Friday, July 21, 2017

RB-57.

This is coolbert:

Canberra RB-57 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft from the era of the Cold War.

An aircraft with a ceiling for high-altitude photographic reconnaissance missions nearly equal to if not equal to the fabled U-2 "spy plane". This is all new to me.

"The Martin/General Dynamics RB-57F Canberra is a specialized strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed in the 1960s for the United States Air Force by General Dynamics from the Martin B-57 Canberra tactical bomber"

CANBERRA DESIGNATED AS WEATHER RECONNAISSANCE BUT MORE THAN THAT! DURING MUCH OF THE COLD WAR THIS WAS THE MAIN USAF STRATEGIC RECONNAISSANCE PHOTOGRAPHIC INTELLIGENCE WARPLANE? U-2 AS  FLOWN PURSUANT TO CIA MISSIONS, CANBERRA USAF!

B-57 as originally envisioned as a bomber a replacement for the B-26 medium low-level attack warplane!

Canberra as a bomber warplane to an extent in Vietnam replicating the role of the WW2 B-26, low-level attack mission mode. Yeoman duty primarily directed against the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

"As of 2015, three WB-57Fs are the only B-57 aircraft model still flying, in service with NASA.


Canberra "warplane" with civilian markings for NASA mission. "NASA 928 takes to the skies in 2005, carrying a special nose-mounted imaging system that helped NASA track and safeguard Space Shuttle Discovery during the STS-114 'return to flight' mission." Allegedly even active over Afghanistan in 2006.

Canberra I have always thought a warplane irrelevant to Cold War considerations. But I admit I was wrong!

 coolbert.

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