Cold War Fighters

The cancellation of the CF-105 Arrow in 1959 holds such a grip on the Canadian imagination that earlier developments in defence procurement remain obscure. Randall Wakelam corrects this oversight and offers fresh insight on the AVRO saga and contemporary procurement issues by revealing how cabinet ministers, chiefs of staff, and air marshals negotiated competing pressures to arm the air force, please allies, and save money during a decade when Canadas air force was growing by leaps and bounds. The result was the CF-100 Canuck and the F-86 Sabre, Canadas front-line defensive aircraft in the coldest years of the Cold War.