The English Electric Canberra in Australian Service

In Australia the Government Aircraft Factories (GAF) built the Canberra under licence and was known as the Mk.20, and the first GAF-build aircraft flew on the 29th of May, 1953. Here we feature a few interviews from those who navigated the Canberra in Vietnam and parts of a film about pilots converting to the type in 1960.

The English Electric company had become firmly established during World War 2 as a licensed manufacturer of bombers such as the Handley Page Hampden and the Handley Page Halifax. By 1945 the company had formed its own design team and would work toward a successor to the de Havilland Mosquito. The Air Ministry was looking for a high-altitude, high-speed bomber, for which English Electric would propose the twin-jet A.1, later to be named “Canberra”, after the capital of Australia, on the 19^th of January 1951.

The Air Ministry requested that English Electric produce 4 prototypes of the A.1 in 1946, although development was slow due to technical issues with the engine and radar bombing system. Eventually, the first prototype flew on the 13^th of May 1949 with Avon engines and the second prototype, equipped with Nene engines, flew later that year on the 9^th of November, with the other two prototypes flying a few weeks later. The Air Ministry wasted no time in ordering 132 production aircraft immediately after the maiden flight, in bomber, reconnaissance and training variants. The first production aircraft, the Canberra B.2, flew in April 1950 and entered service with No. 101 Squadron RAF the following year.

Because of the outbreak of the Korean War, a large number of Canberras were ordered and production undertaken by Short Brothers, Avro, Handley Page, and the parent company English Electric. The United States ordered 403 Canberras to replace their B-26 Invaders and were licence-built by Glenn L. Martin Company as the B-57 Canberra. These American production aircraft would undergo considerable modifications from the original B.2. Many other countries, 16 outside of the United Kingdom, would operate the Canberra with India the last to retire the type in 2007 after 50 years of service.

In Australia the Government Aircraft Factories (GAF) built the Canberra under licence and was known as the Mk.20, and the first GAF-build aircraft flew on the 29^th of May, 1953. By the end of 1958 Australia had 48 GAF Canberras, five of them converted to dual control Mk.21 trainers. Number 82 Wing at RAAF base Amberley operated the Canberras in numbers 1, 2 and 6 squadrons, as well as the No.1 Operational Conversion Unit.

Here is a film from 1960 by The Commonwealth Film Unit, describing the conversion of pilots to the Canberra jet at Amberley Air Base in Queensland.

Number 2 squadron was the first to convert to the type, replacing the Avro Lincoln, and would deploy to Butterworth in Malaya where they became the first jet bomber squadron to engage in combat in northern Malaya in September 1958. They were also the Canberra bomber squadron sent to Vietnam in 1967, operating there until 1971.

When in Vietnam, No. 2 Squadron operated as part of the United States Air Force’s 35^th Tactical Fighter Wing, flying 11,963 sorties, dropping 76,389 bombs.

After the war the Canberra in RAAF service took on roles such as reconnaissance, target towing, and cartographic surveys in Australia and Indonesia. No.2 Squadron flew the Canberra until 1982 when the bombers career finally ended on 30 June 1982 when four aircraft flew over Brisbane in a farewell flypast.