Requiem for a Giant: A.V. Roe Canada and the Avro Arrow

243 Pages·2003·4.31 MB·English

by  Palmiro Campagna

Palmiro Campagna
REQUIEM
FOR A GIANT
A.V. Roe Canada
and the Avro Arrow
Requiem for a Giant
For Katia
May truth be your destiny,
Honesty your guide
REQUIEM
FOR A GIANT
A.V. Roe Canada
and the Avro Arrow
Palmiro Campagna
A Hounslow Book
A Member of The Dundurn Group
Toronto • Oxford
Copyright © Palmiro Campagna, 2003
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
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Dundurn Press. Permission to photocopy should be requested from the Canadian Copyright
Licensing Agency.
Publisher: Anthony Hawke
Copy-Editor: Andrea Pruss
Design: Jennifer Scott
Printer: University of Toronto Press
National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data
Campagna, Palmiro
Requiem for a giant : A.V. Roe Canada and the Avro Arrow / Palmiro Campagna.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-55002-438-8
1. A.V. Roe Canada — History. 2. Avro Arrow (Turbojet fighter plane) 3. Aircraft industry —
Canada — History. 4. Canada — Politics and government — 1957-1963. I. Title.
TL685.3.C338 2003 338.4'76237464'0971 C2003-900356-6
1 2 3 4 5 07 06 05 04 03
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SINCE 1957 DEPUIS 1957
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Table of Contents
Preface 9
Chapter 1: Beginnings 11
Chapter 2: Jet Jitters 25
Chapter 3: “Unsellable” 41
Chapter 4: Criticism 57
Chapter 5: NORAD 71
Chapter 6: Who Needs the Bomarc? 89
Chapter 7: The Arrow: The Pearson Perspective 111
Chapter 8: How Much is Too Much? 127
Chapter 9: Termination, Speculation, and the 147
End of A.V. Roe Canada
Chapter 10: In the News 159
Chapter 11: Questions and Answers 173
Appendix: The Secret Files 181
Notes 209
Bibliography 215
Index 221
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Preface
It is somewhat ironic, but as I examine the additional documentation I
have had declassified, I realize that the quest I began for classified Avro
documents in the mid-eighties has been continuing longer than the
length of time spent by those who actually designed and flew the aircraft.
My first big break in the search for documents that had allegedly been
destroyed occurred in 1987. After reading disparaging information about
the program in Canadian history books, I realized that few historians had
stated their references and fewer, if any, had searched American sources.
I decided to approach the Eisenhower Library. They graciously sent me
some key documents but also noted that others remained classified. Not
being American, I could not easily gain access. Still, that provided me
with clues to Canadian sources wherein I obtained, for example, the doc-
uments forming the paper trail answering the question “Who ordered the
blowtorching?” To the dismay of some and the delight of others, the
answer was notPrime Minister John Diefenbaker. This information, plus
numerous other documents I uncovered detailing the extent of American