270830 - THE ENGLISH ELECTRIC CANBERRA: Bomber & Trainer Versions from B.1 to TT.18 & Martin B-57A (Black Series - Aviation Icons)

By Paul Bradley

The English Electric Canberra was a British first-generation, jet-powered medium bomber, and was developed during the mid- to late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the de Havilland Mosquito. Among the performance requirements for the type was an outstanding high-altitude bombing capability and high speed, and these were partly accomplished by making use of newly developed jet-propulsion technology.

When the Canberra was introduced to service with the Royal Air Force, the type's first operator, in May 1951, it became the service's first jet-powered bomber. In February 1951, a Canberra set a world record when it became the first jet aircraft to make a nonstop transatlantic flight. Throughout most of the 1950s, the Canberra could fly at a higher altitude than any other aircraft in the world, and in 1957, a Canberra established a world altitude record of 70,310 feet (21,430 m). Due to its ability to evade the early jet interceptor aircraft, and its significant performance advancement over contemporary piston-engined bombers, the Canberra became a popular aircraft on the export market, being procured for service in the air forces of many nations both inside and outside of the Commonwealth of Nations. The type was also licence-produced in Australia and in the US by Martin as the B-57, the latter being produced both the slightly modified B-57A Canberra and the significantly updated B-57B. In addition to being a tactical nuclear strike aircraft, the Canberra proved to be highly adaptable, serving in varied roles such as tactical bombing and photographic and electronic reconnaissance.

Canberras served throughout the Cold War, in the Suez Crisis, Vietnam War, Falklands War, Indo-Pakistani wars, and numerous African conflicts. In several wars, each of the opposing sides had Canberra’s in its air force and served for more than fifty years with some operators. In June 2006, the RAF retired the last three of its Canberra’s, fifty-seven years after its first flight, whist three of the B-57 variant remain in service, performing meteorological and other duties. The ‘Black Series - Aviation Icons’ is aimed at the historian and aviation enthusiast alike, and contains background details, variants, operational deployments, colour artwork and walk arounds.