It Never Runs Out of Bombs - Martin B-57 Canberra
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- Опубліковано 7 чер 2021
- As the Korean War broke out in 1950, the United States Air Force desperately needed a medium-size bomber. As the issue became more pressing, they opted to adapt an existing foreign design, a gamble that hadn’t been performed since World War I.
The result was the Martin B-57, a Glenn L. Martin-built version of the English Electric Canberra.
After arriving in Vietnam in late 1964, the B-57 bomber flew dozens of nighttime missions, dropping its payload from its unique revolving bomb bay door and attacking the Ho Chi Minh supply trail.
Despite its relatively brief operational service, the B-57 Canberra will always hold the distinction of being the first jet bomber in United States military history to drop actual bombs during combat.
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As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible.
All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas. - Авто та транспорт
The remnants of Martin's manufacturing hangers was our playground growing up. Many boring weekends were spent exploring the old unused buildings, tools, old blueprints, drafting tables etc we would checkout, although we never took anything figuring it was just junk to us. Little did we really understand the history we were seeing.
Those machine tools would be worth a hell of a lot today. Big community of machinists and restorers. Basically everything in there was at the least an aviation history curio. What a wonderful playground.
I have to confess I'm more than a little surprised shop prints, which are not just dimensions but machining instructions, were just left Willy nilly. Straight up industrial secrets even after years still valuable as reverse engineering materials.
wow! jealous!
My Dad was one the Aircrew in the back seat... these Aircrewman became the Naval Flight Officers of today. I was one of those NFOs.in the right seat of an A6E Intruder. I have evaluated F18D back when it was called the YF-17... problem with the plane, even today, can't fly low levels because they had to keep going to burner to keep up with the A6E... they had to Bingo RTB because of fuel. I still remember supporting a Close Air Support mission and the FAC thought we were at least a flight of three A6E because we or number bomb passes. My Dad never returned from his third deployment to Vietnam. I still have his 5 Log Books taped together and he mostly had red hour(combat hrs).
As a member of a TACP FAC team in Vietnam, 1970-71, I put quite a few Canberra missions over targets in III Corps. If I remember correctly they were Australian birds (we had Aussie FACs assigned to us) and they seemed to always carry two 750lb bombs. Very accurate bombers for level flight bombing.
Thank you for your service.
A key feature of the Canberra is that it is extremely stable and smooth in level flight, which is why it was such a good reconnaisance platform. It is also why NASA continue to use this plane in modified form to this day.
Ran over by his own aircraft. Who else wants to hear THAT whole story?
Yeah the mental image is funny and yet tragic. A small Asian man frantically running away from his own aircraft that is spooling up to mow him down. So many questions......
"Man attacked by jet" more at 11
@@themeanestkitten LOL
@@Boric78 So many questions is about right. I mean, how in the hell? Normally you're supposed to run perpendicular to large heavy things coming at you.
@@JohnDoe-vf2yo He went to the Prometheous school of running away from things.
Australia rotated 36 Canberras to Vietnam also with 3 squadrons and only lost 2 aircraft....all in the low level bombing role.
I was a member of a bomb loading crew on the B-57, arriving at Bien Hoa AB in March or April 1965. I rotated back to Clark AB, P.I. just before the flightline explosions at Bien Hoa. It was an excellent aircraft for ground support and flew many missions in that role, especially at night. We loaded four tanks of napalm and twenty-one, 260 pound frag bombs for those missions. The B-57's endurance over a target area was a big asset for those strikes. With a special bomb door, it could also deliver the Mark 7 atomic bomb; some of our aircraft had previously been on nuclear alert in South Korea before Vietnam. (That mission and weapon was obsolete by 1965). For its age, it was a very successful aircraft. I lost all my high-frequency hearing working around those screaming engines despite hearing protection. Nevertheless, I have a warm spot in my heart for this old bird and all those that flew and supported it.
RAAF flew them in Vietnam too
could you estimate the length of the bomb bay....could it fit modern ALCM's
As some poor soul who was born in Canberra, (can-bruh) everytime I hear you butcher the name it makes me smile.
You can still see some B-57's in the Davis-Monthan boneyard. There is even two of the very long wing, high altitude RB-57. The wings are longer and much greater area than the C-130's parked behind it!
