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The English Electric Canberra PR.9
The English Electric Canberra is a first-generation British jet-powered medium bomber, developed by English Electric in the 1940s as a successor to the de Havilland Mosquito. It excelled in high-altitude bombing and speed due to newly developed jet propulsion. In May 1951, it became the RAF's first jet powered bomber.
In total, 1352 Canberras were produced, including 403 B-57s and 48 aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force. The first British operational squadron was 101 Squadron at RAF Binbrook in May 1951, and in the RAF Germany area, the 149 Squadron at RAF Gütersloh became the first unit in August 1954.
Various versions were exported to Argentina, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Ethiopia, France, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Rhodesia, South Africa, Sweden, Venezuela, and West Germany. The RAF Germany operated the Canberra for approximately two decades.
In the German Bundeswehr, three aircraft were used by the Office for Military Geodesy for aerial photography missions from 1963 to 1993. On June 23, 2006, the RAF's last Canberras were officially retired after 55 years of service.
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The XH135
Aviationtag’s XH135, built in 1959, served with RAF Handling Squadron at RAF Manby, then transferred to Shorts of Belfast. Later, it joined 58 Sqn at RAF Wyton, briefly transferred to 13 Sqn in Malta, and finally served with 39 Sqn at RAF Wyton until Feb 1982. It was stored at RAF St Athan and reactivated for 1 PRU at RAF Marham.
Retired in July 2006 at Kemble airfield alongside XH131 and XH134, XH135 remained taxiable for airshows. It was acquired by Midair around 2010, and while XH134 was chosen for airworthiness, XH135 was used for electric start testing before being stripped for parts. Midair's bankruptcy in 2017 led to the Canberras becoming airport
property.
In 2020, the Buccaneer Aviation Group relocated them to Cotswold Airport, where XH135 was cleaned. In early 2022, Cotswold Airport announced XH135's disposal. Former Canberra PR.9 Navigator initiated efforts to save the aircraft, but insufficient funds led to the hard decision to dismantle it.
Aviationtag managed to salvage parts of this legendary aircraft. The Aviationtag Edition features captivating variations in beige and white, each beautifully crafted from the storied XH135 of the Royal Air Force. Don't miss the chance to own a unique piece of aviation heritage.
By August 2022, XH135 was reduced to a cockpit section and found its new home at West Raynham Business Park, formerly RAF West Raynham. Learn more about the project by clicking here.
How do you like this Aviationtag Edition? Would you like us to do more Military aircrafts? Let us know in the comments.
62 comments
The history behind this plane is just amazing. Tons of variants were created during years but the best part is that even nowadays is possible to see some of them still flying under the body variant "W" (Weather) of the B-57 Canberra working for the NASA. Casually one of them was saw during the last Space X launch few weeks ago. Trully amazing!
I've always loved the Canberra, in particular since my mother used to work around them when she was in the RAF. Yes please to more RAF tags in the future!
Even though I am not a big fan of Military aircraft, it is always interessting to get to know new aircraft types and their history!
Truely a release with a great history to it. Awesome informative article. Keep up the good work.
My father was stationed at both RAF Wyton and St Athan and I served as a civil servant on VC10s at saints! This is a great piece of aviation history and I would love to see more military [Aviationtag]
