Modern-Aviation

Aircraft And Military Development & Applications

111-English-Electric-Canberra

The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation jet-powered medium bomber that was manufactured during the 1950s. It was developed by English Electric during the mid-to-late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havilland Mosquito fast-bomber. Amongst the performance requirements for the type was the demand for an outstanding high altitude bombing capability in addition to flying at high speeds. 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 aircraft.

Maiden flight: 13 May 1949 Length: 65.49 ft Wingspan: 64.01 ft Introduced: May 1951 Retired: 23 Jun 2006 Manufacturer: English Electric

The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation jet-powered light bomber manufactured in large numbers through the 1950s. The Canberra could fly at a higher altitude than any other bomber through the 1950s and set a world altitude record of 70,310 ft (21,430 m) in 1957. Due to its ability to evade the early jet interceptors, and its significant performance advancement over contemporary piston-engined bombers, the Canberra was a popular export product and served with many nations.

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 in the Suez Crisis, the Vietnam War, the Falklands War, the Indo-Pakistani Wars, and numerous African conflicts. In several wars, both of the opposing forces had Canberras in their air forces. The Canberra was retired by its first operator, the Royal Air Force (RAF), in June 2006, 57 years after its first flight. Two of the Martin B-57 variant remain in service, performing meteorological work for NASA, as well as providing electronic communication (Battlefield Airborne Communications Node or BACN) testing for deployment to Afghanistan.

The Canberra is constructed mostly of metal, only the forward portion of the tail-fin being made from wood. The wing is of single-spar construction that passes through the aircraft's fuselage; the wingspan and total length of the Canberra were almost identical at just under 20 metres. Outboard of the engine nacelles, the wing has a leading-edge sweep of 4 degrees and trailing-edge sweep of -14 degrees. Controls are conventional with ailerons, four-section flaps, and airbrakes on top and bottom surfaces of the wings.

The fuselage of the Canberra is of semi-monocoque construction with a pressurised nose compartment. Due to the use of a new alloy, DTD683, the undercarriages of the Canberra suffered from stress corrosion, which caused them to decay within a few years. The extreme hazard posed of undercarriages collapsing during landings, especially if the aircraft were carrying nuclear weapons, led the RAF to institute regular inspections, at first using radiography before moving to more effective and reliable ultrasound technology.

Thrust was provided by a pair of 30 kN axial flow Rolls-Royce Avon turbojets. The manufacturer specified that Coffman engine starters should be used to start the engine. An improvised method of starting the engine using compressed air was heavily discouraged by Rolls-Royce, but some operators successfully operated the Canberra's engines in such a manner, the benefit being significant cost savings over cartridges. The aircraft's maximum take-off weight was a little under 25 tonnes.

It was designed for a crew of two under a fighter-style canopy, but delays in the development of the intended automatic radar bombsight resulted in the addition of a bomb aimer's position in the nose. Each crew member has a Martin-Baker ejection seat except in the B(I)8 and its export versions where the navigator makes use of an escape hatch and parachute.

The Canberra could deploy many conventional weapons, typical weapons used were 250-pound, 500-pound, and 1000-pound bombs, the total bomb load could weigh up to 10,000 pounds (4.5 t). Two bomb-bays are housed within the fuselage, these are normally enclosed by conventional clam-shell doors; this was substituted for a rotating door on the Martin-built B-57 Canberras. Additional stores up to a total of 2,000 pounds (0.91 t) could be carried upon underwing pylons.

Operators such as Rhodesia developed their own munitions such as anti-personnel bomblets, the Alpha bomb, and adapted these for use by their Canberra fleets. Anti-personnel flechette bombs were tested successfully from the Canberra by Rhodesia, but not used operationally due to international agreements.

In part due to its range limitation of just 2,000 miles (3,200 km), and its inability to carry the early, bulky nuclear bombs, the Canberra acted as more of a tactical bomber than a strategic one. Many Canberras that were stationed at remote overseas locations did not undertake modifications to become nuclear-capable until as late as 1957

Flight Records Set By Canberras
21 January 1951 - first non-stop unrefuelled transatlantic crossing by a jet.
26 August 1952 - the prototype B5 made the first double transatlantic crossing by a jet, with a total time of 10 hr 3 min.
4 May 1953 - Canberra B2 WD952, fitted with Rolls-Royce Olympus engines set a world altitude record, flying at 63,668 ft (19,406 m)
29 August 1955 - altitude record, 65,889 ft (20,083 m)
28 August 1957 - altitude record, 70,310 ft (21,430 m): Canberra B2 (WK163) with a Napier Double Scorpion rocket motor.

The Canberra was built in 27 versions that equipped 35 RAF squadrons, and was exported to more than 15 countries, including Australia, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Ethiopia, France, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Rhodesia, South Africa, Sweden, Venezuela and West Germany.

General Characteristics
Crew: 3
Length: 65 ft 6 in (19.96 m)
Wingspan: 64 ft 0 in (19.51 m)
Height: 15 ft 8 in (4.77 m)
Wing area: 960 ft² (89.19 m²)
Empty weight: 21,650 lb (9,820 kg)
Loaded weight: 46,000 lb (20,865 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 55,000 lb (24,948 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Rolls-Royce Avon R.A.7 Mk.109 turbojets, 7,400 lbf (36 kN) each

Role: Bomber/Reconnaissance
National origin: United Kingdom
Manufacturer: English Electric
First flight: 13 May 1949
Introduction: 25 May 1951
Retired: 23 June 2006 (RAF)
Status: Retired from service
Primary users: Royal Air Force
                          Indian Air Force
                          Peruvian Air Force
                          Royal Australian Air Force
Number built:   900 (UK)
                          49 (Australia)
                          403 (USA)
Developed into: Martin B-57 Canberra

Performance
Maximum speed: Mach 0.88 (580 mph, 933 km/h) at 40,000 ft (12,192 m)
Combat radius: 810 mi (700 nm, 1,300 km)
Ferry range: 3,380 mi (2,940 nm, 5,440 km)
Service ceiling: 48,000 ft (15,000 m)
Rate of climb: 3,400 ft/min (17 m/s)
Wing loading: 48 lb/ft² (234 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.37

Armaments
Guns: 4 x 20 mm Hispano Mk.V cannon mounted in rear bomb bay (500 rounds/gun), or 2 x 0.30 in (7.62 mm) machine
           gun pods
Rockets: 2 x unguided rocket pods with 37 2-inch (51 mm) rockets, or 2 x Matra rocket pods with 18 SNEB 68 mm rockets
                each
Missiles: A variety of missiles can be carried according to mission requirements, e.g: 2 x AS-30L air-to-surface missiles
Bombs: Total of 8,000 lb (3,628 kg) of payload can be mounted inside the internal bomb bay and on two underwing hardpoints, with the ability to carry a variety of bombs.
Typically, the internal bomb bay can hold up to 9 x 500 lb (227 kg) bombs, or 6 x 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs, or 1 x 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) bomb; while the pylons can hold 4 x 500 lb (227 kg) bombs, or 2 x 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs.
Nuclear weapons: in addition to conventional ordnance, the Canberra was also type-approved for tactical nuclear weapon delivery, including the Mk 7, B28 (Mod 2, 70 kiloton yield), B57 and B43 (as part of a joint program with the United States) plus the Red Beard and WE.177A (Mod A, 10 kiloton yield) nuclear bombs. All nuclear weapons were carried internally.

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