Here: 32°09'40"N 110°50'08"W
Quite possibly the best information I have ever seen posted in a UA-cam comment section.
There are still RB-57s flying
What a great find! Thank you.
Those coordinates now bring you to an S-3 parking lot.
Actually the aircraft parked behind it are Navy P-3 Orions (you can tell by the boom on the rear of one of them, and there are several dozen more to the east). C-130s (several to the south) have a slightly wider wingspan. Still great spotting, however, and it's amazing how much bigger the wings are on the RB-57s compared to the B-57s next to them.
I was serving at RAF Cottesmore in the late 80's . I remember that the main gate guardian was a Canberra. At the same time the RAF was still operating Canberra in the photo recon. role.
I remember it too as my dad was based there 84-86, not sure where the war trophy story comes from, as WH791 never shows any history of leaving the RAF
@@ashleyphotog It's ok, I stand corrected. I will amend my comment.
I don't think I would have met your father. I was posted there Feb. 87 to May. 95. Fortunately I managed to dodge working the flight line ( I hate working shifts ). Instead I worked in the ESA , Arm. ground equipment, gun bay and with the alarm acceptance facility.
Lots of memories, mostly happy ones. It's amazing how things have changed at Cottesmore in the last 30+ years.
@ wyton in 2000's Canberra was the gate guard, still flying then but not out of Wyton. It had a great display on families day. It finished by just keeping on climbing at a vast rate.
the British Electric Canberra was in-service with the RAAF for many years. I was lucky enough to get up and close to one at the Australian war memorial in Canberra. the Canberra is a rare example where function and beauty were found side by side in the one amazing piece of engineering.
There was a bunch of ex-RAAF Canberras parked at Melbourne’s Essendon Airport in the late 70’s. Owned by a guy who was intending to use them for a fast post/parcel service… which never happened. As an avionics trainee it was always a good time looking them over during my lunch break.
A few years back, one of the NASA WB-57s showed up at the hangar next to the one I was working at. It was night so I couldn't get any good pictures, but that will always stick in my mind. An incredibly beautiful airplane with a wing that has more square footage than some houses I've lived in.
Chuck Yeager said, in his autobiography, that the B57 was one of the smoothest and most stable jets he had ever flown.
British aerospace industry was the best in the world. But it was destroyed by its own government (with a lot of bribes from US manufacturers). It’s a sad story.
Thanks for sharing g3mac! And Ham, dont hate the player, hate the game...
That's pretty cool, wasn't aware of that. Thx for the info. 😉👍👍✌️
That's because he couldn't handle the power of a B- 58, "Hustler," the real MC coy.
@@stephengroeschel6898 RIGHT...I mean he was only the 1st man to break the sound barrier & every time another pilot came along & set another record, he'd just go faster & higher...but he couldn't handle the power of a B-58. That's the funniest thing I've heard all yr so thank you for that 😂😆😂😆.
Walter Cronkite was taken up in a B57 on a sortie for a story while reporting in Vietnam.
His best line, "Oh the G-forces!!!"
He was only in Vietnam to confirm fake news from the enemy
@@8bitorgy The enemy won, didn't they? The fake news was coming out of the Pentagon and the White House.
I’ve seen the WB-57F a fee times, and damn it’s a sight to see! Awesome seeing some of these jets still flying 70 years later!
I like the way this airplane was the next iteration of the Mosquito.
yes.
Or the Comet
this shit gonna blow up
no pun intended
While the Grits think of it as a Mossie replacement in the US I would be more inclined to think Douglas A-26 replacement although the rebuilt On Mark B-26K served in SEA also. Dimensions of both are close.
Yep, take the Mosquito, flatten it, and put jets on it. Job done boys, off to the pub.
The B-57 still flies today as the WB-57, and is used by NASA for high-altitude observations, sometimes of reentering spacecraft like the SpaceX Dragon capsule.
Not bad for a 1940s design!!
The Canberra is a beautiful bomber.
"Screaming Bird" !! ? sounds like it had very noisy engines for a night bomber.
How can you say that sth which purpose is to kill people is beautiful?
@@hdcbhgzu7479 what a beautiful sword
@@hdcbhgzu7479 There was a recon version which carried NO weapons at all... Doesn't make it less beautiful.
