The Martin B-57G; Laid the Groundwork
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ย. 2024
- I always thought the Canberra a very good looking aircraft...until...
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The 'warthog with syphilis' comment caused coke to shoot from my nose, I can't tell if these tears are from pain or laughter now
It's why i no longer drink coke when watching Ed's videos.
You having a cheeky stripe or five there la, gowed! 😂😂
I haven't watched a TH-cam video whilst snorting a naughty G or two for ages. At least you chose a great channel to do so.
@@localbodit helps keep the ADHD in control
Maybe snort like a hog! Damn it, Ed! That’s why I love British humor!😂
I find cool that the B57 is still used by NASA. The WB57 is the Airplane that gives amazing aerial video of capsules coming back from space.
remember seeing b57s with nasa marking flying over my home as a child
I live close to Ellington Field, south of Houston, where NASA hangers one of these aircraft. I see the WB57 flying on a regular basis. It has a very distinctive engine sound and its wings are huge. Beautiful aircraft.
@@robertbrodie5183 You can track it on Flight Radar as NASA 926 and NASA 928.
The WB-57 is a very different aircraft to the B-57. It is like comparing the F-104G with the U-2 - they started with the same airframe but ended at very different places.
I wanted to commant that too i love the B57 and the WB57 that looks like they just glued extra parts on it
My departed Uncle built these in the US. He always said that the true beauty of the B-57 was on the insides.
My mom says the same about me!
Canberras are gorgeous, dammed fine aircraft...
Oh my word yes indeed, rare success for our post empire industry...
One of the few jets with ZERO-hours on its airframe and the only one the uk tried a prone flying position on.
Ed, the Canberras are still at the Davis Monthan AFB boneyard. About 12 years ago, NASA went there and pulled 63-13295 out of mothballs and resurrected her to active flight status, joining two of her sisters. They are all designated as WB-57's now. All three conduct weather experiments for NASA, flying through hurricanes and typhoons and taking measurements.
Just had a quick look on maps, dated 2023. I see 6 at coordinates 32.16147226988309, -110.83774611028473 . Also wondering what are the planes to right of the B-57's with the rather large wingspan?
@@68Boca I'm pretty sure those three acft are the RB/EB-57D variant.
@@American_Jeeper NASA flies three RB-57 articles redesignated as WB-57, so the long winged birds would be the NASA type.
Crazy that a 1944 proposal resulted in an aircraft still flying eighty years later. Then again, B-52s eventually will be sorted by carbon dating...
@@68Boca The AMARC inventory list shows 2 B-57Es, 5 EB-57Bs and 4 WB-57Fs soaking in the sun.
@@francoissouchay3887 The three WB-57F's are located at the Johnson Space Center Tail Numbers 926, 927, 928).
The ones at Davis Monthan AFB are mothballed, so it stands to reason in my mind that they are part of the 21 built as RB/EB-57D's, which have a slightly shorter wingspan (32m) than the WB-57F's that NASA uses (37m).There is a fourth NASA WB-57F at Davis Monthan (Tail Number 925), but its wings have been partially dismantled.
T/N 927 started her life out as a B-57B (original T/N 53-3918). In 1964 she was rebuilt as RB-57Fs by General Dynamics, and was given the new T/N 63-13295. She was retired in 1972 and mothballed until 2011, when she was completely dismantled and rebuilt by the Sierra Nevada Corporation at Centennial Airport, Colorado. Her Wright J65 turbojets were replaced with Pratt & Whitney TF33 turbofans, which were double the thrust of the original engines.
Following her restoration, her first flight as T/N N927NA was in 2013.
During 1971-72 I was an intel debriefer at Ubon and debriefed the B-57G crews from 13th Bomb Squadron. My memory is that the crews loved the airplane and were enthusiastic about their mission over the Trail. I think it was a beautiful airplane. I also remember B-57Gs teaming up with the C-130A Blindbat flare dropping mission over the Trail. I also spent some time as Ops NCO for Blindbat.
To very good aircraft that did a job , thank you for your service . From an ex-RAF serviceman .
