In August of 2017, Canadian researchers dropped into Lake Ontario, searching for a piece of past technology with untold dangers ahead.
Diving Deep
A team of Canadian researchers heart word about “something valuable” being under a specific portion of Lake Ontario. Hobbyist locals were able to detect something metallic sitting in the depths of the lake using sonar technology, but none of them were able to dive into the water to discover what it was.
OEX Recovery Group
Because of their inability to dig deeper, locals contacted the OEX Recovery Group. This outfit of divers is associated with Canadian miners and specialize in pulling metallic objects out of deep water. With the vague information they were given, the rescuers got inspired to search the deep water, with the premonition that they would be finding something unbelievable…
Raise the Arrow
This project was codenamed “Raise the Arrow” because of the team’s suspicions as to what was hiding under there. The sonar picked up a massive arrow-shaped object, which could be anything, but the team theorized that it was some kind of military technology or an accessory to a plane. Either way, they knew this would be an important find because it had been down there for so long.
The Planning Stage
With all its funding secured, this project could not fail. The largest problem that they faced was the potential of not finding anything, or the object being too large or too dangerous to hoist up. This was essentially like buying a lottery ticket, there was no predetermined outcome and no way of telling what the odds were that this was a profitable or historic artifact. That was the case until the team started doing research about the history of the area…
Rolling the Dice
When the team arrived, they found that the water in the surrounding area was crystal clear and serene. However, at its deepest, Lake Ontario is around 800ft to the bottom. In this particular area, the floor of the lake was unpredictable, dark, and hazardous. Since the water did not move very quickly in the area, sediment, trash, and hazards would sit on the bottom undisturbed. This presented a potential danger to the divers.
Doing the Research
Because of the potential dangers present, the team had to extensively plan their descent taking every factor into account. This was akin to the moon landing, where everything absolutely had to go perfect in every practice run to take the potential dangers of diving in hand. Even then, the team did not know what they were looking for, which posed so many more questions and dangers. In theory, they would have to dive down twice, once to discover what the object was, another time to retrieve it if it was as valuable as they assumed…
Making a Dry Run
Preparation was imperative in order to make this a successful endeavor. The first step was finding the most experienced divers who would be willing to risk their lives for scientific discovery. The locals assured the divers and the research team that where they were diving was safe, but there was no paperwork done about the dangers that lied beneath.
Reporting from the Past
The researchers worked closely with local police forces and citizens to map out the best route possible, and to theorize what was in the lake. Police forces found some classified documents regarding some military tests from the 1960s, but since they were classified, none of the information was legible. With no accurate theories, the team had to run strictly on guesswork…
Meeting the Tracker
Al Weir was the first man to track the object on sonar. He had been living in his house since the 1980s, and had always detected that object on his sonar, but never thought it was an abnormality until he upgraded his technology and got a clearer sonic image of the “arrow.” He worked as a meteorologist, and in his retirement, he continued to track weather and erosion patterns around his house using a multitude of devices.
Using Available Technology
The team used drone footage to map out the area based on modern erosion patterns. This would give the best results to find out the current lay of the land. The location was in the middle of the lake closest to the area that was deepest, so it was presumed that this would be a deep dive. The team needed to think of different ways to get eyes down there before they sent divers, and fast…
Shifting Gears
The team rented a submarine with a high fidelity camera to take the first descent. This was a massive expense that almost went over their entire budget, but for some reason, their investors still supported their decision.
Upping the Ante
This submarine uses a sonic radar to create high-resolution images of the seafloor, capable of creating 720p recreations of what’s in its sonar, even in complete darkness. This minimizes the risk but maximizes the expenditure. The investors will soon find that their faith was not misguided…
No, That’s Not What They’re Looking For
The funniest part of all of this is that the area that “the arrow” is submerged in the place where the Loch Ness Monster is rumored to live. Literally, this is the exact location that the majority of Loch Ness Monster sightings occur.
The Rumors Continue
In 2013, there was a rumor being spread about a secret military base hidden underwater in Lake Ontario. Some people theorized that this base was run by aliens, some assumed it was run by the government, but it was actually an upturned ship that was carrying the object of question. Locals pointed out this rumor and it actually helped determine where the specific location of the first dive should be. Now, we go down…
Rescheduling for Safety Purposes
The patterns of Lake Ontario’s water doesn’t generally follow a formula. The lake acts like an ocean because it is so large, and sometimes the wind patterns dictate where the waves will go. The day of the dive had to be passed over, and this messed up the funding schedule of the whole excursion.
