The Martin B-57 Canberra is an American-built, twinjet tactical bomber and reconnaissance aircraft that entered service with the United States Air Force in 1953. It is a license-built version of the British English Electric Canberra, manufactured by the Glenn L. Martin Company. The Canberra holds the distinction of being the first jet bomber in U.S. service to drop bombs during combat. It was used extensively during the Vietnam War in a bombing capacity; dedicated versions of the type were also produced and served as high-altitude aerial reconnaissance platforms.
About Martin B-57 Canberra in brief
The Martin B-57 Canberra is an American-built, twinjet tactical bomber and reconnaissance aircraft that entered service with the United States Air Force in 1953. It is a license-built version of the British English Electric Canberra, manufactured by the Glenn L. Martin Company. The Canberra holds the distinction of being the first jet bomber in U.S. service to drop bombs during combat. It was used extensively during the Vietnam War in a bombing capacity; dedicated versions of the type were also produced and served as high-altitude aerial reconnaissance platforms and as electronic warfare aircraft. In 1983, the USAF opted to retire the type; it marked the end of the era of the tactical bomber. The three remaining flightworthy WB-57Fs are technically assigned to the NASA Johnson Space Center, next to Ellington Field in Houston, but have also been used for testing and communications in the U. S. and Afghanistan. The B- 57 Canberra was also sold to export customers abroad; further combat use was seen by the Pakistani Air Force during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and the Indian War of 1971. It has been the subject of a number of books, including “The Canberra: The Air Force’s First Jet Bomber” by Bill Gunston and Peter Gilchrist, published by Simon & Schuster, and “The Australian Air Force: A History of the Air Force”, published by Macmillan, in paperback and on the Internet, from January 2014. The first flight of the Canberra was on 21 February 1951, when it made a non-stop unrefueled flight across the Atlantic Ocean, travelling from Warton, England, to Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, in a record time of 4 hours 37 minutes.
It thus became the firstJet aircraft to perform aNon-stop Unrefueling Flight across theAtlantic Ocean, flying in a time of 3 hours, 37 minutes and 40 seconds. In March 1951, English Electric entered into discussions with Glenn L Martin Company to receive a license to build the Canberra in the United United States. The Martin-build models were virtually identical to their British-built counterparts; Martin later modified the design to incorporate larger quantities of US-sourced components and produced the aircraft in several different variants. In April 1951, a British Canberra B. 2, flown by Roland Beamont, made the transatlantic journey, arriving in theUnited States to participate in the competition. The American contenders included the Martin XB-51, the North American B-45 Tornado and AJ Savage. To expedite the process, only projects based on existing aircraft were considered and, unusually, the service considered foreign aircraft. The sought aircraft had to possess a top speed of 630 mph, ceiling of 40,000 feet, and range of 1,150 miles. Full all-weather capability and a secondary reconnaissance role also had to be included in the design. The Canberra proved to be significantly superior to any of the competing aircraft, and its selection was made beyond doubt by the USAF.
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