After some months of lurking, here is my first post.
First thank you to all the posters for some excellent and very interesting pictures and information, very impressed 😉
Now to my “Mystery Canberra”. The picture is not the greatest in any sense but I am hoping that someone can help me identify it for a French friend whose father has the picture in his album. I am having great trouble even identifying whose air force it belonged to. The picture was taken at the then French Air Force base at Meknes, Morocco in the latter half of 1956. According to my friend’s father the aircraft diverted in from Sidi Slimane which was a USAF B-47/KC-97 TDY base at the time and was placed under armed guard with strict orders not to photograph it 😎
He made a blow up of the serial area and I thought I had it cracked until I checked the dates… I won’t say more as I don’t want to cloud your thoughts.
Thanks in advance for your ideas
Paul
By: PalmTree1 - 24th June 2003 at 20:48
Glad to see I’ve generated some interest.
I too wondered about an Indian Canberra but as Damien says they weren’t delivered until 1957, and I cannot find any serial that fits either.
My friend obviously thought it was French until I suggested otherwise. The 6 French Canberras B6 were marked F763, F769, F784, F304, F316, and F318 which does not fit with the serial visible in the photo. Just to add another mystery, I have a photo of F779 with a B(I)8 type nose and canopy…
Until I started checking dates I was convinced that it was indeed RRAF165 on delivery, but it seems this was delivered between 1st and 4th June 1959, but if my friend’s father is correct the picture was take 3 years before!
Paul
By: Moondance - 24th June 2003 at 20:43
Beat me to it – looking in “Canberra” by Ken Delve & co. (out of print but usually available second hand from Midland Counties) I should say Rhodesia – dates don’t quite tie in though – B2 RRAF165, delivered on 2/6/59. The book features a pic of RRAF163 & 169 in the same paint scheme as 165.
By: Davej - 24th June 2003 at 20:26
There is a good chance that this is a Rhodesia AF B2, RRAF 165 which was WH871 when with the RAF. The Rhodesia order was filled directly from RAF stocks.
By: David Burke - 24th June 2003 at 19:39
How about one of the French Air Force Canberra test and trials machines?
By: f4 - 24th June 2003 at 19:05
Indian AF I’d say at a quick guess.
By: PalmTree1 - 24th June 2003 at 19:03
To help here is a blow up of the serial area…
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June 24, 2003 at 7:02 pm