At the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, the USAF found itself in dire need of an all-weather interdiction aircraft. The existing inventory of piston-engined Douglas B-26 Invaders had been dispatched in this capacity at the very start of the conflict; however, within only a few months within the theatre, the B-26 had suffered a very high rate of attrition and successes with the type were typically limited. In response to these needs, the USAF requested the British government to provide a private demonstration of the English Electric Canberra, a newly developed jet-powered bomber. On 17 August 1950, the Canberra demonstration was performed at RAF Burtonwood, Warrington, Cheshire, England; during the following month, a team of US test pilots and engineers visited English Electric's Warton factory to perform a series of flight tests and a detailed technical assessment of the aircraft.