English Electric Canberra

Design

English Electric Canberra

In 1944, the Ministry for the Air of the the United Kingdom emits a request for a bomber with high-speed and high-altitude, not armed and propelled by a Reaction engine . The company English Electric vice an engineer from Westland and entrusts a team charged to him to design such an apparatus. After having considered a single engine, the engineers end up arriving at the formula of Canberra, with its 2 engines placed in the wings the made-to-order of the Gloster Meteor, which releases the fuselage for the bomb bay and the fuel. The formula of the twin-jet aircraft is also an advantage at one time when this type of engine is still not very powerful and of an average reliability.

The first of the four prototypes makes its inaugural flight on May 13rd, 1949, whereas a hundred production aircraft were already ordered. The system of aiming per radar envisaged not being ready, Canberra receives a glazed nose accommodating a third team member, responsible for the aiming with traditional visual systems. Indicated Canberra B.2, this first version is brought into service in 1951. It is quickly followed of a version PR.3 of recognition (first flight March 19th, 1951) and of a T.4 version of drive (first flight June 12th, 1952).

The arrival of Avon engines more powerful makes it possible to carry out versions B.6 and PR.7, equivalent to B.2 and T.4 besides their motorization. The adaptation of Canberra to ground attack missions is however in hand with the installation of a pack containing 4 guns of 20 mm in the ventral compartment and the possibility of carrying bombs under the wings. If a derivative of B.6 is carried out with these modifications, the first true version of this type is the B (I) .8 which makes its first flight on July 23rd, 1954. It is a two-seater aircraft, with a team member charged with the aiming with before and a pilot under a new canopy offering a better visibility. B (I) .8 is also the first version able to carry a Atomic bomb.

First plane of this type and equipped with good performances, Canberra did not have any evil to obtain contracts with export. Moreover, its modular concept facilitated the development of specific versions. On the whole, 27 versions different from Canberra were developed, that it is for the Royal Air Force or about fifteen countries which became purchasers from there.

In 1950, the Australia signed an order for 48 Canberra, which was to be built under license locally by Government Aircraft Factory. The first of them made its inaugural flight in May 1953 and the production continued until September 1958. Indicated Canberra Mk 20, the Australian planes had only 2 team members, carried more fuel, their engines were more powerful and their modified avionics.

A large purchaser of Canberra was the India, which ordered 108 specimens of 6 versions different at the end of the years 1950 and repurchased occasion ten Canberra to the Nouvelle Zealand in 1970.

Martin B-57 Canberra

After the Second world war, the the United States had put the priority on the development of new strategic bombers. When the Guerre of Korea burst in June 1950, they quickly realized that their average bombers were exceeded and were to be replaced urgently. A commission was thus to charge with finding a solution, including by studying planes produced abroad, and ended up adopting two in December 1950 projects: English Martin X-51 American and Canberra, both with the state of prototypes.

As the the United Kingdom did not have a sufficient production capacity, it was expected that Canberra is manufactured under license with the the United States. The contract was to then be allotted to the Martin firm, in compensation of the abandonment of X-51 which seemed lower. Canberra B.2 arrived at the the United States on February 21st, 1951 to take part in comparison tests, and its superiority was so obvious that he was announced victorious on March 2nd.

First Canberra manufactured with the the United States left factory on July 20th, 1953. It was based on Canberra B.2, was equipped with engines Armstrong-Siddeley Saphire also built under license and offering 10% of additional power, a rotary bomb bay, and had received some other minor modifications. It was about a version of indicated preproduction Martin B-57A Canberra, which was built only with 8 specimens.

The development of a version of recognition was launched as of October 1951. Indicated RB-57A, it accommodated several cameras in the bomb bay. The first of the 67 specimens made its first flight in October 1953 and a first squadron was declared operational on this plane in July 1954. The first version intended for the bombardment to be produced in series was the B-57B, whose prototype made its first flight on June 18th, 1954. This version was seriously modified compared to the B-57A, with inter alia an entirely remade cockpit (pilot and navigator/bomber installed out of tandem under a large canopy), a improved Avionique (sight radar, calculator of bombardment and detector of alarm radar), a new bomb bay, pylons of carrying under the wings, as 8 machine-guns of 12,7 mm (which will be replaced thereafter by 4 guns of 20mm).

Version B-57C (first flight on December 30th, 1954) was intended for the drive and had dual control. It was followed RB-57D intended for the recognition to high-altitude (first flight on December 3rd, 1955): with this intention, the plane had received a new wing, engines Pratt & Whitney J57 more powerful, and did not carry any more fuel in the fuselage. A version B-57E intended for the towing of targets for the drive with the shooting made its first flight on May 16th, 1956 and was built with 68 specimens. A few years later, these planes were converted into electronic EB-57E of war, except for a dozen modified in B-57B to compensate for the losses of the Guerre of Vietnam.

