Frederick Thomas Smye (August 6, 1916 – 1985) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

businessman. He was the president of Avro Aircraft Limited (Canada). He was born in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

, the son of Frederick Thomas Smye and Maude Givern, and was educated at

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in Port Hope. In 1939, he married Dorothy Jean Carswell. Smye first worked with the Canadian aircraft industry during World War II in 1940 as an official in the New York, Washington and Ottawa offices of the Department of Munitions and Supply, eventually becoming Director of Aircraft Production. In 1944 he was appointed Assistant General Manager of Federal Aircraft Limited in Montreal to wind up the Canadian Government's aircraft production program. At the close of the war he played a key role in establishing the British

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in Canada through the formation of A.V. Roe Canada Limited. On August 1, 1945, Smye became the first employee of A.V. Roe Canada established in the former

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facilities at Malton, Ontario. With the official formation of Avro Aircraft on December 1, 1945, he was appointed Assistant General Manager. He was a lead administrator of all the major Avro projects: the

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, the

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, the Orenda engines to power it, and the

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

supersonic interceptor. He held various A. V. Roe Canada positions including President of Avro Aircraft, Executive Vice-President (aeronautical) and Board Member of several A. V. Roe subsidiaries. After the cancellation of the Arrow by the

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government in 1959, Smye resigned from A. V. Roe in 1960 and in 1963 purchased Canadian Ofrex Limited, running the company as President until selling it in 1972. He emigrated to the

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in Portugal in 1973 where lived until he died of cancer in December 1985.

References

* ''Canadian Who's Who, 1958-1960'' * Canadian Ofrex Limited Announcement. ''The Globe and Mail, Report on Business''. July 5, 1963, p. B10. * Birth and Death Notices. Smye, Frederick Thomas. ''The Globe and Mail''. December 9, 1985, p. D14. * Stewart, Greig. ''Shutting Down the National Dream: A.V. Roe and the Tragedy of the Avro Arrow''. Toronto: McGraw-Hill-Ryerson, 1991. . 1916 births 1985 deaths Aviation in Canada {{Canada-business-bio-stub