1965
At the middle of the 60s, Canada was once again poised for another year of the Cold War, international conflicts, and other events.
At New Years Eve, the images of CF-105 Arrows flying over Parliament Hill with the new Canadian Flag on their tails captured many people's attention as well as the media. In the United States, storms gathered as many people began to compare the McDonnell Phantom II with the Avro Arrow. Both planes were seeing service in their respective nations of origin as well as a number of export customers. However, quite a few nations had bought Arrows instead, and many were envious of the success of Avro Canada.
At sea, with the standoff between Greece and Turkey over Cyrpus, HMCS Bonaventure and an escort group of destroyers and supply vessels departed Halifax on January 20 for the Mediterranean. Joining the Bonnie was the relatively new helicopter destroyer HMCS Nipigon, two St. Laurent class DDEs, three Restigouche-class DDEs, along with two Royal Navy Type 12 (Leander) frigates, as well as HMCS Provider, the first auxiliary oiler replenishment ship of the Royal Canadian Navy.
On January 26, Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in for his own full term as U.S. President. He would come to have a very complicated relationship with Prime Minister Pearson, which would briefly spill over to their immediate successors. Both were rather cordial during their visit to London, where many statesmen arrived for the state funeral of Sir Winston S. Churchill, who was regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century.
In February, there was an uproar as the government announced that they had selected the Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter as the basis of the new fighter jet to replace the venerable Canadair Sabres that had served the RCAF since the Korean War, as well as serve as trainer aircraft. 300 CF-5As and 120 CF-5Bs were to be assembled by Canadair, but there would be significant differences between the Canadian aircraft and the original design. Canadian built avionics, including a scaled down version of the Arrow's revolutionary fly-by-wire controls, an adaption of the Hughes radar system, a refueling-probe, and improved air intakes were implemented into the design. The planes would be powered by a scaled down drivative of the PS.13 Iroquois turbojet, designated the PS.12 Nootka by Orenda Engines. Two such turbojets were to power the CF-5, which would gain the name "Flechette" in RCAF service.
February 15 saw the official adoption of the Red and White National Flag of Canada with the raising of the flag at Parliament Hill. Longtime opponent of the flag, John Diefenbaker was conspicuously absent from the proceedings.
March saw tension between India and Pakistan erupt in a series of bloody skirmishes, risking escalation into an all out war. Neighboring nations grow concerned by the developments. Intent on taking on the primarily-American fighter jet fleet of the Pakistanis, Indian Air Force officials began to have discreet talks with representatives of Avro Canada about the Avro as well as the Flechette. However, such negotiations would not be completed before the standoff boiled over...
April saw the first major protests in Washington DC against the US involvement in Vietnam. At around this time, regular night time flights began from Avro Canada's facility in Malton to a restricted area in Nevada. By the end of the year, at least 12 flights disappeared into the massive complex at Area 51...
In the middle of 1965, a major curveball sent shockwaves throughout the military aviation community. The Federal Republic of German, AKA West Germany decided to buy Canadian aircraft for the Luftwaffe. Alot of Canadian aircraft. To replace the controversial fleet of Lockheed F-104 Starfighters, the Luftwaffe announced on June 15 that talks began with Avro Canada to purchase a minumum of 150 Arrows, with the exact numbers and variants to be negotiated over the following year. Plans were to begin sending Luftwaffe pilots to RCAF Cold Lake for transition training with 441 Squadron, joining pilots from other new operators of the Arrow. Test pilots from the Luftwaffe were evidently impressed by the Avro Arrow's performance, and with production costs continuously decreasing, the Canadian-built interceptor was seen as a reasonable alternative to buying American Phantom IIs.
Also in July, four F-4C Phantom IIs gain the dubious honor of being the first aircraft ever targeted by surface to air missiles. A few boastful (and drunk) Arrows pilots subsequently claimed that had they been in the situation, they would have just went full A/B and outrun the missiles in the much faster planes. By the end of July, Lyndon B. Johnson announces an escalation of US Operations in Vietnam and double the draft.
August saw the launch of Gemini 5 which carries a joint Canadian-American crew of two. But this news is overshadowed as the fighting in India and Pakistan blows up and becomes a full-out war, though neither side gains much over the other. Throughout the end of August and the rest of the year, the two nations fight a war of attrition, though it was largely contained due to pressure from both the United States and the Soviet Union. Canada offers to serves as a neutral ground for negotiations, though Pakistan initially refuses, suspicious of possible agreements between Canadian companies and the Indian government.
Avro Canada has largely completed its original Canadian orders for the CF-105 Arrow, with major export customers largely manufacturing their own liscensed aircraft. Saudi Araia announced an intent to purchase 16 more Arrows, while Israel received 16 old Arrows from 419 Squadron RCAF in August and ordered 16 new aircraft. Israeli engineers had taken two Arrows and opened up them to see how to improve the aircraft and to modify them for combat in the middle-east against its Arab neighbors. Discreet meetings between Saudi and Israeli officials made it clear that they would try to avoid fighting each, though the Saudis indicated the other Arab nations were not likely to listen to their advice.
With wars in Southeast and South Asia, Canada was watching such conflicts with great concerns, and with tensions rising in the Middle-East and elsewhere, 1966 was expected to see further escalation.
