This book explains the systems and components used on the English Electric Canberra, how and why these components work, where they are in the system, as well as the servicing schedules. Within this book, there are stories from my time in the RAF, when working on the Canberra with 73 Squadron in Cyprus. This book should be of interest to people who have a fondness for aircraft, particularly those aircraft no longer in service. The Canberra was an important part of the RAF during the period known as the Cold War, the late 1960s to the early 1970s. I was born in Plymouth in Devon. I joined the Royal Air Force in February 1967, trained in the Airframe trade. That particular trade is what the book is based upon. I was posted to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus in July 1968, where I worked on the Canberra in the hangar, known as second line servicing, then I was attached to 73 Squadron where I carried out first line servicing. The stories in this book are true; they are my personal experiences.

“A useful review of the development of a classic jet bomber that saw widespread service in the Royal Air Force and was exported to many overseas air forces.” —Aeromilitaria This amazing airplane first flew in 1949 and is still in front-line service with the RAF. It has served in a variety of roles including those of tactical bomber, photo-reconnaissance, navigational trainer, maritime strike, electronic countermeasures and target-towing. It was manufactured in the USA under license as the Martin B-57 and has been exported to Argentina, Chile, India, Peru, South Africa and other Commonwealth countries. This book looks at the development of the aircraft during the early days of jet power and especially at its Rolls-Royce Avon powerplant. Each of the many marks and variants are described and illustrated by many remarkable and rare photographs. The type’s record of service with RAF squadrons throughout its service life is given together with descriptions of the many experimental models that were used in the development of a variety of weapons and avionic systems. “For an aircraft that has been the subject of countless books, the author still found a remarkable wealth of previously unpublished material on Canberra operations. A classic aircraft given the proper coverage it so richly deserves.” —Airfix Model World “A wonderfully researched tribute to this remarkable achievement, with a plethora of excellent photographs . . . Essential reading for any aviation enthusiast.” —Pegasus Archive

"An encyclopaedic, four-volume work on every aircraft type proposed, designed, or manufactured in Australia, from Lawrence Hargrave's experiments in the 1880's, through to the authors self-imposed cutoff point in the mid-1980's. The four-volume work lists over 540 aircraft types as well as detailed histories of the companies involved in their construction. Coverage is multi-faceted, being technical, operational, historical, industrial, and political. Along with the text is the most comprehensive collection of photographs, technical drawings, and diagrams yet assembled into the one reference work, many of which have never before been seen outside the original source. Exhaustively researched over the past 40 years by the well-known aviation personality Keith Meggs, a man uniquely placed to write on all aspects of Australian aviation from construction through to operational flight. All volumes are superbly indexed and cross-referenced with the main text reinforced by extensive and detailed endnotes. Aircraft enthusiasts, pilots, aeronautical engineers, manufacturers, industrialists, universities, and other technical institutions, "Australian-built aircraft and the industry" is a must have for your reference library. In Volume One the fourteen chapters cover the following activities: Hargrave, Taylor, the Commonwealth Prize, Early Experimenters, Duigan, WWI Activity, AA&ECo, 1924 Lightplane Competition, LASCo, QANTAS, WAA, RAAF Randwick, Individual Builders 1918-1939, AMSCo, MSB, Matthews Aviation, General Aircraft Co, Cockatoo Dockyard, Tugan Aircraft, Harkness & Hillier, De Havilland (Aust) - part 1, Industry proposals, and other snippets."--Provided by publisher.

A fully illustrated history of the Royal Air Force while on operations, publishing to mark the centenary of its foundation in World War I. The world's first independent air force, the Royal Air Force celebrates its centenary in 2018. In the 100 years since the end of World War I, the service has been involved in almost continuous operations around the globe, giving the RAF the longest and most wide-ranging history of any air force in the world. But over the years this history has also become entangled with myths. The Royal Air Force: A Centenary of Operations sets the record straight, dispelling these as it uncovers – in both words and photographs – the true exploits and accomplishments of RAF personnel over the last 100 years. From its formation as an independent service in the dying days of World War I, its desperate fight against the Axis air forces in World War II, to its commitments during both the Cold War and modern times, this is the complete story of how the RAF has defended Britain for a century.

The authors conclude that relevant experience does, indeed, matter--firms develop valuable system-specific knowledge in ongoing work, and experience in important new technologies has a distinct advantage.

A Bucket of Sunshine – a term coined by RAF aircrew for the nuclear bomb that their aircraft would be armed with - is a first-hand insight into life in the mid-1960s on a RAF Canberra nuclear-armed squadron in West Germany, on the frontline in the Cold War. The English-Electric Canberra was a first-generation jet-powered light bomber manufactured in large numbers in the 1950s. The Canberra B(I)8, low-level interdictor version was used by RAF Germany squadrons at the height of the Cold War. Mike Brooke describes not only the technical aspect of the aircraft and its nuclear and conventional roles and weapons, but also the low-level flying that went with the job of being ready to go to war at less than three minutes' notice. Brooke tells his story warts and all, with many amusing overtones, in what was an extremely serious business when the world was standing on the brink of nuclear conflict.