Shutting Down the National Dream: A. V. Roe and the Tragedy of the Avro Arrow PDF
Preview Shutting Down the National Dream: A. V. Roe and the Tragedy of the Avro Arrow
The �VJ National 1 (;) � Business ..... r � 0 3: Book w J � Award _;-- � �...... c,,' ·. �� <S' � ly b .r a n d an 3. �\� Winner of the National Business Book Award ... National Bestseller .. . Canadian Classic .. . It could be called a love story, a love story between men and engines and aircraft. It becomes noticeable first in the quiet way they remember, and then in the way their eyes occasionally mist up when they recall a special moment, as if haunted by a past they didn't have a chance to finish. Tragedy is clearly the difference between what really is and what might have been, and it's the "might have beens" that seem to hurt so much and touch with such profound sadness virtually every person who was there. Not only is it painful for them to recall what was obviously the time of their lives, it is even more painful living with the unfulfillable desire to get another crack at it, and this time to get it right. A chance, regrettably, lost to time. "Governments and torches can destroy an aircraft, but they cannot destroy hope, and aspiration, and the majesty of the questing spirit. In the hearts of the people, the dream lives on." -Jan Zurakowski, legendary Avro Arrow test pilot "The best written story to date about A.V. Roe and the Avro Arrow. Greig Stewart uses a first-rate mix of writing style and extremely thorough research to tell a story painfully close to the Canadian heart, and makes it read like a novel." -Peter Ward, Ottawa Citizen "First rate!" -Michael Davie, Hamilton Spectator "Stewart's contribution to A.V. Roe Canada lore deserves a place on any Canadian aviation bookshelf worthy of the name." -R.G. Halford, Canadian Aviation Operator "Extremely well researched. An in-depth look at the life and death of the Avro Arrow." -Saint John Telegraph-Journal "In depth, thorough ... A hard book to put down." -Canadian Aviation "Excellent! A first-class job of bringing the players to life." -D. Warren, Airforce "The complete story of A.V. Roe Canada, born 1945, murdered 1959." -Mike Filey, Toronto Sun All. ROE AND THE TRAGEDY OF THE GREIG STEWART McGRAW-HILL RYERSON LIMITED Toronto Montreal SHUTTING DOWN THE NATIONAL DREAM Copyright 1988 by Greig Stewart © 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 otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. This edition published in 1991 by McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited 300 Water Street Whitby, Ontario LlN 9B6 Care has been taken to trace the ownership of any copyright material contained in this text. The publishers welcome any information that will enable them to rectify, in subsequent editions, any incorrect or omitted reference or credit. 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0D 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 32 1 Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Stewart, Greig Shutting down the national dream Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-07-549675-5 (bound) ISBN 0-07-551119-3 1. Avro Arrow (Turbojet fighter plane). 2. A. V. Roe Canada Limited. 3. Aircraft industry - Canada. 4. Canada - Politics and government - 1957-1963.* I. Title. TL685.3.S84 1988 338.4'76237464 C88-094383-l "High Flight" by John Gillespie Magee, Jr., is quoted from The New Treasury of War Poetry: Poems of the Second World War, edited by George Herbert Clarke (New York: Literary Classics Incorporated, 1943.) Book design: Kirk Stephens Printed and bound in Canada by JohnD eyell Company This one is for Margaret Jeannie McGregor, Robert G. Stewart, the 14,528 employees of A. V. Roe Canada who lost more than just their jobs that cold Friday afternoon in 1959, and Marlene CONTENTS Acknowledgements ix Foreword xi Prologue 1 1. The Business of War 6 2. Battleships of the Air 14 3. Takeover 31 4. A Gather of Aeronautical Men 46 5. Getting off the Ground 56 6. Jets in Their Eyes 74 7. Storm Clouds Gathering 88 8. Stealing the Thunder 102 9. The Quick and the Dead 121 10. Rebirth: The Coming of Crawford Gordon 138 11. High Flight 158 12. Gods of the Air 175 13. Coming of Age 191 14. Vision of the North 208 15. The Icarus Factor 232 16. Overtaken by Events 252 17. Scattered to the Wind 268 Epilogue 281 Appendix 283 Notes 293 Bibliography 307 Index 3Il
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