Fly Past

100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE

BOMBERS RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION 83

ENGLISH ELECTRIC CANBERRA

Left

Nine B.2s lined up

at Binbrook in 1952

• 101 Squadron’s full
  complement. Lincolns
  in the background.
  101 SQUADRON RECORDS

Left

Crowded Hal Far

airfi eld, Malta,

in October 1956

with ‘Suez striped’

Canberra B.6s en

masse. Aircraft in the

foreground are from

101 Squadron.

PETER GREEN

COLLECTION

Left

Short-built Canberra

B(I).8 WT332 of 3

Squadron, based at

Geilenkirchen, West

Germany, 1955.

© ANDY HAY

http://www.fl yingart.co.uk

Below

Canberra PR.3

WE139 is displayed

at the RAF Museum,

Hendon. Issued from

new to 540 Squadron

at Wyton in 1953, it

last served with 231

OCU at Bassingbourn.

It was issued to the

museum on April

23, 1969. On show at

Cosford is Short-built

PR.9 XH171.

RAF MUSEUM

http://www.rafmuseum.org

Type: Three-crew light bomber

First fl ight: May 13, 1949, entered service May 1951

Powerplant: Two 6,500lb st (28.91kN) Rolls-Royce Avon 101 turbojets

Dimensions: Span 63ft 1½in (19.26m), Length 65ft 6in (19.96m)

Weights: Empty 22,200lb (10,069kg), All-up 46,000lb (20,865kg)

Max speed: 570mph (917km/h) at 40,000ft (12,192m)

Range: 2,660 miles (4,280km)

Armament: Up to 6,000lb (2,721kg) of bombs

Replaced: Bomber variants only: Boeing Washington from 1905, Avro Lincoln

from 1951, de Havilland Mosquito from 1952

Taken on charge: All RAF variants: 796, including sub-contracts to Avro, Handley Page

and Short

Replaced by: Bomber variants only: Vickers Valiant from 1956, Avro Vulcan and

Handley Page from 1958

ENGLISH ELECTRIC CANBERRA B.2

penetration and ‘toss-bombing’ gave
the Canberra a new lease of life. The
B.6s of 9 Squadron at Binbrook
were the first to be modified for
LABS, returning to the unit in
March 1958.

When 35 Squadron wound down

at Upwood in September 1961, the

B.2 left the front line and the two

B.6 units followed suit in July 1961,

thus ending the Canberra’s service

with Bomber Command.

VARIETY, LONGEVITY

And that is the briefest of summaries

of the Canberra with Bomber

Command. As with many types in

this centenary tribute, two pages

can only scratch the surface of the

Canberra’s RAF heritage. However,

we shouldn’t forget its incredible

export success including licence

production in Australia and its

adoption by the USAF and built by

Martin as the B-57 - an exceptional

achievement.

From 1956 to 1971 the radically

altered B(I).8 served five squadrons

in West Germany. This featured a

fighter-like canopy, offset to port,

and a gun pack in the belly. The ‘I’

stood for Interdictor, but many RAF

crews preferred the World War Two

term ‘Intruder’.

Canberras also served in the crew

trainer, electronic countermeasures,

target facilities and target-towing

roles.

Like the Mosquito before it, the

Canberra also excelled in photo-

reconnaissance. The B.2-based PR.3

entered service in 1952 and it was

joined by the PR.7, derived from

the B.6, in 1954.

It was the big-winged, fighter-

canopied, 11,250lb st (50.04 kN)

Avon 206-powered ‘hot rod’ PR.9

that took the Canberra into the 21st

century. The last examples retired

in July 2006, ending more than five

decades of loyal and varied service.

“...the USAF had perfected the Low Altitude

Bombing System... This technique of low-

level penetration and ‘toss-bombing’ gave

the Canberra a new lease of life.”

LeftLeft

Nine B.2s lined up Nine B.2s lined up Nine B.2s lined up Nine B.2s lined up

altered B(I).8 served five squadrons

in West Germany. This featured a