Footnote  Research & Interpretation

The name “Avro Arrow” is recognizable to many Canadians, even though the aircraft never saw active duty. This sleek, delta-winged fighter jet—developed in Malton, Ontario between 1952 and 1959—was promoted as the defender of Canada against Soviet missiles, with the added bonus of being a Canadian project on the cutting-edge of technological development.

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It was not to be, however; due to a mix of cost overruns, technical challenges, and Cold War politics, ​the Canadian government cancelled the program in 1959 after just five Arrows had been fully built and test-flown.

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The mythology surrounding the Arrow is rich with conspiracy theories and coloured by nostalgia—one misconception being that all records, blueprints and photographs were destroyed. In fact, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum holds a large collection of items, documents and images from the project, including hundreds of photographs of the design and production process, flight testing and more.

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I was approached by the Museum in early 2016 to review these rich archival assets and use them to tell the story of the Arrow for a Google Cultural Institute virtual exhibit. The result is a visually stunning showcase of over 100 black & white photographs, magazine advertisements, and even video footage!