Avro Canada CF - 100 Canuck The Avro Canada CF - 100 Canuck ( affectionately known as the " Clunk " ) was a Canadian jet interceptor / fighter serving during the Cold War both in NATO bases in Europe and as part of NORAD . The CF - 100 was the only Canadian - designed fighter to enter mass production , serving primarily with the RCAF / CAF and in small numbers in Belgium . For its day , the CF - 100 featured a short takeoff run and high climb rate , making it well suited to its role as an interceptor . Design and development . In the early 1950s , Canada needed an all - weather interceptor ( fighter ) able to patrol the vast areas of Canada ' s north and operate in all weather conditions . The two - seat fighter crewed by a pilot and navigator was designed with two powerful engines and an advanced radar and fire control system housed in its nose that enabled it to fly in all - weather or night conditions . Design of the XC - 100 to meet a Royal Canadian Air Force ( RCAF ) specification for an all - weather fighter was initiated at Avro Canada in October 1946 . Chief Engineer Edgar Atkin ' s work on the CF - 100 was subsequently passed to John Frost ( formerly of de Havilland ) who , along with Avro ' s Chief Aerodynamacist Jim Chamberlin , reworked the original fuselage design . The CF - 100 Mark 1 prototype , " 18101 , " emerged out of the factory , painted gloss black overall with white lightning bolts running down the fuselage and engines . The CF - 100 prototype flew its maiden flight on 19 January 1950 with Gloster Aircraft Company Chief Test Pilot Squadron Leader Bill Waterton at the controls . Waterton was on loan from the Gloster firm , another member of the Hawker Siddeley Group , and chosen because of his experience with jet aircraft development , as one of the " highest - time " pilots in the world . The Mark 1 was powered by two Avon RA 3 turbojets with 28 . 9 kN ( 2 , 950 kgp / 6 , 500 lbf ) thrust each . The second prototype , 18102 , was also powered by Rolls - Royce Avons , although subsequent pre - production and production series aircraft used the Avro Orenda turbojet . Five pre - production Mk 2 test aircraft were produced ( 18103 - 18107 ) all fitted with the Orenda 2 jet engines ; one was fitted with dual controls and designated a Mk 2T trainer . The first production version , designated Mk 3 , incorporated the APG - 33 radar and was armed with eight . 50 caliber ( 12 . 7 mm ) machine gun s . The Mk 3CT and Mk 3DT were again dual control versions supplied to operational training units . A CF - 100 arrived at Eglin AFB , Florida , in mid - January 1955 for cold - weather tests in the climatic hangar . A seven - man RCAF team , headed by Flight Lieutenant B . D . Darling , which had previously conducted tests at Namao Air Base , Alberta , were part of the climatic detachment of Central Experimental and Proving Establishment . Tests were to begin in February . In March 1956 , four CF - 100 Canucks were sent to Eglin AFB for comparative armament trials , and flown by USAF crews . The operational suitability tests , dubbed Project Banana Belt , were carried out by the 3241st Test Group ( Interceptor ) of the APGC ' s Air Force Operational Test Center , in conjunction with a project team from the Royal Canadian Air Force . Production . In September 1950 , the RCAF ordered 124 examples of the Mk 3 version , the first of these entering service in 1953 . These were armed with eight . 50 - caliber machine guns . The definitive rocket - armed Mk 4A version was based on the prototype Mk 4 ( a modified Mk 3 ) first flying on 11 October 1952 . The nose housed the much larger APG - 40 radar with wingtip pods each containing up to 29 Mighty Mouse FFAR ( folding fin aerial rockets ) in addition to the guns . As the last 54 of an order for the Mk 3 were changed into the Mk 4 in 1954 , total orders for the Mk . 4 rose to 510 . The Mk 4B version had more powerful Orenda 11s . Five versions , or " marks " , were produced , ending , from 1955 onwards , with the high - altitude Mk 5 that featured a 1 . 06m ( 3 ft . 6 in . ) extended wingtip and enlarged tailplane , along with removal of the machine guns . The proposed Mk 6 was to have mounted Sparrow II missiles and been powered by afterburning Orenda 11IR engines in an effort to provide an " interim " fighter prior to the introduction of the Avro CF - 105 Arrow . A projected transonic swept - wing CF - 103 was built in mock - up form in 1951 , but was considered obsolescent even before the CF - 100 ' s demonstrated ability to exceed the speed of sound in a dive . On 18 December 1952 , S / L Janusz Żurakowski , the Avro company chief development test pilot , took the CF - 100 Mk 4 prototype to Mach 1 . 0 in a dive from 30 , 000 ft . being the first straight - winged jet aircraft to achieve controlled supersonic flight . Operational history . The Canuck was affectionately known in the RCAF as the " Clunk " because of the noise the front landing gear made as it retracted into its well after takeoff . Its less - attractive nickname was the " Lead Sled " , a reference to its heavy controls and general lack of maneuverability , a nickname it shared with a number of other 1950s aircraft . Others included CF - Zero , the Zilch , the Beast , all references to an aircraft many pilots considered less glamourous than RCAF day fighter s like the Canadair Sabre . The aircraft operated under the US / Canadian North American Air Defense Command ( NORAD ) to protect North American airspace from Soviet intruders such as nuclear - armed bombers . Additionally , as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) , four Canuck squadrons were based in Europe with 1 Air Division from 1956 – 1962 , and were for some time the only NATO fighters capable of operating in zero visibility and poor weather conditions . When the Korean War started , the USAF was in urgent need of a jet - propelled , all - weather , interdiction / surveillance aircraft . The urgency was so great that the USAF was willing to consider two foreign designs : the CF - 100 and the English Electric Canberra . The CF - 100 was rejected because of insufficient range and payload . The English Electric design was selected and developed into the B - 57 Canberra . The CF - 100 served with nine RCAF squadrons at its peak in the mid - 1950s . Four of these squadrons were deployed to Europe from late 1956 – 1962 under the NIMBLE BAT ferry program , replacing some NATO RCAF squadrons equipped with Canadair Sabre day fighters to provide all - weather defense against Soviet intruders . Canucks flying at home retained natural metal finish , but those flying overseas were given a British - style disruptive camouflage scheme - dark sea gray and green on top , light sea gray on the bottom . During his Avro Canada years , the Chief Development Pilot , S / L Żurakowski , continued to fly as an aerobatic display pilot , with spectacular results , especially at the 1955 Farnborough Airshow where he displayed the CF - 100 in a " falling - leaf . " He was acclaimed again as the " Great Żura " by many aviation and industry observers who could not believe a large , all - weather fighter could be put through its paces so spectacularly . His performance led to Belgium purchasing the CF - 100 . In its lifetime , 692 CF - 100s of different variants were produced , including 53 aircraft delivered to the Belgian Air Force . Although originally designed for only 2 , 000 hours , it was found that the Canuck ' s airframe could serve for over 20 , 000 hours before retirement . Consequently , though it was replaced in its front line role by the CF - 101 Voodoo , the Canuck served with 414 Squadron of the Canadian Forces at CFB North Bay , Ontario , until 1981 , in reconnaissance , training and electronic warfare roles . After the CF - 100 was retired , a number of aircraft still remain across Canada ( and elsewhere ) as static displays . Its planned successor , the CF - 105 Arrow along with the sophisticated Orenda Iroquois engine , both Canadian - designed , were cancelled in 1959 in a controversial decision by the Canadian government . Aircraft on display . Museums or sites which have an Avro Canada CF - 100 on display :