FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1997. All Rights Reserved.

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LETTERS

The Avro Arrow was designed as an "interceptor," not a bomber. These are very different roles, requiring very different aircraft designs. The NATO doctrine in the 1950s called for a very fast, high-altitude, missile-carrying aircraft to intercept and destroy Soviet bombers attacking North America over the North Pole. The Arrow was designed as the interceptor to counter this threat. It was to carry radar-guided missiles, possibly nuclear-tipped, to destroy enemy bombers, never to carry bombs to attack enemy ground installations as a bomber. The Arrow did not have the range, payload or capacity to carry bombs long distance to an enemy target. Nor was it a fighter, as it was not agile enough to engage enemy fighter planes. The Arrow was, as its name suggests, able to travel at extreme speed to high altitudes over a short range in a straight line. It was very much a single-role aircraft, quite different from the high-tech, multi-role (interceptor, fighter, ground-attack) aircraft of today, such as the CF-18 Hornet.

I hope this clears up any misunderstanding over the type of aircraft the Arrow was.

Sincerely,

Jeffery Pugh
Calgary

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