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Other titles in the Crowood Aviation Series

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Airco - The Aircraft Manufacturing Company Avro Lancaster BAC One-Eleven

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Bell P-39 Airacobra Boeing 737 Boeing 747 Boeing 757 and 767 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Consolidated B-24 Liberator Douglas AD Skyraider English Electric Canberra English Electric Lightning Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II Fokker Aircraft of World War One Hawker Hunter Hawker Hurricane JunkersJu 87 Stuka Junkers Ju 88 Lockheed C-130 Hercules Lockheed F-l 04 Starfighter Luftwaffe - A Pictorial Hi tory McDonnell Douglas A-4 kyhawk McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle Messerschmitt Bf 110 Messerschmitt Me 262 ieuport Aircraft of World War One orth American B-25 Mitchell North American F- 6 abre orth American T-6 Panavia Tornado Short Sunderland V-Bombers Vickers VC I0

Peter C. Smith Mick Davis Ken Delve Malcolm L. Hill Robert F Dorr with Jerry Scutts Malcolm L. Hill Martin W. Bowman

AVRO

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Thomas Becher Martin W. Bowman Martin W. Bowman Peter C. Smith Barry Jones Martin W. Bowman Peter . Smith Paul Leaman

Barry Jones

Barry Jones Peter Jacobs Peter C. Smith Ron Mackay Martin W. Bowman Martin W. Bowman Eric Mombeek Brad Elward Peter E. Davies and Tony Thornborough Ron Mackay David Baker Ray Sanger Jerry cutts Duncan Curti Peter C. mith Andy Evans Ken Delve Barry Jones Lance Cole

I~~cl The Crowood Press

First published in 2002 by

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The Crowood Press Ltd Ramsbury, Marlborough

Dedication

Wiltshire S 82HR

[n memory of Judy.

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Contents

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© The Crowood Press Ltd 2002

All rights reserved.

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parr of this publication may

be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

4

Introduction

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meClIlS, electronic or mechanical, including

photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

That the Shackleton was a legend in it own lifetime is a fact that has inspired many people to assist me in the preparation of this book. [n particular I would like to express my gratitude to Revd Peter Allen, Chri Ashworth, Gordon G. Bartley, Ray Deacon, Peter Dunn, George Hart, David

Hill, Harry Holmes, Derek James, Ian Mactaggart, M ick Oakey, George Pennick, Gerry Roberts, The Shackleton Association, William H. leigh, ick Stroud, Peter M. Thomas and Dean Wingrin. I trust they will feel that their input ha been worthwhile.

TO MAl TAl

2.

LAST OF THE MANCHESTER LINEAGE

23

3.

THE EXPLORER RECALLED

31

4.

MARK 1 AND ITS DERIVATIVES

37

5.

MARK 2 - 1951 to 1972

67

6.

I B I 6126 449 6

D&

Publishing

Baydon, Marlborough, Wiltshire. Prioted and bound in Great Brirain by oookcraft, Midsomer Norton.

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TABLE MOU TAl'S 0 TET

109

8.

VARIETY IS THE PICE OF LIFE

119

9.

AEW - THE ROUNDABOUT YEARS

135

10.

AEW - THE 6,848-DAY 'INTERIM SOLUTION'

149

11.

0

161

CE UPO

A TIME ...

Appendix

I

Shackleton Squadrons

170

Appendix

II

Shackleton Production

175

Shackl ton Conservation

189 190

Index

Typeset and designed by

0 E-WHEELS, TIP TA K A D COMFORT

7.

Append ix III

Typefaces used: Goudy (text), Cheltenham (headings).

THE LlFELI ES

8

1.

Introduction In 19 I9, A. V. Roe's Chief Designer, Roy Chadwick, created the Avro Type 534 Baby, which wa built in several forms and powered by various engine. The final variant was the Type 554, powered by an Ohp Le Rhone engine, specifically to meet the requirements of the Anglo-Irish polar pioneer, Sir Ernest Shackleton.

The association forged between Chadwick and Shackleton through the Type 554, which was known as the Antarctic Baby, became a firm friendship that was enhanced when Chadwick married a distant member of the great trail-blazer's family. The aircraft was transported aboard the auxiliary ship Quest for the 1921 South Polar Expedition,

but a diversion to Rio de Janeiro for repairs to the ship's engines meant that Sir Ernest was unable to collect pre-de patched parts for the Type 554 from Cape Town. Consequently it was not employed on this expedition, and as he suffered a fatal stroke during the exploration, Shackleton never saw Chadwick's design in action.

A Shackleton MR.2 of No. 224 Squadron at Gibraltar in March 1954. Aeroplane

WR957/U of No. 228 Squadron. in its natural element. photographed in the 1950s. before receiving its Phase I update. Author's collection

6

As he contemplated the harshnes of the Antarctic environment prior to hi death, it is doubtful that the explorer guessed that Avro's Chief Designer would recognize their friendship by naming an aircraft after him. The doubt would have turned to di belief had he known the configuration of this aircraft and the fact that there were those who would say that, with the wind in the right quarter, he could have heard it take off from Woodford while huddled in his polar tent! Four of Rolls-Royce's last reciprocating engine, the Griffon, propelled Shackleton's memorial around planet Earth for over four decade and it retirement saw the RAF relinquish the multi-pistoncngined aeroplane for ever. Its service went

far beyond the original long-range maritime reconnaissance role, to the extent that for twenty years during the uneasy political climate of the 1970s and 1980s it constituted the United Kingdom's first line of Airborne Early Warning defence. Just why ertain aeroplanes endear themselves to those who operate them is sometimes difficult to define, and it is often those that have few star qualitie in terms of being 'user friendly' that are held with the greatest affection. Such an aeroplane is the Shackleton. Furthermore, the strange quirk of the British character, together with the sense of humour that appears to cast derision upon, or make disparaging remarks about, something held in great esteem, is exemplified by the Shackleton

7

being known as 'The Growler' and' 10,000 rivets in formation'. However, Roy Chadwi k's final extension of the 'theme' that began with the Avro Manchester of 1937 was a fine aeroplane, and at the time of writing one is till flying in South Africa, while another, in the United States, flew for several years and it is hoped will do so again. That there is an airworthy hacklcton in South Africa is quite appropriate, a thi i geographically a lot nearer to ir Ernest' last re ting place on remote outh Georgia than the aircraft's birthplace in the northwe I' of England. Barry Jones Warwick, December 200/

TO MAINTAI

CHAPTER ONE

To Maintain the Lifelines Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, together with his wife, were assassinated by nineteen-yearold Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 23 July 1914. Through a treaty with Serbia, Russia mobilized her troops the following day, which precipitated Germany to follow suit and invade Belgium. By 4 August, Britain's 1839 treaty of protection with Belgium was honoured and a state of war was declared between the British Empire and Germany. Despite this change in the World's political situation, the British Isle's dependence on merchant shipping for its very existence, with all oil plus a large percentage of food and raw materials being imported, the merchant shipping companies continued to operate independently for over two and a half years. The Unterseeboot (U-boat)

arm of the German Navy capitalized on the situation 0 that, by the end of the winter of 1916-17, over 2,500 merchant ships had been sunk and Britain faced the real possibility of being starved into submission. This desperate situation forced the Admiralty heSitantly to acc pt a convoy system, and losses through U-boat operations were impressively reduced. Convoy escorting by the Royal Navy was helped by aerial patrols flown by both the Royal Flying Corp (RFC) and the Royal aval Air Service (RNAS). It was becoming evident that aviation could become a practical weapon in the battle to protect the shipping lanes. In particular, the RNAS provided overseas patrols, employing float planes as well as flying boats, to deter German submarine activi-

ties, wh ile protecti ng inshore convoys from attacks by surface raiders and from the air. These patrols were not just confined to the coastal waters of the British Isles: a substantial number of operations were conducted around the vast area of the Mediterranean Sea throughout the last couple of years of the conflict. The importance of the U-boats and the need to keep watch for all their activities brought into existence aircraft specifically designed for the role. In the United States, Curtiss had the HA in production and Britain purchased a small number for operating from the Naval Air Station at Felixstowe, on the east coast of Suffolk. The station commander at that time was Squadron-Commander J. C. Porte, who quickly detenTlined that the aircraft had a

poorly-designed hull and inadequate engines. The 'Anglicizing' of the HA, by designing a new hull and fitting HispanoSuiza engines, produced the Felixstowe Fl. Curtiss followed the HA on the production line with the H.12 and imported examples received Porte's attention, to hecome the Felixstowe F2 and F2A, powered by Rolls-Royce engines. With a speed of 95mph (153km/h), an endurance of six hours and the ability to carry 460lb (210kg) of bombs, the Felixstowe E2A was acknowledged as the best of its type in World War One, a reputation enhanced on 20 May 1917, when an E2A sunk the UC-36, the first time that a submarine had been destroyed by an aeroplane. The SS non-rigid type of airship, known as the 'Blimp' after 'Colonel Blimp', the proponent of reactionary establishment opinions, was also used: destroyers could he summoned up by the airship's radio to Jeal with submerged intruders. By the time that the Armistice was signed on II November 1918, versions of the SS airships that could remain airborne for over forty hours were operating.

Birth of the RAF It was inevitable that the end of hostilities would bring about a reduction of the armed forces, but in the case of the Royal Air Force it approached annihilation. Only a year earlier, Prime Minister Lloyd George had appointed the South African Boer War veteran Jan Christian Smuts to lead a committee, whose brief was to recommend the future of aviation in Britain. The findings became known as Smut's Air Report, which advocated the promotion of the existing Air Board to an individual Air Ministry and the formation of a separate air arm. These recommendations were endorsed by ir Hugh Montague Trenchard, who had commanded the RFC in France from August 1915. Having served in the Army in India and the Boer War prior to transferring to the Corps, he engaged in a formative post-war period at the Central Flying chool to acclimatize himself of the requirements of the new force, with the result that he has become accepted as the 'Father of the Royal Air Force'. This Force was established in the Air Force Act, promulgated by King George V on 7 March 1918 and the RAF came into existence on 1 April of that year, with Trenchard as the first Chief of the Air Staff.

A Felixstowe F.2c on its beaching ramp. with RNAS personnel and cat. Aeroplane

8

THE LIFELINES

Therefore, the Service was only seven months old when the war ended and its future appeared somewhat tenuous. Born of conflict, its position in peacetime was undetermined, and within just over a year a strength of more than 27,000 officers and 260,000 non-commissioned ranks was reduced to little more than 1,200 officers and 36,600 non-commissioned men. Even more important was the fact that well over 50 per cent of the wartime officers were fully trained pilots. At the time of the Armistice, ninety-nine quadrons were operational on the European mainland, but within a year this was reduced to five and at the first anniversary of the war's ending only No. 12 Squadron existed. The loss of pride suffered by the War Office and Admiralty when they lost their individual air arms to the RAF was still far from forgotten. It was only the appointment of Winston Churchill as Secretary of State for Air on 1 January 1919 that really saved the Service from being voted out of existence. Churchill gave Trenchard the task of writing a memorandum, declaring his proposals for the future of the post-war RAE This had to be compiled against a Cabinet-imposed financial limit of £15 million per annum for the next five year. Comerstone of Trenchard's foundation for the RAF's expansion wa the policing of overseas territories that carne under British jurisdiction, many of which had intemal political and territorial feuds that belied the term 'peacetime'. At horne, he proposed establishing an RAF College at the former RNAS ailfield of Cranwell for training future officers, plus a School of Technical Training at Halton in Buckinghamshire where three-year cour es would give teenage cadets the technical skills required to fill permanent posts in the Service. On 5 February 1920 the RAF College was officially opened, while Halton had full courses of apprentice, who were affectionately known as 'Trenchard's Brats'. The number of RAF squadrons was increased and a future based on an existence without full-scale war was established, although overseas 'policing' operations kept the training requirements for combat operations fully honed.

The Forming of Coastal Command The RAF's standing increased in the early 1930s through organized air displays, as

9

well as such prestigious events as the winning of the Schneider Trophy for the third time in 1931, to give Britain its permanent possession. Following the announcement in 1935 that Germany wa forming the Luftwaffe, the British Government released funds to allow further squadrons to be formed for the defence of the United Kingdom and Trenchard exercised his long-held belief that the RAF should be divided into separate commands. In 1925, the Home Defence Force had been placed under one unified command as the Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB), with the Auxiliary Air Force and the Special Reserve inaugurated within its orbit. Trenchard's proposals saw the dissolution of the ADGB in July 1936, to be replaced by Fighter Command - which incorporated the Observer Corps and Army Co-operation units - Bomber Command, Coastal Command - encompassing flying boats as well as land-based units - plus the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) and Training Command. The expansion of the RAF gathered momentum to the point where 126 squadrons nominally existed, as well as twenty FAA squadrons. However, strong Admiralty lobbying that anything pertaining to operations in the vicinity of water should be their province brought about a change. On 30 July 1937 the FAA was placed under Admiralty command, which was in reality only a form of appeasement, as the Sea Lords' undisguised ambitions lay in the complete controlling of Coastal Command. The Air Ministry stood its ground and retained the Command, while agreeing to the proviso that it would co-operate with Admiralty operations when requested. Adolf Hitler was by now demonstrating his desire to encompass states beyond his country's borders, and the increa ingly apparent inevitability of outright war in Europe encouraged the RAF's expansion to include imported aircraft. In 1937 the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation of Burbank, California, put the fir t of it Type 14 Super Electras into ervice. This twelvepassenger airliner, with a maximum design speed of 235mph (378km/h), was operated by British Airways and was in fact the type that carried Prime Minister Neville hamberlain back from his meeting with Hitler on 30 September 1938, together with the comparatively useles sheet of foolscap that constituted the signed declaration which Chamberlain promoted as 'Peace in our time', which in reality only bought time, but was useful for that reason.

TO MAl TAl

The Air Ministry saw a military converion of the Type 14 as a maritime patrol and navigational training aircraft and, de pite critical comments from many quarters, the Briti h Purchasing Commission placed an initial order for 200 in th summer of 1938, to which the name Hudson wa a igned, after the river that carried the name of English explorer Henry Hudson. He it was who had been commissioned by the Dutch East India Company and, after ailing into ew York Bay in 1609, navigated 150 miles upriver to meet the chiefs of the Mohican nation. The maiden flight of this first American aircraft to be ordered for th RAF was made on 10 December 1938, and the first Hudson arrived by sea at Liverpool Docks two months later, on 15 February 1939. Lockheed established a base at peke (now Liverpool Airpon) for the type' assembly, during which a substantial Boulton Paul two-gun power-operated dor al turret was installed. Designated Hudson Mk I, the aircraft began to equip os 224 and 233 quadron at Leuchars in corland during the middle of 1939, with 0.220 quad ron at Thomaby in County Durham being convened to the type by 3 eptember.

