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Description of  Canberra: Britain's First Jet Bomber (Aeroplane Icons)

The history of the jet engine’s development is well known, and the story of how the jet engine eventually became the basis of Britain’s fi rst jet fi ghter (the Meteor) is familiar to almost anyone with an interest in aviation. However, it is perhaps interesting to note how the development of a jet-powered bomber is a story that far fewer people understand, even though the creation of such an aircraft was undoubtedly as important as the fi ghter’s development – if not more so. English Electric’s Canberra bomber was created without fuss and fanfare, and without any significant delays or disasters. It was perhaps this straightforward process that has encouraged commentators to almost ignore the Canberra as a relatively unimportant part of Britain’s aviation history. But the Canberra was far from mundane. At the time of the aircraft’s development, the RAF’s Bomber Command relied upon aged, obsolescent Lincolns that were barely superior to the Lancasters from which they had been derived. The Canberra was a proverbial breath of fresh air. It was fast, it could climb to hitherto unattainable altitudes and it was astonishingly manoeuvrable.