During my USAF days in the late 1970s, we occasionally had EB-57s fly in as transients, on their way somewhere else. Watching the cartridge start of the jet engines was always fun.
Yep the RAF Canberra's had the same cartridge start up but i think the later ones used AVPIN , a very highly volatile starter fuel much H70 of F-16's and i think F-15's
Another example of technology shared across the pond that paved the path of success.
Really cool to see! My landlord was the bombardier in his b-57G, sadly I've only been able to find so much info on them and such, most I've gotten really has been from him. I'm going to show him this!
He really enjoyed the video.
The bubble canopy gives it that Gloster Meteor look
The Canberra was a bigger Meteor from day one…
The B-57G definitely laid the groundwork for the PaveTack F-111G and the TRAM A-6E Intruder both laser-guided systems that served well in Desert Storm.
The problem with emphasis on the Ho Chi Minh trail is that the majority of the supplies came by sea. The most effective force against these supplies was the US Coast Guard.
The Australian airforce flew the Canberra in Viet Nam. The Australians were so accurate that if forward air controllers knew they were available the Canberras would be used first. If just one bomb was not within the target area the crew would have to go step by step with other officers from the squadron to find out why.
I was a FAC in 'Nam and can vouch for the Canberra's incredible accuracy. The downside, however, was the long time between bomb passes as the 'Berra had to fly a large "racetrack" pattern that could take five to six minutes between drops. That was fine for pre-planned strikes on known and fixed targets like storage areas, but worthless for highly mobile events like troops in contact.
I have no idea what the facts there are BUT its certainly pretty plausible .......
Boats have good darrying capacity, lots of places to hide amongst the deltas etc
Yet - maybe because of the coverage during the War - the Ho Chi Min Trail has acquired near mythic status.
I worked at RAE Bedford when they were still operating Canberras for radar research. The pilots loved flying them. The ETPS pilots flew all the types we had, so one day they were flying us around in the BAC 1-11 and the next they were flying a Canberra or Tornado.
I remember as a kid and i saw this when one day driving some where a Canberra of RAE came from behind and flew straight down the road that we was driving . The wing tips were over the the edge of both sides of the road and the noise and vibration was incredible . Obviously as a kid in the back seat i heard then was vibrated and also the shadow of this aircraft passed by us and went in front . I was excited by this and loved it but the RAE had to apologise to the general public for scaring vehicle drivers . Apparently it was testing some thing but they never said what . Made my day and every one of the family that was in the car , we was used to fast jets at low level doing their thing and to be fair liked it .
Great video. Had no idea F-102s were used in this role. Thanks.
I had thought those were mostly bored pilots trying to find something to do.
There were even attempts to use IR Falcon and Sidewinder missiles to hit trucks and locomotives.
@@petesheppard1709 Great fliers.
Crap economists.
Vietnam was a real wake up call for the air force. They thought they would only need to fight a strategic/nuclear war and that even maned aircraft might be phased out. Glen L Martin was even getting out of aircraft building and focusing on missiles Like the Martin Mace which I guess was a forerunner to cruise missiles.
An agreement with the army made it worse. Since the Air Force wanted a monopoly on bombers and attack aircraft (they tried to take over the Navy's aircraft early on after WW2 , like the RAF did to the FAA after WW1.) The agreement with the army was that the army could have no fixed wing attack aircraft (the AF really didn't care about rotary wing aircraft) the Mohawks were not allowed to carry weapons but only reconnaissance. That was later changed, but it took a while.
@@Farweasel 😄 Well, it wasn't coming out of their pockets...
No i didn't either .
In field studies in Vietman, it was determined that they were flying to high (3,000' or more) for the 20mm guns to be effective. The guns would break windshields and penatrate body work but would not put the truck out of action.
One story about the B-57, or actually the RB-57( undergoing development at Martin's at the time), was when one of the bombers flying out of the Baltimore plant flew over the capitol without identifying itself. It caused a real flap as no fighter in the area could fly high enough to intercept it.
My father worked at Glen L Martin from 1938/9 to 1963, mostly the PBM, P5M programs.