The 'Faithful Annie' During th early 1930s, the appearance of high performance commercial monoplanes in the United States induced Imperial Airways to place a requirement with A. V. Roe for a small, long-range, twin-engined passenger monoplane. Roy Chadwick adapted

THE LIFELINES

TO MAl TAIN THE LIFELINES

Although photographed later than 1939, Hudson Mk III FK745 is representative of the type and carries the Coastal Command finish of that era. Aeroplane

an existing three-engined, high-wing, collaborative design produced by Avro and V. ederlandsche Vliegtuigen[aiYrik (Fokker) of Holland in 1928, into the Type 618. The wing was moved to a lower position and a pair of2 70hp Armstrong iddeley Cheetah V radial engine gave the four-pa senger aircraft a maximum speed of 188mph (302km/h) over a range of 725 miles (l,167km). With a retractable undercarriage and revised fuselage shape, the new design emerged as the Type 652. During the Type 652's design stage, Avro received an Air Ministry request to tender for a twin-engined oastal Command General Reconnai san e landplane meet-

ing pecification G.18/35, and Chadwick saw a variant of the Type 652 a a logical contender. On 19 May 1934, a militarized development, the Type 652A, was presented to the Air Mini try, the principal changes being 295hp Cheetah VI engine, a dor al gun turret housing a single Lewis machine-gun, an increased window area and the ability to carry a 360lb (163kg) bomb load in the centre section. A ingle fixed Vickers machine-gun in the port side of the nose was provided for the pilot. Although several manufacturers entered designs to the specification, only Avro with their Type 652A and de Havilland's twinengined biplane submission, the D.H.

H9M, were awarded contracts to build a prototype, with March 1935 being set as their delivery date. The Avro prototype, K4 771, was evaluated by the oa tal Defence Development Unit ( DDU) at (Jospon, against D.H. 89M K4772, during the middle of May 1935, following which trials at Marrlesham Heath were held and Chadwick's design was accepted for production. A 25 per cent increase in tailplane span and alterations to the rudder mass balance were implemented to meet the main pilot's criticisms levied after the trials, and Avro re eived an order for 174 aircraft. The first, K6152, was given its maiden flight at Woodford, by (Jeof(rey Tyon, on 31 December 1935, with the name Anson Mk 1 being hestowed upon the aircraft. In February 1936, No. 48 quad ron at Man ton in Kent started to receive the Anson, thereby giving the RAF its first operational monoplane and its fir t type to he fitted with a retractable undercarriage. Thi was activated by more than 100 tums of a low-geared manual winch handle situ,Hed beside the pilot' scat, and the author IS one of thousands of 1942-43-era Air Training Corp (ATC) cadets who was given the ta k of winding up an Anson's undercarriage during air-familiarization flights. An experience never forgotten! Service colloquialism being what it i , the Avro 652A became known as the 'Annie' and its reputation was such that this was enhanced by the prefix 'Faithful'. Its Jesign role changed with the arrival of the I ludson, and the Anson became a training aircraft for a large proportion of the pi lots, navigators and air gunner destined to serve with Bomber Command. Anson production was such that on 26 June 1937, Nos 206, 220, 224, 233 and 269 quad ron were each able to put up a full complement of aircraft for the RAF HenJon Air Display. Together they formed the central core of Coastal Command, with five more squadrons being An on-equipped by the outbreak of World War Two.

The Flying Boats

N4877, one of the few Ansons extant today, was photographed at Staverton in 1966, when it was part of the Skyframe collection. Ray Deacon

70

After its formation, Coa tal Command became the recipient of several type of biplane flying boats and some were still in squadron service in eptember 1939. The twin-engined Saunders Roe London, originally built to pecification R.24/31, was updated to its Mk II variant by Specifica-

tion RJ/35, of which twenty-three were manufactured. Th y flew with os 201, 202, 204 and 240 quadrons, while o. 209 quadron, by March 1939, had completed re-equipping with twin-engined Supermarine Stanraer , having previously flown the four-engined Shon ingapore. All three types had been on operational coastal patrol dutie around the British Isles and in the Mediterranean, which were extended by nearly two more years

biplane predecessors. Another advance was its armament of eight Browning machineguns, di tributed a two in a Frazer-Nash power-operated nose turret, four in a similar tail turret and hand-operated machinegun ited at hatches either side of the upper fuselage, aft of each wing root. An internal 2,0001b (900kg) load of bomb, depth charges, mines or various pyrotechnics could be winched out on rails to release positions under each wing centre ection.

Anson Mk 1 K6298 of No. 233 Squadron flies over the River Forth shortly before the beginning of World War Two. Harry Holmes

with the outbreak of war, when some of them joined No.4 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit (OTU). During the mid-1930s, Short Brothers at Rochester in Kent produced the S.23 Empire 'C' Class passenger-carrying flying boat. This wa a four-engined monoplane for Imperial Airways, the prototype of which made it maiden flight in 1936. While .23 design work was still on the drawing board, pecification R.2/33 was issued, for an ocean patrol and anti-submarine flying boat, for which Short Brother drew up a d velopment of their S.23, to be called the .25. Powered by four 65hp Bristol Pegasus 22 radial engine, it had a design maximum speed of 210mph (3 8km/h) and range of well over 2,000 miles (3,200km), which was an immense improvement over its

77

The .25 was christened Sund r1and Mk I, and following the first flight of prototype K4774, on 16 October 1937, deliveries from the fir t order for eleven aircraft for oastal ommand started during May 193. o. 210 quadron, based at Pembroke Dock in omh Wales, was the first unit to rec ive them, followed in June by o. 230 quadron at eletar on ingapore Island. The next year, o. 204 quad ron at Mount Batten, outside Plymouth in Devon, received its fir t, together with o. 22 quad ron, so that the declaration of war aw the Command with four underland squadrons, three of them in home waters. In eptember 1939, Coa tal ommand also had 0.22 Squadron at Thomey I land in Sussex and No. 42 Squadron at Bircham Newton in Norfolk as 'strike units', which was rather a complimentary description for

TO MAINTAII THE LIFELINES

(Above) The first four Singapores that were built had been withdrawn from service before 1939. K4577 was the first of the subsequent thirty-three aircraft built that saw RAF service early in World War Two. Aeroplane

(Above) Two london Mk lis of No. 201 Squadron, with K5909/R nearest to the camera, fly in formation during the late 1930s. Aeroplane The prototype Stranraer, K3973, during its acceptance trials at Felixstowe in 1935. Aeroplane

12

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(Below) Fundamentally similar to the Short Sunderland Mk I, RN284 was a late-production Mk V, built by Blackburn Aircraft, seen here during its service with No. 201 Squadron, based at Pembroke Dock. Aeroplane

Principal Aircraft in Squadron Service with Coastal Command. 3 September 1939 Avro 652A Anson Mk I General and coastal reconnaissance landplane, built to Specification G.18/35. Dimensions: Powerplant: Weights: Crew: Armament:

Performance:

Armament:

Span 56ft 6in (17.22m); length 42ft 3in (12.88m); height 13ft 1in (3.98ml; wing area 463sq ft (43sq ml Two 270hp Armstong Siddeley Cheetah V radial engines Empty 5,375lb (2A37kgl; loaded 7,665lb (3A76kgl Three One OJ03in Lewis machine-gun in dorsal turret; one fixed 0.303in Vickers machine-gun in nose; maximum 360lb (163kg) bomb load Maximum speed 188mph (302km/hl at 7,OOOft (2,OOOm); service ceiling 19,500ft (6,OOOml; range 725 miles (l,200kml

Performance:

In service with No. 203 Squadron, with Nos 209 and 210 Squadrons each holding a small number. Short S.25 Sunderland Mk I Ocean patrol and anti-submarine flying boat, built to Specification R.2/33.

In service with Nos 48, 206, 217, 220, 224, 233, 269, 500, 608 and 612 Squadrons.

Dimensions:

Lockheed 414 Hudson Mk 1 Reconnaissance bomber landplane purchased from United States of America.

Powerplant: Weights: Crew: Armament:

Dimensions: Powerplant: Weights: Crew: Armament:

Performance:

Span 65ft 6in (19.96m); length 44ft 4in (13.51 ml; height 11 ft lOin (3.62ml; wing area 551 sq ft (51.2sq m) Two 1.1 OOhp Wright Cyclone R-1820 radial engines Empty 12,OOOIb (5AOOkg); loaded 18,500lb (8AOOkg) Five Two OJ03in Browning machine-guns in dorsal turret; two fixed 0.303in Browning machine-guns in nose; three OJ03in Browning machine-guns in beam windows and ventral hatch; maximum 750lb (340kg) weapons load Maximum speed 246mph (397km/h); service ceiling 24,500ft (7,500m); range 1,960 miles (3,150km)

Performance:

Supermarine Stranraer General purpose coastal reconnaissance flying boat, built to Specification R.24/31. Dimensions:

Saunders Roe A.27 London Mk /I General purpose coastal patrol flying boat, built to Specification R.3/35.

Powerplant: Weights: Crew: Armament:

Powerplant: Weights: Crew: Armament:

Performance:

Span 80ft Din (24.38ml; length 57ft Din (17.37m); height 20ft 3in (6.17ml; wing area lA27sq ft (132.5sq ml Two 920hp Bristol Pegasus Xradial engines Empty 12.2851b (5,571 kg); loaded 22,OOOIb (1 O,OOOkg) Five One 0.303 Lewis machine-gun on Scarff mount in open nose position; one Lewis machine-gun on Scarff mount in open dorsal position; one OJ03in Lewis machine-gun on Scarff mount in open rear position; maximum l,600lb (725kg) weapons load Maximum speed 155mph (249km/hl at 6,OOOit (1 ,800m); service ceiling 18,OOOft (5,500m); maximum range 1.740 miles (2,800km)

Performance:

Vickers 267 Vildebeest Mk 11/ Torpedo-bomber landplane, built to Specification 15/34. Dimensions:

Short S.19 Singapore Mk 11/ General purpose reconnaissance flying boat. originally designed to Specification R.3/33 but produced to revised Specification R.14/34.

Powerplant: Weight: Crew: Armament:

Powerplant: Weights: Crew:

Span 85ft Din (25.9ml; length 54ft lOin (16.7m); height 21ft 9in (6.64m); wing area 1A57sq ft (135sq m) Two 920hp Bristol Pegasus Xradial engines Empty 11,2501b (5,11 Okg); loaded 19,OOOIb (8,600kg) Five One OJ03in Lewis machine-gun in open nose position; one OJ03in Lewis machine-gun in open dorsal position; one 0.303in Lewis machine-gun in open rear position; maximum l,160lb (530kgl weapons load Maximum speed 165mph (266km/hl at 6,OOOft (1 ,800m); service ceiling 18,500ft (5,600ml; maximum range 1,000 miles (l,600km)

In service with No. 209 Squadron.

In service with Nos 201, 202 and 240 Squadrons.

Dimensions:

Span 112ft 9.5in (34.39m); length 85ft 4in (26m); height 32ft 1O.5in (lO.lm); wing area lA87sq It (138sq m) Four 865hp Bristol Pegasus 22 radial engines Empty 34,500lb (15,700kg); loaded 58,OOOIb (26,OOOkgl Thirteen Two OJ03in Browning machine-guns in nose turret; four 0.303in Browning machine-guns in rear turret; two 0.303in Browning machine-guns in upper fuselage open hatches; maximum 2,OOOIb (900kgl weapons load Maximum speed 210mph (338km/hl; service ceiling 17AOOft (5,300ml; maximum range 2,900 miles (4,640km)

N230. the prototype Vildebeest, carrying the number '10', indicating that it was from the new aircraft park It 8 Hendon Air Display in the late 1920s. This particular aircraft later went on to the civil aircraft register IS G-ABGE. Aeroplane

In service with Nos 204, 210, 228 and 230 Squadrons.

In service with Nos 220, 224 and 233 Squadrons.

Dimensions:

One OJ03in Lewis machine-gun in open nose position; one 0.303in Lewis machine-gun in open dorsal position; one OJ03in machine-gun in rear position; maximum 2,OOOIb (900kg) weapons load Maximum speed 105mph (169km/h) at 2,OOOft (600ml; service ceiling 15,OOOft (4,600ml; maximum range 1,000 miles (l,600km)

Span 90ft Din (27.4m); length 64ft 2in (19.5ml; height 23ft 7in (7.18m); wing area l,834sq ft (170Jsq ml tractor engines; two 560hp Rolls-Royce Kestrel IX in-line pusher engines Two 560hp Rolls-Royce Kestrel VIII in-line tractor engines; two 560hp Rolls-Royce Kestrel IX in-line pusher engines n/a Six

Performance:

Span 49ft Din (14.9m); length 36ft 8in (11.18m); height 14ft 8in (4.48m); wing area 728sq ft (67.63sq ml One 635hp Bristol Pegasus IIMS radial engine Empty 4,7731b (2,165kgl; loaded 8,500lb (3,900kgl Two One fixed OJ03 Vickers machine-gun in nose; one OJ03in Lewis machine-gun in open dorsal position; maximum 1,1 OOlb (500kgl bomb load or one 2,OOOIb (900kgl torpedo Maximum speed 143mph (230km/hl at 1O,OOOft (3,OOOml; service ceiling 19,OOOft (5,800m); maximum range 1,250 miles (2,OOOkml

In service with Nos 22 and 42 Squadrons.

74

two squadrons equipped with the obsolete Vickers Vildebeest biplane, first conceived to Specification 24/25. Powered by a ingle Bristol Per eus or Pegasus radial engine, the two-seat Vildebeest carried one 18in (45.7cm) torpedo between the fixed underL
At War Again With the resumption of conflict between Britain and Germany on 3 September 1939 the Admiralty remembered the perilous position that faced Britain through the independent shipping operations durtng the first two-and-a-half year of the 1914-18 conflict, and the convoy principle wa e tablished very soon. The inherent danger of air attack on hipping at .mchor, a convoys were a sembled off the British shores, was far outweighed by the .lllvantage of a large number of ships travelling together under naval escort in the U-boat hunting grounds of the Atlantic Ocean. The author remembers watching convoys, assembling in the Thames Estu,Iry off outhend, being attacked by Junkers Ju 87s and Ju 88s during the winter of 1939--40. Not a single hip ever received a direct hit and, by the same

token, neither did an attacking aircraft. Anti-aircraft operations left a lot to be desired in the early days of that war. Minelaying Heinkel He 115s were always followed by a par imoniou collection of shell bursts that trailed behind them and never appeared to vary the distance from the target aircraft. Watching civilians were in more danger than the [einkel crews - in fact the Headmaster of the author's Grammar School was killed from being hit by a piece of anti-aircraft shrapnel, which certainly reduced the number of viewing pupils considerably! With the outbreak of war came a fresh conflict within the corridors of Whitehall. The range of existing aircraft on the strength of oastal ommand wa such that it wa quite impotent in terms of affecting the movements of U-boat in mid-Atlantic. The underland' maximum range gave it an effective combat radius of Ie s than 800 miles (l,300km). The port of Liverpool and ew York were over 3,000 mile (4, OOkm) apart and al though Britain moved into Iceland in January 1941, air cover for only 25 per cent of the total journey was only marginally better than nothing at all. The situation b came even more parlous following th fall of France in the spring of 1940, for Admiral Dbnitz, commander of

75

the ubmarine arm of the German avy, suddenly had the Atlantic coa t port of Brest, aint azaire, Lorient and Bordeaux at his di posal, with the Bay of Biscay offering a safer haven than the approache to the North ea ports of Wilhelmshaven and Bremerhaven. U-boats were able to surface for battery charging in the Bay more or Ie with impunity, due to the availability of Luftwaffe protection, and their activities were such that even with the convoy system, there was a point in 1942 when the loss rate of Allied shipping exceeded replacements. German submarine losses, on the other hand, were averaging four a month, with the construction programme of new vessels running at twice that figure.

