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—s Avro Canada Special Projects History 947 British engineer John C M Frost joins Avro Canada Ltd as Chief Designer for the CF-100 fighter project. Mar 1952 Avro Canada begins Project Y. RCAF provides $410,000 CDN. Feb 1953 Toronto Star carries brief description of Project Y. Mar 1953 Avro (UK) Study a Project Y alternative called P.724. Apr 1953 Project Y mock-up shown to VIPs. . . a 953 Frost attends secret meeting with German flying disc engineer. WEAPONS SYSTEM 606A_ <=) Mar 1954 Project Y cancelled. No further RCAF involvement. Jul 1954 USAF takes over Project Y. Pentagon provides $784,492 US. New programme called Project Y2 Ladybird. 955 Ladybird codename changed to Silver Bug. (Supersonic Application) 955 _ Silver Bug research aircraft expected to fly. 955 Project MX 1794 development started. February 1958 Dec 1955 Avro fund Project PV.704 concept. $2,500,000 CDN. 956 Mock-up of Project 1794 possibly completed. Mar 1957 USAF take over PV.704 as WS-606A. $1,118,292 US. Jun 1957 Components manufactured for Project 1794 Prototype. Jan 1958 Work starts on supersonic WS-606A Prototype. Feb 1958 Avrocar proposed for US Army. Mar 1958 USAF suggests halting supersonic WS-606A project. Mar 1958 Avrocar study undertaken for US Army. $696,383 US. 1958 Mock-up of Avrocar built. WS-606 document front cover. USAF May 1958 USAF Contract (AF-33(600)-3796) awarded to Avro for the construction of one Avrocar demonstrator. $2,102,197 US. Mar 1959 Second Avrocar commissioned by USAF. $1,775,000 US. appears more likely that this design was Feb 1959 Supersonic WS-606A discontinued by Avro. always intended to be a daylight photo-recon- May 1959 Avrocar #1 rolled out. Trials started in June 1959. naissance aircraft and the multi-role capabil- Aug 1959 Avrocar #2 rolled out. Trials started in Nov 1959. ity never existed. July 1960 USAF contract, of unknown value, for continuation of Avrocar. To intentionally mislead outsiders, the 1960 Advanced Avrocar proposed. WS: 606A designation was also used for the Dec 1961 Avrocar Programme ends. iad nbtha hace Six AVAGO AIRCRAFT LIMITED aha February 1958 appears more likely that this design was always intended to be a daylight photo-recon- naissance aircraft and the multi-role capabil- ity never existed. To intentionally mislead outsiders, the WS-606A designation was also used for the Avrocar project, which emerged at the begin- ning of 1958. This evidently generated prob- lems with USAF personnel who seem to have been very confused by the continuing use of Project 1794, mixed with WS-606A and Avro- car. More than one recently released docu- ment shows requests for clarification on designations. Eventually this seems to have been resolved by referring to WS-606A as the supersonic application, while simply using the name Avrocar for the later project. In January 1958, Avro informed the USAF |WS-606A would cost three times that of two that they had built a full-scale version of smaller Avrocars. By March 1958, a 1/12th- WS-606A minus the outer wings, although scale model of the supersonic WS-606A had this may have been (more or less) the six- been completed and shipped to MIT in engined test rig used for the MX 1794 flying Boston where wind tunnel testing was being disc. By the following month discussion of funding had been raised with the USAF who _ ayro Canada WS-606A six-engine configuration. were advised that one complete supersonic — USAF 73 (Supersonic Application) WS-606 document front cover. USAF Avro Canada WS-606A six-engine configuration. USAF Canada’s Cold War Saucers