Canberra B Mk 2

This page is about the British jet bomber Canberra B Mk 2. For other versions, see Canberra (Family).

Canberra B Mk 2

Shackleton MR.Mk.2

Canberra B (I) Mk 6

Canberra B Mk 2

Shackleton MR.Mk.2

Canberra B (I) Mk 6

Britain

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
8.7	8.3	7.7

Class:

Bomber

Jet bomber

Research:105 000

Purchase:300 000

Show in game

Description

In 1944, the Air Ministry issued a specification for a new high-speed, high-altitude bomber to replace the illustrious de Havilland Mosquito. While English Electric had been involved in aircraft construction since the interwar period, including producing airframes for the Handley Page Hampden and Halifax, they had little design experience of their own. However, this was solved by the joining of W.E.W. Petter, Westland's chief designer, who had left Westland to pursue his own twin-engine fighter-bomber design after being rejected. By 1949, the first prototypes had taken flight, and in 1950, following the outbreak of the Korean War, 410 aircraft were ordered for the RAF, as well as a number for export, notably the US (license-produced as the B-57A) and Australia. The first production run, designated Canberra B Mk 2, entered RAF service in 1951, replacing the Mosquito and Lincoln in frontline bombing and photoreconnaissance roles.

Introduced in Update 1.43, the Canberra B Mk 2 can be a very effective early jet bomber. It has a great climb rate and decent top speed which, coupled with its bomber spawn, allow it to either climb up away from the threat of interceptors or dive towards enemy bases. The Canberra is not equipped with any offensive or defensive armaments, so in both cases, survivability will rely on maintaining the speed to outrun any interceptors and using its surprising agility to avoid pot-shots. The payload is adequate, with six 1,000 lb bombs being enough to destroy a base.

General info

Flight performance

Air brakes

Allows you to dramatically reduce the flight speed by releasing special flaps

Max speed

at 3 000 m880 km/h

Turn time26 s

Max altitude12 192 m

Engine2 х Rolls-Royce Avon Mk.101

TypeJet

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight21 t

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 3,000 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	835	807	12192	26.9	27.6	14.8	13.3	750
Upgraded	915	880		25.4	26.0	25.7	20.0

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear	Drogue chute
X	X	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
990	450	-	-	320	~7	~3

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 590	< 550	< 500	-

Engine performance

Engine			Aircraft mass
Engine name		Number	Empty mass			Wing loading (full fuel)
Rolls-Royce Avon Mk.101		2	10,300 kg			171 kg/m2
Engine characteristics			Mass with fuel (no weapons load)					Max Takeoff Weight
Weight (each)	Type		15m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	45m fuel	50m fuel
800 kg	Axial-flow turbojet		11,800 kg	12,280 kg	13,240 kg	14,680 kg	15,160 kg	20,865 kg
Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB)			Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (100%)
Condition	100%	WEP	15m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	45m fuel	50m fuel	MTOW
Stationary	2,850 kgf	N/A	0.48	0.46	0.43	0.39	0.38	0.27
Optimal	2,850 kgf (0 km/h)	N/A	0.48	0.46	0.43	0.39	0.38	0.27

Survivability and armour

Crew3 people

Speed of destruction

Structural0 km/h

Gear450 km/h

• No armour plating
• No armour glazing
• Critical components located at the fuselage of the aircraft (fuel, pilot, controls)
• Engines in wings

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB3 100 → 4 129

RB11 210 → 14 931

SB16 526 → 22 012

Total cost of modifications89 900

146 000

Talisman cost2 100

Crew training86 000

Experts300 000

Aces1 700

Research Aces720 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

90 / 300 / 600 %

196 / 196 / 196 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Research: 9 100 Cost: 15 000 300 Compressor Research: 10 000 Cost: 16 000 320 Wings repair Research: 11 000 Cost: 18 000 360 Engine Research: 9 900 Cost: 16 000 320	Airframe Research: 10 000 Cost: 16 000 320 EFS Research: 9 900 Cost: 16 000 320 Cover Research: 9 900 Cost: 16 000 320	EEMBC No.2 Mark 1 Research: 9 100 Cost: 15 000 300 EELBC No.2 Mark 4 Research: 11 000 Cost: 18 000 360

Armaments

Suspended armament

List of setups (4)

Setup 19 x 500 lb H.E. M.C. Mk.II bomb

Setup 26 x 1000 lb H.E. M.C. Mk.13 bomb

Setup 31 x 4000 lb H.C. Mk.IV bomb
3 x 1000 lb H.E. M.C. Mk.13 bomb

Setup 42 x 4000 lb H.C. Mk.IV bomb

The Canberra B Mk 2 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• 9 x 500 lb H.E. M.C. Mk.II bombs (4,500 lb total)
• 6 x 1,000 lb H.E. M.C. Mk.13 bombs (6,000 lb total)
• 1 x 4,000 lb H.C. Mk.IV bomb + 2 x 1,000 lb H.E. M.C. Mk.13 bombs (6,000 lb total)

Usage in battles

Climbing high to around 10 kilometres will save you from most predators and AA fire in both AB and RB as the Canberra has one of the best climb rates and high-alt performances in the game. Watch out for the Me 163 and Ki-200, who can climb to you easily thanks to their Rocket Engines. A common strategy by Canberras (and B-57s, as they are the same airframe) is to head to one base, drop all payload on such base and then running for their lives. Using the 6 x 1,000 lb payload is recommended for usage on bases while 1 x 4,000 lb + 2 x 1,000 lb payload works best when used on airfields.

