IPMS South Africa - Shackleton Mk III

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Shackleton Mk III

Written by Anton Dyason - IPMS SA Media Group
Sunday, 09 April 2000
Page 1 of 6 Top photo: J. Balladon (SAAF) via J. Botwood. The only foreign customer for the A.V. Roe & Company's Shackleton Mk.3 - the grant old lady of the sky, was the SAAF. Until it's retirement, Cape Town always been the Shackleton's home. Although, build as a maritime reconnaissance aircraft, the local Cape Town newspaper - the Argus, best describe the type as the St. Bernard of our skies. Many stricken seamen, refugees, etc. owe their lives to these workhorses. The aircraft also contributed considerably towards peace - been responsible for the safe guarding of the shipping lanes around South Africa, during the Cold War. Today, South Africa has the only airworthy Shackleton Mk.3 in the world! In 1946 the Royal Air Force realized that not one of the landplanes then in use for long range maritime reconnaissance, were actually designed for the role. The best aircraft for these flights were the Consolidated Liberator, but had to be returned to the US under the lend lease scheme. The only British aircraft that could attempt to fly these missions were versions of the Handley Page Halifax and Avro Lancaster. These aircraft simply had not enough volume to carry the equipment needed for maritime reconnaissance. In 1946 a production order was placed with Avro for a new model, the Shackleton, combining a wider fuselage with the older Avro Lincoln's wings and undercarriage. Develop time was quite long, finally in 1949 the prototype, known as the Avro 696 Shackleton GR-1, made its first flight. This aircraft with its distinctive WWII bomber look had four Griffon engines turning contra-rotating propellers and a short, fat fuselage with chin-mounted radar and dorsal turret. To ensure maximum reliability over open water, the engines were designed to operate at constant speed, driving the massive six blade contra-rotating propellers. The pilot feathered the props to regulate airspeed. Seven RAF squadrons were equipped with the Mk 1 and Mk 1A. No 1717 - early flight. The Mk 2 - with its ventral radar installation, longer fuselage, twin 20 mm cannon and extended tail-cone - made its first flight in June 1952. At this time the SAAF was seeking replacements for its ageing Short Sunderland flying-boats - which No.35 Squadron was operating out of Congella sea-base near Durban. South Africa became part of the Shackleton story when four RAF Mk2s visited SA from May to June 1953. The aircraft was thoroughly evaluated and in January 1954 announced that eight were to be acquired for the SAAF -the only export order ever placed for this aircraft! Partly as a result of the SAAF order, the A.V. Roe factory (AVRO, later part of Hawker Siddeley and currently part of BAe) undertook some redesign of the aircraft, and the result was the Mk 3, which had a nose-wheel undercarriage due to the higher weight and to improve cross-wind landings; a stronger main undercarriage, with dual main wheels; permanent wingtip fuel tanks (due to the long range of the SA coast line); clear-vision cockpit canopy; and improved equipment and crew facilities. Interesting to note that scale aircraft modeling was part of the Shackleton story from the start - AVRO presented (what apears to be) 1/144 scale models of the aircraft to the SAAF. << Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next > End >>
Last Updated ( Monday, 28 January 2008 )

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