The Quest for Long-Range Aircraft The mandarins of overall RAF policy were fa t becoming convinced that Germany could be defeated by a concerted bombing campaign again t its industrial heartland and Prime Minister Churchill favoured this strategy. The long-range four-engined Stirling, Halifax and Lancaster, with their great weapon carrying ability, were all coming off their respective production lines at a prodigious rate and an official

TO MAINTAI

THE LIFELINES

AH550 was one of the first batch of Catalina Mk Is received by the RAF from April 1941, and under the shadow of the wing, DA-L shows that it was operating with No. 210 Squadron. Aeroplane

Pictured at Fayid in Egypt during 1943, FL926 was a Liberator Mk III, shown in the Coastal Command finish of that period. Aeroplane

76

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rl'quest was made for a proportion of this production to be passed to Coastal Command. Bomber Command, however, was a 'acred cow, which was not to be denied onc single airframe. Furthermore, although ncw hort-range equipment was provided 111 the form of Bri tol Blenheim Mk IVs, WIth a small number of modified Vickersrmstrongs Wellingtons received in 1940 ,lI1d early examples of the Bristol 152 Bcaufort twin-engined torpedo-bomber, thcre were no weapons designed p cifically for operations against vessels. This 'Ituation could not have been more graphIcally demonstrated than in the incident whcn an Anson's crew mis-identified the British submarine HMS SnajJjJer, cruising on the surface, as being a U-boat. To their ncdit, in the attack on the submarine the Anson's crew obtained a direct hit with a 100Ib bomb, but HMS SnajJper only suffcrcd the breaking of some light bulbs! The earch for long-range aircraft led to the Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation in the United tates being approached for two products. An Air Ministry purchase 111 July 1939 of a Model 28 flying boat for cvaluation by the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment (MAEE) at Felixsrowe led to an order for fifty such aircraft. Powered by two 1,200hp Pratt and Whitney R-l 30 Twin Wa p radial engines, the aircraft was designated the Catalina Mk I when deliverie commenced in 1941, with Coa tal Command' No. 209 Squadron at Lough Erne in Northern Ireland receiving its first in April, a month after o. 200 Squadron at the same base had put the fir t Catalina on its inventory. Both squadrons were destined to operate the type until the spring of 1945. Consolidated Vultee's other offering was their Model 32, later put into produ tion for the USAAF as the B-24, but initially ordered for the RAF as the Liberator. Deliveries of the first twenty-six off the line hegan in March 1941, but they were found to be unsuitable for an operational role with Bomber Command and were relegated to unarmed transport operation with the British Oversea Airways Corporation (BOAC). The B-24A variant, fitted with four of the Twin Wa p rad ials used to power the Catalina, was ordered for oastal Command as the Liberator Mk 1 and in June 1941No. 120 Squadron at Nutts Corner in ounty Antrim, Northern Ireland, became the first unit of the ommand to take delivery. At last Coa tal ommand had a long-range landplane.

THE LIFELINES

ASV Joins the War While the 'Chain Home' (CH) radar had become a reality in the late 1930s as a means of early warning for RAF fighter defence squadrons, development was in hand to perfect an airborne system of shorter pulses than land radar, whereby an aircraft could be guided close enough to a target for visual contact to be achieved. The Air Ministry Research Establishment (AMRE) tarted at Bawdsey Manor, beside the River Deben near Felistowe. Owned by the second Sir Cuthbert Quilter, it was purcha ed for the sum of £24,000 by the Ministry and handed to the RAF in May 1937. Their tenure at the manor was short-lived, as by May 1940 the unit had transferred to wanage, to be re-titled the Telecommunications Re earch Establi hment (TRE). Airborne Intercept (AI) and Airborne urface Vessel (ASV) radars were developed in parallel and on 17 August 1937 Anson Mk I K6260, on loan from o. 220 quad ron to the Aircraft and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) and fitted out with a rudimentary radar working on a wavelength of 1.25 metres, flew in weather condition that made conventional reconnaissance more or less impossible. The Royal Navy' battleship HMS Rodney, together with the aircraft carrier HM Courageous and cruiser HMS Southampton, were all detected by K6260's radar but, while this first experimental installation proved the fundamentals of the AMRE's research, much had to be done to make it a viable system for RAF service and, as so often happened - and still does to this day - the development's timescale slipped through underfunding. Designated ASV Mk I, a two-antenna layout was perfected, with a dorsal dipole transmitting antenna giving a broad beam in a forward direction and a pair of receiving antenna on the aircraft's wings. The target's direction was a e sed by a comparison of the signals from the two receiver, displayed on a cathode ray tube. A to-mile range for a urface ve sel wa obtained when the system was installed in a couple ofdozen underlands and Hudson although, maybe understandably for such a new and revolutionary piece of equipment, its erviceability was not out tanding. Although A V Mk I was not intended to be used for the detection of submarines, trials were conducted with a No. 220 Squadron Hudson in the early winter of 1939. Royal Navy submarine L27 was

77

detected on the sUlface at a range of 3 mile (4. km) by the Hudson flying at 1,000ft (300m) and this was improved to 6 miles (9.6km) in subsequent trials, with the aircraft flying at 6,000ft (1,800m). A marked improvement was achieved when a sideway -looking second antenna system was developed. Ten dipoles in tailed in pair in a dorsal position on an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley worked in conjunction with a 12ft (3.6m) receiving antenna on the sides of the aircraft's fuselage. With the transmitting dipole array being 18ft (5.5m) in length, greatly improved resolution and range accuracy were obtained, the trials submarine being detected at ranges up to 15 miles (24km). An even better system, engineered by the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) at Farnborough to a much higher standard, u ed a 1. 7m wave-length and provided result at a range of up to 36 miles (58km). The e et were put into production early in 1940, as A V Mk 11, for installation in Hud on and Sunderland aircraft. As fourengined aircraft replaced twin-engined type in Bomber Command, Wellington and Whitleys came onto Coastal Command inventories, at about the same time that the first deliverie of Liberators were made. All had ASV Mk 11 fitted and the radar had its first operational uccess on 30 November 1941, when a Whitley Mk V of No.502 quad ron sank U-206. The G rman avy developed a receiver to detect A V Mk 11 by the autumn of 1942, produced as Metox, which was the result of the examination of an ASV Mk Il-equipped Hudson that came down in Tunisia in March 1942. However, the pelfecting of the cavity magnetron oscillator by the uffield Research Laboratory at Oxford, first tested on 21 February 1940, had a dramatic effect on future radars. Although first considered for night-fighter applications, 10cm AI radar was demonstrated to the Admiralty a a ground-based system for tracking vessels. The sy tem was te ted in an airborne application, a Al Mk VII, in conjunction with the R submarine HMS Sea Lion in April 1941. Ferranti commenced limited production of an ASV version of Al Mk VII, but work was halted in eptember 1942, as a ground-mapping radar that wa going into production for Bomber Command as HzS , had imilarities to the ASV radar. A possibl duplication of resources meant that HzS went into full production, and once again Bomber ommand requirem nts were placed ahead of those of Coastal Command.

TO MAINTAI

TO MAINTAIN THE LIFELI ES

'Let There Be Light' The detecting and locating of a submarine in daylight sometimes had a successful conclusion and the vessel wa sunk, but under conditions of darkness, the outcome was nearly always very different. Sqn Ldr 'Sammy' Leigh, on the personnel staff of Coastal Command, took the 22.24in carbon-arc searchlight as a basis for an airborne light to illuminate a target once it had been detected by ASV. He perfected a small housing carried under an aircraft's wing (although early installations on Wellington VIlIs carried it in a proposed, but unused, ventral machine-gun position). The 'Leigh Light' provided a con-

engineer, Hidetsugu Yagi, who died in 1976. The scanner reflector was reduced to 28in (71.12cm) because, as Coastal Command was not going to receive British fourengined bombers, ASV Mk 1lI would have to be a nose-mounted installation on exBomber Command Wellingtons. Such an installation would only give a 60-degree field of search ahead of the aircraft, which was accepted with a certain amount of reluctance as 'Hobson's Choice' by Coastal Command, 60 degrees being preferable to no degrees at all. A number of sets were installed in Wellington Mk XIls and Mk XIVs, which were flown with the Coastal Command Development Unit (CCDU) based at Angle in Pembrokeshire.

Liberator Mk V BZ944 had a Leigh Light unit installed under the starboard wing when photographed during 1944. Aeroplane

centrated beam of light a few yards wide, once the ASV had vectored the aircraft to the target's location. The first 'kill' by an ASVjLeigh Light combination was made by a Wellington VlIl of No. 172 Squadron, on 6 July 1942, when U-502 was located on its return to Lorient. Eventually a compromised version of HzS was released for submarine detection as ASV Mk Ill, operating with Yagi antennae, this being a directional aerial consisting of several elements arranged in line and named after the Japanese electrical

The detection of U-boats and subsequent successful attacks upon them in the Bay of Biscay increased dramatically during 1943, so that the average monthly tonnage of Allied shipping losses fell from 400,000 to 100,000 tons. German naval instructions for submarines to remain surfaced once detected and engage the attacking aircraft with its guns re ulted in eighty-one U-boats being lost in the summer months of March to September alone. Furthermore, the United States had begun supplying their own SCR521jASE radar,

18

equivalent to ASV Mk II, in Liberators prior to delivery to the RAE In 1943, a more powerful version, ASV Mk VI, was perfected with an attenuator, on which power was reduced once the submarine had been detected. This gave the operator of a detection device the impression that the attacking aircraft had either turned away, or at least wa not getting any closer. A variant, ASV Mk VIA, u ed on Wellington Mk X[Vs, had an autolock that aimed the aircraft's Leigh Light directly at the target. Coastal Command's success became its own nemesis so far as ASV Mk VII was concerned. This was a 3cm HzS variant and, once again, Bomber Command refused to allow any reduction in deliveries to them in order to equip Coastal Command. German submarine losses were increasing, the French ports in the Bay of Biscay were captured following the D-Day landings on 6 June [944 and Liberators were being fitted with American radar at source (although Leigh Lights had to be installed once the aircraft arrived in the United Kingdom). Bomber Command took the attitude that Coastal Command was doing very well without ASV Mk VII, and Prime Minister Churchill was inclined to agree. One glitch in this cosy arrangement did occur in late [944, when a new class of Uboat began appearing, fitted with a snorkel that allowed a submarine to remain underwater for much longer periods than before, so making the submarine virtually undetectable to 10cm ASV radar. The 'powers that be' woke up to the situation and the 3cm ASV Mk VII suddenly became an urgent requirement for Coastal Command. Trials were initiated at very short notice but these took time - time that the Command could more easily have expended when they made their original request over a year earlier - and the trials had not been concluded by 8 May 1945, when Germany sun·endered.

THE LIFELINES

An unidentified Wellington Mk XIV, photographed at Boscombe Down, shows its nose-mounted ASV Mk III installation. William H. Sleigh

Lockheed Hudson Mk III FK772 is fitted with ASV Mk III Vagi aerials under each wing and below the bomb-aimer's transparent nosecone position. Aeroplane

ASV Assessment A post-war analysis of air operations again t the U-boat showed that 392 had been destroyed by aircraft, compared with 30[ by surface vessels. Admiral Danitz openly admitted that it was not a failing of German naval tactics that had swung the balance against the U-boat, but the advantages gained by the Allies' radar. One aspect of Coastal Command's operations that did not receive so much

Vickers-Armstrongs Warwick Mk I BV301 at Boscombe Down, while engaged on the early Airborne Lifeboat Mk I trials during 1943. Aeroplane

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THE LIFELINES

The 6ft-diameter radar scanner, as first fitted to the Warwick GR Mk V, required quite a substantial blister housing under the nose section. Aeroplane

VI, but the installation of American sets in later Liberators, before being delivered to the RAF, did greatly assist the overall picture. However, it speaks well of these earlier A V radars that the results against the enemy submarine fleet was so ucce fu!. In Volume 2 of The Second World War, Winston Churchill stated 'The only thing that ever really frightened me during the war wa the U-boat peri!.' This is a rather surprising statement considering the blatant priority given to Bomber ommand over Coastal Command throughout the conflict, and the question has to be rai ed as to how many more U-boats might have heen destroyed if Coa tal Command's requests for long-range aircraft had been met when initially lodged.

