Shortly after the end of the Second World War, the Australian government initiated a wide-scale reorganisation of the armed forces. As part of this process, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) developed Plan D as the basis for its post war structure; Plan D was built around the concept of a numerically smaller, but more agile air arm that would employ leading-edge technology. During the late 1940s, the RAAF decided to acquire the Canberra as a replacement for, or complement to, the Avro Lincoln, though fears were raised that the new design was not especially advanced. While Australia never introduced nuclear weapons into service, the Canberra's ability to carry such a payload was a stated factor in its acquisition; Australia's planned force of 48 Canberras, which held the potential for being nuclear-armed, was viewed as far more potent and deterring to potential opponents than the RAAF's entire wartime forces of 254 heavy bombers.
The Australian government decided that the RAAF's Canberras would be constructed domestically by the Government Aircraft Factories as opposed to being manufactured in the UK. On 29 May 1953, the first Australianbuilt Canberra performed its first flight at Avalon Airport, Victoria; this aircraft was delivered to the RAAF for service trials a few weeks later. In December 1953, the Canberra formally entered Australian service.