{"id":5891658,"date":"2026-07-17T09:58:45","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T07:58:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/english-electric-canberra-first-jet-bomber-still-flying\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T09:15:47","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T07:15:47","slug":"english-electric-canberra-first-jet-bomber-still-flying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/english-electric-canberra-first-jet-bomber-still-flying\/","title":{"rendered":"The 1949 Jet Bomber Still Flying Today"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\n\n<style>\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid #0F1720;background:#fff;color:#0F1720;font-family:inherit;font-size:14px;font-weight:700;line-height:1;letter-spacing:0;text-transform:none;cursor:pointer;box-shadow:none;transition:background .15s,color 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He was unmoved. The aeroplane he flew that day went on to serve for fifty-seven years in the Royal Air Force. And, astonishingly, a version of it is still flying research missions in 2026.<\/p><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/english-electric-canberra\/\">English Electric Canberra<\/a> was Britain&rsquo;s first jet bomber, and one of the most successful aircraft the country ever built. Simple, tough and able to fly higher than the fighters sent to catch it, it just kept finding new jobs to do &mdash; decade after decade.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;padding:20px;border-radius:8px;margin:24px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:700;font-size:15px;letter-spacing:.03em\">QUICK FACTS<\/p><table style=\"border-collapse:collapse;font-size:15px;line-height:1.5\"><tbody><tr><td style=\"padding:4px 14px 4px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>Aircraft<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:4px 0\">English Electric Canberra \u2014 Britain&rsquo;s first jet bomber<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:4px 14px 4px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>First flight<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:4px 0\">13 May 1949 \u2014 pilot Roland &ldquo;Bee&rdquo; Beamont<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:4px 14px 4px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>Designer<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:4px 0\">W. E. W. &ldquo;Teddy&rdquo; Petter<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:4px 14px 4px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>Engines<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:4px 0\">2 \u00d7 Rolls-Royce Avon turbojets<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:4px 14px 4px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>Superpower<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:4px 0\">Extreme altitude \u2014 it out-climbed contemporary fighters<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:4px 14px 4px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>Records<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:4px 0\">First unrefuelled jet Atlantic crossing (1951); 70,310 ft (1957)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:4px 14px 4px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>Still flying<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:4px 0\">As NASA&rsquo;s WB-57, three examples fly today<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div>\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">If the aeroplane is fit to fly<\/h2><p>When designer Teddy Petter warned chief test pilot Roland Beamont that first flight was scheduled for Friday the 13th, Beamont brushed the superstition aside with a line that has become part of Canberra lore.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;If the aeroplane is fit to fly, then I will fly it on that day.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Roland &ldquo;Bee&rdquo; Beamont<\/strong> &mdash; Chief test pilot, before the Canberra&rsquo;s first flight<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p>It was. The Canberra&rsquo;s secret was deceptively simple: a big, broad, unswept wing that gave it enormous lift and let it climb far above the reach of 1950s interceptors. It was not the fastest jet, but at altitude it was almost untouchable &mdash; ideal for high-level bombing and, especially, photo-reconnaissance.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/7\/75\/English_Electric_Canberra_T.4_%E2%80%98WH846%E2%80%99_%2850731262027%29.jpg\/1280px-English_Electric_Canberra_T.4_%E2%80%98WH846%E2%80%99_%2850731262027%29.jpg\" alt=\"An English Electric Canberra in flight\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">The Canberra&rsquo;s huge wing gave it altitude performance that fighters of its day could not match. Photo: Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1ZqrbE8Td7o\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;font-style:italic;text-align:center;margin-top:-8px\">The story of Britain&rsquo;s first jet bomber.<\/p><h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The jet that stole the show<\/h2><p>In February 1951 the Americans held a fly-off to replace their ageing bombers. The RAF flew a Canberra across the Atlantic to take part, crossing in four hours and forty minutes &mdash; the first unrefuelled Atlantic crossing by any jet. It stole the show and won the contract, and the United States built the Canberra under licence as the Martin B-57 &mdash; the only foreign combat aircraft America adopted as its own in that era.<\/p><p>The type spread across the world, serving more than twenty air forces and fighting in Suez, over the Indian subcontinent, in Vietnam and even, on the Argentine side, in the Falklands. High-flying reconnaissance Canberras did the same job the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/u-2-dragon-lady\/\">U-2 Dragon Lady<\/a> would become famous for, peering down from the edge of the atmosphere. In 1957 a rocket-boosted Canberra zoom-climbed to 70,310 feet, a world altitude record.<\/p><h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Still flying at 77<\/h2><p>The RAF finally retired its last Canberras in June 2006 &mdash; fifty-seven years after that Friday-the-13th first flight, an almost unheard-of service life. But the story did not end there. The B-57 lineage lives on at NASA, whose high-altitude WB-57s still climb to the stratosphere to do science no other crewed aircraft can.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;NASA 926, NASA 927, and NASA 928 are the only three WB-57s still flying in the world today.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>NASA<\/strong> &mdash; On its high-altitude fleet<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/0\/03\/WB-57.jpg\/1280px-WB-57.jpg\" alt=\"A NASA WB-57 high-altitude aircraft\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A NASA WB-57 \u2014 the American Canberra, still flying research missions from Houston today. Photo: NASA \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Think about that. A design first flown in 1949, in the age of propeller airliners and <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/supermarine-spitfire\">Spitfires<\/a> still in squadron service, is still leaving the runway in 2026. Few aircraft have ever earned the word &ldquo;timeless.&rdquo; The Canberra is one of them.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vXpY50n-ZVM\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;font-style:italic;text-align:center;margin-top:-8px\">How the Canberra conquered the world&rsquo;s air forces.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-T-x1ZqgzQ8\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;font-style:italic;text-align:center;margin-top:-8px\">The Canberra at the edge of space.<\/p><p style=\"font-style:italic;font-size:14px;color:#555\">Sources: NASA; The Canberra Association; BAE Systems heritage; Vintage Aviation News.<\/p>\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\n\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de-havilland-mosquito-wooden-wonder-fastest-bomber\/\">The Wooden Bomber That Outran the Luftwaffe<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/nuclear-near-disasters-cold-war-series\/\">The Nights the World Almost Ended<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Share this story In May 1949, a test pilot was reminded that the day chosen for his aircraft&rsquo;s maiden flight &mdash; the 13th &mdash; fell on a Friday, and that no one would blame him for waiting. He was unmoved. The aeroplane he flew that day went on to serve for fifty-seven years in the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":5891696,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5891658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>English Electric Canberra: Still Flying at 77<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Britain&rsquo;s first jet bomber first flew in 1949, served the RAF for 57 years, and still flies today as NASA&rsquo;s WB-57. 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