In 1944, Westland Aircraft's technical director and chief designer W. Among the companies short-listed to proceed with development studies was English Electric, a well-established industrial manufacturer with very little aircraft design experience, though when a desperate need for bombers arose during the early years of the Second World War, English Electric had built the Handley Page Hampden and later the Handley Page Halifax four-engined bomber under licence. Several British aircraft manufacturers submitted proposals.

The Canberra had its origins in a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the de Havilland Mosquito – a high altitude, high-speed bomber with no defensive armament.

1.3 Photo-reconnaissance and conversion roles.

Two of the Martin B-57 variant remain in service, performing meteorological work for NASA, as well as providing electronic communication (Battlefield Airborne Communications Node or BACN) testing for deployment to Afghanistan. The Canberra was retired by its first operator, the Royal Air Force (RAF), in June 2006, 57 years after its first flight. In several wars, both of the opposing forces had Canberras in their air forces. Canberras served in the Suez Crisis, the Vietnam War, the Falklands War, the Indo-Pakistani Wars, and numerous African conflicts. In addition to being a tactical nuclear strike aircraft, the Canberra proved to be highly adaptable, serving in varied roles such as tactical bombing and photographic and electronic reconnaissance. Due to its ability to evade the early jet interceptors, and its significant performance advancement over contemporary piston-engined bombers, the Canberra was a popular export product and served with many nations. The Canberra could fly at a higher altitude than any other bomber through the 1950s and set a world altitude record of 70,310 ft (21,430 m) in 1957.

The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation jet-powered light bomber manufactured in large numbers through the 1950s.

Canberra bomber crew positions