@@hdcbhgzu7479 So, a beautiful woman picks up a gun and suddenly looses her looks?
Hard to comprehend it was almost 70 years ago!
My Great Grandfather actually delivered the first 57 to the Air Force. Always thought it was a very beautiful aircraft, was even cooler to find out my family has a connection to it.
My brother works at NASA as an air frame inspector and he helped build that B-57 you showed!
My dad, who was a USAF pilot, told me an interesting story he had with a nearby B-57. He was in the cockpit of his C-130 doing pre-flight when he heard a huge explosion. He thought something must have malfunctioned on his aircraft - turns out it was an adjacent B-57 using Cartridge Start (aka Shotgun Start). I imagine the cartridge charge and size for a B-57 must be huge.
it was about 4 inch diameter & about 10 inch long.. 2 years on B2 & T17's
@@andyb.1026 That'll take off Daffy's bill (if you put some bird shot in front of it and Sam helped Elmer hold the gun).
@@andyb.1026 Wow. Thanks for the info
@@joshuabessire9169 😂
@@joshuabessire9169 Sufferrin’ succotash!
The Royal Australian Air Force also used Canberra's in Vietnam. No. 2 Squadron deployed eight Canberra's that flew 12,000 sorties for the loss of two aircraft. In Col. David Hackworth's autobiography, About Face, he described an incident when he called for the Aussie Canberra's from 2 Sqd to knockout an entrenched machine gun position that was pining down his troops. He said he wanted the Aussies because the Canberra's had such a great reputation for pin point accuracy and the target was only a 1m opening in the side of a hill.The first bomb missed by 1m high, the second missed by 1m low and the third went straight in the hole. The RAAF retired the Canberra's in 1982 after 29 years fabulous service.
I find it amazing how many bomber models were instantly outdated and money went into new models, so much manpower involved, I would have loved to be an aero engineer designing new planes in those days
Only a handful of USAF jet bombers made it into production.
B-45 - Entered service 1948 had straight wings and was a stop gap model to show the USAF had a jet bomber.
B-47 - Entered service 1951 had swept wings and was the mainstay nuclear deterrent early cold war bomber required forward basing.
B-57 - Entered service 1954 had straight wings and was the USAF's first light jet bomber mostly used for photo recon.
B-52 - Entered service 1955 swept wing intercontinental bomber. It's the B-52 what more needs to be said?
B-66 - Entered service 1956 had swept wings and was the USAF's second light jet bomber mostly used for either all-weather photo-reconnaissance or electronic reconnaissance and electronic countermeasures (ECM) missions.
B-58 - Entered service 1960 first Mach capable USAF bomber could reach Mach 2 but only at high altitude was rendered obsolete within months of entering service by both the Soviet S-75 SAM and USN Polaris SLBM (both of which killed the B-70 program).
B-1A/B - B variant entered service in 1986. The original A variant was supposed to combine B-52 range and payload with B-58 speed but at low level but the MiG 25 pilot Viktor Belenko who defected and spoke of a new look-down/shoot-down radar being developed killed it as did the progressing development of the B-2. The B variant was designed to bomb third world nations involved in proxy wars funded by the USSR which as demonstrated by it's performance in the 1991 Gulf war, the Afghanistan and Iraq war and the war on terror it has been highly successful.
As to the 11 jet prototype bombers.
B-43 - converted from the piston B-42 poor handling lead to cancelling in favour of B-45.
B-46 and B-48 - rivals of the B-45 which flew first and the more advanced swept wing B-47.
B-49 - flying wing converted from the piston powered B-35 and cancelled in favour of the B-36 Peacemaker.
B-51 - lost to the B-57 in trials.
B-53 - medium bomber too experimental design for the USAF to risk spending money on and no prototypes were completed.
B-56 - re-engined B-47 cancelled for the B-52.
B-59 - design study only, cancelled for the B-58.
B-60 - re-designed B-36, cancelled for the B-52
B-68 - design study only, cancelled for the B-66
B-70 - It's the Mach 3 Valkyrie!
@@Ushio01 You have some misinformation there
1) B-1A was originally a high flying strategic nuclear bomber, not low-level.
2) B-1B was revised with sacrifice of speed for lower RCS with some stealth material and revised design, but still was a low flying strategic nuclear bomber. It was never intended as a 3rd world proxy war bomber.
