Fred Smye

Who was Fred Smye?

Frederick Thomas "Fred" Smye was a Canadian businessman. He was the president of Avro Aircraft Limited.

He was born in Hamilton, Ontario, the son of Frederick Thomas Smye and Maude Givern, and was educated at Trinity College in Port Hope. In 1939, he married Dorothy Jean Carswell. Smye joined United States Munitions and Supply in New York City in 1940, later becoming director of Canadian Aircraft Production during World War II. In 1944, he joined Federal Aircraft Limited in Montreal, later named Victory Aircraft. When Hawker Siddeley purchased Victory Aircraft from the Canadian government in 1945, Smye became the first employee of A.V. Roe Canada Limited and later that year he became assistant general manager of Avro Aircraft Limited. He later served as president of Canadian Applied Research Limited and Canadian Steel Improvement Limited.

Smye died of cancer in Portugal in December 1985.