the 1980s Orenda was purchased by Magellan Aerospace
Magellan Aerospace
Magellan Aerospace Corporation is a Canadian manufacturer of aerospace systems and components. Magellan also repairs and overhauls, tests, and provides aftermarket support services for engines, and engine structural components. The company's business units are divided into the product areas of...
, which is now known as Magellan Repair, Overhaul & Industrial.
Canadian Steel Improvement
In 1951 Canadian Steel Improvement, Ltd. was established. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, the Canadian Defense Production Ministry initiated establishment of a turbine and compressor blade production forge plant, with The Steel Improvement and Forge Company being the successful bidder. Plant construction and operation started in 1951 in Etobicoke, a Toronto suburb near Malton, Ontario. Steel Improvement provided the necessary technical and management expertise and the Canadian government funded construction of the plant, which was leased to Steel Improvement. In its first year, the plant produced more than a million precision forged turbine and compressor blades for Avro's Orenda engine. In 1954 the Canadian government decided to sell the plant and Avro Canada agreed to purchase it to maintain production of the Orenda and Iroquois engines.The company employed over 400 in the production of precision forgings, blades, jet engine components, close-tolerance forging, and operation of aluminum and magnesium foundries.Canadian Car and Foundry
In 1955, "Can Car" was purchased by A.V. Roe Canada Ltd. In 1957 its foundry division was spun off as a separate A.V. Roe Canada Ltd. subsidiary named Canadian Steel Foundries Ltd.. The company produced rail car rolling stock, streetcars for most large Canadian cities as well as the Brazilian cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and the Canadian Car-Brill buses and trolleys. It also controlled Canadian General Transit, a supplier of railway tank cars for petroleum and chemical transport.DOSCO
DOSCO was one of the largest private employers in Canada when it was purchased as a subsidiary of A.V. Roe Canada Company Ltd. The company was dissolved in 1968 after the majority of its coal mining and steel mill industrial assets in Industrial Cape Breton were expropriated and nationalized by the federal and provincial governments (see SYSCOSYSCO
Sysco Corporation is the global leader in marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, hotels and inns, and other foodservice and hospitality businesses...
and DEVCO). Other subsidiaries included mining, engineering, shipping, rail car manufacturing, shipbuilding:
- Halifax Shipyards
- Cumberland Railway and Coal CompanyCumberland Railway and Coal CompanyThe Cumberland Railway and Coal Company is a defunct Canadian industrial company with interests in coal mines in Springhill, Nova Scotia, and a railway that operated from Springhill Junction to Parrsboro.-Spring Hill and Parrsborough Coal and Railway Company:...
. - Sydney and Louisburg RailwaySydney and Louisburg RailwayThe Sydney and Louisburg Railway is a historic Canadian railway. Built to transport coal from various mines to the ports of Sydney and Louisbourg, the S&L operated in the eastern part of Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia...
, an historic railway in Cape Breton Island, NS.
Canadian Applied Research
In 1957, A.V. Roe Canada Ltd. acquired PSC Applied Research Ltd., a manufacturer of flight navigation computers, and renamed it Canadian Applied Research, Ltd.. It was later divested by Hawker Siddeley Canada and merged with de Havilland CanadaDe Havilland Canada
The de Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. company was an aircraft manufacturer with facilities based in what is now the Downsview area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
’s Special Products division to form SPAR Aerospace
Spar Aerospace
SPAR Aerospace was a Canadian aerospace company. It produced equipment for the Canadian Space Agency to be used in cooperation with NASA's Space Shuttle program, most notably the Canadarm remote manipulator system....
Ltd. (Special Products and Applied Research), developer of the Canadarm remote manipulator system for the Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
.
Other Subsidiaries
- Algoma Steel, minority ownership, acquired in 1957, divested in 1958.
- Canadian Steel Wheel Ltd. (Associated Company)
- Canadian Thermo Control Co. Ltd
Aircraft
| Aircraft | Description | Capacity | Launch date | 1st flight; | 1st delivery | Production |
| Avro CF-100 Avro CF-100 The Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck was a Canadian jet interceptor/fighter serving during the Cold War both in NATO bases in Europe and as part of NORAD. The CF-100 was the only Canadian-designed fighter to enter mass production, serving primarily with the RCAF/CAF and in small numbers in Belgium... Canuck |
Fighter interceptor | Crew of two | 1946 | 1950 | 1952 | 692 from Mk 1 to Mk 5 series |
| Avro C102 Jetliner Avro Jetliner The Avro C102 Jetliner was a Canadian prototype medium-range jet airliner built by Avro Canada in 1949. It was beaten into the air by only 13 days by the de Havilland Comet, thereby becoming the second jet airliner in the world, yet the name "Jetliner" was more catchy and for many years all such... |
Prototype medium-range jet airliner | 36 | 1946 | 1949 | Never entered production | One flying prototype, one broken up |
| Avro CF-103 Avro Canada CF-103 |-See also:-References:NotesCitationsBibliography* Campagna, Palmiro. Requiem for a Giant: A.V. Roe Canada and the Avro Arrow. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2003. ISBN 1-5500-2438-8.... |
Transonic fighter | Two | N/A | N/A | Cancelled in 1951 | Only a wooden mock-up constructed |
| Avro CF-105 Arrow CF-105 Arrow The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was a delta-winged interceptor aircraft, designed and built by Avro Aircraft Limited in Malton, Ontario, Canada, as the culmination of a design study that began in 1953... |
Delta-wing supersonic interceptor aircraft | Two | 1950s | 1958 | Cancelled during production run | Five Mk 1 flown, (29 Mk 2 airframes in production) |
| Avro VZ-9-AV Avrocar | Test aircraft | Two | 1950s | 1959 | Cancelled while in test phase in 1961 | Two prototypes, (second prototype test flown) |
Corporate Demise
In 1962, the Hawker Siddeley Group formally dissolved A.V. Roe Canada and transferred all A.V. Roe Canada assets to its newly-formed subsidiary Hawker Siddeley CanadaHawker Siddeley Canada
Hawker Siddeley Canada was the Canadian unit of the Hawker Siddeley Group of the United Kingdom and manufactured railcars, subway cars, streetcars, aircraft engines and ships from the 1960s to 1980s.-History:...