I think that's an incorrect conclusion. Altitude should have no bearing. It's more likely the result, or lack of result, from the general effectiveness of 20mm on something as simple as a truck. Sure, in WW2 fighters were strafing the heck out of German trucks, but that was a somewhat different circumstance. Often they were using .50cals that could easily put hundreds of rounds into a target in one or two seconds. Far more likely to cause critical damage or worse if incendiary rounds were used. Couple this with the inability of the Germans to repair or recover the vehicle made it effective.
Even at the high rate of fire of the Vulcan at night and high speed, I would expect maybe half a dozen hits and less if they were only letting off judicious bursts. ( in the video he mentions 20 trucks for 4,000 rds. : 2 sec bursts, but at what flying speed?).
A few explosive hits on a steel frame truck with an iron engine aren't going to put it out of action for long, if at all. These aren't aluminum frame aircraft, or vulnerable jet planes that every square foot is vital. The frame likely won't be damaged. Replacing some tires and an engine accessory or two, the truck is back in business. The Vietnamese wouldn't care about cosmetics of a few holes here and there.
The more modern 30mm has a square of more explosive capability coupled with the use of depleted uranium that more or less melts the steel. They use a mix of HE and AP to achieve effectiveness.
I don't doubt the study was done, they just arrived at an incorrect conclusion.
Excellent video, Ed. This is where you really shine. Not just doing aircraft overviews (there's lots of channels for that), but bringing in the tactical and strategic background as well. Few channels have your personal experience with military systems and their use.
Are there other people that visually love modifications like these? The odd bumps and broken lines make the aircraft look less like fine art and more like _it means business!_
The original F-16A does very little for me, but add F-16E CFTs, targeting pods, bird slicers, ECMs, etc., etc. and *_ooh boy!_* 😍
NURSE! He's forgotten his Meds again
[The worrying thing is I can kind of see where you're going with that 'tho]
Nash: "...looks like a warthog with syphilis."
Me: "That's a bit extreme there Ed don'tcha think?"
sees pic at 8:50
Me: "Oh...how dreadful. I stand corrected."
And you are so right the graceful B-57 Canberra. Reminds me a lot of the, 1988 XK8 Jaguar.
It was intended to take the fast bomber role of the Mosquito into the jet age.
I see what you mean (having searched out which one the 1988 XK8 Jag was)
Had you said 'like a Hawker Hunter but flattened' I wouldn't have needed to search.
Am I the only one so air-obsessed they needed to search? 🙄
English Electric Canberra was a beautiful plane, this is an interesting variation of it, a bit of Frankenstein looking thing.
Your funny cut-in's are getting better and better Ed 🙂
A great presentation about an obscure version of the B-57. Thanks, Ed.
Another great video! The B-57 around I live has a very checkered past. Since, as you stated, it started with the B-57 and the engines at that time weren't exactly reliable and so they crashed - right into neighbor hoods. So, due to number of early jet engine crashes the USAF was forced to buy out a whole neighborhood right under the runway approach. Of course, the area was renamed "crash acres" and my parents were living there at the time of the crashes.
The Canberra is one of my favourites, and as it was part of our inventory in the RAAF, seeing highly successful service in Vietnam. I have seen one on a semiregular basis, parked just within the International air shows grounds, held in Melbourne. It is a particularly astonishingly small aircraft, very much bellying its 9 ton weight. I can certainly see its appeal to so many air forces of the world, in particular the USAF, who needed a craft with such unique abilities; both high altitude and high transonic speed. A real rip-snorter for reconnaissance, and bombing.
Right mission, wrong platform. Go fig. But very ambitious application and development of technologies! Glad to see the C-17 and C-130 being touted to carry pallets of smart munitions to be deployed between cargo runs! Thank you for your excellent research and reporting! Never disappointed here. Cheers!
0:54 Ed, with that sound effect, you have solidified yourself as my favorite aviation channel on TH-cam.
Well done, you!
😂 couldnt residt
@@EdNashsMilitaryMatters And I’m so glad you didn’t! A little cheek is always appreciated.
