Warplanes of the USA: Martin B-57 Canberra

(USAF Photo)

The Martin B-57 Canberra is an American-built, twin-engined tactical bomber and reconnaissance aircraft that entered service with the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1953. The B-57 is a license-built version of the British English Electric Canberra, manufactured by the Glenn L. Martin Company. Initial Martin-built models were virtually identical to their British-built twinjet counterparts; Martin later modified the design to incorporate larger quantities of US-sourced components and produced the aircraft in several variants.

The B-57 Canberra holds the distinction of being the first jet bomber in U.S. service to drop bombs during combat.[3] The Canberra was used extensively during the Vietnam War in a bombing capacity; specialized versions of the type were also produced and served as high-altitude aerial reconnaissance platforms (the Martin RB-57D Canberra), and as electronic warfare aircraft. The B-57 Canberra was also sold to export customers abroad; further combat use was seen by the Pakistani Air Force during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

In 1983, the USAF opted to retire the type; the B-57 Canberra's retirement marked the ending of the era of the tactical bomber. The three remaining flightworthy WB-57Fs are technically assigned to the NASA Johnson Space Center, next to Ellington Field in Houston, as high-altitude scientific research aircraft but have also been used for testing and electronic communications in the U.S. and Afghanistan. (Wikipedia)

(USAF Photo)

The English Electric Canberra B2 (RAF serial WD940) which was used as the U.S. Air Force B-57 prototype (Serial No. 51-17352) in 1951.

(USAF Photo)

Martin B-57A (Serial No. 52-1418), first production model), in flight over Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Maryland,  in 1953.

Martin B-57A Canberra 3/4 front top view (Serial No. 52-1418).

(USAF Photo)

A U.S. Air Force Martin RB-57B Canberra. This photo was probably taken at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, in 1967, when the 8th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 49th Tactical Fighter Wing was transitioning from the F-105D to the F-4D.

(USAF Photo)

EB-57A Canberra aircraft parked on the flight line at Scott AFB, Illinois.

(USAF Photo)

A U.S. Air Force Martin RB-57A Canberra (S/N 52-1426, this was the first RB-57A built late in its service life) of the Michigan Air National Guard, Kellogg Field, Battle Creek, Michigan, 1960.

(USAF Photo)

A U.S. Air Force Martin RB-57A Canberra (Serial No. 52-1478) of the Michigan Air National Guard, Kellogg Field, Battle Creek, Michigan.

(USAF Photo)

A U.S. Air Force Martin B-57C Canberra (Serial No. 53-3831) of the Nevada Air National Guard, c1965.

(USAF Photo)

A U.S. Air Force Martin B-57C Canberra (s/n 53-3948) of the 117th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron, 190th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, Kansas Air National Guard in the 1960s. Engine start using pyrotechnic cartridges produced copious amounts of black smoke.

(USAF Photo)

A U.S. Air Force Martin RB-57A-MA Canberra (Serial No. 52-1480), of the 117th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 190th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, Kansas Air National Guard at U.S. Naval Air Station Hutchinson, Kansas, in the 1960s.

(USAF Photo)

Martin RB-57A Canberra (Serial No. 52-1426).

(USAF Photo)

Martin RB-57A Canberra formation.

(USAF Photo)

Martin RB-57A Canberra (Serial No. 52-1447).

(USGOV-PD Photo)

Martin B-57E Combat Conversion (Serial No. 55-4274).

(USAF Photo)

Martin B-57E-MA (Serial No. 55-4237), Da Nang AB, South Vietnam, in January 1964. Aircraft was originally B-57E (Serial No. 55-4264). This aircraft was lost on 25 Oct 1968.

(USAF Photo)

U.S. Air Force Sgt. W.C. Wilson, Sgt. Gary S. Harwell and Airman 1st Class John D. Storlien replace a faulty starter unit on a Martin B-57E Canberra (s/n 55-4270) of the 8th Tactical Bombardement Squadron at Phan Rang Air Base, Vietnam, in March 1969.

(USAF Photo)

Martin B-57E Canberra (Serial No. 55-4269), towing target.

(USGOV-PD Photo)

Martin B-57E Canberra (Serial No. 55-4269).

(USGOV-PD)

Martin B-57C Canberra side view detail. Forward fuselage of B-57C (Serial No. 53-3825), No. 159).

(USGOV-PD Photo)

Martin B-57C Canberra (Serial No. 53-3844).

(USGOV-PD Photo)

Martin EB-57E Canberra (Serial No. 55-4247).

(USGOV-PD)

Martin WB-57C (Serial No. 53-3832).

