CCI Newsletter, No. 33, May 2004
In Search of the Avro Arrow
by Nancy E. Binnie, Conservation Scientist (Chemist), Conservation Processes and Materials Research
CCI prepared conservation plans in 2001 and 2002 to help two advocacy groups [Arrow Recovery Canada and the Aerospace Heritage Foundation of Canada (AHFC)] that were planning to search for and recover a number of aircraft models of the Avro Arrow CF-105. These models were launched on top of booster rockets from the RCAF CARDE Range (Point Petre, Ontario) between 1954 and 1957. Nine of these 217 kg/2.8 m long, 1/8 scale models are resting on the bottom of Lake Ontario, near Picton, Ontario. They are the only material remains of the A.V. Roe aircraft company's CF-105 Cold War project that was suddenly shut down in 1959 by Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.
A conservation plan was prepared to deal with the operational requirements for an in situ condition assessment before recovery, and to deal with the activities required during the recovery operations in order to meet the Ontario Ministry of Culture's archaeological permit requirements. The plan also included an investigation into potential deterioration rates of the construction materials used for the models (aluminum and magnesium alloys, steel, wood, rivets, welds, etc.) and recommendations for post-excavation procedures for storage, cleaning and condition assessment.
In September 2003, Major General Lionel Bourgeois of the RCAF Memorial Museum (Trenton, Ontario) contacted CCI and extended an invitation to me to be present on behalf of the museum for several days of underwater filming with Mike Fletcher's Eco-Nova Productions.1 This Halifax company would be filming an episode for Sea Hunters about the search for the Avro Arrow and would include film footage from deep-water dives on potential Arrow targets identified during side-scan sonar surveys, as well as the land-based activities of researchers who have been carrying out this search.
The RCAF Memorial Museum has formed a working partnership with several Ontario researchers who have been searching for years for the Arrow models. The Museum hopes to help recover an Arrow model, Nike booster rocket and Velvet Glove missile. A new exhibition hall will house a Halifax bomber that was recovered in 1995 after 50 years on the bottom of Lake Mjøsa, Norway, and other acquisitions such as an Arrow model. The invitation to participate in Eco-Nova's deep-water filming was an unequaled opportunity to view the condition of the wreckage, and would provide useful information for future survey and recovery plans for the RCAF Memorial Museum.
Eco-Nova Productions provided the funding for four days of operations in October 2003 on the commercial diving tug, Nadro Clipper, extra safety divers, dive tenders, hyperbaric chamber operator and film crew. Eco-Nova Productions also coordinated with Jim Garrington of Shark Marine Technologies (St. Catherines, Ontario) to provide a surface-powered remote operating vehicle (ROV) for underwater inspection and filming. Dave Gartshore provided target locations. James Delgado, the on-site supervisory archaeologist and Director of the Maritime Museum of Vancouver (who is a regular on the Sea Hunters episodes), Dave Gartshore and myself provided top-side commentary to interpret the live video images from diver Mike Fletcher for the team filming surface activities. Because the targets were deep-water sites, and filming production is considered a commercial activity by the Ontario Ministry of Labour, all diving was carried out using surface supply breathing air of mixed gases following industry standards for such work.
Surface observers had the best vantage point for inspecting the pictures sent back by three live-feed video images from the ROV unit, helmet-cam and hand-held video unit. Mike Fletcher was extremely generous in taking the time to film details of the wreckage that were interesting to observers even though bottom-time was extremely limited, and even though the primary purpose of the visit was to capture images for use in the documentary. The first site inspected was an undisturbed two-masted schooner sitting upright in 60 m (200 ft.) of water, and the second turned out to be a booster rocket (rather than an Avro Arrow model) resting at a depth of about 30 m (100 ft.). Both targets lie within an area that Parks Canada is considering as a new National Marine Sanctuary.
An extensive set of field notes has been prepared describing the schooner and booster rocket, which includes contributions from James Delgado and Paul Adamthwaite, a maritime historian and Executive Director of the Archives and Collections Society of Picton. Eco-Nova has offered to provide still images taken from the video footage to illustrate the reports. The images and notes about the schooner will be particularly interesting to archaeologists and maritime historians because this wreck is mostly intact, and appears not to have been disturbed by recreational scuba divers. Planking, masts, bowsprit, ships wheel, bilge pump, windlass anchors and other small portable artifacts are in their original locations. The cargo holds are full of coal. James Delgado has used evidence from the position of the rigging elements, localized damage to specific masts, rudder position and unusual anchor rigging to suggest how the schooner might have foundered. A review of video images dates the schooner between 1840 and 1865. However, it is possible that it was an earlier vessel with later changes and additions, or a later vessel with recycled, older parts.
Unfortunately, the second target turned out to be a booster rocket (possibly a Hercules type) rather than an Avro Arrow model. It has four exhaust nozzles (instead of two), four fuel cylinders and four fins arranged in an "X" array. Because of silting, only the top half of the rocket, lying horizontally on the lake bottom with two fins exposed, could be examined. Exhaust nozzles appear to be of ferrous composition; however, the fuel cylinders are still covered in red paint and show no sign of corrosion. The serial number stamped on the side of one cylinder may help determine the booster's age. The fins have a composite structure that includes an internal wood core and external aluminum-alloy sheathing. Fin tips are broken and twisted back towards the nozzles. The basic structure appears sound, possibly due to the low corrosion rates for ferrous metals and aluminum alloys in fresh water. However, the composite materials will provide conservators with a challenging project as they attempt to dry the booster and stabilize it over the long term.
Military authorities with RCAF Trenton have requested postponement of any recovery pending resolution of technical issues such as potentially explosive fuel residues. The RCAF Memorial Museum would like to obtain Avro Arrow models, booster rockets, and missiles from nearby freshwater sites for exhibition, and is collaborating with Robert Saunders, Project Coordinator AHFC, which has obtained ownership of the nine Arrow models in Lake Ontario from Crown Assets Disposal Corporation. AHFC is planning additional search efforts and possible recovery in 2004. CCI will continue to help plan the recovery and land-based conservation stabilization of the recovered materials from these historically significant aircraft models.
- Eco-Nova Productions produces Sea Hunters and Oceans of Mystery for National Geographic Television International. Both shows are shown in nearly 200 countries around the world.
