In addition to funding, Kraken Sonar also provided the explorers with the ThunderFish, which was able to take photos of the bottom of the lake. Of the nine prototypes that made it into the water, though, which one had the team discovered? While it may not seem important, there was one prototype model that was superior to the others.
Another Kraken Sonar employee, Karl Kenny, explained saying, “Back in the 1950s, there was no computer modeling to see how they’d fly, so the designers had to use a physical model. Then, it went back to the engineers for fine-tuning. The ninth model is the Holy Grail. They had it perfected.”
Getting Rid Of The Evidence
When the Arrow program was canceled, more than 50 thousand people lost their jobs. The Canadian Mounted Police had suspicions that a Soviet spy was among these former employees, had all evidence of the Avro Arrow destroyed.
This meant all planes, blueprints, data, and parts disappeared practically overnight. However, they completely forgot about the nine prototypes sitting at the bottom of Lake Ontario.
The Only Pieces Left
Senior Engineer, David Shea, worked for Kraken Sonar, one of the companies that helped to fund the “Raise The Arrow” expedition. He explained to the National Post why the prototypes at the bottom of the lake were so important.
“The government destroyed all the drawings, models and burned everything, so it wasn’t replicated. These models, at the bottom of Lake Ontario, are the only intact pieces of that whole program.”
A Piece Of Lost Canadian History
Osisko Mining was another company that helped the “Raise The Arrow” expedition get off the ground. The director, CEO, and president of the company, John Burzynski, was excited to get involved in the program and eager to see what was discovered.
“As professional explorers in the mining business, we initiated this program about a year ago with the idea of bringing back a piece of lost Canadian history to the Canadian public,” Burzynski explained in an interview.
A Needle In A Haystack
In another interview, Senior Engineer David Shea shared his thoughts with The Globe and Mail about what would lead to a successful expedition. “People ask, 'Well, do you think you are going to find them?' The problem isn't the technology. The problem is making sure you are looking in the right place.”
Considering Point Petre was the point where the Avro Arrow prototypes were launched from, it was thought to be the best place to start the search. And what do you know, they found what they were looking for!