It happened due to predatory intervention just the same.
Not mentioned here, but present none the less:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Canada_CF-105_Arrow
That, was “replaced” with this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_CF-101_Voodoo
The Arrow was the superior aircraft.
That the Deifenbaker government canceled it was merely a formality, the fate was decided elsewhere.
By “allies”.
I wouldn’t trust GE, “helpful” suggestions usually aren’t.
Just look to the Arrow vs Voodoo “replacement” to see how unhelpful “helpful” can be.
I will be VERY surprised if the South Korean aircraft doesn’t get sandbagged and someone doesn’t suggest F-35s to them as a “helpful” suggestion.
There is really no mystery about why Hawker Siddeley’s, always British-owned, Arrow was cancelled and it did not involve Eisenhower or anyone else in the U.S.
The Arrow program was doomed after the Liberals decided to cancel it in 1957 because as History Professor Michael Bliss once said, “[...] no responsible government could have continued to support the Arrow.[...]”. Canada, which had about 17 million people at the time, could not afford to pay a British-owned company $2 billion to develop and produce a couple of hundred aircraft. Especially at a time when a new Cadillac Sedan DeVille listed for about $5500.
When the Liberals decided to cancel the Arrow program in 1957 continuing with it would have cost taxpayers at least four times as much as buying Voodoo interceptors in their place.
From the article “Liberals Planned to Cancel the Arrow” on page 2 in :”The [Montreal] Gazette” 23 OCT 63, “Gen. Charles Foulkes testified yesterday that the Liberal Government of Prime Minister St. Laurent decided in 1957 it would cancel the Arrow interceptor program as soon as it was returned to power in that year's election.[...] Gen. Foulkes confirmed the 1958 statement of Mr. Diefenbaker that the chiefs of staff had recommended cancellation of the Arrow. Gen. Foulkes said the chiefs concluded it didn't make sense to produce an $8,000,000 interceptor in Canada when one could be obtained in the U.S. for $2,000,000. They couldn't see where the money would come from.[...]”
It should be noted that the $8 million figure is the additional amount needed to purchase the Arrows and not the total cost of the program to the taxpayer. That would have been about $2 billion for 206 aircraft or $9.7 million each if the Arrow program had continued without cost increases.
The $2 million figure Gen. Foulkes gave appears to be for the Voodoos that were purchased instead of the Arrows but that price included spare parts. The list price of a new Voodoo by itself at that time was around $1.85 million and a Delta Dart was about double that at $3.75 million.
The Liberals had decided to cancel the Arrow program before Canada joined NORAD or Sputnik was launched. This means Bomarc missiles and/or ICBMs could not have been major factors in their decision.
See Gazette article at http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Fr8DH2VBP9sC&dat=19631023&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
The stuff about superior performance is also liberal fiction. The Arrow entered production and six were made before the program was shut down. Five had P&W engines and the sixth had experimental Orenda Iroquois engines. One of the Iroquois engines in the sixth Arrow “threw a blade” and the aircraft could not be flown. Nevertheless the performance of that aircraft is known because both the aircraft and engines were tested separately and their parameters recorded. The performance of an Arrow Mk. 2 was then calculated using standard equations and recorded.
Here are the most interesting bits:
Maximum continuous operating speed for the Arrow Mk. 1 and 2 was Mach 1.9. The proposed Mk.3 version would have been limited to Mach 1.5 to reduce fuel consumption. By the time the Arrow flew the Starfighter already held the FAI speed record at Mach 2.13. The Arrow could “dash” to Mach 2 and beyond for a few minutes but that was not enough to set any records. The Arrow's maximum service ceiling was 56,000 feet compared to about 54,000 for a Voodoo and 58,000 for a Delta Dart. The Arrow's maximum ferry range was 1254 nm compared to 1900+ for the Voodoo [Interceptor version. The fighter version's range was “holy crap, that can't be right”.]
History Professor Desmond Morton was right when he described the Arrow as “fatally flawed” and Aerospace Engineering Professor Julius Lukasiewicz was also right when he said “there was nothing extraordinary about it”
Diefenbaker's government simply continued with the Liberal’s plan to cancel the program and there is no mystery at all as to the real reasons why the Arrow was cancelled. Virtually all of the rest is liberal political propaganda.