(When I was in school writing academic military history papers I always included a couple sly remarks in each one. I certainly enjoyed it when other writers included them for their readers, breaking up what is an otherwise painfully dry article.)
I remember seeing B57s at Otis AFB in the late 60s when I was around 8-9 years old. My dad had security clearance and would sometimes let me sneak out to the flight line and watch all the activities happening. Busy time.
Constellations with the big radomes, B57s, F106s scrambling to intercept Soviet Bears off the coast as they flew on down to Cuba. You don't realize at 8 the implications of what's happening around you. You just think it's really cool. Those were the best times with my dad.
Thank you for your service.
Lt. Colonel Joe ONeill, USAF
RIP
Thanks for a great informative video!
Charlton Heston could well have caught sight of the RAF's Canberra T.17, you know. They used to take off over our school from RAF Watton, and I loved them - warts and all. Great video, as always.
Another terrifically researched and presented video. Thanks, Ed!
Anyone notice the picture of the NVA trucks. All had only one headlight. The right side (driver's side) was the only one installed. The NH Air National Guard flew them. They would fly out over the ocean than try to penetrate American airspace.
The electronic equipment fitted to the stoofs (S-2gs), was later fitted to the P2-v Neptunes of TRIM (Trails, Roads, Interdiction, Method) aircraft which substituted an M-61 Vulcan cannon in a tail turret in place of the MAD (Magnetic Anomaly Detection) gear, they were modestly successful. Until being replaced by Canberras and AC series aircraft.
Thinking further one initial modification to a couple of Canberras was the sensor suite, with an M-61 in a trainable turret in the bombay.
"Tropic Moon I-III" are such cool designations, though
Great video! I agree with you - the Canberra is exceptionally easy on the eyes, although comparing the B-57G to a syphilitic warthog might be just a tad overkill, LOL. I think that one of the (possibly overlooked?) advantages of the big & slow gunships was the amazing light show they'd put on with tracers & cannon shells. It's one thing to know there's an aircraft overhead in the darkness dropping bombs, but it's a whole 'nother can of hurt when "Puff the Magic Dragon" starts blowing up your comrades with an actual stream of visible tracer fire you can see coming from the night sky getting closer... and closer... and...
I bought a Revell model of the Canberra when I was about 15. We had a 2 car garage and half of it was used for "projects," as we only had the one car. I was then working on a Bristol Cobra, so the the Canberra sat on the table. I came out one evening to find my dad working on the Canberra. I never said a word to him about it, even though it was a significant portion of my lawn mowing money. He did a beautiful job with it and built in "gear down" mode. It sat on top of am armoire in our living room until it was broken in the move to their retirement home. Then he talked to me about it. He just liked the shape of that airplane. I have a soft spot it too.
The Canberra was a beast. Still in service with NASA. Plenty of airbases in the Commonwealth still maintain these birds as gate Guardians. Think of it as a jet powered modern take on the Mosquito.
I think Rhodesia used Canberras?
They basically were the mosies successor in the light fast boomber role
@Thomas Baker it was the direct successor to the Mosquito in all roles, that is what it was designed to be. It had a 4x20mm gun pack with 500 rounds per gun as an option so could function as a fighter too.
@@juhopuhakka2351 They did. They were very widely exported and most commonwealth countries operated them. I think the Argentinians had some in the Falklands, not sure if they flew against the British, but they were in service. They were one of the best of their time. That's the British Canberras, the only other operator of B-57s was Taiwan maybe and Pakistan I think.
@@thomasbaker6563 A true Mosquito successor would have been faster than the jet fighters of the day, though 😉
EE did of course produce a tandem-cockpit version of the Canberra, the B(I)8. Wasn't quite as pretty as the Martin version though as they put the canopy over the position of the existing pilot seat, offset to the left.
The Pilot of the B(I).8 was alone under the fighter style canopy with the Navigator in the fuselage, in the early models behind the Pilot and in the later models in front. Correction the Navigator was was in front in the early models and behind in the later ones.