This Cannot Happen Again
As you can see, the dive site is right in the middle of Lake Ontario. This costs thousands of dollars to transport the research team, medical personnel, the submarine, the local authorities, and the people who will be controlling the sub. This is a highly involved mission. Those who choose to be part of it need to be in preparation mode at all times. This was the only mistake they could afford, so they went for another try to do it for real…
We’re Going Down
“Raise the Arrow” was officially initiated in late August of 2017. The team dropped the submarine at 9:01 am, completely equipped with the sonar camera and a basket capable of hoisting over 2000lbs of weight. So, what did the submarine find?
A… Missile?
Scientists on the scene theorized that this was a prototype aircraft that was created in the 1950s and was launched over Lake Ontario. This aircraft was never built again exactly because the blueprints were lost after the plane was launched into the water. So, what is this thing?
The History Involved
In 1946, Canada was trying to develop a stealthy and incredibly destructive aircraft. They wanted to make tiny warheads that could be independently piloted, like drones, but with less control. The idea is that this rocket would propel itself at a consistent rate and would not have to be adjusted because the thrust would be so high that it would not interfere with the wind resistance.
Hand in Hand
This was a collaboration of top-secret research between the United States and Canada. Perhaps this is why the blueprints went missing. Regardless, this projectile was supposed to be a response to Russian spy submarines, since they could not attack via boat without being ambushed, they could just launch a missile over the submarines. Clearly, this plan did not go very well…
The Arvo Arrow
This prototype was nicknamed the “Arvo Arrow,” it was roughly 9 feet long and had a wingspan of 5 feet across. This rocket flew using solid fuel, and once that fuel was used up or the rocket collided with something, the artillery shell would explode.
You Can’t Hide This Mistake
This mission was a classified failure, and the Canadian government attempted to hide its embarrassment by dumping the rest of the prototypes in Lake Ontario. The team discovered that there were nine more to discover down there, all within a mile radius of where the first prototype was found.
Getting to the Bottom of It
The Canadian government destroyed all blueprints, models, and burned the employee records to hide this expensive mistake. These missiles are the only pieces of proof that prove that this top-secret program existed.
Renters Fee Pt. 2
The “Raise the Arrow” team was granted a second check to rent the mini-submarine again. Now that this object was discovered, and we know they are more, it would probably be best for the environment and local safety if these explosives were pulled out of the water.
John Burzynski
Burzynski was the leader of the rescue team that discovered the first missile. You can see him here, accepting the second grand to dive deeper and retrieve the nine additional rockets that were scattered underwater.
Like Finding a Needle in a Haystack
This is one of the sonars generated images that helped the time find the first rocket. The second rocket can be seen right in the middle of the picture, but at times it is so difficult to differentiate between what is rock and sand, and what might be a rocket. That is why this was such a risky mission, especially since they did not know what they would have been pulling up in the initial dive.
Recalling the Launch
It seems that the only person who witnessed the launch of the rockets and is still living is this man, Jack Hurst. He stated that he watched the rockets fly a few thousand feet into the air, and then came down no more than a mile away, right into the direct spot that the team was diving.
Bringing Them All Up
In just a few weeks all of the prototypes were brought to the surface. Surprisingly, after the first dive, the rest were easier to locate and much easier to bring to the surface. This was pure luck, and if it weren’t for the first rocket being so difficult to locate, the team would probably have never picked up the signs of the rest of them.
Hard to See
These missiles were practically indistinguishable from underwater. Even the sonar device couldn’t pick up an accurate reading of what the rockets looked like. Since they had been underwater for 60 years, they blended into the lake floor.
Post Cleanup
This is how the rockets look after they’re cleaned off. As you can see, this one probably hit the water at a tremendous speed, causing the nose to bend at a 90 degree angle.
A Blast From the Past
Although this is archaic in modern times, and we can remote control rockets with ease, these attempts to make self-propelled rockets were very impressive for the time period.
Prototype 9
There was one rocket that was clearly more technologically advanced than its predecessors. The research team assumed that this was the final iteration of the design before they decided to scrap the idea. This rocket was affectionately named “Prototype 9.”
Closing the Book
After all 9 prototypes were pulled out of the water, the research team could finally relax. With the money gone and their mission concluded, it was time to shut everything down.
The Big Move
The research team relocated the prototypes to a local museum in Toronto. From there, they will be studied, and then put on a museum circuit around Canada, and then the US.
The End
OEX Recovery Group still operates, but mostly for mining resource retrieval