Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow

Avro Canada · Canada · first flew 1958 · fighter

An advanced Canadian delta-wing supersonic interceptor whose abrupt cancellation became a national legend.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	High-mounted, delta
E — Engines	2 × turbojet, fuselage-mounted
F — Fuselage	Two engines buried side by side in the rear fuselage
T — Tail	No tailplane

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Large pure delta wing with a single tall fin and no tailplane
Two engines buried side by side in the rear fuselage
Long pointed nose on a big, clean high-altitude interceptor

A big, clean delta interceptor with a single fin and twin embedded engines. The high-mounted delta and very long nose set it apart from contemporaries; no surviving complete example exists to see in person.

Specifications

The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow has a length of 23.7 m (78 ft).
It has a wingspan of 15.2 m (50 ft).
Its maximum speed is 2104 km/h (1307 mph).
Typical crew: 2 (pilot and intercept officer).

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

First flown on 25 March 1958, the Arrow was designed to intercept Soviet bombers over the Arctic at Mach 2, with cutting-edge electric flight controls and an integrated weapons system. On 'Black Friday', 20 February 1959, the Canadian government cancelled the programme and ordered all airframes and tooling destroyed.

Variants

Five Mk 1 prototypes flew with interim engines; the planned Mk 2 with Canadian Orenda Iroquois engines never flew before cancellation.

Where you'll see it

No complete aircraft survives, which only deepened its mystique in Canada; cockpit sections and a nose are preserved in Canadian museums. There is no UK connection beyond the parent firm's link to Britain's A.V. Roe, whose own deltas (the Vulcan) can be seen at UK museums.

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