@@neiloflongbeck5705 PR 9
@@ChuckieFinzter these used the same cockpit layout as the B(I).8.
@@neiloflongbeck5705 Yes this is correct for the B(I)8, but the navigator/ camera operator sat lower down to the right of the pilot and moved fwd to the glass nose to operate the camera. It was the Pr9 that had the navigator/camera operator in front of the pilot "locked" in the separate nose compartment of the aircraft. (No 1 PRU later to be 39 squadron were the last RAF Sqn to fly the coffin).
There is a B-57 on display at the SAC aerospace museum on interstate 80 between Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska.
Oh the beautiful Canberra. Spent years working on and around those. Whilst being designed as a bomber from the start, she took on and excelled in a great many roles. Well, many roles with us at the RAE anyway. If you could find enough info to support enough of a video to make it worth while, I world think one such video on the weather data collecting Canberra would be great. I missed that bird as she was decommissioned when I started at Farnborough. "Snoopy" the WC-130was in the role then. WH734 was the last one I got to work on. Sadly, she was nothing more than a target tug after departing to Wales.
As you, dear heart, referred to opinion. I felt it OK to join in. The 1st Canberra's were the ultimate in good looks for the type. When certain folks ran with the PR variants, she lost the hight of her beauty with the offset canopy, and instead took on the look of a practical machine (as she was meant to be I know). Same with that beauty queen the Sea Vixen too. There are a lot of records set by the Canberra, most of which I forget in my old age. But as with most British aircraft of her day, she looked good and performed even better. The next iconic flying washing machine worthy of a few good hours of videos, is The EE Lightning I mean from English Electric the maker of household appliances, 2 on the most influential planes .They were instrumental in fuelling the dreams of this little that drove me into hunting down a job in aviation.
Totally love Ed, Keep 'em coming.
I think they were quite good at making trains (locomotives) as well. The Deltic was one of theirs.
@@paulqueripel3493 I read that just yesterday, the diesel loco's were another of EE's lines. Thanks for the info. TTFN
The Lighting was an amazing aircraft and was ahead of it's time . HOTAS hands on throttle and on stick , meaning everything that pilot needed to to do to do their job was readily available on stick and throttle . An idea that has carried on to modern fighters . As an ex-RAF serviceman my two favourite aircraft of the jet era are Lightning and Vulcan . I was lucky to see both and i love them . Both very impressive aircraft .
Chuck Yeager mentions them in his autobiography as one of his favorite planes to fly.. .. .. Says it all really.
My dad was in the back seat of the c model used for atmospheric testing for nuclear weapons. The breathing wing bomber. Had filters built in to the aircraft to capture the elements left over from thermonuclear weapons. The plane flew so high that the pilot and my dad had the helmets and compression gear on. Almost as high as the U2.
Took off from Greece and flew over what is now the Ukraine and landed in the Netherlands. And back again.
Canberra's were a huge part of my childhood. I grew up in Torbay & they'd overfly daily in SaR yellow & black chevrons all through the 70's. Absolutely unmistakable!
The black and yellow chevrons weren't search and rescue, they were target towers to train fighter pilots in air to air machine / cannon firing.
@@ChuckieFinzter The yellow & black chevrons were painted on the underside of the Canberra's wings.
@@Aengus42 Yes thats right... The last target towing squadron was 100 squadron (tatty ton) They flew TT18's with a Rushden winch target towing pod under each wing.
@@ChuckieFinzter Ahaa! Thank you! Now I can research them a tad. The bay was quite busy with the VOR DME equipment on Berry Head too.
For me, the early RAF and RAAF Canberra with it's unusual hemispherical bubble canopy, glazed bomb aimer's nose, clean wings and silver finish was the most attractive of the type. Although, I do have a soft spot for the PR.9 with its quirky offset canopy and clean lines. It's getting on for 20 years since I watched WJ680 perform an impeccable aerobatic routine at Avalon in Victoria. TFP
PR-9's i think might be the longest serving Aircraft in the RAF , yes i know the BBMF are still serving aircraft to a point but the PR-9 was the longest operational as far as im aware . occasionally worked with Canberra's when i was at RAF Wittering and some other stations . Was always amazed at the so many different variants that there was . I thought it was bad enough that we have four different types of Harrier at RAF Wittering , plus then the Navy variants that would come in .
