iscover
No. 100 Squadron English Electric Canberra TT.18 performs an aerial display over Temora last year. (Defence, LACW Kate Czerny)
No. 100 Squadron English Electric Canberra TT.18 performs an aerial display over Temora last year. (Defence, LACW Kate Czerny)
Inside the Archive #12 | The English Electric Canberra
1 comment
The English Electric Canberra was a British-designed fighter jet first introduced to the RAAF in 1953. Australia ordered 48, built at the Government Aircraft Factory in Melbourne, and operated by No. 1, No. 2 and No. 6 squadrons. In honour of Australia being the English Electric aircraft’s first export customer, then Prime Minister Robert Menzies named the plane ‘Canberra’.
The aircraft itself is an all-metal, semi-monocoque construction with a cantilevered wing and a wooden vertical stabiliser. The Canberra could fly at a higher altitude than any other bomber throughout the 1950s, and its range rivalled the best. The aircraft set a world altitude record of 70,310ft in 1957. Its ability to evade the early jet interceptors and its significant performance advancement over contemporary piston-engined bombers made the Canberra a famous export.
This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation members.
A monthly membership is only $5.99 or save with our annual plans.
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
The Canberra served in Vietnam with 2 Sqn RAAF under US Air Force 35th Tactical Fighter Wing Command. While US Commanders viewed the Canberra as obsolete, RAAF No. 2 squadron Canberras achieved around 16 per cent of total bomb damage recorded by the 35th wing despite making up just 6 per cent of the bomber fleet. As such, RAAF Canberra were among the most effective strike aircraft in South Vietnam. After the arrival of the F-111 in 1973, No. 2 Squadron became the only RAAF operators of the type in the mapping and reconnaissance role until 1982, when newly discovered metal fatigue caused their retirement.
Today, only one English Electric Canberra is flying in Australia. WJ680 (or VH-ZSQ) is now a part of the RAAF 100 Squadron Temora Historic Flight Collection after being donated by the namesake museum in July 2019. While it did spend 10 years undergoing maintenance – its Avon engines were converted from the original explosive cartridge starters to electric starters, a painstaking job – it returned to the skies in June 2021. The image above shows that same aircraft soaring above Temora last year, flying as part of a special air-to-air photography exercise conducted by the RAAF.
Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?
Make Australian Aviation a preferred news source on Google.
Click here to add Australian Aviation as a preferred news source.
Comment (1)
Comments are closed.
Robert Brooks
says:My understanding is that the Canberra was a bomber. At my first visit to an air display at Hucknall, near Nottingham, at the time a testing centre for Rolls Royce, as we approached an aircraft appeared as though from nowhere and went vertical for thousands of feet – most impressive.