page_title: English Electric Canberra
section_title: Specifications (Canberra B(I).6)
hierarchical_section_title: English Electric Canberra / Specifications (Canberra B(I).6)
caption_attribution_description: English: en:Rolls-Royce Avon jet engine (en:Temora Aviation Museum); note scale from clothed in uniform of en:RAAF
context_page_description: The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation jet powered medium bomber. It was developed by English Electric during the mid-to-late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havilland Mosquito fast bomber. Among the performance requirements for the type was the demand for an outstanding high-altitude bombing capability and high speed. These were partly accomplished by making use of newly developed jet propulsion technology. When the Canberra was introduced to service with the Royal Air Force, the type's first operator, in May 1951, it became the service's first jet-powered bomber.
  Throughout most of the 1950s, the Canberra could fly at a higher altitude than any other aircraft in the world. In 1957, a Canberra established a world altitude record of 70,310 feet. In February 1951, another Canberra set another world record when it became the first jet aircraft to make a non-stop transatlantic flight.
context_section_description: Data from Combat Aircraft Recognition
  General characteristics
  Crew: 3
  Length: 65 ft 6 in (19.96 m)
  Wingspan: 64 ft 0 in (19.51 m)
  Height: 15 ft 8 in (4.78 m)
  Wing area: 960 sq ft (89 m²)
  Airfoil: root: RAE/D 12% symm ; tip: RAE/D 9% symm
  Empty weight: 21,650 lb (9,820 kg)
  Gross weight: 46,000 lb (20,865 kg)
  Max takeoff weight: 55,000 lb (24,948 kg)
  Powerplant: 2 × Rolls-Royce R.A.7 Avon Mk.109 turbojet engines, 7,400 lbf (33 kN) thrust each
  Performance
  Maximum speed: 580 mph (930 km/h, 500 kn) at 40,000 ft (12,192 m)
  Maximum speed: Mach 0.88
  Combat range: 810 mi (1,300 km, 700 nmi)
  Ferry range: 3,380 mi (5,440 km, 2,940 nmi)
  Service ceiling: 48,000 ft (15,000 m)
  Rate of climb: 3,400 ft/min (17 m/s)
  Wing loading: 48 lb/sq ft (230 kg/m²)
  Thrust/weight: 0.37
  Armament
  Guns: 4 x 20 mm Hispano Mk.V cannon mounted in rear bomb bay (500 rounds/gun), or 2 x 0.30 in (7.62 mm) machine gun pods
  Rockets: 2 x unguided rocket pods with 37 2-inch (51 mm) rockets, or 2 x Matra rocket pods with 18 SNEB 68 mm rockets each
  Missiles: A variety of missiles can be carried according to mission requirements, e.g: 2 x AS-30L air-to-surface missiles
  Bombs: Total of 8,000 lb (3,628 kg) of payload can be mounted inside the internal bomb bay and on two underwing hardpoints, with the ability to carry a variety of bombs.
  Typically, the internal bomb bay can hold up to 9 x 500 lb (227 kg) bombs, or 6 x 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs, or 1 x 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) bomb; while the pylons can hold 4 x 500 lb (227 kg) bombs, or 2 x 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs.
  Nuclear weapons: in addition to conventional ordnance, the Canberra was also type-approved for tactical nuclear weapon delivery, including the Mk 7, B28 (Mod 2, 70 kiloton yield), B57 and B43 (as part of a joint program with the United States) plus the Red Beard and WE.177A (Mod A, 10 kiloton yield) nuclear bombs. All nuclear weapons were carried internally.
caption: Rolls-Royce Avon engine on display, Temora Aviation Museum, 2011
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