With the beginning of the year 1960, the manufacturer General Dynamics was charged to carry out a new version of recognition to high-altitude, by conversion of some B-57A, B and D. Désignée RF-57F, the new version had an entirely new wing of more important surface, an increased drift, engines with double-flow Pratt & Whitney TF33 twice more powerful, two auxiliary engines Pratt & Whitney J60 under the wings (used only with high-altitude), and of new equipment of recognition. The first RF-57F made its inaugural flight on June 23rd, 1963 and the last of the 21 specimens was delivered in March 1967.

The last version of Martin B-57 was the B-57G intended for the attack nocture (first flight in July 1969) and carried out by modification of 16 B-57B which accepted a camera on low level of light, an infra-red system (FLIR) and a system of laser illumination. On the other hand the guns of 20mm were removed to compensate for the increase in weight.

The the United States encountered many difficulties with their B-57: problems of engines, partially defective avionics, accidents due to an ordering of flight badly regulated, without speaking about weaknesses structural on the level of the wings on the RB-57D and RB-57F. Consequently, first versions RB-57A and B-57B were transferred towards units from reserve as of the end of the year 1950, and the plane would have probably had a very short career without the release of the Guerre of Vietnam.

In 1959,24 American B-57B and 2 B-57C were resold of occasion to the Pakistan with a system of degraded bombardment. This one was however updated in 1963 to find its initial capacities. Two RF-57F were provided in the middle of the years 1960. Pakistan withdrew its B-57 of the service in 1985. On its side, Taiwan received two RB-57A which was replaced by RB-57D in 1959. Lastly, a program aiming at equipping the Southern Vietnam with B-57 was initiated in 1965, but finally abandoned in 1967.

Engagements

During second half of the years 1950, Canberra Australian were engaged at the time of missions against the guerilla in the north of the peninsular Malaysia.

The United Kingdom engaged its Canberra during the Crise of Suez Canal (1956).

With the beginning of the year 1960, the India deployed several Canberra within the framework of the Opération of the United Nations in Congo. They carried out in particular a mission of bombardment on Kolweizi, as well as many missions of support of the troops on the ground and recognition.

Canberra of the India and B-57 of the Pakistan were engaged at the time of two adverse conflicts these countries: the Second indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and the Third indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

The the United States and the Australia engaged their B-57 at the time of the Guerre of Vietnam. American lost 51 of the 94 B-57B deployed at the time of this conflict. On their side, the Australian ones lost 2 planes.

The Argentine engaged its Canberra during the Guerre of the Falklands (1982). Two planes were lost at the time of this conflict.

Records

From 1951 to 1958, Canberra established not less than 22 approved records, of which 3d' altitude. One can quote in particular:

a double crossing of the Atlantic Ocean during a one-way flight/return of 10:3 m 29s without stopover, on August 26th, 1952
a non-stop flight of 22:0 m and 21s between London and Darwin, January 27th and 28th 1953
a rise until the altitude of 20083 meters, on August 29th, 1955 (with engines Olympus Bristol-board)

Alternatives

English Electric Canberra (the many versions intended for export are not listed)

B.2: initial version with 3 team members (416 specimens)
PR.3: two-seater version of recognition, with lengthened fuselage and 7 cameras (35 specimens)
T.4: version of drive to dual control (66 specimens)
B.6: engines Avon 109 more powerful (97 specimens)
B (I) .6: version capable of missions of attack on the ground (22 specimens)
PR.7: version of recognition of B.6 (74 specimens)
B (I) .8: version specialized for the attack on the ground (82 specimens)
PR.9: version of recognition to high-altitude (23 specimens)
U.10: drones for the drive with the real shooting (17 specimens)
T.11: version of drive to the use of a radar (9 modified planes)
B.15/16: version of attack equipped with rockets (57 modified planes)
T.17: electronic version of war (22 specimens)
TT.18: version of towing of targets (23 modified planes)
T.22: version of drive to the use of a radar (7 specimens)

Martin B-57 Canberra

B-57A: version of preproduction (8 specimens)
RB-57A: version of recognition (67 specimens)
B-57B: first bomber of series (202 specimens plus 12 modified B-57E)
B-57C: version of drive to dual control (38 specimens)
RB-57D: version of recognition to high-altitude (20 specimens)
B-57E: version of towing of targets (68 specimens)
EB-57E: electronic version of war (modified B-57E)
RB-57F: version of recognition to high-altitude (19 planes rebuilt starting from B-57A, B and D)
B-57G: night version of attack (16 modified planes)

The total production is from approximately 1030 English Electric Canberra and 400 Martin B-57 Canberra.

Users

English Electric Canberra

Martin B-57 Canberra

the United States of America
Pakistan (of 1959 to 1985)

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