3) B-1B not was used in the 1991 Gulf war
The Wiki page for the B-1B is very accurate.
Ah the fifties, where we had $$$ and threw SSS at any crazy ideal that sounded reasonable and might give us an edge!
In Australia they pronounce it, "Can-bra".
B-eer
Same in the UK
@@TomboUK Yep, it hurt every time he said it lol
I was going to ask what a Can-berra was
Can beara grrrr
8x.50 CAL. MACHINE GUNS!
4x.20 CAL. CANNONS!
That's some serious firepower, right there. Talk about 'DEATH FROM ABOVE'. JESUS!! 😳
And 6000 lbs of bombs 🤣🤣🤣
Jesus would say WAR CRIMES
Interesting. The Canberra was named after Australia's national capital. Australia was English Electric's first export market for the Canberra Bomber. By the way the correct pronunciation of Canberra is more like "canbra".
Damn Yanks can't pronounce anything, it's was so cringe hearing him say it over again 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤔
Can- berra is actually the proper way.
@@religionispoison6838 Can-bra is how Australians say it, i don't doubt that the brits say it the way Dark Skies says it, another one being Mel-bourne while Aussie say Mel-bin.
@@kog8952 i am Australian I am from the country most of us say can-berra . Coasties usually say canbra.
@@religionispoison6838 I am also Australian and i don't know a single person that says Can-berra.
Great video! I was aware of the Canberra’s involvement in Vietnam but never really knew the full extent of the story. I hadn’t known they were the aircraft that began rolling thunder. My father participated in that campaign about two years later as a B/N in the A6 intruder. Thanks for another great upload. Dark Skies rules!
Yeager flew it in combat in Vietnam as well....
30 have been saved as museum pieces.
Kansas museum has 2.
And the Dayton museum also has 2 of these.
They forgot about "Tropic Moon" and "Patricia Lynn". B-57Gs and RB-57Es, rebuilt B-57Bs and RB-57s, respectively. They served in Vietnam till 1971-72 doing specialized reconnaissance, interdiction in Laos and Cambodia, night attack, and bomb damage assessments. The B-57Gs were some of the first combat aircraft equipped with low light TVs and laser designators.
Showed the aircraft but not the story!
The 13th Bomber Squadron flew the B-57G out of Ubon RTAFB in Thailand early 70s. One aircraft was lost due to a mid-air collision on it's first mission. Both the pilot (squadron commander) and the bombardier (guy in back, who couldn't fly the airplane) were rescued. The aircraft itself was destroyed by an AC-130 gunship from the 16th SOS, also out of Ubon. One other aircraft came back with a single bullet hole in the tail that was discovered by the crew chief the next day.
There was also the "Pave Gat" modification of the B-57G, a turret mounted M61A1 Vulcan on the belly for strafing.
The Aussies had a squadron of Canberras at Phan Rang when I was there in 1969. Every time it came back from a mission the bombay area would be soaked with hydraulic fluid. Everything would check out fine at run up. We would tie rags on components and connections until we finally zeroed in on the culprit.
I remember seeing the B-57Bs taking off from Kirtland AFB here in Albuquerque,NM whenever my dad had a V.A. appointment back in the early '70s. Man, those babies went almost straight up on takeoff.
The WB 57 F is an amazing Aircraft. Because of it huge wing, and no flaps, it can be airborne in a short distance. It's service ceiling is such that NASA uses several for High Altitude Research, (what ever that means). Pressure suits are required for missions.
"High Altitude Research" is taking ozone measurements, checking various radiation levels, testing extreme flight characteristics, and just plain old looking at the stars. High-altitude scans of the sky can reveal more, where there is less atmosphere to interfere with measurements and observations.
Came here to comment about the NASA models.
NASA has an eclectic collection.
@@jtjames79 that's an understatement
@@jordaneggerman4734 Younger brother was in a 9th Weather Wing in a Weather Recon. Squadron. They did not recon any weather, at anytime. They did take samples of the air downwind of the French above ground Nuclear testing in the late 1960's. A lot can be deducted on a nuke from what is left behind. The WB 57F had the same air sampling gear in the bomb bay. Perhaps NASA's only use is to gain a photo or video record of launches; then again maybe they do other things ( whatever that is).