(USAF Photo)

A U.S. Air Force Tactical Air Command's B-57A bomber (black plane in this formation) glides into position on the wing of the Strategic Air Command's sister ship, the wider-winged RB-57D (Serial No. 53-3977). The RB-57D was built strictly as a high altitude reconnaissance platform.

(NNSA Photo)

TEAPOT - The B-57B, a night intruder version of the British Canberra, was used in the current continental nuclear test series. Although it has an atomic capability, the B-57B is being used primarily by personnel of AFSWC to collect atomic cloud samples.

(USGOV-PD Photo)

Pilot Earle Boyer and researcher Henry Brandhorst prepare for a solar cell calibration flight in a Martin B-57B Canberra at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center. Lewis was in the early stages of decades-long energy conversion and space power research effort. Brandhorst, a member of the Chemistry and Energy Conversion Division, led a team of Lewis researchers in a quest to develop new power sources to sustain spacecraft in orbit. Solar cells proved to be an important source of energy, but researchers discovered that their behavior varied at different atmospheric levels. Their standardization and calibration were critical. Brandhorst initiated a standardized way to calibrate solar cells in the early 1960s using the B-57B aircraft. The pilots would take the aircraft up into the troposphere and open the solar cell to the sunlight. The aircraft would steadily descend while instruments recorded how much energy was being captured by the solar cell. From this data, Brandhorst could determine the estimated power for a particular solar cell at any altitude. Pilot Earle Boyer joined NASA Lewis in October 1962. He had flown Convair F-102 Delta Dagger fighters in the Air Force and served briefly in the National Guard before joining the Langley Research Center. Boyer was only at Langley a few months before he transferred to Cleveland. He flew the B-57B, a Convair F-106 Delta Dart, Gulfstream G-1 with an experimental turboprop, Learjet and many other aircraft over the next 32 years at Lewis.

(USGOV-PD Photo)

Martin NB-57E Canberra (Serial No. 55-4258).

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(USGOV-PD Photo)

Martin EB-57E Canberra (Serial No. 55-4280).

(USGOV-PD Photo)

Martin EB-57E Canberra (Serial No. 55-4253).

(USAF Photo)

A U.S. Air Force Martin EB-57B Canberra aircraft (s/n 52-1507) heading for a mission near Phan Rang Air Base in 1967, ending a two-month tour of the 13th Bombardment Squadron in Vietnam from Clark Air Base, Philippines.

(Bill Larkins Photo)

Martin RB-57 Canberra, Travis AFB, August 1968.

(USAF Photo)

General Dynamics RB-57F Canberra 3/4 front view (S/N 63-13296) Originally, this aircraft was a B-57B, S/N 53-3918, of the 58th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron. Photo taken at Webb AFB, Texas on 8 May 1965.

(USGOV-PD Photo)

General Dynamics RB-57F (Serial No. 63-13291).

(USAF Photo)

General Dynamics RB-57F - 63-13291

(USGOV-PD Photo)

Air Weather Service WB-57F Canberra.

(NASA Photo)

One of the WB-57F jets is readied for a test run at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The instruments are mounted under the silver casing on the nose of the plane.

(KEFD Photo)

Low visibility paint on NASA 928.

(USAF Photo)

Martin RB-57F Canberra.

(USAF Photo)

A U.S. Air Force Martin B/RB-57E Canberra on the flightline. Near aircraft is (Serial No. 55-4239 and next aircraft is RB-57A, (Serial No. 52-1478), both of the Michigan Air National Guard, 172nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 110th Tactical Reconnaissance Group. The Michigan Air National Guard never operated the RB-57E "Patricia Lynn" variant which was used operationally in the Vietnam War. The B/RB-57E pictured above was used as a trainer aircraft for the 172nd TRS.

(USGOV-PD Photo)

Martin RB-57E Patricia Lynn, 14 August 1967.

(USAF Photo)

Martin RB-57E Patricia Lynn, Da Nang AB, South Vietnam, January 1960.

(USAF Photo)

Martin RB-57E (Serial No. 55-4253), 17th Defense Systems Evaluation Squadron.

(USGOV-PD Photo)

30th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron - Martin RB-57A-MA (Serial No. 52-1456), shown at Sembach AB, West Germany, 1955. Aircraft later was assigned to 172nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Michigan ANG 1958-1971 at William Kellogg Airport.

(USAF Photo)

Martin B-57 Canberra (Serial No. 13502).

(USGOV-PD Photo)

3rd Bombardment Group B-57C (Serial No. 53-836) by Mount Fuji, 1957.

(USGOV-PD Photo)

ESSA B-57 Canberra, Reg. No. N1005, U.S. Department of Commerce.

(USGOV-PD Photo)

Martin B-57E target towing aircraft ADC.

