Now you're talking my language
. As an Anglo-Argentine myself, the usage of the Canberra in the Argentine Air Force is an area of, shall we say, mild interest to me (putting it mildly indeed!). A few years back I got in touch with a fellow Canberra nut down there by the name of Marcelo Siri, whose late father had been a nav from the late 70s to his death from cancer in 1983. He flew a couple of ops during the Falklands whilst suffering from his terminal illness, despite the orders of the station surgeons and the best intention of his comrades. He literally had to be carried to and from the aircraft, and whilst lying prone in the nose cone, the pilot was audibly aware of his great pain.
Regardless of any politics surrounding the Falklands War (both then and now), the bravery and absolute professionalism of the air and ground crew of the Grupo 2 de Bombardeo is, for me, without question. Consequently, we started an Association down there, reuniting former G2B personnel and getting the Canberra the recognition it had been long overdue in a conflict where Mirages and Daggers dominated the public eye on both sides. As a result, we've taken big strides in restoration work for B-101 and B-102, two Falklands survivors. B-109, another B.62, is preserved in the Museo Aeronautical in Buenos Aires, in superb condition, and I had the pleasure of sitting in both it and B-101 (incidentally, the one flown by Roland Beamont on trials for the 20th aniv. of the Canberra in 1969). There is also now talk of
attempting to do something for the rather folorn B-112, the only remaining T.64 trainer.
Regarding the irony of Trelew being a Welsh colony, yes, it is without doubt with noting. Their combat ops are a whole separate discussion which I am more than happy to get into any time.
For more reading on the subject (admittedly, all in spanish), check out the web site Marcelo and I built:
Canberras Argentinos: BAC Canberra B.Mk.62 y T.Mk.64 de la Fuerza Aerea Argentina
and in particular, my visit in English: (
Canberras Argentinos)
tons of photos there which tell a good story even if you can't read spanish. I am happy to translate anything, and some of the war stories on there will be translated and form part of the Argentine experience in my book. At the very least, former pilots and navs on here may be interested to check out the cabin photos to compare notes on the B.62 layout, and of course to see an SFOM gun sight fitted for those who never had interdictor experience.