Former RAF wing commander David Bruce, a member of the Royal Aeronautical Society, flew in Canberras in the late 1960s, based mostly on the Mediterranean island of Malta and flying in the photo reconnaissance version. “As a navigator I loved to be able to look out and see ahead and under the aircraft whilst all the time still having the benefit of being strapped into an ejection seat,” he says.

“I think a great deal of my enjoyment of flying the Canberra was associated with the recce role – and particularly during photographic survey work for map-making purposes. During my time on the squadron we carried out surveys of the Gambia, Sierra Leone, Kenya, the Maldives and parts of UAE.

“When things were going well it handled beautifully – it had good visibility, and flying at low level demanded a lot of the pilot. Its … handling had to be very closely watched and demanded a lot of concentration and so that might add to a sense of achievement.”

Bruce flew many reconnaissance training missions at very high altitude over the Middle East, where “the contrast between the topography – the Gulf coastline, the odd huge lake, mountains of all shapes and sizes and differing colours and the sheer isolation of many villages – all were exposed in great relief.”

Soldiering on

Nasa’s Canberras are carrying out similar work to the kind Bruce did, though the aircraft themselves look somewhat different, a testament that the Canberra’s design could withstand many modifications. The wings of the blue-and-white painted Nasa examples are almost twice as long as those on the original aircraft, which help keep the aircraft aloft in the thin air at high altitudes.