Liked that splat/raspberry sound :) Very good timing
Ed I love your Vids and Channel, There used to be a Canberra gate guard At the Wroughton Military Hospital always loved driving by it
The Canberra would be Batman’s Choice … Maybe in the next remake .. or Batplane the movie …
I worked on many B-57 types from 1961 through 68. including the prototype G model.
Superb vid, so we'll researched. I'll be buying your book sir
A fine report indeed.
👍👍, many thanx Ed.
PAVEGAT looks awesome on a super Chad level.
After much head scratching just worked out the *PAVE* bit means 'Laser Guided'
They also released that cool song Love Shack, I believe :)
I think that early photo of the B-57 with the dark/muted livery is beautiful.
The reason the original Canberra had a bubble canopy was because, until the radar bombing system was perfected, the plane still needed a back up bomb aimer, hence the rather obvious clue of a glazed nosecone. Coulndt be reached by a guy stuck in a rear seat canopy.
"warthog with syphilis".... I damn near choked on my drink.
Compliments for the impressive amount of research done on this one.
Fucking wicked! Loved it. And yeah, as the other commenter said the “warthog with syphilis” comment was a laugh maker.
Always thought she was a beauty. The RB-57 isn't bad either. :)
Amazing video, as we have come to expect from you. Most people think I know a lot about military aviation, but I feel like I am going back to school when I see these videos. Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge. I'm going to buy your books, and hope you will be writing more in the future! Prost, from the US!🍺
The 'tough guy' presentation style gets in the way of facts.
Some comments about the EE Canberra developed and served well into this century would have enriched contextual knowledge.
I don't remember the G model, but one of my AFROTC instructors did fly many successful truck-busting missions in an AC-130. He even had a chance to take out some NVA helicopters one night, but a Marine AA unit on the DMZ didn't get the word and lit him up. After evading the Marines, the mission was scrubbed. Oh, how he wanted to paint some helicopter silhouettes on his plane.
Thanks Ed. As always , a very informative and unexpected source of information of this incredible aircraft .
Excellent video Ed, thanks.
This is a very interesting topic and a well made video about it , thank you.
Has anyone else here ever sat in an EE Canberra's cockpit? It's a bit of a nightmare, and for some reason, it kept those stupid trigger brakes the British persisted with for too long
It helps if your hobby's potholing of course.
Worked on the Canberra at Wyton. Great aeroplane
I seem to remember that at one time the Canberra carried the sobriquet "Iron Cranberry." I haven't been able to dredge up via search engines any support for the idea. Does anyone else remember that, or have I spent too much time in an alternate universe?
Oh yeah, another outstanding video, Ed!
Could that have been the *paint job* it was wearing?
@@babboon5764 No, it was a take-off on the name "Canberra."
ETA: I pulled the trigger too fast. It's entirely possible the paint job could have something to do with the name, I just don't remember that as being the case. Also, I don't think it was in reference to a single B-57 named "Iron Cranberry," tho that too is possible. I think it referred to the Canberras in general, like "Aardvark" referred to F-111s.
The vertical tail fin seems fairly small compared to other aircraft.
100% with you on the looks Ed. Great airplane
Excellent point, also noted elsewhere, that the B57G program served to sort out night attack technology that could be used on other aircraft.
Though it's ironic that the aircraft that most closely matched the operational profile of the B-57G in later service (The A-10) got next-to-nothing as far as sensor equipment until the mid-'90s, and even today is reliant on external sensor pods.
7:29 it’s Wallace from the Wallace and Grommit films
It has a charming practicality to its look.
That photo of a B-57G overlaid on the Statue of Liberty was EPIC, my good man! I've never seen a better visual jest in any TH-cam video on aviation.
Lol glad you enjoyed.