The Warwick GR Mk II prototype, L9704, fitted with 15ft-diameter Hamilton Hydromatic propellers and ASV Mk XVII, at Boscombe Down in November 1944. Aeroplane

coverage, but which assumed vastly greater importance to urvivors in 'Mac Wests' or on life rafts in icy seas, was Air- ea Rescue (ASR). The Hud on was the first type to be fitted with an airborne lifeboat, dropped with the aid of multiple parachutes, but the failing of a bomber design had profound benefits to A R. pecification B.l/35 was met by Vicker Armstrong with a design similar to, but slightly larger than, the Wellington, which was given the name Warwick. Extensive trial by the A&AEE, coupled with a multitude of Air Ministry proposals for the aircraft, failed to get the aircraft accepted for Bomber ommand service and first production versions were impressed into service with BOAC as the Warwick Mk I freighter. In 1943, the Air Staff decided that the aircraft could provide a much needed air-sea rescue role, and trial with an airborne lifeboat carrying Lindholme lifesaving equipment, resulted in 204 aircraft being built as the Warwick ASR Mk J. (The lifeboat was designed by the brilliant and eccentric marine engineer Uffa Fox, who i reported to have once mis ed the last Isle of Wight ferry of the day, so promptly dived into the Solent water, fully clothed and swam out to board the vessel!) Furth r variants in the role gave a grand total of 369 A R Warwicks being manufactured. Besides the cargo versions, Vicker put forward a General Reconnaissan e de ign, the Warwick GR Mk V, fitted with A V Mk XVII installed in a ventral blister housing under the cockpit. No. 179 Squadron at St Eval in Cornwall started receiving GR

ASV Service in World War Two Early in 1945, the CCDU undertook adetailed investigation into the effectiveness of the principle ASV radars in service. in terms of the detection of enemy submarines in nautical miles, relative to attitude to the searching aircraft. The results of the investigation are shown in the table. Results of the 1945 eeDU tests of ASV radar ASV Radar Typical Type of Range, Target Bow Aircraft Equipped or Stern On

Detail of the revised Airborne Lifeboat installation on an unidentified Warwick, which carries the black/white D-Day stripes around its rear fuselage. Aeroplane

Mk Vs in April 1945 and, although the European war finished the following month, 210 of the version were built, with the Pacific theatre of operations in mind. The majority of A V priorities were directed towards the Far East, with the radar being employed for urface ve sel detection, as japane e submarine activities were on a slightly Ie er scale than those of Germany. (Although, ironically, their greatest coup was made only ixteen days before the end of ho tilities, when the heavy cruiser Indianapolis wa sunk in the Pacific U Ocean on 30 july 1945, having delivered the 'Fat Boy' atomi bomb to Tinian Island, in readine for its being dropp d on

20

Hiroshima eleven days later.) The American presence in the Pacific, continuous since the end of 1941, had grown to such an extent that RAF operation were more re tricted to the Burmese and Malayan coa tal areas in support of British Army activitie , which cea ed with the capitulation of japan on 15 Augu t 1945. Throughout World War Two, over thirty different A V radars came into exi tence. Large-scale production was limited to th Mk II, Ill, X and XII, although these were unable to meet all d mands. In 3tal ina 1945, some Sunderlands and were still operating with Mk II sets. Many Wellington Mk XIVs still carried A V Mk

Bristol 156 Beaufighter Beauforts were replaced by Beaufighter Mk VICs without radar, followed by the Mk Xwith AI Mk VIII adapted for ASV operations in European, Middle East and Far East theatres. Used as strike aircraft with torpedo and rocket projectiles, mainly against surface vessels. Consolidated Vultee Model 28-5 Catalina Over 700 aircraft, in Mks I, IB, IIA, III, IVA and IVB variants, in service. A large proportion were fitted with ASV Mks VII and VillA radars.

Range, Target Side On

Mkl

Hudson

10 miles

Mkll

Sunderland

15 miles

Mklll

Wellington

10 miles

17 miles

MkVA

Liberator

12 miles

20 miles

Consolidated Vultee Model 32 Liberator A few Mk Is were equipped with ASV Mk II, but the Liberator Mk II with ASV Mk IV, Liberator Mks III/IliA with ASV Mk V/ASG-3 or AN/APS-2 and Liberator Mks V/VAwith ASV Mk Xwere the most widely used variants.

26 miles

MkVI

Wellington

20 miles

35 miles

MkVlliA

Catalina

18 miles

33 miles

MkX

Liberator

20 miles

35 miles

Short S-25 Sunderland Mk I. II, III and Vvariants were all equipped with ASV radar. ASV Mk III with Vagi antenna was introduced in 1942 and ASV Mk VIB was adapted for the Sunderland Mk V, with split scanners under the wing-tips.

Coastal Command's inventory of aircraft widened during the war, the main variants fitted with operational ASV of the most common used types being as follows:

Vickers-Armstrongs Wellington Wellington Mk VIII fitted with ASV Mk I and retractable ventral Leigh Light. Wellington Mks XI/XII fitted with ASV Mk II in achin mounting and Wellington Mks Xili/XIV fitted with ASV Mk III plus Leigh Light. The latter were fitted with ASV Mk VI in chin mount· ings later in the war.

Armstrong Whitworth AW38 Whitley Former Bomber Command Whitley Mk Vaircraft were passed over to No. 502 Squadron Coastal Command, to successfully pioneer ASV radar. The Whitley Mk VII was produced with increased fuel tankage in the bomb bay and fitted with ASV Mk II specifically for the anti-submarine role. Dorsal-mounted aerials worked in conjunction with Vagi underwing antennas, and a total of three squadrons operated with this variant.

Vickers-Armstrongs Warwick Mk I and II versions modified for ASR operations, carrying ASV MK II, with Vagi antennas under nose and wings. Warwick Mks Vand VI general reconnaissance aircraft, fitted with ASV Mk XVII in under-nose blister housing.

Avro 652A Anson A small number of aircraft were fitted with ASV Mk I and II, for use with early ASR squadrons until 1942.

Other Types Various marks of de Havilland Mosquito became very successful as predators of enemy shipping in the North Sea for over three years, but none carried ASV radar. Also, Nos 206 and 220 Squadrons of Coastal Command operated Boeing Fortress Mk lis (B-17El, moving from Balleykelly in Northern Ireland to Lajes in the Azores, for convoy protection, with some aircraft being fitted with ASV MK III.

Bristol 152 Beaufort In 1942, Mk I aircraft carried ASV Mk III with Vagi aerials, used for detection of surface vessels for torpedo attacks. Aircraft transferred to Middle and Far East Air Forces late in 1942.

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THE LIFELINES

The ASV Mk XVII scanner is carried in the ventral installation under the cockpit of Warwick GR Mk V lM789. which was the twentieth aircraft from the last batch of Warwick production at Weybridge. Aeroplane

(Below) lockheed P2V-5 Neptune MR.1 WX494 was the second of the fifty-two aircraft supplied under the MDAP and is here awaiting allocation to squadron service. Aeroplane

Post-War Coastal Command The inevitable cancellation of contracts and run-down of squadrons commenced shortly after the end of the European war (VE-Day) and accelerated following japan' surrender three month later (Vj-Day). Liberator and Fortresses were returned to the United States which, together with the withdrawal of the twin-engined rypes, plus aircrew demobilization, placed the ommand in a position of difficulty fulfilling its maritime role. Late-production Lancaster B Mk Ills were modified to fill A R requirem nts by carrying air-drop lifeboats, thereby

becoming Lancaster A R Mk Ills. In 1947 some were further modified to GR.3 standard for general reconnaissance duties, and two year later they were upgraded by the installation of A V radar. In so doing this meant that in 1949, Coa tal Command had at last received the British aircraft that it had requested in 1942! The formation of the orth Atlantic Treaty Organization ( ATO) in 1949,gave Britain an enormous ea area to patrol which was far beyond Coa tal Command's capabilities as they stood. The British Government held talks with the United States, with the result that fifty-two Lockheed P2V5 aircraft were loaned to the RAF under the

22

Mutual Defence Aid Pact. Deliveries commenced in january 1952 and once more Lockheed aircraft were erving with oastal ommand. 0 36, 203, 210 and 217 quadrons flew the aircraft for five years, though by 1957 they had either been returned to the United tate or written off. They had served their purpo e while A. V. Roe de igned and developed their Type 696, the RAF's final multi-piston-engined landplane. It was the first Briti h general reconnaissance landplane specifically designed for the role since the Anson, which had come from the same stable eleven years earIier and was the creation of the same designing genius, Roy Chadwick.

CHAPTER TWO

Last of the Manchester Lineage With the rapid expansion of the RAF in the 1930s, specifications abounded, covermg aircraft for just about every role. Two of great significance were B. I 2/36, issued in July 1936, and P13/36, issued that Seplember. The former was for a high-speed, long-range, four-engined stategic bomber; Supermarine and Short Brother' ubmitled designs and each received contracts for I wo prototypes. Both prototypes for Supermarine's tender, the Type 317 - which, incidentally, was R. j. Mitchell' last design, as he died m 1937 - were in an advanced state of construction when the company's work at Wool ton, on the River Itchen outside Southampton, was heavily bombed in a low-level daylight attack on 26 eptember 1940. Both aircraft were so everely damaged a to be irreparable. Short Br ther ' design, the S.29 tirling, was already somewhat further ahead, the first production aircraft having flown on 7 May 1940. It was therefore decided that Supermarine would concentrate on Spitfire production and development, together with their two A R amphibians, the Walrus and Sea Otter. Specification P13/36 called for a twinengined medium bomber, for which the Air Ministry considered the Handley Page H.P56 and Avro 679 designs merited prototype contracts, again for two aircraft from each company. Although the pecification stipulated that the bomber wa to he twin-engined, in reality there was no suitably developed engine available and the Ministry choice of the Rolls-Royce Vulture, a 24-cylinder, X-format inline engine for both contenders was an unfortunate demand. Aero-engine development required about a four-year lead time over airframe design and the Vulture had received nothing like that. In the late 1920s, Rolls-Royce developed th EX.l, which employed cylinder hlocks cast a single bank, a opp ed to the individual-cylinder construction then prevalent. Later named the Kestrel, this wa the initial significant step in engine design that was to lead to the renowned

Merlin. Inevitably, 'off-shoot' variants were propo ed and tried, one of them bing the V-12 Peregrine, developing 885hp. It was selected for the second prototype Gloster E9/37 twin-engined fighter design, but the engine' unreliability curtailed the aircraft's progr ss and Gloster consigned the design to history. The Peregrine's only operational experience was as the engin for the Westland Whirlwind Mk 1 twinengined, single- eat fighter-bomber. A production run of J 12 aircraft enabled os 137 and 263 Squadrons to be formed and, while the airframe itself proved to be suitable for its role, the Peregrine's unreliability was its nemesis, th role eventually being filled by the Hawker Typhoon. In 1938, Roll -Royce took a pair of the under-developed Peregrine and placed them 'back-to-back' on a common crankhaft to form the Vulture, an 'X' configuration engine of42.51tr capacity, with a potential design output of 2,000hp. Furthermore, they had a production engine available by 1939, which should have rung alarm bells. Nevertheless, it did not and L7246, the first prototype Avro 679, given the name Manchester, made its maiden flight from Ringway (now Manchester Airport) on 25 july 1939 in the hands of the company's Chief Test Pilot, H. A. 'Sam' Brown. As was to be expected in such a short timescale, ther were not going to be enough Vulture engines to meet the requirements of both Avro and Handley Page. Con equently, the H.P.56 design was discontinued in favour of a four-Merlin adaptation, given the company designation H.P.57 and put into production as the Halifax.

The Manchester When de igning an aeroplane, the primary requirements are to g t th mainplane and powerplant right. With a good wing design, the less technically worrying fuselage shape, tailored to uit the aircraft's intended role, can b accommodated reasonably

23

safely. hadwick's team perfected a cantilever reinforced fuselage/bomb beam structure for the Manchester's mid-positioned wing (see diagram on page 26), with a ma sive horizontal, rectangular wing centre-section spanning 28ft 2in (8.58m) from rib 22 on the starboard side to rib 22 on the port, and having a root chord of 16ft (4.87m). This wa the heart of the whole aircraft. The outer wing was set at a 7degree dihedral angle and the whole mainplane had a span of 90ft 1in (27 .5m) on production aircraft, this being 9ft 11 in Om) greater than on the prototype. The complete wing wa built around front and rear mainspar, with the centre section being continuous through the width of the fuselage to form the bomb-bay roof structure, to which three bom~ gearing hou ings, supported by vertical tie rods and a mesh of cross beams, were attached. A total of2, 154gal (9,800Itr) offuel was contained in six tanks set within the wing structure. To thi wing de ign, a pair of 1,760hp Rolls-Roy e Vulture Is was installed on subframes attached to pairs of cast ribs set at ribs 2 J and 22 of the centre ection. The re t of the Manchester con isted of a light alloy semi-monocoque fuselage accommodating a flight crew of four housed under a tran parent cabin canopy, plu air gunners in powered no e, dorsal and rear turret. A cavernous 33ft (LOm)-long bomb-bay was capable of arrying the largest bombs of that era. The original tail assembly of two mall fin /rudder and a fixed central fin wa later replaced by a pair of enlarged fin/rudd r . Incidentally, one of the stipulations in pecifi ation P13/36 was that the aircraft should be capable of being launched by catapult. What eemed a good idea at th tim was that smaller airfields should be capable of operating fully-laden bombers, should the larger regular bases be made inoperativ due to air attacks. A complex sy t m was set up at RAE Farnborough, consisting of a pair of parallel rails fitted with cradles into which a Manchester's mainwheels were inserted with a V-frame catapult running from the rails to a ventral point on the

LAST OF THE MA CHESTER LINEAGE

Roy Chadwick CBE, MSc, ERSA, fRAeS, AMCT Designer Par Excellence Born on 30 April 1893 at Farnworth in Lancashire, Roy Chadwick, the son of a mechanical engineer, was weaned on 'nuts and bolts'. After finishing his formal schooling at Urmston, he went 'on the drawing board' in the design office of the Trafford Park-based British Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, later to become Metropolitan Vickers, who had an early, but brief, association with British turbojet engine history between 1938 and 1948. Three evenings aweek he attended the Manchester College of Technology and his early interest in things aeronautical fostered a belief that his future lay in this sphere. As with many boys, the first practical application of the 'aviation bug' came through model aircraft, but Chadwick had an advantage in living in Manchester. In September 1911 he walked into the factory of Everard and Company, at the Brownsville Mill building in Great Ancoats Street. where A. V. Roe and Company had been formed on 1January of the previous year, looking for a job as a draughtsman. He was taken on and, with a low renumeration but high ambition, Chadwick began a career that made him synonymous with Avro aeroplanes for the next thirty-six years. The company was building the Type EAvro 500 and 502 at the time of his joining but in November 1912, Roy Chadwick and his assistant, C. R. Taylor, started the design of the Avro 504 fuselage, with Harry Broadsmith designing the wings. This began Chadwick's association with every one of the company's designs, from the Type 504 to the origins of the Type 698 Vulcan, which was just about as broad aspectrum as it was possible to achieve. The 1914-18 war proved a very busy time for Avro and the miscellany of variations on the Type 504 theme were all valuable experience for young Chadwick. In 1916 he designed the company's first twin-engined aircraft, the Type 523 Pike, followed by the Type 529 variant for the Admiralty. In 1918the name Manchester was first allocated to adesign, this being the Type 533 bomber/photographic reconnaissance aircraft, which became avictim of the cancellations brought about by the Armistice signed in November that year.

