Customer Reviews

Storms of Controversy: The Secret Avro Arrow Files Revealed

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Of all the books on this subject that I have read, this author offers the most compelling arguments as to why this landmark aircraft and engine project was concelled. And if you are an American, it is not flattering, because there was much behind-the-scenes maneuvering by the U.S. to 1) ensure that potential nuclear war was conducted over Canada and not the Northern U.S, 2) protect the interests of the U.S. aerospace industry by pursuading the Canadians to purchase our weapons systems even though those systems could not answer the defense needs of Canada. And then there is the tragedy of the project itself. As an aerospace engineer, I fully appreciate how advanced this aircraft was for the mid 50's. If this project had been allowed to continue to completion, I have no doubt that the Arrow would still be flying today. And finally, with the demise of the Arrow, the Canada aerospace industry suffered a 20 year setback, as did their economy.

I would say this is the best book I've read on the Arrow. But the story doesn't end here. Some incredibly technically talented people left Canada for the U.S. and made valued contributions to our space program. This is all well described in Chris Gainor's "Arrows to the Moon". Read both and get the entire story.

Campagna worked for the Department of National Defence in Canada. As such he knows how the government operates when it comes to embarrassing information, and he also knows where much of it is stored.

Apparently he came to the conclusion that the Americans were behind much of the intrique that went on and in the end killed not only the Arrow program, but also the company itself! He does an excellent job of bringing forward documents which really demonstrate the undercurrent of intrigue, deceipt and cover-up that surrounded this program.

Campagna also includes a fair amount of information to demonstrate how first class the Avro products and engineering etc. really was. At the same time he allows the politicians to demonstrate their ignorance, wrong-headedness, and in fact manifest dishonesty over the program by direct quotations. The existence of a hidden agenda emerges yet Campagna restrains himself, for the most part, on speculation.

All in all an excellent effort. This book broke alot of ground and goes some distance towards pointing out what Canada lost on February 20th 1959.

If I have one criticism of the work, it is this: there isn't very much context about the aircraft being designed elsewhere, and about the industry and Cold War in general. I think this kind of context would have better demonstrated the Avro story in terms of its value to Canada and the West as a whole.

I read this this latest (4th Edition 2010) very carefully and found it to open up an enormous amount of information I was previously not aware of. The interesting thing I found was there were quite a number of culprits who contributed to the demise of this advanced aircraft who often rose to priority levels off an on throughout the period. Yes, the Americans had a role to play, as did the inept Conservative government of Diefenbaker, but so did the RCAF. Sadly, the project was killed by a number of influential players due to misinformation, protectionism, lack of vision and a spine. Anyone who can see both sides of a coin and is interested in this 'brilliant flicker in time' really must read this.

The writer of this book does a lot of "American bashing", that is to say "Americans caused this" and "Americans caused that"... While the author quickly covers over some facts that the military reported costs inaccurately to it's on Parliament when the decisions were made; with little investigation into the details (such as why). Near the image of the Bomarc, he stats that it was unproven technology. However the Bomarc was delayed due to it's over-accurate "problems". It is likely true that some strong arming (politically) was done, however, little if any finger pointing is going back to the poor leadership that lead to the destruction of the Arrow, and the downturn of the Canadian economy. There is a wealth of information, however one must read between the lines to the frequent bad conclusions drawn -- like claiming that the SR-71 and the Arrow have the same cockpit (from an outside centerline image)

Who runs Canada?

The Queen of England, according to some Americans, though most would say "Canadians elect their own government." In Canada, similar to many countries, there's a suspicion the Americans really control everything important.

The Avro Arrow, a delta-wing twin-engine jet interceptor with a top speed of about 400 miles an hour faster than the F-18, came off the assembly line in Canada in 1957. It was in production, with six finished and 30 more on the assembly line, when it was canceled by the government on Feb. 20, 1959. Since then, the fate of the Arrow has become representative of what many Canadians feel is the second-rate role of their country in comparison to the United States.

Campagna blames the Americans, who told the Colonel Blimps in the Canadian military in the late 1950's that bombers were obsolete and only missiles would matter in the future. Sure, tell THAT to the guys who still drive the B-52's, B-1's and B-2's around the skies. I blame the Colonel Blimps, who listened to the Yanks with all the innocence of little old ladies in tennis shoes trusting a used car salesman with a Yugo to sell.