@@rancidpitts8243 I did mention radiation levels. I bet the international whatever for atomic energy uses their data to determine undeclared testing, and incident monitoring...although, I did have cosmic radiation more in mind when I mentioned that...
My father had a couple of cockpit instrument panels from a 'Can-buruh' in his garage for years before they disappeared. Also, not all that far from me, a chap has the cockpit section of one preserved and sitting in the front garden of his house!
Canberra is pronounced Can-brah. ask any aussie
There is one standing at swartkops air base in south Africa, I had the privilege of sitting in it
I always thought the Canberra was a beautiful, clean looking aircraft!
Dude, you have me hooked on your mini docs , thank you so much for all that your teaching me about history. I'm a History buff
I guess you're aware of 'The History Guy' channel? It's worth checking out if you're not.
I worked on B and EB-57A,B,C,and E model aircraft in the early 70s. Those of you who are familiar with this aircraft may have been stationed at Hill AFB or Malmstrom AFB with me and others. There are some very good books and magazine articles written on the B-57. Try Robert Mckesh or Air Classics
That would be Robert C Mikesh
@@charlesbaker6158 the designer of the canberra, teddy petter, is an interesting guy too. not as famous as his contemporaries messerschmitt, tank or johnson, but comparable in talent imo.
Very interesting this video on the Martin B-57 Canberra as I know little on this bomber and I know next to nothing about it's operations in Vietnam. Good job again 👍👍
Australian Canberra's were the only tactical aircraft in Vietnam to use the level bombing technique from low level and the Americans expected very heavy Australian casualties. But these fears were proved groundless.
They operated in Vietnam from 1967 to 1971, Operating as part of the USAF's 35th Tactical Fighter Wing, 2 Squadron's Canberras flew just six per cent of the Wing's sorties but inflicted 16 per cent of the damage. Overall, 11,963 sorties were flown in Vietnam, 76,389 bombs dropped and two aircraft lost.
I love the video of Ming the Merciless christening the RAAF's first Canberra.
It really is a sexy jets. Those Brits make some of truly beautiful jets.
That was back when we ruled the world.
@@Petriefied0246
By that time they only thought they did 😉
@@stephenchappell7512 every empire falls, it's the USA's turn next.
We in Australia also had Canberras, and they had a really cool way of starting their engines....
Yes and the yanks should never have altered them. They were completely successful with the RAF in the original form.
I grew up watching these beautiful aircraft fly high over Torbay, Devon. They had such a distinctive silhouette but add to that black & yellow stripes underneath then they were unmistakable!
I saw one flying low over Dawlish Devon in 1971. An it had the yellow and black stripes on its underside like a hornet. Lord knows where the thing came from but it was a scary sight.
This is one I never know about in our plane arsenal. Interesting story!
I guarded these planes in the mid sixties while stationed with the British in germany
When I was in Germany I saw only one, do a touch and go on a very foggy day. It was painted black with no insignia that I could see !
U-2 instead?
PR9
I served as a PI with both 13 and 39 Canberra squadrons at RAF Wyton in the late ‘70s. I was awarded a seat in a PR7 but the sortie was aborted due to a fuel leak in the starboard wing tank ☹️
A very high flying and stable platform with a suite of excellent cameras.
I have to say the quality of the voice here is MUCH better than it used to be. GOOD!!!
I love the videos from all of your channels. I had no idea about the B-57 or its critical role in the beginning of the vietnam war. Please do a video on the EA-6B!😁
VOUCH
We pronounce it "can-brah".
Not can-bear-ah.
Just say that around a Brit or an Aussie and they'll be impressed.
Hate it aye
Oh those cultural speech impediments
@Common Sense Realist like New Orleans or Arkansas?
@@handlesarefeckinstupid yea its or-leans and are-can-sis
@@codefeenix I heard it as Norleens and Arkansaw.
Great video! Dark Docs keeps raising the bar...
Great video. I've wondered how these birds came to be in the U.S.A.F. This answered all my long held questions. Thank you.
3:15 foreign arecraft. So much for the special relationship
I bet it was painful to admit the brits had another jet better than a home grown one
Was it painful for the Brits to use the F-4 Phantom?
Might as well add the USAF having to adopt 2 USN designs. See F-4 Phantom and A-7 SLUF.
