ORENDA IROQUOIS: Diefenbaker DIDN'T get it.

It was NEVER JUST ABOUT the Arrow… it was also about the Orenda Iroquois…

It was ALSO about NATIONAL PRIDE in superb AERONAUTICAL ACHIEVEMENT.

Funded by Canada, and produced by Canadians.

And when SOMEONE tells you that Canada couldn't have sold Arrows worldwide, there was no market, just think about all those "Made in France" Dassault Mirages THAT WERE sold to various countries worldwide.

Then ask yourself why Avro Canada couldn't have stolen that market?

Well… WE would' have—

But Canadian agriculture was all Diefenbaker understood.

TECHNOLOGY was beyond his simple boyhood experiences in Saskatchewan.

Combine and hay bales, for miles.

No jet fighters.

Anywhere.

Conclusion: jet fighters are unimportant.

And like the caveman that he was, Diefenbaker killed the Arrow, and the Iroquois.

But Canada, in the 50s, was big enough to be the breadbasket of the world, AND to market her aeronautical offerings of intercepter and jet engines.

But not with a dummy at the helm.

In the fifties, CANADA needed a visionary for a prime minister.

F***, we elected a farmer.



(from Wikipedia)

The ORENDA IROQUOIS

FOR THE CF-105 Arrow project, Avro Canada had originally intended to use one of three different engines, all UK designs: Rolls-Royce RB.106, the Bristol B.0L.4 Olympus, or a license-built version of the Olympus, the Curtiss-Wright J67.

The RB.106 and J67 were selected as the primary and backup engines for the new design. However, both the RB.106 and J67 were cancelled during the Arrow's design phase, too far into the program to select the Olympus.

Orenda Engines quickly responded with the PS.13 Iroquois design.
The Iroquois design was based on simplicity and lightness.

With this in mind, Orenda pioneered work in the use of titanium in engines, with 20% by weight of the Iroquois (mainly the compressor rotor blades) consisting of this metal. Titanium has light weight, high strength and good temperature and corrosion resistance. It was estimated that the engine would be 850 pounds (386 kg) lighter than if steel had been used. During the early 1950s, this material was in short supply, and the lack of knowledge of its physical properties and fabrication techniques created problems which had to be overcome. It was also very expensive relative to the more common materials such as steel and aluminum.

It was recognized that if the engine parts could be designed with titanium, then the supporting structure could also be lightened due to reduced forces within the engine, with an overall saving in weight. Other parts, such as gearbox casings were made with a magnesium alloy. Inconel was used to make the blades in the low pressure turbine assembly and the metal insulation blanket found at the rear of the engine. This heat resistant nickel-chrome alloy retains its strength at high temperatures and resists oxidation and corrosion. The primary reason for using these advanced metals was to save weight and improve performance, creating an engine with a 5:1 thrust to weight ratio that could produce a sea level dry thrust of 19,250 lb (26,000 lb with afterburner).

The design, development and manufacture of such an advanced jet engine was accomplished in an incredibly short time by the Orenda team.

The detailed design was completed in May 1954, and the first run was achieved in December 1954.

The earlier Orenda 9 had more parts but produced less power. For example, the Orenda 9 weighed 2,560 lb (1,160 kg) and produced 6,355 lb (2,883 kg) static thrust, while the Iroquois weighed 5,900 lb. (2,675 kg) but was reported to have produced 30,000 lb (13,608 kg) static thrust with afterburner for take off. (the Orenda did not have an afterburner.)

The Iroquois was one of the most powerful jet engines in the world at its time of introduction, rated at 19,250 lbf (85.6 kN) dry, 25,000 lbf (111 kN) afterburning. It was aerodynamically matched for peak performance at 50,000 feet (15,200 m) altitude and Mach 2 speed.