Well, maybe the Americans were wrong. Bombers continue to fly, interceptors continue to be built. It's not the first time an American has made a mistake. In the U.S., cancellation of an aircraft contract is barely noticed; in Canada, the Arrow was the only fighter interceptor in the whole country. Many Americans would say, "Well, that's life in the big city." For Canadians, with an economy about one twelfth the size of the U.S., it was devastating.

It's what makes this book so valuable for Americans. It boldly lays out the devastating impact a minor decision in the United States can have for a little country trying so hard to produce quality home-designed products. American companies have had dozens of promising fighter projects canceled -- but, dozens survived. In little countries, national pride often rests on a single project. When it is scrapped because of anything involving Americans -- even as innocuous as "Give me your honest opinion, now, don't spare my feelings" -- the result can be devastating.

It was the best in the world -- see my review of `The Immortal Beaver' for another best-in-the-world Canadian airplane, one the Americans bought in great quantities -- but the Arrow was canceled due to faulty American advice (Campagna's view). My view is that Canadians were dumb to listen to the Americans. Whatever, the result is lingering anti-Americanism.

When Americans ask, "Why don't they like us?" about any foreign country, the reason is often as innocuous as the loss of an Arrow. That makes this book valuable for Americans, to understand the impact of their mistakes on foreigners who trust them to know everything. It shows how, even when they are being helpful, kind, courteous and considerate, American advice is sometimes devastating. Do you really expect a guy with a Yugo to tell you there's a better deal just down the street?

That's life as a World Power. It's not about to change. Mexico has similar complaints about the US, but when Guatemalans complain about "the colossus to the north" they mean Mexico and not the US. Little countries will always have this attitude about their big neighbors, and this book is an excellent example of the lingering resentment it causes. It's why some preach isolationism, to avoid such headaches. For others, it is an invaluable primer on the troubles that even the best and most honest intentions can cause.

Anyone who deals with Canada will find it offers a valuable insight to the schizophrenic attitude of love/hate for everything American, and the attendant pride/doubt about anything Canadian. It's well worth it for any American to read Storms of Controversy.

I loved this book, since I had already heard of the Avro Arrow, I was confronted with a totally different story with a totally different villain. I believe this book with all my heart!

This author of this book knows nothing about aircraft and keeps repeating the same old anti-U.S. myths.

The Avro project started in '53 with an advanced specification. An aircraft was built by the branch plant of the British A.V. Roe company to try to satisfy this specification. The program was a little unusual in that it was funded with taxpayers money instead of being a private venture.

What Avro proposed was a giant (over 40,000 lbs. empty) tailess delta without canards. It would have been right at home with any delta of the mid-fifties if it had been in service then. Sadly it was still in the prototype stage long after tailess deltas had became obsolete due to lack of manueverability.

The Arrow really was killed by an American conspiracy but it did not involve the U.S. government or the C.I.A. The actual conspiracy was by a group of McDonnell-Douglas employees who intentionally worked together to build a better aircraft. That was the F4 Phantom II and it was in all respects better than the Arrow, or any other previous aircraft for that matter. The "Phantom" ate up every potential market for the Arrow and the project was cancelled by a fiscally responsible government. No government conspiracy only the financing of a 'white elephant' by an irresponsible Canadian government.

What the U.S. government was actually doing at the time was funding stupid Canadian projects like the Avro VZ-9A flying disc. When that project produced nothing of value the U.S. government, in typical fashion, let the company keep the money. These are NOT the actions of an enemy.

The Arrow debacle is a perfect example of why the lawyers in Ottawa should not be funding research into things they do not understand. After the project bombed it was no surprise that the Liberals ordered every Arrow destroyed. That way they would never have to account for the millions of taxpayers' dollars that were wasted on this white elephant. Lack of evidence also meant that they could completely rewrite history without fear of contradiction. Even better, they managed to blame the destruction on the opposition. Pretty slick, Eh?

This book is too biased to be of use to fact seekers. As a Canadian I am embarassed that it is available for the world to read and saddened by the harm that it has caused. Keep looking if you want some sense of balance.