BLUF
Designed by the British in 1945, the Canberra Bomber was pitted against the world's best and outperformed them all.Summary
This article makes the following points:
After World War 2, the RAF needed a fast, reliable aircraft with a significant ordinance capacity.
It took four years from design to Canberra's maiden flight in May 1949.
It was fast, agile, and could climb so high that a fighter could not reach it.
The Canberra completed international flights in times and over ranges unheard of at the time.
By the start of the Korean War, the U.S. needed a new bomber.
The USAF gathered American jet bomber prototypes and foreign aircraft to determine superiority.
The best option was the U.K.'s Canberra.
The USA built the Canberra—under U.K. licence by the
Glen L.Martin company—a U.S. company—were licensed by the U.K. to make the Canberra.
The Canberra was vital in the Vietnam War, completing thousands of missions.
Numerous other nations used the Canberra as their front-line bomber.
Since it entered RAF service, it has served in many U.K. military engagements.
The Canberra is among the longest-lasting and most successful bombers ever built.
References
July 2017 UNSW ADFA2 Squadron RAAF Canberra Bombers in Vietnam
Oct 2020 Airplanesonline Martin B-57 Canberra Bomber
Jun 2021 Air Vectors [2.0] Canberra In Foreign Service Jul 2021 Aust Gov DoD Canberra bomber soars again
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