Canadair CL-52 ...

[Mark Allen M]

An unusual conversion was the Canadair CL-52: a B-47B (USAF S/N 51-2059 RCAF S/N 059X) loaned in 1956 to the Royal Canadian Air Force to test the new, powerful Orenda Iroquois turbojet (rated at 19,250 lbf (85.6 kN) dry, 25,000 lbf (110 kN) afterburning) for the Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow interceptor. Canadair attached the Iroquois engine to the right side of the rear fuselage; due to the large exterior diameter of the engine, no other location was feasible.[82] Flying the CL-52 was reportedly a nightmare. After the Arrow was canceled in early 1959, the B-47B/CL-52, which saw 35 hours of engine flight tests, was returned. Some sources[who?] claimed it was bent out of shape; it was scrapped. The CL-52 was the only B-47 to be used by any foreign service.

The B-47 never served with any foreign air force except one. In 1956, the USAF loaned B-47B serial number 51-2059 to the Royal Canadian Air Force for use as a flying test bed for the advanced Orenda Iroquois turbojet, which were to power the Avro CF-105 Arrow long-range interceptor currently under development in Canada.

After delivery, the RCAF turned the plane over to Canadair Ltd to complete the required modifications. A separate pod for the test engine was installed on the starboard side of the rear fuselage underneath the horizontal tail. The pod was 30 feet long and about 6 feet in diameter The company assigned its own model number of CL-52 to the project. The CL-52/B-47B flew in RCAF markings, but retained the last three digits of its USAF serial number, which followed the prefix "X" to become the RCAF serial number.

The CL-52 spent a total of 31 hours in the air with the Iroquois engine. Most flights were routine, but on its only full-power flight the Iroquois engine suffered a fan blade failure which damaged the elevator and rudder of the CL-52. The aircraft, however, landed safely.

The first five Arrows (RCAF serials 25201 through 25205) were all powered by Pratt & Whitney J75 turbojets for the initial flight tests. The first Iroquois-powered Arrow was to be number 25206, which was being readied for its first flight when the entire Arrow/Iroquois project was cancelled by the Canadian government on 20 February 1959. After the termination of the Arrow/Iroquois program, the Iroquois engine was removed from the CL-52 and the aircraft was returned to the USA in August of 1959. The plane was scrapped at Davis Monthan AFB shortly thereafter.

[JohnB]

The Canadian conspiracy theory fans who think the U.S. Scuttled the CF-105 to protect foreign interceptor sales forget that the US. provided the test bed aircraft.
Giving an expensive strategic bomber (at no cost, IIRC) doesn't seem logical if the US didn't want the plane built.

Of course they also forget that after the 1957 Duncan Sandys' UK MOD "White Paper", that a lot of people thought SAMs were the wave of the future. The UK EE Lightning was considered too far along to cancel, and I can't think of a single-role interceptor fielded by the U.S. after that date.

[CAPFlyer]

The Canadian conspiracy theory fans who think the U.S. Scuttled the CF-105 to protect foreign interceptor sales forget that the US. provided the test bed aircraft.
Giving an expensive strategic bomber (at no cost, IIRC) doesn't seem logical if the US didn't want the plane built.

Of course they also forget that after the 1957 Duncan Sandys' UK MOD "White Paper", that a lot of people thought SAMs were the wave of the future. The UK EE Lightning was considered too far along to cancel, and I can't think of a single-role interceptor fielded by the U.S. after that date.

The fact is the U.S. *did* scuttle the Arrow. But not the USAF or even really the DoD itself. It was the politicians and civilian DoD leadership that did. "The U.S." isn't some monolithic entity. You can have some parts (or even a lot of parts) of the Government support something, but if the one part that matters (either because it's who actually regulates/controls/leads whatever or it's Congress, the President, or Supreme Court) says "no" - then the answer is "no". Doesn't matter how much everyone else wants it, whomever has the authority is the final say. In this case, while most of the DoD supported Arrow and having a strong Canadian Defense industry, the SecDef and those in the Executive who mattered didn't. They swayed the President to put forth a proposal to the Canadian Government that was "too good to turn down".

There's no "Conspiracy." It was politics as normal.

[JohnB]

The conservative Canadian PM who cancelled it opposed it on cost grounds.
It was a very expensive and advanced aircraft for its time.

One wonders if the cancellation didn't do Canada a favor...did the Arrow have growth capabilities to make it a multi role aircraft? If not it would have been an expense airplane with no real mission.

But I still stand By my main point, by that time ICBMs spelled the end of pure (single role) interceptors.