One other ability the B57G was famous for was its impression of Wallace (from the British ‘claymation’ series, Wallace And Grommit) 7:34
Very informative and enjoyable. I will note about the incidental "tip tanks" at 00:32, on that particular aircraft they are sampling pods to pick up debris from the nuclear test explosion there in the background. it's a great pic, I used it a decade or so back for some sort of update. It deserves to be seen and discussed more. People forger about the fallout, if they even knew.
What an excellent vid - great!
"warthog with syphilis"... How elegant! 🤣
One of the first night interdiction aircraft that the Air Force successfully used or navy p2v Neptune Patrol aircraft. All the sensors except for the magnetic anomaly detection worked pretty well in the dark / jungle. Who is partially replaced by a 20 mm turret in the tail. And the 14 of the Thailand were pretty successful until they were driven to higher altitudes out of the effective range of their weapon
Nice look at a forgotten aicraft. Thank you for your efforts.
This is the best thing I ever saw.
No matter for which reason a plane fails, or even succeeds, usually valuable lessons are learned, technology pushed further and jobs created.
And even the biggest failures can leave behind a heritage of successful offspring build upon the information gathered and knowledge gained.
Ed, your wry comments throughout makes this video that much more entertaining!
Interesting, never heard of that variant of the B-57. Can you do a video on the RB-57F variant? Thanks for all the great work!
THANKS ED......
Shoe🇺🇸
Not going to lie the pave gat sounds absolutely awesome as you have a turreted m61 gun with over 4000 in an aircraft capable of 500 miles an hour.
I think without the night vision equipment this could have been a nasty close support aircraft
Excellent.
If they had some patience to develop it enough, it would had been a brutally effective FAC/CAS/BAI platform, however they got rid of the "foreign" aircraft in favour of the stuka/sturmovik inspired A-10.
I agree with your opinion of the Canberra's looks, except that buttah face version with the wonky cockpit on one side.
Fascinating video - and the camouflaged G gets my vote for the best-looking Canberra. And another for being a good fusion of airframe, sensors and weapons.
1:17 😂😂😂😂 I'm dyin over here. Thanks Ed now my side hurts lmmfao 😂😂😂😂
Interestingly, this was originally Britain's first jet bomber. Lengthening the stubby wings was a smart move. The EE Canberra
and the Hawker Harrier were the only foreign-designed planes the US ever adopted, both were British..
I recall an incident, as recounted in the book, "About Face" by Colonel David H. Hackworth, (US Army Ret) ; where he flew as an observer aboard an RAAF Canberra, where he noted the quantity of US service personnel lying on their backs in a field, which told him they were dead US soldiers, going on to further note how accommodating the RAAF pilot was in circling far lower than he would have anticipated, ignoring the reasonably heavy ground fire. He did not see this as reckless, but rather as a confident airman in a good aircraft, which could bear battle damage in pursuit of an objective. It equated with the Canberra's nimbleness and ease of control. Perhaps its finest hours were as high speed high altitude spy planes, flying from West Germany, or the UK, flying a profile well within Soviet Bloc for and photographic reconnaissance images, only to land in Turkey. As the Canberra could fly above the effective height of MIG-17 interception.
The Heston clip was INSPIRED!
Thanks, even though I was serving in Vietnam in 1970, I never knew any of this.
Yes the long canopy improves it !
TY 🙏🙏
Is it just me or does anyone else think that the below-photo of the B-57G with the two white squares visible reminds them of Wallace, from the "Wallace and Gromit" films?
In spite of its odd look (which I find attractive in a kind of ugly duckling kind of way) RESPECT for the progenitor of a new form of what must have been hell for the enemy.
Combined with the gunship it must have had a significant effect on the behavior and morale of those doing supply runs.
@Cancer McAids True, very true. But it still likely modified their behavior and weighed on their minds.
They still bested the U.S. with their adaptability and drive for certain.
What a waste overall, though. I wish my country had learned to not interfere with sovereignty.
Love the humor!!!
_"That which is seen cannot be unseen."_ Poor B-57. To abuse such a dependable, reliable workhorse like that is shameful. Somebody notify the Aircraft Cruelty Society!