Avro Canada was set up in 1946, and the Engine Division soon set about developing gas turbine aircraft engines. A small axial turbojet was built, which provided experience to design and build the “Orenda”, which first ran in 1949. Numerous versions were developed through to the Mk 14.

Applications were the company’s CF-100 all-weather fighter and the Canadair licence-built F-86 “Sabre 5” and “Sabre 6”. Our example is a 7,300 lb.s.t (3,311 kg) “Orenda 11”. It proved to be a very successful engine at a time when axial flow turbojets were quite troublesome.

In 1953 Avro Canada started to design the PS-13, and in 1956 the Engine Division was renamed Orenda Engines, and the PS-13 became the “Iroquois”. This extremely powerful engine was intended for the Avro “Arrow”, but that is another story!