Martin B-57 Night Intruder (Canberra) Airplane Model

Martin B-57 Night Intruder (Canberra) Airplane ModelMartin B 57 airplane model. After the Korean Conflict began in 1950, the U. S. Air Force looked for a jet powered medium bomber to replace the aging Douglas B 26 Invader. Korean war experience revealed an urgent USAF need for a high performance jet powered night intruder aircraft capable of precise nighttime and bad weather weapons delivery on moving targets located hundreds of miles from home base. The need was considered so pressing that the time

Martin B-57 airplane model. After the Korean Conflict began in 1950, the U. S. Air Force looked for a jet-powered medium bomber to replace the aging Douglas B-26 Invader. Korean war experience revealed an urgent USAF need for a high-performance jet-powered night-intruder aircraft capable of precise nighttime and bad-weather weapons delivery on moving targets located hundreds of miles from home base. The need was considered so pressing that the time usually required for development of a new aircraft was deemed unacceptable. Hence, an existing "off the shelf " aircraft was sought to fill the mission requirements. From a number of candidate vehicles, including the previously discussed North American B-45 Tornado, the English Electric Canberra bomber was selected to fill the USAF night-intruder role. In March 1951, the USAF contracted with the Glenn Martin Company to build the Canberra in the United States under a licensing agreement with English Electric. The first Canberra in American colors flew in 1951 with the first American built Canberra or Intruder in 1953. The Martin-built B-57 made its first flight on July 20, 1953. When production was terminated in 1959, a total of 403 Canberras had been produced for the USAF.

Mahogany Wood. Wingspan 17 inches, Length 16 1/2 inches.