1918 was also the year that Roy Chadwick became established as Avro's Chief Designer, which proved that his walking into the company on the off-chance of a job a mere seven years earlier had not exactly been a misplaced step; he was to hold his new post for the next twenty-nine years. His first post-war design was the Type 534 Baby, which made its maiden flight on his twenty-sixth birthday, 30 April 1919. The flight lasted only two minutes, however, because the pilot made an error and cut the ignition switch! That same year Chadwick himself learned to fly, but an accident on 13 January 1920, when he was piloting the repaired Baby and crash-landed into the garden of Alliott Verdon Roe's brother, badly injured him both physically and psychologically. The effects of the latter were such that he only occasionally piloted an aeroplane again, and devoted his airborne times to observing the behaviour of his numerous designs during test flights. As related in the Introduction, his Baby design was adapted to a floatplane configuration for Shackleton's South Polar Expedition, but in the event was not used. It was, however, the catalyst for a friendship between the two families, strengthened by his marrying Mary, adistant relative of the Shackleton lineage, which to this day is of great pride to his two daughters, Margaret and Rosemary. Meanwhile, Type 504s were still being produced at asteady rate and in 1920 the RAF received the Type 549 Aldershot for trials. Built to Specification 2/20, this was, at the time, the world's largest single-engined bomber and seventeen were produced, to be flown by No. 99 Squadron at Bircham Newton between 1924 and 1926. Chadwick met Specification 3/21 for a sea reconnaissance and fleet gunnery spotting aircraft with the Avro Type 555 Bison. Three prototypes were built, plus fifty-three production aircraft that served with NO.3 Squadron of the RAF at Gosport as well as with the Fleet Air Arm in Nos 421, 421 A and 447 Squadrons aboard the carrier HMS Furious. Another carrier, HMS Eagle, had Bisons equipping Nos 421 B, 423 and 448 Squadrons. In 1923, the first monoplane since the Type Fof 1912 came off Roy Chadwick's drawing board. This was the Type 560 and it is known that A. V. Roe himself had some influence on the design. It was entered in competition with the D.H.53 Humming Bird at Martlesham Heath in 1924 and the latter went into limited production as a cheap-tooperate training and communications aeroplane. The Type 560 just disappeared - even Roe and Chadwick could not win every time! A temporary change of direction took place in 1926, when A. V. Roe went into association with Don Juan de la Cierva, the Spanish inventor of the world's first practical rotating-wing aircraft. Avro produced the aircraft, known as an 'autogiro', with a modified Type 504 fuselage, under the Type numbers 575, 611 and 617 which, unlike the later helicopter, had a four-bladed freely-rotating rotor to facilitate slow landings. In 1934, a more sophisticated variant, the Avro 671 (Cierva UDAl, was produced for the RAF and civil overseas orders. The 1927 Type 594 Avian design by Chadwick went into production with various powerplants. Atotal of 198 of the early marks was built. followed by 182 of later variants and another 38 in Canada. This made it the company's largest production order since the Type 504 at that time. An association with N. V Nederlandsche Vliegtuigenfabrik IFokker) of Amsterdam, saw their tri-motor produced as the Avro 618 'Ten', but Chadwick's Type 642, built in twin- and four-engined variants, had only limited utilization due to World War Two. The ubiquitous Type 504 was replaced by the Avro 621 Tutor, which the Chief Designer drew up in 1929 as a two-seat basic trainer. It went into production for the RAF and 795 were built in eight years. It was in use throughout World War Two in varying roles and one, registered G-AHSA. is preserved by the Shuttleworth Trust, who fly it at their functions carrying its original serial, K3215. In August 1933, Chadwick submitted his Type 652 design to meet an Imperial Airways requirement for a twin-engined, high-performance passenger aeroplane. During the detailed design stage Avro was requested to tender for acoastal patrollandplane to Specification G.18/35, which the Chief Designer knew could be met by an adaptation of the Type 652. Such was the beginning of the first Roy Chadwick design to have a retractable undercarriage, the Type 652A Anson, that it is safe to say had associations with over 80 per cent of RAF World War Two Bomber Command aircrew. Remustered from the coastal patrol role, it became the RAF's foremost aircrew trainer and was produced by A. V. Roe and six Canadian manufacturers. Later marks were still being built after the war and a grand total of 7,585 'Faithful Annies' saw RAF service, as well as fifty supplied to the USMF as the AT-20. Afurther 2,883 were produced in Canada for the RCAF. Great as the Anson was, Chadwick will always be remembered for his masterpiece, the Avro 683 Lancaster, that emerged from the imbroglio of an outstanding airframe

A young Roy Chadwick stands with K-131, the first of his Avro 534 Baby series. This aircrah took off on 30 April 1919, with H. A. Hamersley at the controls, but aher just two minutes it crashed on the foreshore at Hamble, aher the pilot accidentally switched off the ignition. Author's collection

24

laboratories that were so fundamental in the development of British turbojet and radar during the 1950s. Avro's Chief Designer still had further military applications in mind for the Lincoln-wing format when he proposed a new fuselage design and a change of powerplant for along-range maritime reconnaissance role. This revived his relationship with the South Polar explorer when Chadwick named the new aircraft the Shackleton. No matter how well known was the agility of Chadwick's inventive mind, few could fail to be impressed by his thinking to meet Specification B.35/46. This was the gateway to the RAF's new generation of high-speed, high-altitude nuclear bombers, and his proposal for a beautiful triangular-winged design would evolve as the Type 698 Vulcan. Sadly, he was deprived the pleasure of seeing the Vulcan materialize or of witnessing the first flight of the Shackleton. On 23 August 1947, Roy Chadwick joined the observing team when Tudor Mk II prototype G-AGSU undertook atest flight in the hands of Chief Test Pilot Bill Thorn, with David Wilson as co-pilot. The Deputy Chief Designer, Stuart Davies, accompanied Chadwick, together with Avro test crew members Eddie Talbot. flight engineer, and John Webster, radio operator. Lift-off was achieved but the climb-out was made impossible by what the subsequent inquest revealed as the incorrect assembly of the aileron control chains following a previous service. There were no drawings covering the procedure and the fitter relied on memory as to how the chains were originally installed. G-AGSU reached about 50ft before it banked to starboard and the wing-tip struck the ground just inside the airfield boundary. The fuselage broke up as it skidded towards a copse about300yd ahead and Chadwick was thrown out, sustaining askull fracture that killed him instantly. The front fuselage section came to rest in apond within the copse, with Bill Thorn and David Wilson both being drowned while still strapped in their seats. John Webster was also killed outright and Eddie Talbot's injuries hospitalized him for nearly two years. Somehow Stuart Davies managed to scramble out of the wreckage with only minor abrasions. So, tragically, ended the career of Roy Chadwick at the age of 54 and his death, together with the other members of the Tudor's crew, was felt throughout the company for a long time. Stuart Davies took on the mantle of Chief Designer and translated Chadwick's swansong, the Type 698 Vulcan, into a fitting epitaph to one of the truly great British aircraft designers.

united with an undeveloped engine. That the Lancaster was the outstanding heavy bomber to serve with the RAF during World War Two is undeniable and its adaptability exceeded anything that carried the USMF star 'n' bar insignia during that conflict. When the last of the type rolled off the production line in March 1946, a grand total of 7,376, including the prototypes, had been built, succeeding the 190 Manchesters actually delivered (thirteen early production aircraft had been destroyed when Metropolitan Vickers' assembly line at Trafford Park suffered an air raid on 23 December 1940). In 1942, Avro's design team provided a new fuselage to marry with the basic Lancaster mainplane, engines and tail assembly (on development, the latter was found to require additional fin areal, to create the Type 685 York for long-distance freight requirements, while in 1943, Victory Aircraft at Malton in Canada converted a standard Lancaster III, R5727, for freighting, which was put into production by Avro as the Type 691 Lancastrian. With internal modifications to provide passenger seating, the aircraft was issued to the RAF as a VIP transport and became an early post-war airliner with BOAC. Roy Chadwick addressed the need to give the Lancaster greater range by increasing the wingspan to provide more internal fuel capacity. Initially designated Lancaster Mk IV, the aircraft was renamed Lincoln, as redesigning to cater for armament changes and improved construction, employing flush riveting in place of the former mushroom-head rivets, justified the new Type Number 694. The civil airliner requirements proposed by the Brabazon Committee for the post-war era, were optimistically tackled in the last quarter of 1943, but Chadwick's Type 688 Tudor, using Lincoln mainplanes with a new fuselage and single tail unit. was a separate concept from the Committee's ideas. Increased fuselage length provided additional seating capacity in later variants, but politics within BOAC saw the airline build its post-war transatlantic foundations on Constellations and Stratocruisers, with the Tudor seeing limited service with British South African Airways (BSM) and fulfilling freight requirements during the Berlin airlift. The second prototype Tudor Mk I. G-AGST. was modified in 1948 to become the first British aircraft to fly powered by four turbojet engines. Designated the Tudor Mk 8, it carried the serial TIl 81 and was the catalyst that produced the Ashton series of flying

'The wing' comes into being. The second prototype Avro 679 Manchester, L7247, first flown on 26 May 1940, seen at Boscombe Down during its evaluation trials, but before the mid-upper turret was installed. Aeroplane

airframe, aft of the bomb-bay. Trials with this device were carried out at Farnborough with a Manchester airframe in situ, but it i not believed that they went as far as projecting the aircraft into flight. The thought of getting dozens of Manchesters off on a mission via catapults installed at mall bases allover the country defies beliefl

The problems with the under-developed Vulture engines, such as fatigue failure of connecting rod bolts and big-end bearing wear, surfaced at Air Ministry level, as did the inadvi ability of the original concept of uch a bomber only having two engines. Erne t Hives (later Lord Hives), the head of Rolls-Royce, informed

25

Chadwick that he was not prepared to direct any of his company's re earch and development resources from the Merlin to the Vulture, with its sole application being the Manch ster. Furthermore, it had been proposed to stop Vulture production in the near future. Avro's Chief Designer had already been xamining the possibility of a

LAST OF THE MANCHESTER LINEAGE

LAST OF THE MANCHESTER LI EAGE

lancaster GR.3 RF325/H-D, an aircraft of the School of Maritime Reconnaissance, based at St Mawgan, was the last lancaster in RAF service when it was struck off charge on 11 July 1957. Aeroplane The core of Chadwick's wing was the substantial centre section, which, as shown in the configuration for the Manchester, lancaster, lancastrian and Shackleton, was anchored to the reinforced fuselage floor!bomb-bay beam. Aeroplane

four-engined variant and Hives ugge ted the Merlin for such a project. A. V. Roc's board made a formal approach to the Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP). Lord Beaverbrook, the head of MAP, gave an emphatic 'thumbs-down' to the request and instructed Ernest Hives that no Merlins were to be supplied to A. V. Roc. Hives had to abide by Beaverbrook' directive, but he recognized the situation. How ver, his company's Power Plant and Flight Test Division at Hucknall was perfecting a whole M r1in XX powerplant, containing a complete coolant sy tem, propeller, controls, cowling and oil sy tem, for the Bristol Beaufighter. The Bristol Engine Company was having problem with a close-cow led Hercule VI engin for the Beaufighter and 450 aircraft on the Bristol production line at Filton were earmarked for Merlin XX units as Beaufighter Mk II . So, to his credit, Hives expedit d a political circumnavigation exercis and supplied Avro with four Beaufighter Mk II powerplants, but with Merlin X engine. In this context, few seem to appreciate Hives' contribution to British military aviation history. He had succeeded ir Henry Royce on the latter's death in 1933, which was the year that Hitler as umed power in

Germany. In that deteriorating climate of German rearmament, he dedicated himself to rectifying Britain's totally inadequate position of having no modern military fighter aircraft, by starting design work on a 271tr private venture engine, the 'PV-12', later named Merlin. Knowing there was no aircraft to accommodate such an engine, he proposed that his Board of Management should, in parallel, give both Hawker Aircraft and Supermarine £5,000 each (which was a large sum of money in those days), towards the design costs of a fast monoplane fighter. Both companie started their designs as private venture projects and one must draw one's own conclusions as to the likely outcome of the 1939-45 conflict without the Hurricane, Spitfire and Lanca ter, that owed so much to Hives' technical initiatives.

The Lancaster Chadwick designed modifications for Manchester airframe BT308 by increasing the wingspan, outboard of rib 22, to a total of 102ft (31.08m) and incorporating four leading edge fire-bulkheads. The Beaufighter powerplants were in tailed on BT308,

26

which was designated the Mancl,e ter Mk HI. From this point, history took over and the Mancl,e ter Mk 1II, with detail modifications, became the 'legend in its own lifetime', the Avro Lancaster. Three prototypes were followed by 7,373 production aircraft and more than a dozen were employed as engine t st beds. A fine example of their versatility was Lan aster III SW342, which wa modified by Air Service Training Ltd at Hamble to fly with its four standard Merlin 24s, plus an Arm trong Siddeley Mamba turboprop engine in a no e in tallation and an Adder turbojet, made by th same engine company, in place of its rear turret, on a series of te t programmes that lasted more than six years.

The York When Chadwick proposed a privat -venture transport variant of the Lancaster in late 1941, he based his de ign on a squaresection fuselage using the standard Lancaster mainplane, engines, undercarriag and tail as embly. Within five months, on 5 July 1942, the Type 685 made its maiden flight and Sp cification 1/42 was raised to cover the production of 265 aircraft d signated

This view of lV626, the first prototype York, shows the shoulder-positioning of the wing to good advantage. Derek James

York C.Mk I. The siting of the wing in a shoulder installation was made easy by its original conception of one large centre-section which passed through the Lancaster's fuselage; by positioning it higher on the York, an unbroken load-carrying bay was obtained, which contributed to the delivery of over 230,000 ton of supplie during Operation Plainfare, the Berlin Airlift.

The Lancastrian With a commercial service between Canada and Britain in mind, two senior

Trans-Canada Airline pilots liaised with Avro, and the Canadian government acquired Lanca ter III R5727 during the second half of 1942, in order for modifications to be made by Victory Aircraft of Toronto. The fini hed conversion, engineered as a joint venture by Avro and the Canadian company, involved the removal of all turrets, with neat aerodynamic fairings replacing them in the nose and tail. Named Lancastrian, the mainplane, engines, undercarriage and tail as emblies were standard Lanca ter. A total of eighty-two aircraft wa produced in C.l, C.2 and C.3 variants for the RAF, but

27

BOA operated a number of ex-service aircraft for everal year, when e tabl ishing post-war airline service to outh Africa and the Far East. hadwick' wing design exemplified it excellence when a total of nine Lancastrian served as flying test beds for everal British turbojet engines, for a decade from 1946. Furthermore, C.2s VM 704 and VM728 were fitted with a pair of Roll Royce Griffon 57 engines driving ix-bladed contra-rotating propellers, as the test beds for a new Avro maritime reconnaissance aircraft being built at Woodford, the Shackleton.