As a Brit, RAF Officer for 20 years, I applaud the US for taking British aircraft and improving them. The Harrier was another great success as the AV 8B.
Interesting aircraft... the SAAF had these in the 1980s still... the canopy was offset to the side and it was started with an explosive cartridge. The SAAF used them to detect enemy radar installations and reconnaissance 👍
I remember seeing the Marten B- 57 back in the early- mid 70s as a kid . These Aircraft were configured as photo/ reconnaissance Aircraft ( EB-57 Canberra ) and were stationed in Burlington, Vermont during this time . Sometimes, these Planes would fly low enough overhead ( I lived about 40 miles away from Burlington ) that you could easily see the Military markings ( USAF ,and the "Star and Stripes" ) . Apparently ,the topography lent itself well to training sorties and I was treated to many cool flyovers. I do recall waving as if to try and get the pilot to do something cool like a barrel roll or upward spiral -climb. LoL, 😂🤣😂 , I am not sure that the pilots of those Aircraft could have seen me ,but there were times when I could clearly see the pilot and co-pilot / navigator as the Aircraft was making a low level pass and banking left or right. Maybe the pilots in those EB- 57s DID see me after all . THAT would have been AWESOME .
There were two of the G models at Ubon RTAFB in Thailand, 1970-71. Both were painted flat black and any lettering or numbers were in dark red. Both were chocked-full of ECM equipment, and would fly at night to jam Viet Cong SAM sites. One night, one of the planes was shot down. The pilot and GIB both ejected and were air-evac rescued, but ironically the plane didn't crash, it actually pancaked-in, landing intact in the jungle. An F-4D with a 3,000 "Fat Albert" LGB put the bomb into the cockpit, instantly destroying all of the secret ECM equipment. To me, watching them fly in daylight (rare), they always looked like some kind of slow-flying bat. They were impressive craft.
We had one at my school. We called it the "Flying Dildo" because of the extra long nose on our variant.
Everything is a dildo if you're brave enough....
Cool school - mine only had a minibus (microbus)!
@@chris_ackroyd We also had the Doobie Brothers airplane- a Martin 404- complete with a marijuana plant epoxied into a table.
Enemies would have physiological issues being attacked by these flying “ as you put it “
aaaaaand I am quoting this out of context.
As an Australian I found myself cringing every time Dark Skies said Canberra... Despite it's spelling it's pronounced (by Australian's at least) as if the "ER" were silent, so Canb'ra... Given Canberra is our nation's capital, we do have some say on how it should be said... =p
Well you don't get any say, it's a British aircraft and we pronounce it Can-ber-rah
@@Rambogner as a Brit, I say it Canbura (just like the Aussie, but with a softer U instead of an A).
Certainly not Can-bear-ah!
I'm Australia who pronounces it Can-ber-ra or can-bra. But i dont get the whole cringe thing. He is pronouncing it how it is spelt and isn't really all that far off.
@James O First off. I only clicked on this video because i was interested in this plane. It is spelled Canberra. And the pronunciation ranges from Can-bra to Can-ber-ra to Canberra. Your suspicions and assumptions are as off as your pronunciations. And as an Aboriginal. I suggest you lay off from watching the ABC and SBS
@@Rambogner yes but it was officially named after the Australian capital state
This brings back some memories. Besides RF-101s and RF-4Cs we also had some RB-57s on my base. They were painted black and carried the KA-56 cameras that produced a 10x20 inch negative. Besides sensors and cameras they also had 100 pound flash bombs for night photography. Some of them had two extra engines under the wings, J60s I think? What ever they were they looked almost exactly like the extra jets put in the C-123. That was like 55 years ago???
Talk about PR spin regarding the captured VC at the end and what he supposedly said about the B-57 lol.
I never really thought much of the Canberra until I unlocked and flew both the British and the American versions in a game. They're elegant and graceful and really beautiful to fly, even if its only in the virtual realm. As for real-world pilots, flying and pioneering jet fighters and bombers in the 50's certainly required some brass ones, great presentation Dark Skies!
ive stood at the side of a canberra and i couldnt believe how small it was
They're a sleek little thing. When the Brits first deployed Canberras, many observers were amazed that it could, not just out run many of the fighters of the day, but also *out-turn* some of them. It was an amazingly well put together aircraft.