. Avro Aircraft was closed.
Hawker Siddeley Canada, at that time, among its diverse holdings, included major manufacturing units:
- Canadian Car and FoundryCanadian Car and FoundryCanadian Car and Foundry also variously known as "Canadian Car & Foundry," or more familiarly as "Can Car," manufactured buses, railroad rolling stock and later aircraft for the Canadian market...
(CC&F) - Dominion Steel and Coal CorporationDominion Steel and Coal CorporationThe Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation was a Canadian coal mining and steel manufacturing company.Incorporated in 1928 and operational in 1930, DOSCO was predated by the British Empire Steel Corporation which was a merger of the Dominion Coal Company, the Dominion Iron and Steel Company and the...
(DOSCO) - Orenda Engines Limited
The former Avro aircraft factory in Malton was sold to de Havilland Canada
De Havilland Canada
The de Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. company was an aircraft manufacturer with facilities based in what is now the Downsview area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
in the same year. This facility located on the north end of Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport serving Toronto, Ontario, Canada; its metropolitan area; and the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration that is home to 8.1 million people – approximately 25% of Canada's population...
(the village of Malton was incorporated into the City of Mississauga
Mississauga, Ontario
Mississauga is a city in Southern Ontario located in the Regional Municipality of Peel, and in the western part of the Greater Toronto Area. With an estimated population of 734,000, it is Canada's sixth-most populous municipality, and has almost doubled in population in each of the last two decades...
in 1974), was subsequently owned and operated by several others:
- Douglas Aircraft of Canada (1963–1967): manufacturer of the aircraft wings and tail sections (empennage) for the Douglas DC-9;
- McDonnell-Douglas Canada (1967–1997): manufacturer of aircraft wings and related components for the KC-10 and MD-11, MD-80 wings, empennage and cabin floors, and McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet side panels and pylons;
- Boeing Toronto LimitedBoeingThe Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
(1997–2005): manufacturer of Boeing 717Boeing 717The Boeing 717 is a twin-engine, single-aisle jet airliner, developed for the 100-seat market. The airliner was designed and marketed by McDonnell Douglas as the MD-95, a third-generation derivative of the DC-9. Capable of seating of up to 117 passengers, the 717 has maximum range of...
wings, parts for the Delta rocket, the Boeing C-17 transport and 737 jetliners.
By the late 1990s, Hawker Siddeley Canada had been diminished into a holding company after divesting itself of almost everything other than its pension fund.
DOSCO's assets were nationalized to become DEVCO
Cape Breton Development Corporation
The Cape Breton Development Corporation, or DEVCO, was a Canadian federal government Crown corporation. It ceased operation on December 31, 2009, after being amalgamated with Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation ....
and SYSCO
Sydney Steel Corporation
Sydney Steel Corporation was a Crown corporation in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.-Steel comes to Sydney:An integrated steel mill was established on the southeast side of Sydney Harbour in the Whitney Pier neighbourhood of Sydney, Nova Scotia in 1901 by American investors...
. CC&F closed its operations and the plants demolished. CC&F's Thunder Bay plant, after several changes of ownership, is now part of Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....
.
Orenda Aerospace
Orenda Aerospace
Orenda Engines was a Canadian aircraft engine manufacturer and parts supplier. As part of the earlier Avro Canada conglomerate, which became Hawker Siddeley Canada, they produced a number of military jet engines from the 1950s through the 1970s, and were Canada's primary engine supplier and repair...
, as part of the Magellan Aerospace Corporation, is the only remaining original company from the A.V. Roe empire, although greatly diminished in both the size and scope of its operations.
In mid-2005, with the completion of the last shipset of Boeing 717 wings, The Boeing Company discontinued its operations at the former Avro plant.
The Malton plant, which had comprised several very large buildings and hangar-like structures, was demolished in progressive stages from 2004 onwards. The approximate 113 acres (45.7 ha) of land that the plant resided on at the time of its closure was sold to the Greater Toronto Airports Authority
Greater Toronto Airports Authority
The Greater Toronto Airports Authority operates Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, west of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The GTAA operates Canada's largest airport facility with a traffic of 31.0 million passengers in 2006. The authority's headquarters are on the airport...
(owner of the Toronto Pearson International Airport) and the title was transferred after the property site had completed its environmental soil remediation.
Some of the brickwork of the site's historic main "C" assembly building, next to the high-bay doors that the Arrow, Jetliner, CF-100 and thousands of other aircraft and major assemblies emerged from, was retained by the Canadian Air and Space Museum
Canadian Air and Space Museum
The Canadian Air and Space Museum is an aviation museum featuring artifacts, exhibits and stories illustrating a century of Canadian aviation heritage and achievements...
in Downsview, Toronto, for future use alongside a number of their Avro displays, which include a full scale replica of the CF-105 Arrow.
External links
- Aerospace Heritage Foundation of Canada
- Arrow Digital Archives
- Avro Arrow Home Page, the longest running Avro Arrow page
- AvroLand
- AvroArrow.net
- Canada Aviation Museum, home of the remaining pieces of the Avro Arrow
- Canadian Air and Space Museum, home of an Avro Arrow replica
- Fred Smye website
- Wing configuration