LAST OF THE MA CHESTER LINEAGE

LAST OF THE MANCHESTER LINEAGE

To further dIu trate the wing's strength (which had already been ampl y demonstrated duri ng three years of operational service with Bomber Command), a test flight by VH742 on 17 January 1947 with RollsRoyce Nene turbojets in the outboard positions is worth recalling. It is quoted verbatim, as imparted to the author by a Rolls-Royce flight test engineer aboard the aircraft at the time:

with its J O,OOOlb jet thrust and supplementary Merlin power on [the Merlins were used at high altirudes at outside temperarures of -25 w

-35°C, because of their coolant systems]. VH742 suddenly became very heavy and violent buffeting occurred with simultaneous tightening of the flying control surfaces, which was accompanied by the departure of the roof escape hatch and, w our surprise, the complete set of jet engine cowlings from the starboard Nene, leaving the bare engine supported in its tubular

The late Wing Commander Harvey Heyworth IRolis-Royce's deputy Chief Test Pilot] was flying the aircraft on a high-altitude flight w take air intake compressibility measurements. The

frame. Heyworth immediately abandoned the run for our rerum w Hucknall and number four jet was shut down.

basic Lancasrrian's maximum sea level speed

On the 25-minute flight back w base, the three of us on board clearly realized our critical

was 285mph and this figure '285' was locked in

speed was wo high, as the acrual maximum

Heyworth's mind for the flight. However, when we converted those Lancas-

speed at 20,OOOh should not have exceeded 229

rrians for jet flying test beds, the airspeed indicawrs were changed w knots calibration. Thus

it was clearly possible the ASI had reached the 240 value, which was equivalent w 378mph, or

the maximum speed changed from 285mph to

in other words, some 100mph over the wp,

knots and as Heyworth was building up to '285',

powerful engines and greater range. Chadwick's design to meet this demand, set in Air Ministry Specification B.14/43, was initially called the Lancaster Mk IV, fitted with 1,750hp Merlin 85 engines, and Mk V with Packard Merlin 68As. However, such were the differences in dimensions, annament and the use of a flush-riveted construction instead of the earlier mushroomhead type, that the new design became the Type 694 Lincoln. The basic mainplane centre-section was retained and the outer wings were lengthened to give a span of 120ft (36.57m), thereby providing 324sq ft (30 q m) more wing area, with the fuselage length increased by 8ft l1in (2.7m). Eventually, various marks of 1,750hp Merlin engines were fitted and the Lancaster's maximum range of 2,530 miles (4,072km) was increased to 3,750 miles (6,035km). The first prototype, PW925, made its maiden flight from Ringway, in the hands

Lincoln B.2 RF523 at the Empire Air Armament School, Manby, was named Thor /I and it carried out many long-distance flights to Commonwealth countries, as well as the United States. Aeroplane

Lancastrian C.2 VM704 was used by Rolls-Royce as the Griffon 57 test-bed, having a pair of them fitted in the inboard installation. The outboard engines in this photograph are Merlin 600s, being flight-tested for the Tudor. Aeroplane

247kr, which in modern parlance is Mach 0.374,

making it the fastest Lancaster flight any of us

but in those days, Mach meters were not fitted or needed. Heyworth's maximum speed safety

had done.

facwr was w be '285', even at 20,000-25,000ft,

had the only set of handmade cowls and thus the whole ene flight programme was w be delayed

where we were w undertake performance mea-

The tragedy of that episode was that VH742

surements. In reality, this '285' was an indicat-

for a month. A couple of Lancasters were used to

ed air speed of 328mph, which, facwred for the decrease in atmospheric density at 20,OOOft,

search the Boswn area of Lincolnshire for the

gave a true airspeed of 449mph, a value of Mach

ene cowlings, but without success. VH742 was grounded for A. V. Roe's Inspection Department

0.63 and thus an exceeding speed 57 per cent

w undertake a structural examination for

over the maximum permitted speed of the Lancasrrian, when corrected for an altitude where

integrity, which it passed without any trouble.

normal Lancastrians never operated (i.e. unpressurized cabin and need for oxygen).

The Lincoln

Being the first run of several intended, the speed build-up was only a matter of seconds for the 30-wn maximum all-up-weight aircraft,

The war in the Far East generated the n ed for an improved Lancaster, with more

28

of Capt H. A. Brown, on 9 June 1944, but within a year Japan had surrendered and the war was over. Nevertheless, the Lincoln formed the backbone of Bomber Command for over five years, with twenty squadrons being equipped, and more than a dozen were employed as trials and engine test-bed aircraft.

The Tudor When the Brabazon Committee con idered the requirem nts for post-war passenger aircraft, Specification 29/43 was issu.ed to A. V. Roe for them to design an aircraft for the North Atlantic routes. Roy Chadwick's

team produced the Type 688, which was the first British transport aircraft to have a fully pressurized passenger cabin, and the name Tudor was bestowed upon the design. A circular-sectioned fuselage of 79ft 6in (24.23m) length was married to the standard Lincoln wing and fitted with four 1,750hp Merlin 102 engines. The first prototype, G-AGPF (also allocated RAF s rial TT176, as it was built to an Air Ministry specification), made its maiden flight from Woodford, on 14 June 1945, only a month after the end of hostilities in Europe. For the first time since the Anson, an Avro aircraft was designed with a single fin/rudder. However, it was not the happiest of profiles, with modifications to this installation on the Tudor having to be made in order to cure directional and longitudinal instability. The wing was sited at the base of the pressurized passenger cabin

and in this position it required root fillets at the trailing edge joint with the fuselage. These, together with the inner engine nacelles, had to be extended to cure prestall wing buffeting, and the standard 'lincoln wing' did not live happily with the circular-sectioned fuselage. On later marks the fuselage was lengthened up to 105ft 7in (32.2m) and it was the crash of the Mk 2 prototype, G-AG U, that robbed Avro of its gifted Chief Designer on 23 August 1947, although that was not the fault of the design. However, it cannot be said in all honesty that the Tudor was an unqualified success, but the blame for its length of development and eventual demise must be laid at the door of BOAC, who demanded constant modifications to meet very high standards, which were not always technically achievable at that time. Furthermore, it was an open secret that there were

29

vested interests wi thin the orporation for Constellations and Stratocruisers to be purchased, which were too strong not to affect A. V. Roe's position, no matter how good their own aircraft was to become. In 1949, Avro used six surplus Tudor 2 airframes as the basis for their Type 706 Ashton Flying Laboratories. Fuselages were shortened by 15ft (4.6m) with thicker skinning being applied, but the basic Lincoln/ Tudor wing was retained, modified to take a pair of Rolls-Royce Nene 5/6 turbojet engines in a common nacelle on each side. The six aircraft were heavily engaged in a miscellany of high-altitude test and research programmes that lasted nearly thirteen years, with the last aircraft being retired in 1962. Only the front fuselage section of one aircraft remains today, in store with the Avro Heritage Centre at Woodford.

LAST OF THE MAl CHESTER LINEAGE

CHAPTER THREE

The Explorer Recalled

G-AHNJ Star Panther, the first Tudor 4 for the British South American Airways Corporation, makes its maiden flight from Woodford on 9 April 1947. Aeroplane

The Shackleton Working on the basi that if you have a good thing, then use it, Chadwick designed his offering to meet pecification R.5/46 around hi ubiquitous wing, this being its final utilization. Considering it was originally drawn up in 1937, it had certainly had a good life. The new design was for a long-

range maritime reconnaissance aircraft and the Chief De igner knew that hi wing, which was in the configuration as modified for the Tudor with the inboard nacelle extended, would have no difficulty taking four 2,455hp Rolls-Royce Griffon 57 engine, driving the six-bladed contra-rotating air crews tested on Lancastrians VM704 and VM728 (original official thinking had

considered the 1,750hp Merlin 5 as a powerplant, but this was quickly discarded). A new stressed-skin fuselage was proposed, wider, deeper and lightly shorter than the Lincoln's, with a larger twinfin/rudder assembly fitted in a higher po ition. The design carried the company type number 696 and the name Shackleton. 'The Growler' had been born.

•-

2

The first prototype Shackleton, VW126. during an early test flight combined with the first air-to-air photographic session. Derek James

30

A new po t-war procedure was introduced hy the Air taff in the rai ing of notificatIons as to what was deemed necessary in the way of future service aircraft. This was the Operational Requirement (OR) system, which was a series of numbers starting ,It 100 and culminating in the issuing of a Specification, if the requirement went to that stage. Many ORs, however, lapsed as IJfficial thinking changed, and this changII1g had been honed into a fine art! One that did progress was OR320, covering a maritime reconnaissance aircraft requirement, for which A. V. Roe put forward a de ign in mid-1945 that would meet the official Specification R.5/46. Roy Chadwick's early reaction was to propose a modified Lincoln, but it soon became obvious that such an aircraft would be lInaccepta~ Ie in tenTIS of the crew conditions necessary for long-endurance sorties. Furthermore, the Lincoln's narrow fuselage would not accept the equipment required and an increase in all-up weight meant that performance would be markedly inferior to the original Lincoln's. Consequently, a new fuselage was designed, following the Lincoln to a certain extent, but wider and deeper, in order to provide satisfactory walkway space and more headroom for the ten-man crew. The long-range requirement of the specification Jictated that crew rest facilities and a galley would be nece ary, and all crew station should have an acceptable heating supply. Avro had sent company te t pilot 'Johnny' Baker on a face-finding mission, to sound out Coastal Command crews as to what they considered necessary for the new aircraft. In Malta, where Lancaster GR.3 were being operated by Nos 7 and 38 Squadrons, he was left in no doubt that the provision of a galley sat high in their needs, plus an increase in pace and decrease in noise, relative to their existing aircraft. Maritime reconnaissance involved a far greater length of sorties, compared to the bombing missions for which the Lancaster was originally designed, and demanded a modicum of consideration for the well-

VW126's 'cheek' barbettes for a forward-firing armament of a 20mm Hispano cannon on each side of the nose was discarded early in its flight test programme, Harry Holmes

being of the crew, who did not fall into the 'considered expendable' category of wartime operational aircrew that - no matter how vehemently this i officially denied - had previou ly prevailed. An entirely new front fuselage forward of the mid-set wing was design d; and the large, raised, transpatent cockpit canopy,

31

first introduced on the Manchester, was replaced by a windscreen and glazed side panels continued forward from the fuselage roof line. The area ahead of the cockpit was also entirely new, having a larg tran parent bomb-aimer's nose cone, with accommodation for the bomb-aimer and gunner, who controlled two 20mm Hi pano an nons

The Rolls-Royce Griffon

THE EXPLORER RECALLED

At the start of World War Two, Rolls-Royce decided to proceed with a piston engine similar to the Merlin, but of larger capacity and with the crankshaft rotating in an anticlockwise direction. It was named the Griffon, as the shortened version of 'griffon vulture', a large bird of prey, being complimentary to the derivation of the Merlin, a European and North American falcon that was also a bird of prey. Following the company's layout of a twelve-cylinder, 60-degree, upright V-type, liquid-cooled engine, the Griffon's dimensions were identical to the Rolls-Royce 'R' engine developed for the Supermarine S.6B that won the Schneider Trophy outright in 1931. Although having acapacity of 36.7ltr, compared to the Merlin's 271tr, an overriding stipulation to the design team was that the new engine must be capable of installation in existing Merlin-powered fighters, to ensure an unbroken curve of improvement of fighter performance. The engine's introduction into operational service was with the Griffon II, III and IV. Chosen in 1941 as the powerplant for the new Fairey Firefly two-seat, long-range, naval reconnaissance fighter designed to Specification N.5/40, the engine had atake-off rating of l,720hp. In this form it was also introduced into Supermarine's production lines in 1943, with the Spitfire Mk XII. Subsequent Griffon variants with increases in power output up to a take-off rating of 2,340hp were installed in later marks of Firefly and in Fairey's torpedo/dive-bomber, the Barracuda, driving four-bladed Rotol propellers, while the ultimate Spitfire developments, the Mks 21,22 and 24 all required five-bladed propellers to absorb the power of the later Griffon range. Parallel with the Spitfire since 1941, Supermarine had produced the Seafire naval variant and the Griffon was introduced to the range in June 1943, with the Seafire XV, powered by a Griffon 65, which produced 1,540hp at take-off, through a 10ft 5in (3.18m)-diameter four-bladed Rotol propeller. Improvements in the Seafire followed the Spitfire's development and with the Seafire F.46/F.47, the Griffon 87/8B variants' power output was such that they required a new six-bladed contra-rotating propeller to eliminate the inevitable torque effect on take-off and landing.

The development of the six-bladed contra-rotating propeller unit was undertaken by de Havilland Propellers, in collaboration with Rolls-Royce, and its first application was in Martin-Baker's beautiful M.B.5 fighter design, built to the original Specification F.18/39, via the M.B.3 - which had crashed, killing Captain Valentine Baker - and the abandoned M.BA project. James Martin designed the M.B.5, powered by a Griffon 83 developing 2,340hp driving a six-bladed propeller, and when first flown, on 23 May 1944, it was the first flight of such an airscrew in Britain. The contra-rotating system was a complicated piece of engineering and the initial problems of lubricating the hub to reduce frictional-heat wear was tackled by Martin. He designed and perfected an enveloping translation unit for the hub, into which oil was sucked at lower revolutions, this being achieved in flight by a throttle reduction implemented at regular two- to three-hour intervals. On the Shackleton, the unit has a diameter of 13ft 13.96m). the front three blades being left-hand tractors with basic settings of fine pitch 23 degrees, feathered pitch 90 degrees, while the rear set are right-hand tractors of 24 degrees fine pitch and 91 degrees feathered pitched settings. Martin-Baker's M.B.5 recorded 484mph (779km/h) in 1945 and received an outstanding assessment by the A&AEE at Boscombe Oown when delivered for evaluation. It was possibly one of the fastest single piston-engined fighters, but the turbojet engine had arrived, the Gloster Meteor and de Havilland Vampire were in production, so as the Air Ministry saw no future for Martin's design, he turned his attentions to the ejector seat, with which he will always be associated. The Griffon 57, producing a take-off rating, with water/methanol injection, of 2,455hp, was eventually selected as the powerplant for the Avro 696, with a pair of 57As, the longer endurance variant, installed inboard. This differed from the 57 by having modified reduction gear driving pinions to give increased tip clearance IRolls-Royce Mod. 818). stronger connecting-rod bolts (Mod. 840) and strengthened pistons (Mod. 8491. This variant was cleared to operate at a higher boost pressure and oil-inlet temperature in the Intermediate condition and at an increased coolant outlet temperature for the Maximum Continuous condition. Later, Griffon 57As replaced the shorter-endurance 57s outboard on the Shackleton, and later still, Griffon 58s were fitted to subsequent variants. These were in effect modified 57As with a new auxiliary drive for increased power requirements, in which the gearbox idler teeth were increased from OA75in (l2.7mm) to 0.675in (17.2mml, with their construction material altered from 5.2 per cent nickel case hardening steel to nickel chrome case hardening steel (Mods 1126 and 1127), which were introduced from 31 December 1963. They were fitted with a two-speed, single-stage supercharger and intercooler, a Rolls-Royce-developed fuel injection pump, and a single dual-magneto mounted above the contra-rotating airscrew's reduction-gear housing. In 1946, Rolls-Royce received the ex-RAF Lancastrian C.2 VM704, in order to test-fly their Clyde turboprop engine, which had adesign output of 4,OOOshp, plus 1,5501b residual thrust. Only flown in the third prototype Westland Wyvern TF.2, the Clyde's development was brought to an end by Rolls-Royce, in favour of their Dart turboprop and VM704 did not feature in the Clyde's short history at all. On 19 October 1948, the Lancastrian started test flying with a pair of Merlin 623 engines driving four-bladed propellers, for the Tudor airliner, in the outboard location, and two Griffon 57s, with sixbladed contra-rotating propellers, inboard. Whereas the inboard engines for the Avro 696 remained unchanged, the outboard engines were successively changed to Merlin 625s and 641 s. VM704's engine test bed programmes ceased in 1952. Lancastrian C.2 VM728 was also acquired by Rolls-Royce for Clyde test flying and it followed the path of VM704 by being fitted with Griffon 57s inboard, but varied from VM704 by having avariety of later Merlins outboard. This aircraft completed over 1,000 hours of engine test bed trials before being sold for scrap in June 1950.

