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Once
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vvYlst
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e
f the Avra Arrovv
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nuCear bomb, Ca-uacia fek ic haci
to develop a' hrgh-ly effective air'
ciefenc: q/sr.em- iir:e SovieES ever
deided to lar:-nch a nucleai amack
ssrin<1 rhe -u-nireci Srates, Soviet
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,
Arrro Arrow. The s'ovem.rnenc was
'1t .
witling
to buy up to 600 of rhe
fighters at a cost of abour $2 mjllion each- "- '
Y
' Figure
:
.:
'
10-10
l-ne Avro Anow marked
fie
last time Canada
had an indepencenitechnological breakihrough in miiibry
, naroware.
'
tsar1v on. cosc becarne an iss:e- Each aircraft ' celled the projer. The A V Roe Company imms.t-." *i*. lexpeusive ss,-hnsl6gl4 aad frequenc '.. diately fired t4 C00 employees.
' . The decision co cancel &e Ayro Arrow'w'as conchaages iu design dela,veci producdol aad pusheci
the price evea hisher. When the Air Force cut its
troversial- ft.e Anow had been an engineeriag
'
. order to just 100 Jf &. pi*.s, efforts were.made ro . Idchievement-ar r!.e Eime, sone people considered ii
find foreign .buyers, but no- foraign buyers were
to be the mosc advznced aircraft in &e worid- After
' for:nd. By L957, ri.e cost for each Airow was esti- initial deaials, the govem.nent admifted thac ir
mated at bet#een 56 mill,'on and $10 milli6s.
ordered all plans, procogzpes, a.od photographs
The firsc protoqpe of rhe Awo Arrow was desu'oyed. rlle.uyof Caaada's bestscientists aad engir:aveiled on Occober +, 1957, rhe sr-e day fi.e
neers had been working: oa the projecq and rhey
Soviets senr &e Sprrnik f satellite inm orbit ftis
were q'uickly recr',:ited by NASA a.ad other Americaa
Soviet lchig'ygsenr led many people to wonder if . orgaaizacions. Once again, Caaada had to reiy on cire
fighter jec like the ArrowwoCd sooa become obsoUS for miliury aireafr a-nd Canadian defence dollete. After a1l,- rhe Sovret missile rhat lar:nched , lrrs fl.owed inro ch.e US economy. Buc ou\ers argue
Syunik was powerful eaough to send a nuCearvrar- .. . rhac rb.e Arrow w?s too expeasive, not adequately
'Ft
head to NonhA.merica.
'?
h. 1957,. rhe Uberai goverrnenE
txtid,
ci:.ac
had srrp-
ported $.e Arrow projecc was' ciefeared by
Diefenbaker a.n.d rhe Cocservadves. hwas a rime of
lF.
d efi cits aad r:-oemoloyiaeaL Diefenb aker wondered
if Ca.n.adat'couId afford. n:ch a-u eroessive arreafr
New bfforts io iC cb.e Arrow rc uh. Uniced. Sbtx
; r
ialied.-'Un !erru.a.ry' lU, !y>r, lJleie-lD''aker e.n-
and wodd soon have been obsolete.
'i';"-"'r.i
What I]o You Think?
1.
Create a public announcement for the DiefencaKer govemment on the cancellation of fie Avro Anow. Then
create a diaiogue bet',veen two fired employees who
have just heard fie announcemenl Act ott the diaiogue
wirh a parmer for the class.
Canada and the
Wcrid
271
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Canada and Nasa
On February 20,1959, the Canadian government shut down the CF-105
Avro Arrow jet interceptor program/ putting thousands of workers and the
cream of Canada's aerospace engineering talent out of work. Avro Canada
had over 200 engineers employed, working on several projects. These
engineers immediately sought new employment. Some remained in Canada,
moving out of the aviation field, some traveled to Great Britain and found
employ working on the design of the Concorde SST. Most went to the United
States. South of the border, a brand new organization called the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration was charged with putting U.S.
astronauts into space, and it desperately needed engineers. Within 10 weeks
of the demise of the Arrow, 25 Avro engineers were working for NASA, and
another six would join them later. Other Avro engineers found work with the
aerospace contractors that worked with NASA.
A little more than 10 years later, US astronauts would stand on the surface
of the Moon in what became one of the greatest stories of technology and
exploration in human history.
Ortcctinnc
Why was there a need for Canada to develop a new fighter piane?
Where was the Avro Plant located?
How much would each Arrow cost? Why is this important?
What happened the same day as the Anows introduction?
Why is this coincidence important?
What happened to all of the Avro test pianes, models and technical plans?
How many engineers worked at AVRO?
What is NASA?
How
man-u-
Al'ro engineers
vvellt to NASA?
Whar major acconrplish;rerrt did the AVRO engineers help rvith?
o_