If you get the chance, stand next to a Folland Gnat, another great British aircraft. It’s absolutely tiny.
Watching this while flying the B-57B in war thunder lol
I miss the 8.0 days
*Thanks for informative video bro!!!*
One of my instructors in ROTC was a RB-57F pilot. This was the very high altitude recce version that required the crews to wear spacesuits. The redesignation to WB-57F was more of a cover story. The planes performed various types of recce missions, including the collection of air samples near Soviet airspace for nuclear fallout analysis. This was nothing new. My own father had served in a WB-29 weather reconnaissance unit in Alaska during the Korean War that performed the same mission, albeit covertly.
Damn talk about firepower! All of there faults and shortcomings aside I wouldn't want to see one of those things above me in combat if I was the enemy.
You would probably hear the "Screaming Bird" 10 miles away and have plenty of time to find shelter.
@@RemusKingOfRome you better hope so but from personal experience 9 times out of 10 there isn't any cover from above around you. I can only imagine it would be even harder to find cover in Vietnam
@@kuwaitisnotadeployment1373 Wasn't Vietnam riddled with tunnels ?
@@RemusKingOfRome yeah I guess you're right but i dont know how common they were or if the NVA and vietcong tried staying close to them or not. So yeah you're probably right though, there probably was more places to hide in Vietnam than what I'm used to
@@RemusKingOfRome actually the more i think about your comment the more I agree with you. It probably was easier to find cover and hide in the jungle and with all the tunnels. I digress
I think it was 2008 when the Canberras were withdrawn from RAF service (photo reccy)
1 PRU.... 39 Sqn
Your documentaries are top class. The comments section contain plenty of useful ancillary information. Smart videos with a smart following.
The Canberra, in its 10 minute window, performed all its tasks far quicker than English Electric thought it would. Leaving enough time for the Canberra to take off again, do a quick loop the loop and land again before the time was up
The Rhodesian Air Force also flew these planes, with a good bit of success.
English Electric was/is on Strand rd Preston, both my Grandads worked there after the war. One left after the TSR2 disaster and went to work for Lockheed in 67 as did a lot of them.
The Lightning was one of the most incredible aircraft ever built, there is a most likely apocryphal story about a pilot who took one up, after they were first delivered to the unit, whilst the other crews waited in the crew room. After his flight, one asked him what was it like? and he replied " I was with it all the way....... until I took the brakes off!!" lol quite a plane.
@@scienceistruth1924 My Grandad did the radio/radar development Lightning, Canberra and TSR2
@@69waveydavey The prototype lightning is on show at Cosford RAF museum as well as one of the two surviving TSR2's, really quite a sight for over 60 year old planes worth a visit if you haven't been atb
@@scienceistruth1924 I have been, not for a bit, the photos are proper film ones it's that long ago.
@@scienceistruth1924 I need to take a trip there sometime... i love the TSR2 and Canberra... what happened to TSR2 was a travesty!
Thank the voice for this fine video....!
Not only is this craft terrific it is also beautifully designed!!
Grate video.
Spelling 100
Are you cheesed to see it?
3:15 Damn! You'd need a weed whacker if you wanted to trim those eye brows.
You'd need a chainsaw to get thru that undergrowth!
Soundtrack always on point.
Pakistan Airforce used these very successfully against India in the 1965 war, interestingly the Indians had the same aircraft in the form of the Canberra's.
Pakistan was an American ally and had the American version while the Indians were Soviet allies and had the British version, but the Pakistani pilots proved a lot more capable as did the American version of the B-57B.
Pakistan had initially received 25 aircraft with 2 of them being trainers. While India had 60 operational Canberras.
Pakistan conducted 195 missions inside India and delivered 600 tonnes of bombs, while Indians conducted 92 missions, dropping less than 100 tonnes of munitions.
Both aircraft were equally capable with both having night capabilities but Pakistan used them far more effectively against Indian targets, destroying runways, and sending sorties at night and completely paralyzing Indian Air force and blunting the Indian mammoth movement to take Lahore in its tracks, when 2,800 tonnes of ordinance was dropped on advancing Indian columns in one final chapter of the war, scattering them in panic and successfully defending the city of Lahore barely 20 miles from the International border.
