The Soviet Canberra

摘要

Sergey Ilyushin's Ⅱ-28 was the most mass-produced jet bomber ever. Providing the Eastern Bloc with a versatility comparable with the West's English Electric Canberra, the type eventually proved its capabilities throughout 50-plus years' continuous service globally. Several Chinese Harbin H-5s, licence-built copies, are still believed to be operational in North Korea. New Technology By the end of World War Two the USSR was battling to develop its first jet combat aircraft. However, Soviet jet engine technology was in its infancy, meaning technicians had to rely largely on reverse-engineered copies of captured German powerplants, including the BMW 003 and Junkers Jumo 004.