English: Squadron Leader LG Bastard of 9 Squadron rolls off the top of a loop in his Canberra B.6, WH977, over the snow-covered Lincolnshire countryside, 18th January 1956.

The English Electric Canberra was a British first-generation jet-powered medium bomber that was manufactured during the 1950s. It was developed by English Electric during the mid-to-late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havilland Mosquito fast-bomber. Amongst the performance requirements for the type was the demand for an outstanding high altitude bombing capability in addition to flying at high speeds. These were partly accomplished by making use of newly developed jet propulsion technology. When the Canberra was introduced to service with the Royal Air Force (RAF), the type's first operator, in May 1951, it became the service's first jet-powered bomber aircraft.

The success and adaptability of the design was such that it was built in 27 versions which equipped 35 RAF squadrons and it was exported to more than 15 countries including Australia, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Ethiopia, France, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Rhodesia, South Africa, Sweden, Venezuela and West Germany.

The Canberra was finally retired by the RAF in June 2006, 57 years after its first flight.

• Some of these images have had some dodging and burning done and have been retouched to remove detritus and dust and scratch marks only*
• Organization: RAF
• Object Name: PRB-1-11094
• Category: MOD
• Supplemental Categories: Aircraft, Equipment, People, Historic
• Keywords: English Electric Canberra, Jet, Historic Aircraft, RAF, Royal Air Force, Historic, Equipment, Aircraft, Bomber, Occasion, Loop, Cold War Era, Black and White, B&W, RAF 100
• Country: UK