Avro Arrow models search team says 'there are more jets out there than originally thought'

Nearly 60 years after theAvroArrow was scrapped amid controversy, members of the public gotafirst look at images of one of the test models recently found in the depths of Lake Ontario.

Members of the Raise the Arrow expedition unveiledstill photographsand underwatervideofrom a remote-operated vehicle on Friday morning in Toronto, confirming thediscovery of the free-flight model.

In addition, the team announced what comes as a surprise to many Arrow enthusiasts "there are more jets out there than originally thought," saidJohnBurzynski, the expedition leader.

He called the finding a "discovery within a discovery" since "this was a secret program that no one knew was going on when it was going on, unfortunately a lot of the records are partial."

The additional models were described as very early iterationswhich were used as "test tracking vehicles." They may not have had all the characteristics of the Avro Arrow, as they were mainly used to test equipment, saidDr. Richard Mayne, a historian with the Royal Canadian Air Force. At this point, the team only knows that severalwere tested.

• A new hunt forAvroArrow models in the depths of Lake Ontario: This time the search will be different

Search hampered by weather

Due to poor weather conditions, the team has only had a "solid two weeks" of search since the expedition was announced in July, said DavidShea, vice-president of engineering atKrakenSonar, the Newfoundland and Labrador company aiding with the search.

That said, the lake bed consisting largely of arocky bottom has helped in the search because "they didn't sink into the mud ... what fell in the lake basically sits on the bottom of the lake," saidBurzynski.

Before the end of the season, the team plans to send divers into the lake to do a reconnaissance dive, saidScarlettJanusas, the expedition archeologist. The models were found between "30 metres and about 60 metres deep," added Burzynski.

"We've been given permission to remove some of the zebra mussels, so we may be able to find out exactly which model it is we're looking at," saidJanusas.

She added the caveat was as the season progresses, conditions may get too rough to bring the model up to the surface.

"But when we are ready, we will be doing some excavation around the model," said Janusas. That procedure would involve digging around theAvromodel, which is upside down, and building a cradle for it, to assureit won't break on ascent.

Popular jet scrapped in 1959

The Arrow, a sleek jet interceptor developed in Malton, Ont., in the 1950s, had the potential to propel Canada to the forefront in military aviation. The program was abruptly cancelled in 1959 by Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, resulting in 30,000 employees losingtheir jobs. As well, the planes were ordered to be destroyed.

Ottawa orders all evidence of Arrow destroyed

45 years ago

Duration 3:53

April 1959: all five Arrows are cut to pieces. Nobody in Ottawa will own up to the decision.

It's believed that nine three-metre-long, or one-eighth scale, models of the Arrow fitted with sensors were strapped onto rockets, and fired over the lake from Point Petre, near Prince Edward County more than 200 kilometresfrom Toronto.

New search launched in July

In July, what's believed to be the biggest search of its kind for the models was launched with the help of equipment that assisted the successfulFranklin Expedition in 2016.The mission isa collaborative effort by severalprivate companies in assistance with the Canadian Coast Guard and the Royal Canadian Military Institute.

KrakenSonar Systems, which was awarded a$500,000 contractto aidwith the search, includingdeploying its state-of-the-artThunderFishunderwater vehicleandAquaPixsonar systemto capture high-quality images of the lake bed.

In July, theteam announced thesearch grid would cover water ranging in depth from five metres closer to shore and 100 metres farther out in the lake.The mission was set to run the underwater sonar equipment for eight hours a day, after which the data was downloaded and analyzedby a team of scientists that also included archeologists.

Their original goal was to search an area about half the size of Vancouver, or 64 square kilometres.

A 1980 CBC report saidthat after the destruction of the existing Arrow planes created based on the models now in Lake Ontariopieces were sold to a Hamilton junk dealer, for 6.5 cents per pound. At 67,000 pounds, a scrapped Arrow would have cost $4,355.

Unveiling the Arrow

67 years ago

Duration 0:33

The first sleek white Avro Arrow is unveiled in front of a crowd of 12,000 at the Avro Plant in Malton. But the Russians unveil something of their own.Arrow photo: National Archives of Canada, PA-210520

John Diefenbaker defends his Avro Arrow decision in 1964

60 years ago

Duration 1:48

Dief the Chief on the Avro Arrow: 'It was right to end it.' Aired on the CBC program Document on March 25, 1964.

The hunt for Avro Arrow models

25 years ago

Duration 3:03

Lake Ontario hides sunken treasure: nine test models of the Avro Arrow.