Preserved Martin B-57 Canberras

RB-57A
52-1426 - Yankee Air Museum in Belleville, Michigan.

(Alan Wilson Photo)
52-1446 - Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum, Martin State Airport, Middle River, Maryland.
52-1459 - Wings of Eagles Discovery Center in Horseheads, New York.

(Alan Wilson Photo)
52-1467 - Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum, Martin State Airport, Middle River, Maryland.

(Greg Goebel Photo)

(Alan Wilson Photo)
52-1475 - Museum of Aviation at Warner-Robins AFB, Georgia.
52-1480 - Kansas Air National Guard / 190th Air Refueling Wing complex, ForbesField Air National Guard Base (former Forbes AFB), Topeka, Kansas.

(Peter Rimarc Photo)
52-1482 - USAF Airman Heritage Museum, Lackland AFB, San Antonio, Texas.
52-1485 - Selfridge Military Air Museum and Air Park, Selfridge ANGB, Michigan.
52-1488 - New England Air Museum, Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

(Greg Goebel Photo)
52-1492 - Hill Aerospace Museum at Hill AFB, Utah. In April 1968, this aircraftwas delivered to the National Museum of the United States Air Force atWright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio, and was displayed there until 1982 whenit was transferred back to Hill Aerospace Museum.

B-57B

(NMUSAF Photo)

(NMUSAF Photo)

(ZLEA Photo)
52-1499 - National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB,Dayton, Ohio. This aircraft was assigned to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base inDayton, Ohio as a test aircraft in the early 1960s. In 1965, it was returned to combat configuration to replace combat losses in Southeast Asia. It wasassigned to the 8th Bomb Squadron at Phan Rang AB, South Vietnam in 1967, whereit flew combat missions for 21⁄2 years. Upon return to the United States, itwas converted to an electronic countermeasures EB-57B and was flown to themuseum in August 1981. It is on display in the Museum's Modern Flight gallerywhere it replaced an RB-57A (Serial No. 52-1492), that had been on display atthe Museum since April 1968. In 2012 Museum staff reconverted it to stock B-57Bconfiguration and placed it back on display.
52-1576 - Air Force Flight Test Center Museum, Edwards AFB, California.

(Michael Barera Photo)
52-1584 - Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum, Kalamazoo, Michigan.
53-3957 - Pakistan Air Force Museum, Karachi.

EB-57B
52-1500 - Vermont Air National Guard / 158th Fighter Wing complex at BurlingtonAir National Guard Base at Burlington International Airport in Burlington, Vermont.

(Mike Freer - Touchdown-aviation Photo)

52-1504 - Dyess Linear Air Park, Dyess AFB, Texas.
52-1505 - Malmstrom AFB Museum and Air Park, Malmstrom AFB, Montana.
52-1506 - Celebrity Row, Davis-Monthan AFB (North Side), Tucson, Arizona.
52-1509 - Laughlin AFB, Texas.

(Greg Goebel Photos)
52-1516 - Air Force Armament Museum at Eglin AFB, Florida.

(Mike Freer - Touchdown-aviation Photo)

(kitmasterbloke Photo)
52-1519 - March Field Air Museum, March ARB (former March AFB), Riverside, California.

(aeroprints.com Photo)

(aeroprints.com Photo)

(André Gerwing Photo)
52-1526 - Kansas National Guard Museum, Topeka Regional Airport (former Forbes AFB), Topeka, Kansas.

(Greg Goebel Photo)
52-1548 - South Dakota Air and Space Museum, Ellsworth AFB, Rapid City, South Dakota.
52-1551 - on loan at the Museum of Aviation at Robins AFB, Georgia.[69] from the National Air and Space Museum.

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B-57C
53-3841 - 314th Airlift Wing complex, Little Rock AFB in Little Rock, Arkansas.

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B-57E

(ZLEA Photo)
55-4244 - Strategic Air and Space Museum near Offutt AFB in Ashland, Nebraska.

(aeroprints.com Photo)
55-4274 - Pima Air and Space Museum, adjacent to Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona.

EB-57E

(Nehrams2020 Photo)
55-4253 - Castle Air Museum (former Castle AFB) in Atwater, California.

(USAF Photo)
55-4279 - Peterson Air and Space Museum at Peterson AFB in Colorado Springs,Colorado.
55-4293 - Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum at the former Lowry AFBin Denver, Colorado.

RB-57D

(Clemens Vasters Photo)
53-3982 - National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB,Dayton, Ohio. This RB-57D is one of the 13 photoreconnaissance RB-57Ds. Painted as it appeared in the late 1950s while it served in the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, 4025th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (L), it went ondisplay in 2004.

‍Martin B-57 Canberra