Latin American Military - Chile - Fuerza Aérea de Chile (FACh) - English Electric Canberra PR.Mk.9

Revised: February 1, 1999
Copyright © 1997-1999 by Juan Carlos Barroux R.

Just after the Falklands/Malvinas war the FACh received this elderly recon plane making it the last Air Force of the world to put it in operations.

There was some speculation that these planes actually operated in Chile during the Falklands/Malvinas war as part of the «benevolent neutrality» of the Chilean government towards the UK cause. There is no proof of this but it is self evident that the Chilean Armed forces did help as much as they could, specially with logistics and intelligence. The arrival of the English Electric Canberra PR.Mk.9 was interpreted as a «debt payment» by a number of analysts.

There was a brief training for the crew at the Wyton air base sometime in 1982. These planes saw intensive flying near the Argentinian border and their main advantage was their very high flying altitude. 342 was lost to an accident on May 25^th, 1983 (the Argentinian National Day) near the Argentinian border in the Patagonia area. 343 suffered an accident in Pudahuel sometime in the early 90s and was retired. With only one example of this plane in operations it was decided to retire the fleet and 341 can be seen today in the Museo Aeronáutico de Santiago.

Despite having the same engine as the Hawker Hunter this plane proved a challenge to maintain in such small numbers. The FACh lost a capability with this retirement and was looking for a replacement. The Mystic was considered for a while but not acquired. Its is likely that today part of this mission has been taken over by the FASat BRAVO.

English Electric Canberra PR.Mk.9

Canberra PR.Mk.9 recon

Designation: 
Manufacturer: English Electric 
Crew: 
Seats:  
Engine:  x 
Engine Type: 
Engine Thrust:  kN ( Kg force)
Length:  m
Height:  m
Wing Span:  m
Wing Area:  square meters
Empty Weight:  kg
Max. Weight:  kg
Max. Speed at Sea Level:  km/h
Max. Speed at 36,000 ft:  km/h
Max. Cruising Speed:  km/h
Normal Cruising Speed:  km/h
Ceiling: 
Range on Internal Fuel:  km
Range with Max. Fuel:  km
Range with Max. Payload:  km
Combat Radius:  km ()
Radar: 
EW: 
Avionics: 
Weapons: 
Notes: 

S/N       C/N        Unit          Built   Bought     Disposition         Notes 
341       --         Grupo 2       --      15/Oct/82  Retired/Museum      Ex-RAF XH-166
342       --         Grupo 2       --      15/Oct/82  Crashed May/83      Ex-RAF XH-167
343       --         Grupo 2       --      15/Oct/82  Crashed early 90s   Ex-RAF XH-173

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