Avro CF-105 Arrow
What could have happened had it been built-
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Concepts by
Alvis
3.1
and Neil Medcalf |
Article by Neil Medcalf
Photos by Alvis Petrie and Neil Medcalf
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Avro CF-105 Arrow |
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What could have happened had it been built- |
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Article by Neil Medcalf |
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Photos by Alvis Petrie and Neil Medcalf |
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The
Canadian designed Avro Arrow was to be the worlds greatest interceptor at the
time it was to enter service with the Canadian Air Force. However the government
of the day had other ideas about what to do with her.
After
a couple of brain storming sessions these are just a few of the ideas that we
came up with as to what could have happened instead. We only had three weeks to
put most of these models together for our first display of Arrows at the local
mall in February of 2000.
We ran out of models and money before our ideas! Some are just too funny and too politically sensitive to do!
All 23 models on this page were built by Alvis Petrie
RL 201& RL202: 1958- March 25 1958- With the first flights of the Arrow, Canada was given a huge leap ahead in aviation. The Arrow was not given the chance to prove what she could become….
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CF-105N: 1966-
NASA High Speed
Flight Division. During a photo opportunity, the NASA Arrow collided with the
XB-70 destroying both aircraft. |
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MiG
E-3888: 1967-
The
one that got away!! Somehow, it wound up in Cuba, then sent to USSR, where
MiG used it as a test aircraft in the MiG 25 development. Scrapped in
1969, the nose section survives in a dusty corner of the Vladivostok
Aviation Museum.
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Avro/
North American |
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SST Research: 1969- Combining the resources of Avro, Canadair, and Convair, Canada and the US began research into a SST. An Arrow was utilized to test the various layouts of engines, here seen in the B-58 style pattern. Eventually, the Can-US SST-1 entered service in 1979 on the highly profitable Asian routes. |
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| Indian
Air Force, |
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| Republic
F-109B: ‘71-
Built under license in the good old USA for long
range interception duties. Two were shot down over Cuba during the Cuban Missile
Crisis in 1962.
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| UN
Arrow: 1972- Used as a high speed reconnaissance platform hunting
down war criminals and atrocities, as well as monitoring cease fires in the
various trouble spots around the world. This particular Arrow was
“accidentally” shot down over Syria after straying too far north!
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| Avro/Dassault/BAC/ Dornier
(Panavvia) MRCA: 1975- In an attempt to build a NATO common aircraft, Canada, France, the UK and Germany attempted to build a strike
aircraft. The result was the “Switchblade”. Although France
eventually left the alliance, the Switchblade went on to serve in the
inventory of 7 Air Forces around the world. |
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| CF-105
Mark 2B,
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| South African AF: ‘77-
Initially sold
to South Africa in the early 1960’s, the Arrows became locally modified after
international embargoes took effect in the late 1960’s. Joining with Israel to
update their Arrows, The SAAF sold several to Argentina in the 1970’s. Several
were destroyed by RAF Switchblades during the Falklands/ Malvinas war in 1981.
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| CRF-105, Recce Arrow: 1977-
Developed
for use in NATO as a high-speed reconnaissance platform.
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| Avro Arrow Mk 4B: ‘77- High speed, High altitude modification of the Mark 3 Arrow. Used to harass the US’s SR-71 Blackbirds |
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| Avro
ArrowWacs: ‘ 79-
Airborne radar platform. First developed in the early
1970’s for defending the Arctic approaches of North America. Three of these
planes cover almost all of Canada. |
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| RCMP
Arrow: 1981-
Very high-speed pursuit and drug interdiction unit.
Despite a very high success rate, and seven confirmed kills, the RCMP was forced
to exchange their Arrows for Cessna Caravans in the late 1980’s due to budget
cutbacks. |
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| Islamic
Republic of |
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| Royal Hellenic Air
Force: 1982- First sold to Greece in 1969, delivery was held up
until resumption of Democratic elections in 1973.
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| Israeli Defense Force:
1982-
Sold to Israel in the early 1960s the Arrows became
highly modified in Israel after the1967 War, and the ensuing blockade. Forced to
re-engine the planes with J-79s, the Israelis also added canards for extra
maneuverability. |
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| Shuttle
Arrow: 1983-
Utilized along with the Canadian developed booster
stages, the Aero-Space Arrow became Canada’s primary com-sat launcher, as well
as lofting payloads for the USAF and RAF. A long-term loan B-52 from the USAF is
used to haul the orbiters back from CFB Cold Lake to the launching site in the
Bahamas. |
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| Hawk
One Arrow, 409
squadron: 1984-
Commemorative paint scheme to observe the 75th
anniversary of the RCAF. |
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| Turkish
Air Force: ‘86- Bought in the early 1970s, the Arrows were replaced
by CF-177 Cobras in the late 1980s. The Arrows, by this date were dilapidated
and decrepit, and saw out the last of their days as decoys along Turkish
runways. |
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| Dark
Arrow: 1988-
SPAR (Special Projects Avro Research)- Top secret
reconnaissance aircraft. One of three built under contract to DARPA in the mid
1980s. Two were lost in flight over Arizona. The third vanished over Baffin
Island in 1989. |
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Photos and text © 2001 by Alvis Petrie and Neil Medcalf
