Not widely know, but the Shackletons were also used to deliver mail and other goods to SA Navy vessels out at sea. It must've been a great feeling to see the familiar shape on the horizon after weeks at sea. The mail bag was dropped with pin-point accuracy on the stern. On occasion the mail bag was even dropped on the bow and not a single one missed the target!

Retirement.

The Mk 3s in RAF service were retired more than a decade before this became an issue with the SAAF's Mk 3s. This was  largely due to a 1963/64 modification programme which added so much to the overall mass that a Bristol Siddeley Viper jet engine was installed in each outboard nacelle to improve take-off performance. This extra mass and the resultant stress shortened their flying lives so drastically that they were retired. Older converted Mk 2s linger on in the RAF in the airborne early-warning role, but were replaced by specially adapted BAe Nimrods.

The arms embargo against SA, forced the SAAF to keep the Shackleton's avionics and electronic equipment up to date, and the aircraft in pristine condition. The local industry has also helped to keep the `Shacks' flying. In the mid-1970s the SAAF embarked on an extensive refit and re-sparring project. Of all the requirements, the re-sparring was the most difficult; a task of this magnitude had never been tackled locally. The first Shackleton to be overhauled was 1716. It was entirely dismantled because the re-sparring had to be done overseas. When 1716 was completed it was 1717's turn, and great difficulties were experienced because relations between South Africa and Britain were particularly chilly at the time. Eventually it was decided that 1717's refit, including the re-sparring, would be carried out completely by the SAAF. This took the technical staff about a year, and they were plagued as much by technical problems as by what some felt to be British obstructionism. Certain vital replacement parts ordered from Britain did not arrive, or were sent in insufficient quantity. The SAAF responded by manufacturing what it could not obtain. In one instance, lacking an essential part which could neither be bought, nor made locally, the SAAF sent a technical party hiking into the almost inaccessible Steynskloof Mountains to cannibalize the remains of 1718. They found the part concerned in perfect shape, and it duly ended up serving again in 1717. The project was completed late in 1977, and on October 13 that year, was rolled out of the workshops and put on display for the media by her justifiably proud rejuvenators.

All the airframes reached more than 10 000 flying hours and retirement became inevitable. With the arms embargo, the SAAF could not acquire a replacement such as the Lockheed Orion, the BAe Nimrod or the Breguet Atlantic. Ironicly, these aircraft if acquired, would've ensure the safety of the shipping lanes to the West! To save flying hours, some of the Shackletons' tasks were taken over by the shorter-range Piaggio Albatross aircraft of No. 27 Squadron. The SAAF was the last operator of the Shackleton and did what it could to squeeze the maximum life out of the airframes. In the end only three remained airworthy - in December 1984, they were all retired - No. 1716, 1721 and 1722 were handed over to the SAAF museum. In what was almost  the last flight of a MK. 3, - two were flown to the SAAF Museum at Swartkop. (no. 1722 took again to the air almost eight years later! - currently the only airworthy Mk. 3 in the world and flying as part of the SAAF Museum.) Long range reconnaissance were taken over by specially adapted turbo-prop Dakotas (the so called Turbo Dak). These aircraft are called 'Dakletons' by the crews of 35 Squadron. However, the Shackleton left a gap in the operations of the SAAF, which to this day remain unfilled.....