Griffon 57/57N58 Length: Width: Height: Dry weight: Maximum power:

The advent of the turbojet and turboprop engines signalled the end of Griffon development. The Merlin advanced from its original 880hp as installed in early Spitfires, Hurricanes and Defiants, to 1,490hp in late marks of P-51 Mustangs, and there is no reason to believe that the Griffon would not have been capable of even greater development, given more applications. As it was, the original 1,730hp maximum rating of the Griffon II, was increased by over 40 per cent in the Shackleton's Griffon 57As and 58s.

This view of a Griffon 57/58 series shows to advantage the two individual splines for the Shackleton's contra-rotating propeller unit.

Aeroplane

The transparent 'chin' ASV housing was initially tested on Warwick GR.5 LM816. Aeroplane

32

Bft 9in 1266ml 2ft 8in (0.82ml 3ft 5~in 11.06ml 2,050lb (930kg) 2,455hp 15B, with water/methanol. at 2.750rpm +25Ib/sq in boostl

33

THE EXPLORER RECALLED

THE EXPLORER RECALLED

The Boulton Paul rear turret fitted on the second prototype, VW131, which was not carried forward onto production aircraft. Harry Holmes OPPOSITE PAGE:

(Top) All three Shackleton prototypes

in Woodford's flight shed. VW131, farthest away, and VW126, in the centre, have both lost their 'cheek' cannon barbettes. It is noticeable that the three aircraft each have the grey top colour finishing at a different position on their respective fuselages. Aeroplane (Bottom) Four Griffons at maximum revs on VW126, prior to taxiing out for take off, before the mid-upper turret was installed. Harry Holmes

installed in 'cheek' barbettes, one each side. These operated in unison, with an approximate arc of forty-five degrees' vertical travel but no lateral movement. Under the bomb-aimer's nose cone, a fixed, bulging, transparent scanner housing was sited for ASV13 search radar, which was able to detect a large target up to 40 miles (64km) away from an altitude of 1,000ft (300m), if the sea conditions were favourable. However, in poor sea conditions, the radar's effectiveness was considerably reduced. It employed a Type 85 scanner, having a 3ft (92cm) mirror with 360-degree rotation and sector scan facility, but this could not be used to anything like its maximum capability due to the installation being in the 'chin' position under the nose. This radar was in effect an improved version of the Mk 11, designed by J. B. Warren at the Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE), Malvern, in 1942-43, this being the first British 3cm equipment designed specifically for ASV, to be fitted on such Fleet Air Arm aircraft as the Swordfish and Barracuda. During 1944-45 an adaptation was perfected to provide an ASV capability for Coastal Command strike aircraft. A Bristol Type 17 power-operated dorsal turret was also fitted, equipped with a pair of 20mm cannon, and the defensive armament

was completed by a rear turret containing two 0.50in machine-guns. In keeping with previous Avro bomber designs, a very large bomb-bay was capable of carrying up to 20,0001b (9,000kg) of anti-submarine bombs, depth charges, mines, sonobouys and marine markers, in a number of different configurations. After the short early consideration of Merlin 85 engines, four Rolls-Royce Griffon 57s were selected as the Type 696's powerplants and Roy Chadwick had chosen the name Shackleton for the aircraft. Not only did this cherish the name of the great explorer, with whom he had forged a friendship back in 1921, but it was considered quite appropriate for an aircraft that was designed to cover great distances and areas of the globe.

First Contracts Following the issue of A. V. Roe's brochure on their proposals for a maritime reconnaissance aircraft to the requirements of Specification R.5/46, they received Contract No.6/ACIT/l077/CB6(a), dated 28 May 1947, covering the construction of three prototype aircraft, and on 17 July the serial numbers VW126, VW 131 and VW135 were allocated to the airframes.

34

(In retrospect, it may seem strange that A.

V. Roe had already received Contract No.6/ACFT/6062/CB6(a) dated 21 March 1946, for thirty production aircraft, but that was the way officialdom worked!) Construction of all three prototypes was in hand when Roy Chadwick was tragically killed, with VW126 scheduled for completion by the beginning of 1949 and the other two following at six-monthly intervals. This timing was successfully adhered to and by the middle of February 1949, the company's Chief Test Pilot, Jimmy Orrell, started provisional taxiing trials at Woodford. These showed that more pressure was required on the rudder controls than the CTP considered desirable, and the aircraft went back into the shops for adj ustments, which involved a certain amount of fabric taping and gluing to the rudder trimmers.

The First Prototype Flies On 9 March, with everything to his satisfaction, Jimmy Orrell took on board 'Red' Esler (who was ki lied six months later when the first Avro 707 prototype, VX790, crashed) as co-pilot, together with flight engineer Blake, and lifted VWI26 off Woodford's runway for a 33-minute first flight around the locality.

35

THE EXPLORER RECALLED

JIMMY ORREll OBE

CHAPTER FOUR

From 'Brat' to Superintendent of Flying Joseph Harold Orrell was born in Liverpool in 1903 and acquired the name 'Jimmy' at avery early age. By the time that he had reached his sixteenth birthday, a future in aviation was established as his ambition and he volunteered for the RAF in 1919, as one of Trenchard's apprentice-scheme 'brats' at Halton. The flying side of the Service held great appeal and the aircraft in which he made his first solo flight, an Avro 504K, was most appropriate considering the avenue that his flying was to take. He qualified as a Sergeant Pilot and by October 1924 was flying Gloster Grebe Mk lis with No. 25 Squadron, based at Hawkinge in Kent. The squadron re-equipped with Armstrong Whitworth Siskin Mk IIIAs in 1929, and on 13 March Jimmy crashed in J9306, sustaining a broken nose, with a scar that was evident throughout his career. Having applied for acommission, Orrell decided that the blossoming field of civil aviation held more promises of interest and he left the RAF in 1931 to spend two years as a freelance pilot. During this time he was engaged in air display flying, piloting those who pursued the growing craze of wing-walking and giving joy-rides to a public that was becoming increasingly interested in flying. From freelancing, Jimmy joined Midland and Scottish Air Ferries, based at Glasgow, where he was instrumental in establishing a passenger and air ambulance service to the Western Isles of Scotland. However, the company ceased operating a year later and Jimmy Orrell's name became a part of the history of A. V. Roe, when he took up a draughtsman's post in 1934. Orrell's association with Avro on the drawing board only lasted twelve months, as in February 1935 he joined Imperial Airways and captained Handley Page H.P.42 crews on the expanding Empire air routes. After the outbreak of World War Two, when Imperial Airways was renamed the BritiSh Overseas Airways Corporation (BOACI, Orrell was engaged on piloting unarmed Lockheed Hudsons between Britain and neutral Sweden, carrying diplomats on the outward leg and returning with escaped Prisoners of War, secret agents or precious ball bearings. With the completion of his contract with BOAC in April 1942, he was approached by Avro's Chief Test Pilot. Sam Brown, with a view to returning to the company, but as a member of the team of test pilots. Jimmy Orrell accepted the offer with alacrity and over the next three years, he alone test-flew over 900 newly-produced Lancasters. He was at the controls of a new prototype for the first time when he took Lancastrian Mk 1 G-AGLF into the air from Woodford on 17 January 1945. There followed a succession of prototype maiden flights, starting with the second Tudor Mk 2, G-AGRY, on 12 November 1947 and VS562, the Anson Mk 21 prototype, on 6 February 1948. That same year, he undertook maiden flights in VM125, the first Athena Mk 1, powered by an Armstrong Siddeley Mamba turboprop, on 12 June, Athena Mk 2 prototype VW890 on 1 August, the four-turbojet powered Tudor Mk 8 VX195 on 6 September and the first Tudor Mk 5, G-AKBY, on 24 September. The toss of a coin on 23 August 1947 had a dramatic effect on Jimmy Orrell. for he lost out to Bill Thorn, who was at the controls of the Tudor Mk 2 when it crashed on take-off, killing Roy Chadwick and several crew members, including Thorn. In 1946, Avro Canada began designing a fifty-seat. medium-range passenger airliner with the company designation C-l02 Jetliner. The aircraft was originally planned to be powered by two Rolls-Royce Avon turbojets, but because of their non-availability, the prototype was fitted with four Derwent 5s. Because of his experience with the Tudor Mk 8 Orrell, who by now was Avro's Chief Test Pilot (CTPI, was asked to pilot the Canadian aircraft for its early flights and assist with its initial development. The prototype, registered CF-EJD-X, was first flown from Malton, with Orrell at the controls, on 10 August 1949 and six days later he displayed his great flying skills by belly-landing, due to the failure of its undercarriage lowering circuitry. Such was the landing that damage to CF-EJD-X, with its under-slung engine pods, was minimal and the aircraft was repaired in time for it to undertake ten more hours' test flying before it was displayed to the public for the first time on 5 October. Despite making some impressive point-to-point flights, no orders for the C-l02 were received and work on a second

After landing, OlTell requested further amendments to the tail surface, and later in the same day took the prototype up for a second forty-five-minute flight, during which

Mark 1 and its Derivatives

An elegant Jimmy Orrell stands in front of Avro Ashton WB490, shortly after he had demonstrated the aircraft at the 1950 SBAC Oisplay. Harry Holmes

prototype was abandoned. CF-EJD-X was operated until November 1956, mainly as an observation platform during the CF-l 00 Canuck trials programme, but Jimmy Orrell had returned to the United Kingdom seven years before that. From early 1949, Orrell was heavily involved with the Shackleton, giving the first and third prototypes their maiden flights, as well as the first prototype when re-engineered as the Mk 2. Dovetailed into the Shackleton programme, in addition to the Canadian trip, was the first test flight of the third prototype Ashton Mk 3, WB492, on 7July 1951. Jimmy was a busy man. In 1956, Orrell was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBEI and promoted to be A. V. Roe's Superintendent of Flying. He held the post until his retirement in 1969, at the age of sixty-six, and enjoyed another eighteen years before passing away on 3 August 1988. During his twenty-five years with Avro's test pilot team, he took thirteen different prototypes into the air for the first time, a record that no other pilot in the company ever achieved.

the rudder's movements were found to have improved. His observation at the end of the day confirmed that the Shackleton felt good. 'We all knew that it was going to be a

36

good aircraft from the start', he said. 'It had the" hadwick tamp" all over it'. He could not possibly have guessed just how long this 'good aircraft' was going to be in service.

De Havilland's contribution to the Shackleton is well demonstrated here, as VW126's engines have stopped with the contra-rotating propellers at different moments in their cycles. Aeroplane

Specification 42/46 was issued to cover production of the hackleton and its role designation was changed from General Reconnaissance (GR) to Maritime Reconnaissance (MR). Can equently, Avro's final multi-piston-engined aircraft started going down the line in 1949 as the hackleton MR. 1. Each aircraft was equipped to carry a ten-man crew, consisting of two pilots, two navigators, one flight engineer and a five-man assortment of gunners and signallers, who covered the additional requirements of bomb-aiming, observation and cooking. VW 126 was retained by the company for manufacturer's trials until June 1949, during which time it spent several short

periods with the A&AEE at Bascombe Down. In June, it went to de Havilland Propeller at Hatfield, where it und rwent train-gauge te ts on the contra-rotating units, before returning to Woodford the following month.

The Second Prototype Gets Airborne Two months later VW 126 was joined by the second Mk.l prototype, VW 131, which had its maiden flight from Woodford in the hands of Johnny Baker on 2 September. Four days later he took the new aircraft down to Farnborough for that

37

year's BAC Display, where he gave a pirited performance each day, including lowlevel passes (and they really were low-level in those days) on starboard engine only, with bomb doors open for all to witness that Roy hadwick's penchant for large bomb-bays had been perpetuated in his new de ign. Just for the event, the nose barbette had ingle 20mm cannon fitted, but it had already been decided that such an installation, with its limited field offire, was ineffective and would not be carried forward to production aircraft. Similarly, it had been decided that production hackletons would not have the Boulton Paul rear turret, as fitted on both VW126 and VW131, as it was found to

MARK I A 'D ITS DERIVATIVES

MARK I AND ITS DERIVATIVES

Johnny Baker at his desk prior to taking VW131 for its maiden flight. Harry Holmes

have an adver e affect on the aircraft's centre of gravity but VW 131, with 20mm cannon to the fore, in the dorsal turret and to the rear, certainly projected an air of belligerence at the display. Later in the year, the aircraft went to Khartoum for the type's tropical trials, which were passed without requiring major modifications. A third feature of the Shackleton that started and fini hed with the first prototype was provision for in-flight refuelling. On the port lower fuselage, adjacent to the rear turret, a receiving point for a Flight Refuelling Limited (FRL) looped hose was installed when VW126 originally came out from the assembly sheds. However, no flight trials were ever undertaken and the cheme was abandoned. Although various designs were discussed at meetings between Avro and FRL, all were dismissed by the manufacturer as being unnecessary. The coupling was omitted from VW 131, with plating covering its location and no production aircraft was ever contemplated as being equipped for in-flight refuelling.

(Below) VW131 comes in over Farnborough's famous 'black sheds', as Johnny Baker begins his flying programme at the 1949 SBAC Display, with cannons bristling at every location. Aeroplane

Close-up of the in-flight refuelling coupling fitted during VW126's assembly and shown to advantage as the aircraft stands awaiting its maiden flight. Harry Holmes

In this view of VW131's rear end, the turret has been deleted and the production MR.1 rear-fuselage fairing is in place. It can also be seen that the in-flight refuelling coupling's position has been plated over and, although the installation was never actually fitted on this aircraft, provision had obviously been made during assembly. Harry Holmes

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39

MARK I AND ITS DERIVATIVES

MARK I AND ITS DERIVATIVES

-

•

•

II

When photographed at Woodford on 13 April 1949, VW126 had not received its mid-upper turret and still had the rear turret. Harry Holmes

.

By the time that VW131 was photographed in January 1950, the 'cheek' barbettes had been removed. The apparent protrusion under the mid-upper cannon barrels is a part of the sheds behind the aircraft and not some experimental installation on the aircraft! Aeroplane

Due to its not having passed de Havilland's strain-gauge tests at the first visit, VW126 was returned to Hatfield straight after Christmas 1949, before transferring to Boscombe Down for five days in March 1950, for full load trials above 86,000lb (39,000kg), following which further and

°

increased all-up-weight testing was carried out during June and July. On 1 July the A&AEE also conducted a programme of high-speed handling trials before the first prototype went to Rolls-Royce at Hucknall for the installation of longer tailpipes on the engine exhaust manifolds.