It's not Can barra it's Canbarra (one word) lol
Anyway I was employed on one of the last active RAF Squadrons flying the B2, B2t and the T4 in 1985/88. I was actually lucky to fly one in 88.
Can-berra
The squadrons were INactivated, not DEactivated. There's legal difference as a the legal authority to exist is withdrawn when a unit is DEactivated.
Here's one that was taken out of the bone yard and reused.
www.marchfield.org/aircraft/bomber/eb-57b-canberra-martin/
Beautiful iconic aircraft. Lived on a Canberra base a child. The other aircraft were the iconic Lightnings.
Great video but it would have been nice if you included a brief mention of other countries use of Canberras including combat use in Vietnam and Malaya.
Canberra was great. As a cadet I got a flight in one just before retirement
My Dad was stationed at Yokota AFB Japan in the fifties. My 12th birthday present was flying lessons at the aero club. Lesson two was slow flight and stalls. As I pulled up into my second stall in a Cessna 140, I looked to the left and below. I can still see the four black B57s in a diamond formation, about 200 feet below. The jets were based at Johnson AFB and all 8 crew were wearing yellow helmets and every one of them was gazing up at our tiny plane. Pull up a few seconds later and …
There is one at the air national guard part of Forbes Field in topeka
@@ronlynch2282 its just used ,mainly, as a refueling unit now, I watch the tankers almost every day. A lot of fighters come and go and several Blackhawks there
B-57 aircraft flew with the 17th Defense System Evaluation Squadron @ Malmstrom AFB, MT while I was there in '74 & '75. Orange panels on Fuselage & Empennage, plus wing tip tanks.
I was a crew chief for Detachment 1 4677 DSES at Holloman AFB in '72 & "73. Parent unit was at Hill AFB then moved to Malmstrom AFB in '72. Det 1 at Holloman closed up shop in '73. When the 4677 DSES was redesignated the 17 DSES it retained our raven with the lightening bolt ("Shittin' Chicken") squadron patch changing only the number on the scroll. The EB-57E on display at Wings Over the Rockies in Denver still has the 4677 squadron patch on the tail. My grandson was impressed when I pointed out the patch and told him that I had actually worked on that aircraft.
My Dad spent many tours in Vietnam and also served in Thailand. The one thing he said about using American aircraft in the countries air forces was that they had to have the pilots sit on manuals so they could see out of the canopy.
It’s no surprise the American version was bigger and had more guns
i think there was a test pod for the british version that had 4 30mm adens not sure if it was used
@@youthere7327 Didn't the british use 20mms? Idk Just asking
And cost a lot more.
7:20 ....Commander run over by his own aircraft....he must of had some awesome bad Karma.
Great channel. 👍
Damn good plane , think it holds a couple of records
“A gamble that hasn’t been done since ww1”
*p51 entered the chat*
And the Harrier.
Austin trolling us by saying Canberra like that lol
KunBerra
Thanks!
@1:21 I honestly read it as "Cadbury", lol. Can you imagine? "Happy Easter, NVA!" *BOOM BOOM BOOM!* (Voice over) "Nobunny knows bombing, better than Cadbury"
IT’ CAN-BRAH!!! MATE
I believe the Canberra was the highest flying plane till U2??
And used in the Rhodesian bush war and generally good
The RAF recon’ version was used in the same role prior to the introduction of the U2. Interestingly I was shown a photograph of a U2 at operational altitude, it was taken from above by a Canberra.
"we'll take a competitors highly advanced design, steal it's secrets, mess around with it because we're clueless, do more damage with it to ourselves and our allies than we'll inflict on the enemy, and to top it off, we'll bastardise the pronunciation of its name"
hahahahahahaha
What a cool looking aircraft.
Short life? It's still flying. An Iconic aircraft.
In American service, that's what he meant.
didn't the German arado 234 a jet bomber dropped bombs during WW2, so wouldn't that be first jet bomber to drop bombs during a war?
First one used by Americans
Either the British or Australians (perhaps both), used Canberras against enemy communist forces in Malaya, so their use in Vietnam wasn't the first to drop bombs on the enemy, just the first American use.
The emphasis is on the first syllable not the second - CANberra
The RB-57's with the large wing configuration were numerous and dependable. BUT, sometimes the wing was so effective the pilot had to power it down to land on the runway.
I love these videos