It was developed by English Electric during the mid- to late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havilland Mosquito fast bomber.

In November 1943, the company was invited to participate in discussions over a prospective bomber that would take advantage of the newly developed jet propulsion technology.

According to aviation historians Bill Gunston and Peter Gilchrist, Air Ministry officials are alleged to have had difficulty defining what they sought for the proposed type, which led to several revisions of the requirement.

[6][clarification needed] Although jet-powered, the Canberra design philosophy was very much in the Mosquito mould, providing room for a substantial bomb load, fitting two of the most powerful engines available, and wrapping it in the most compact and aerodynamic package possible, an example being a leading edge formed of a single sheet of light alloy wrapped around to 40% of chord, sitting on Redux-bonded stiffeners through which the ribs were passed, the panels secured with adjustable eye-bolts, enabling a highly accurate wing profile to be maintained from the leading edge to main spar without any external joints or fastenings.

[16] Another external issue that affected development was the failure of the Telecommunications Research Establishment to produce the radar bombing system for the aircraft in a timely fashion.

The changes included the installation of a glazed nose to accommodate a bomb-aimer, due to the advanced H2S Mk9 bombing radar being unavailable for production, the turbojet engines were replaced by more powerful Rolls-Royce Avon R.A.3s, and distinctive teardrop-shaped fuel tanks were fitted under the wingtips.

[16] Refinements were also made following early flight testing to the rudder and elevator to reduce instances of buffeting, after which it is claimed that the Canberra handled much like a fighter, proving to be atypically manoeuvrable for a bomber.

[19] On 25 June 1950, what would become known as the Korean War broke out; this led to a surge of demand for the Canberra and the British government stepping in to establish a far greater level of wartime production.

[19] In the United States, the US Air Force had identified the need to replace the obsolete B-26 Invader, and had determined that, at the time, no home-produced aircraft designs could get close to what the Canberra could already offer.

[24] With a maximum speed of 470 knots (870 km/h; 540 mph), a standard service ceiling of 48,000 ft (14,600 m), and the ability to carry a 3.6-tonne (7,900 lb) payload, the Canberra proved to be an instant success on the domestic and export markets.

It was built in 27 versions that equipped a total of 35 RAF squadrons, and was exported to more than 15 countries: Australia, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Ethiopia, France, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Rhodesia, South Africa, Sweden, Venezuela, and West Germany.

An early prototype operated by Rolls-Royce regularly flew to 63,000 ft, where the usable speed range (coffin corner) was only 25 knots, during Avon engine test flights.

[18] The fuselage was circular in cross section, tapered at both ends, and cockpit aside, entirely without protrusions; the line of the large, low-aspect-ratio wings was broken only by the tubular engine nacelles.

[39] The Canberra had a two-man crew in a fighter-style cabin with a large blown canopy, but delays in the development of the intended automatic radar bombsight resulted in the addition of a bomb aimer's position housed within the nose.

[18][41] Swept wings were considered, but not adopted, since the expected operational speeds did not warrant them and because they could have introduced new aerodynamic problems into what was otherwise anticipated to be a straightforward replacement for RAF Hawker Typhoon and Westland Whirlwind fighter-bombers.

[42] The hazard posed by an undercarriage collapse during landing led the RAF to institute regular inspections, at first using radiography before moving to more effective and reliable ultrasound technology.

[20] Perhaps the most crucial of the mission systems was the H2S automatic radar bombsight, which was mounted in the nose; delays in the development of the H2S intended for the Canberra led to early aircraft being fitted with a T.2 optical sight for visual bombing.

[51] In part due to its range limitation of just 2,000 miles (3,200 km), and its inability to carry the early, bulky nuclear bombs, the Canberra was typically employed in the role of a tactical bomber as opposed to that of a strategic one.

[56] A further five squadrons were able to be equipped with the Canberra by the end of 1952;[56] however, production in the 1951–52 period had only been half of the level planned, due to shortages in skilled manpower, material, and suitable machine tools.

[57] The Canberra replaced Mosquitos, Lincolns, and Washingtons as front-line bombers, showing a drastically improved performance, and proving to be effectively immune from interception during air defence exercises until the arrival of the Hawker Hunter.

[63] These RAF Canberra overflights were later featured in the 1994 BBC Timewatch episode; "Spies in the Sky", and included interviews with some of the Soviet MiG-15 pilots who had attempted to intercept them.

[67] During the Cold War the Canberra B.6 was used by RAF 76 Squadron to sample atomic and thermo-nuclear mushroom clouds during the British Nuclear Tests in Australia and on Christmas Island.

[73][N 2] The RAF used Canberras to search for hidden arms dumps using false-colour photography during Operation Motorman in July 1972, when the British Army re-took Irish republican held "no go areas" in Belfast and Derry.

[94] The Canberra was incapable of providing adequate coverage of Indonesia from Australian bases, and was evaluated as having a "very low" chance of survival if it encountered modern fighters like the MiG-17.

[96] Australia evaluated the BAC TSR-2, Dassault Mirage IV, McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, and North American A-5 Vigilante, and initially appeared to favour the TSR-2, but chose to procure the General Dynamics F-111C in October 1963.

[34] During the extended negotiations between Britain and India, the Soviet Union is alleged to have offered their own jet bomber, the Ilyushin Il-28, at a significantly lower price than that asked for the Canberra;[34] by April 1956, however, the Indian government was in favour of the purchase.

The most audacious use of the bomber was in the "Raid on Badin" during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, when the IAF sent in the Canberra to attack a critical Pakistani radar post in West Pakistan.

[108][109] The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland considered the Canberra an important objective to holding greater diplomatic sway in the African continent, and ongoing negotiations over the Baghdad treaty, and a step towards decolonisation.

[110] The Suez Crisis caused a delay in the sale, but in August 1957 18 Canberras had been earmarked to be refurbished and transferred from the RAF to the Royal Rhodesian Air Force (RRAF).

[114] On 20 April 1960, the Venezuelan Air Force used its Canberra B.2 and B(I).8s to bomb the airport at San Cristóbal, Táchira, which had been seized by rebels, led by General Jose Maria Castro León.