Alternatively, flying a 10-20 degree descent straight towards a bombing target can allow you to gain enough speed to reach the bases and bomb them before most aircraft have a chance to notice you and fire at you. Often this tactic will forfeit any chance of returning to base, as the Canberra is a large target and often the bulk of the enemy team will be a matter of kilometres away by the time you reach the base. However, it is a quick and easy way to ensure that you can destroy a base. 9x 500lb bombs is usually enough for a base, however the 6x 1,000lb payload or 1x 4,000lb + 2x 1,000lb payload will ensure that the base is destroyed, as base HP can vary depending on the BR.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good stock engine power
• Good stock acceleration speed
• Powerful airbrakes
• Good top speed for such a large aircraft
• Decent payload
• High service ceiling(max. altitude)
• Great climb rate
• Almost untouchable in Air SB (7.0 to 8.0), almost no plane can catch up with you

Cons:

• May rip wings by going straight for a while without intelligent use of air-brakes
• Likely to be a big target for fighter aircraft with an air-spawn and be engaged first.
• Slower than most fighters, which means you will be caught up by all jets that chase you
• No defensive armaments.

History

The Canberra B Mk.2 was created in 1949 to replace the Mosquito fast bomber. It was designed to have outstanding high altitude performance and speed, being unparalleled for 10 years. Despite the RAF originally expecting the Canberra to be obsolete within a few years of entering service, so much so that work to develop a replacement (eventually leading to the TSR-2) was started before it had even entered service, it would go on to be one of the RAF's longest serving aircraft. The Canberra remained in front line service with the RAF until its retirement in 2006, some 55 years after it first entered service (although it spent a lot of that time in the photo-reconnaissance role, as opposed to its original purpose as a bomber). The Canberra was replaced in the strategic bomber role by the Valiant (and other V-bombers), and in the strike role by the Buccaneer (following the cancellation of the TSR-2 programme). It established a world's highest altitude record of 21,430 m in 1957 and was the first jet-powered aircraft to make a non-stop transatlantic flight.

Archive of the in-game description

Whilst the United States and the Soviet Union were, in many ways, running ahead of Britain during the early development of jet fighters, Britain would at least keep up if not forge ahead with its very first jet bomber – the legendary English Electric Canberra. The origins of the Canberra lay in 1944 when the Air Ministry called for a replacement for the de Havilland Mosquito in the light bomber role – a fast, agile tactical bomber was required by RAF Bomber Command to move into the jet age. English Electric set to work under Chief Engineer WEW Petter, who envisaged a bomber built around straight wings of a large area, and two of the new Rolls-Royce Avon jet engines. The prototype first flew in May 1949, with Typhoon-ace Roland Beamont at the controls. The Chief Test Pilot remarked that the aircraft was practically free of vices and possessed an agility that was reminiscent of a fighter rather than a bomber. After various modifications were made, including the addition of a glass nose for a bomb aimer, the first production variant – the B Mk.2 - entered service in 1951 with No.101 Squadron. The Canberra was able to reach speeds of some 560 mph and reach heights of 48,000 feet whilst maintaining the capacity to carry 6000 lbs of ordnance. A series of modified Canberra B Mk.2s set a succession of world altitude records, culminating in August 1957 with a staggering 70,310 feet. It was a Canberra that saw victory at the Last Great Air Race from London to Christchurch in 1953. With a range of approximately 2600 miles, the Canberra was considered a tactical rather than a strategic bomber. The Canberra was popular with its aircrew due to its performance, popular with ground crews due to its relatively simple maintenance schedule and also popular with Command due to its relatively low cost. Over 400 Canberra B Mk.2's were built until uprated engines led to the development of its successor, the B Mk.6, which entered service in the summer of 1954. As squadrons received the newer model, the now older B Mk.2 saw service with the RAF in Germany, Cyprus and the Far East, although the variant did serve successfully in the Suez Crisis of 1956. A small number of export variants of the B Mk.2 also saw service with the United States as a template for building under license as the Martin B-57, Australia and Venezuela.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Canberra B Mk 2 from live.warthunder.com.

See also

Related development

• Canberra (Family)

External links

• [Devblog] Canberra Mk2
• [Wikipedia] English Electric Canberra

The English Electric Company Limited
Jet Fighters	Lightning F.6 · Lightning F.53
Jet Bombers	Canberra B Mk 2 · Canberra B (I) Mk 6
Tanks	Excelsior
	The English Electric Company allowed the Glenn L. Martin Company to license-build Canberra bombers for the United States Air Force.