B-57

B-57 Canberra

The B-57 Canberra is a British licensed bomber jet. It was first introduced in 1951. The US broke its policy of not buying foreign aircraft because the Canberra was one of the first jets. The Canberra was a response to the Messerschmidt and Arado German jets, which were developed too late to affect the out come of the war, but shocked the Allies nonetheless. The B-57 Canberra replaced the B-26 Invader. The USAF produced a total of 403 B-57s before production ended in 1959. One thing that made the B-57 uniqe was its rotating bombing door.

Type: bomber jet
Armament: 2250kg of internal bombs, 8 pylons for bombs or rockets
Dimensions: span 19.5m; length 19.95m; height 4.7m
Payload: 13150kg
Speed: 920km/h
Range: 3200km
Ceiling: 15000m

The B-57 ran constant bombing runs over Hanoi during the Vietnam War.

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