It would appear the nine scale model test aircraft used by Avro to verify aerodynamic data for the CF-105 Arrow disintegrated when they fell into Lake Ontario more than 60 years ago. The one-eighth sized replicas of the delta wing interceptor were free flight models that have been the target of numerous searches over the decades and considered priceless heritage artifacts. Raise the Arrow, a group dedicated to finding the remnants of the Arrow research program, found a debris field made up of small pieces of mussel-encrusted magnesium that are almost certainly remnants of one of the models. “What we found, basically, is a debris field,” John Burzynski, the leader of the project, told the Belleville Intelligencer. “Effectively from what we saw in the debris field was electrical wire and components,” he said.
In 2018, the team raised a smaller Delta Test Vehicle that was part of the earlier airborne research into the Arrow. The free flight models remained elusive until the Raise the Arrow team found chunks of magnesium on the lake bed in mid-September. The debris field was viewed by a remote underwater camera and the team identified parts of the fuselage, a battery component and some wiring. “Judging by the pieces that we did find, they probably came apart at the welds when they hit the water….” Burzynkski said. The bits and pieces have been left on the lakebed but may be recovered in the future with all the appropriate permits and paperwork in place.