RAF ENGLISH ELECTRIC CANBERRA - NO. 16 SQ.

COLD WAR

Available: DEC 2007

Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union resumed after the Second World War ended in 1945.  They escalated from 1945-1947.  Historians differ, but the usual starting year is 1947 for the Cold War that lasted until the collapse of the Soviet Union on December 25, 1991.  Both sides that participated in the Cold War produced an amazing array of jet-powered fighter aircraft.  The earliest jet fighters were adaptations of WWII aircraft.  Without the stakes of the Cold War, real or imagines, it is difficult to see what could have inspired an aviation program such as the one undertaken by both sides in the decades from the end of WWII to the fall of Communism.

Info:    English Electric Canberra B(1)8 - No. 16 Sq., RAF Laarbruch, Germany, 1972
Scale:    1:72
Wingspan:    12 inches

Item Number:    AA34708                                                                                                                                                                    Price:    $89.95

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Historical Note:    The B(1)8 Canberra (the "I" stands for "Interdictor") lost the one-piece "glasshouse" bubble canopy so loved by aircrews, and sported instead a fighter-type canopy.  This was offset from the aircraft's centerline, giving the B(1)8 a very distinctive profile shared by the photo-reconn variant, the PR-9 and of course, the Sea Vixen.  In June 1972, 16 Sq. (RAF Laarbruch) finally turned in the last RAF B(1)8 Canberra after a squadron ownership of 14 years!