40

11- .

The third prototype, VW135, was representative of the production Mk.ls from its beginning, with no rear turret, nose barbettes or in-flight refuelling coupling. Harry Holmes

Prototype Number Three The third prototype, VW135, made its first flight on 29 March 1950, with Jimmy Orrell in command. The aircraft was the fir t to have the nose barbette fairings omitted and it was flown extensively by

the A&AEE, as well as RAE Farnborough, on radio, navigational and armament trials. The type was cleared for sonobuoy launchings, together with automatic flame-float chute operations, and its camera installations were approved for production aircraft.

During February 1950, a Coa tal Command crew was seconded to Woodford, where Avro was conducting cabin-heating and noise-suppression trials with VW126. The RAF crew were given a chance to a ess the noise levels at all stations within the aircraft, as well as regi tering opinions on the

47

Griffon's flame damping, which prompted the aircraft's visit to Hucknall for long tailpipes. The noise level in the cockpit, adjacent to the inboard engine's contrarotating propellers, was never really successfully eradicated and ju t became a fact of Shackleton life that had to be lived with.

MARK I A D ITS DERIVATIVES

MARK I AND ITS DERIVATIVES

Later in 1950, VWI26 went back into the shops for conversion to the hackleton Mk.2 aerodynamic test airframe, which will be covered in a later chapter. Mk.l development was continued with VW 131 and VW 135. together with early aircraft off the production line.

II ...

(Above) On 19 January 1951, VW126 was first flown after conversion to the Mk.2 aerodynamic test airframe, with the nose and rear fuselage reconstructed but not completely glazed, while a mechanically working retractable radar housing was installed at the rear of the bomb bay. Harry Holmes

(Below) Shackleton MR.1 assembly starts at Woodford in March 1950, where they share the facilities with four lancaster B.1(FE)s, the rear one being TE858/4 S-G of the Central Signals Establishment, plus a Tudor at the far end. Aeroplane

First Production The first aircraft to be completed to Contract No. 6/ACFf/6062/CB6(a), dated 21 May 1946, was Shackleton MR.I VP254, which made its maiden flight on 28 March 1950. Due to Coa tal Command's urgent requirements for a long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft, this was the day before the maiden flight of the third proto-

type. The need to replace the ageing Lancaster GR.3s and American Lend-Lease aircraft was urgent. The contract covered two batches, the first for sixteen aircraft. allocated serial number VP253 to VP26 , and the second for fourteen, serialled VP2 1 to VP294. In the event, the first aircraft of batch one. VP253, was cancelled before construction commenced, due to the third prototype being so close to the production line time-scale. so that only twenty-nine airframes were completed to the contract. Initially. the aircraft were powered by a pair of Griffon 57 As inboard and 57s outboard. VP254 was retained by its manufacturer for the trial installations of various modifications resulting from prototype testing, before being transfelTed to Avro's complex

The first production MR." VP254, shares a Woodford flight shed with WB490, the only Ashton Mk.1, on 31 August 1950. Harry Holmes

(Below) WB255, the second production aircraft, was being used at Woodford for engine mounting trials to reduce vibration, when photographed on 3 May 1951. Harry Holmes

,

42

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at Langar in ottinghamshire, on 15 December 1954. where it had further modifications incorporated for flight trial of IFF Mk.lO and earch And Rescue Automatic Homing ( ARAH) electronics, which created H-type aerials on either side of the nose. Although first fitted to Shackletons in the late 1950s. the latter was never in tailed on production Mk.ls. Similarly, the Autolycu equipment that, in theory, could detect a submarine's diesel exhaust fume when it was submerged shallow enough to use it snorkel. was fitted, but the disadvantag of the device being unable to distinguish a submarine's efflux from tho e of other ve sel in the vicinity limited its efficiency. Later, a more sophisticated version was perfected, which had a much higher success rate and became a standard fitment.

MARK I AND ITS DERIVATIVES

MARK I AND ITS DERIVATIVES

\ (Above) VP289 of Ballykelly's No. 269 Squadron deposits a sonobuoy, while (below) VP256 overflies a Cunard Line vessel in a very sedate manner. Aeroplane

(Above) Langar's complex has five MR.l airframes here which, judging by the removal of the wings, are being converted to MR.1A standard. Harry Holmes

44

(Below) VP258, the fifth production MR.l, makes an imposing picture as fitters, perched on a precarious-looking step ladder, pay attention to its starboard outer nacelle. Aeroplane

45

MARK I AND ITS DERIVATIVES

MARK I AND ITS DERIVATIVES

Langar was built in 1940-41 a a bomber airfield and o. 207 Squadron was the first to take up residence, having moved from Bottesford in September 1942, with its Lancaster Mk Is and Ills. The tenure wa shortlived however, as the unit transferred to Spil by in Lincolnshire a year later. From then on, Langar became tation 490 of the U Army Air Force Service Wing, with several squadrons operating C-47s until the end of World War Two. Throughout this service activity by both the RAF and U AAF, A. V. Roe occupied large workshops on the western side of the airfield, where several hundred Lancasters underwent major repairs and reconditioning. Following the end of hostilities, the company continued their servicing of Avro type, including Lancasters, Lancastrians, Yorks, Lin olns and, starting with VP254, Shackletons. Meteors, which were produced by Avro's fellow Hawker Siddcley Group member, Gloster Aircraft, were also frequent users of Langar's servicing facilities. On the Service ide of the airfield, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) opened No. 50 Air Material Base in October 1952 and Langar's joint Avro/RCAF occupation continued until 1963, when the Canadians returned home, leaving Avro as sole operators of the airfield until September 1968, when their workshops were closed down. After a total of 1,124 hours' test flying, VP254 went to No. 23 Maintenance Unit (MU) at Aldergrave, before being allocated to the Far East Air Force (FEAF) on 9 May 1958 and flown out to Changi on ingapore Island. Taken on charge by No. 205 Squadron on 25 May and coded 'B', the

aircraft remained with the unit for only seven months a , on 9 December, it crashed into the South hina ea.

First Squadrons VP255 was the second production aircraft, first flying on 30 May 1950. It took part in the RAF Display at Farnborough in July before being demonstrated to Coastal Command personnel at St Eval in Cornwall, followed by Kinloss and Leuchars in Scotland, then before going to Ballykelly in Northern Ireland during August. All four bases would become well acquainted with the 'Griffon growl' over the forthcoming years. Two years later, in August 1952, VP255 went into o. 38 MU at Llandow, where a ontractor's Working Party (CWP) from A. V. Roe incorporated modifications and prepared the aircraft for delivery to Coastal Command. No. 120 Squadron had been a DH.9 unit from 1January 191 until 21 October 1918. It became a Coastal Command unit operating with Liberators from it reforming on 2 June 1941 up to it disbanding on 4 July 1945. The squadron wa reformed again on 1 October 1946 at Leuchars, by the renumbering of o. 160 quadron. It flew with Liberator Mk VIlIs and Lancaster GR.3s until moving to Kinloss, where, on 3 April 1951, it received VP258. oded 'AC', this became the first aircraft for the Commands' first Shackleton MR.I operating unit. Following a move to Aldergrove, a cadre of No. 120 quad ron became the nucleus of a reforlT\ed No. 240 Squadron on 1 May

1952 and it accepted VP255 on the same day, coding it 'L-P'. This, too, had been a Coa tal Command squadron throughout World War Two, using Supermarine ingapore Ills, Sara London lIs, and then Supermarine tranraers until March 1941, when it had a real culture shock in the form of it fir t Consolidated Catalina. It operated with variou marks of Catalina until it disbanded on 1 July 1945, to be reformed the same day with elements of the fOrlner unit, plus sections of No. 212 Squadron and remaining a flying-boat operator with Catalina Mk IVs and Sunderland Mk Vs for another eight months, disbanding on 21 March 1946, lying dormant until its reappearence a the second Shackleton unit in 1952. The RAF Handling Squadron at Manby in Lincolnshire received the third production aircraft, VP256, on 28 eptember 1950, for the compilation of the type's 'Pilot's otes', which were completed by 5 November 1951. From Manby, the aircraft went to o. 3 MU for preparation, prior to be allocated to o. 224 Squadron at Aldergrove on 30 August of the same year, where it was coded 'BA'. ix month later, on II February 1952, VP256 was transferred to o. 269 Squadron at Gibraltar, still retaining its 'BA' coding, and the next month the whole unit was posted to BalIykelly. This squadron too had a Coastal Command history, flying Ansons, Hudsons and Warwicks during World War Two. It had been disbanded at Lagens, in the Azores, on 10 March 1946, to be reformed nearly six years later at Gibraltar on 1 January 1952.

(Above) MR.1, VP292/C-S, had been with No. 236 OCU at Kinloss for a year, when the starboard undercarriage leg collapsed while landing on 22 October 1952. The aircraft was repaired on site and operational again by January 1953. Harry Holmes

On 15 June 1951, VP268 was delivered to No. 236 OCU at Kinloss, where it was coded C-Y. Harry Holmes

46

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(Below) WB822 thunders down the flight line at the 1951 SBAC Oisplay. The aircraft had come off the assembly line only two weeks previously and was the first MR.1A to attend the event. Aeroplane

Variations in the londonderry Air Of the twenty-three airfields operating in Northern Ireland during World War Two, four were grouped on the small town of Limavady, on the western side of the county of Londonderry about 3 miles (5kml inland from Lough Foyle. Eglinton and Maydown lay to the south-west, Limavady base itself was 2 miles 13.2kml to the north, while Ballykelly was situated 2 miles to the west. Eglinton was opened in April 1941 and although starting as an RAF base, it was loaned to the Royal Navy on 1May 1943 with Maydown as its satellite, an arrangement that prevailed until Eglinton's closure in September 1966, although Maydown had ceased to be its satellite in January 1949. Eglinton was commissioned as HMS Gannet, which turned out to be quite appropriate as, following wartime service with Avengers, Corsairs, Fireflys, Sea Furies and Barracudas, Fairey GR17/45 Gannets of the West German Federal Navy took up residence in May 1958. As Eglinton's satellite, Maydown was named HMS Shrike and was host to similar RN types during the war, although its actual operations commenced with USAAF fighter groups flying Lockheed P-38s. Today, part of Eglinton still enjoys aviation through the activities of the Eglinton Flying Club, but many of the buildings have become home to various engineering enterprises. For Maydown, as with so many former bases throughout the United Kingdom, flying has given way to the spread of large industrial estates. Limavady airfield started operating Whitleys of No. 502 Squadron on 4 December 1940 and remained a Coastal Command station until 28 April 1944, when it too became an RN base. Early RAF ASV trials had been conducted there, as well as Leigh Light operations with assorted Wellington variants, but the naval presence brought the Sea Hurricane and Swordfish to the area. The RAF started ajoint occupation in March 1945, with Warvvicks and Sea Otters for ASR duties but. after a four-month tenure by the Coastal Command Anti-U-Boat Devices School, Limavady closed down in August 1945. The largest and longest-serving of the four airfields was Ballykelly. Rapid preparation and construction of the site, which commenced in the late summer of 1940, enabled the RAF to station the first personnel there on 1June 1941, with the first aircraft, a Coastal Command Hudson Mk III, touching down a couple of weeks later. The airfield code letters 'IV' were allocated to the new station. However, these early arrivals did not herald the immediate establishment of BallykelIy as an operational station. This really came about at the beginning of December 1941, when the Coastal Command Development Unit ICCDU), which had been formed at Carew Cheviton in Pembrokeshire on 22 November 1940, took up residence with an assortment of Beauforts, Hudsons and Whitleys, plus the odd Wellington The Unit continued its

result, endless patrols over featureless seas, without the sighting of atarget, took aspecial type of aircrew character. The end of World War Two brought the disbanding of No. 120 Squadron at Ballykelly, on 4 June 1945, followed four months later by No. 281 Squadron, which had only been there for eight weeks, on 4October. No. 86 Squadron had deployed to Reykjavik on 24 March 1944 and No. 59 Squadron left for Waterbeach on 14 September 1945. The hangars and dispersals were empty. By the early winter of 1945, Ballykelly had been placed in Care and Maintenance, remaining as such until the Joint Anti-Submarine School (JASS) was officially opened in January 1947, with the Air Sea Warfare Development Unit (ASWDU) coming from Thorney Island the following year, equipped with Lancaster GR.3s. The Unit stayed three years, until 10 May 1951, when it was transferred to St Mawgan in Cornwall. By the time the JASS and ASWDU arrived at Ballykelly, Avro's offering to Specification R.5/46 had developed into the Type 696 Shackleton. Kinloss in Scotland was earmarked to be the Operational Conversion Unit (No. 236 OCU), while bases from which the new aircraft could operate were selected. St Eval in Cornwall, Gibraltar at the gateway to the Mediterranean, and Aldergrove and Ballykelly in Northern Ireland were chosen. This was the foundation of the Ballykelly/Shackleton marriage that was to survive for nineteen years. The airfield was closed, to be transformed from the World War Two base, with its well-dispersed, utilitarian environment into a full-blown three-squadron station within No. 18 Group, RAF Coastal Command. One rather unusual aspect of the enlarging of BalIykelly was the fact that because of the extending of runways, the main Londonderry to Belfast railway line now ran through the middle of the base. As it was agreed that, unless there was an emergency such as an aircraft approaching to land with only fumes in its tanks, the railway would be given priority, asystem of alarms was set up at points around the base, with duplicate alarms installed in flying control. In the future, this would mean that, on occasion, Shackleton crews returning from long overseas flights with a shower and a beer - in either order! - firmly in mind, had to survey the beauties of the Londonderry countryside during numerous circuits until a train had passed through the base. Ballykelly aircrews were not noted for being ardent train spotters! No. 269 Squadron activity at Ballykelly in March 1958, when the unidentified MR.1A in the foreground (below) had yet to receive a white top to its fuselage, while fitters work on a well-stained MR.1A (bottom) carrying a replica of the squadron's crest on its nose, Author's collection

MR,l VP262/0 of No. 120 Squadron photographed on 19 July 1956. Four months later, the aircraft ioined the MOTU, to be coded 'P'.

programmes of ASV development and Leigh Light trials for the next seven months, before being redeployed to Tain in the Scottish Highlands on 15 June 1942. On 18 June, No. 220 Squadron arrived with its complement of Boeing Fortress Mk liAs, followed three days later by No. 120 Squadron, equipped with Consolidated Liberator Mk Is. Both squadrons had previously operated from Nutts Corner in County Antrim, on Londonderry's eastern border, where pilots found that fully laden Liberators taking off on the base's 1,600yd 11 ,460m) runways had minimal tarmac to spare. From June 1942, Ballykelly became principally home to American-built aircraft forthe rest of World War Two. All three runways were lengthened in 1943 and Nos 59, 86 and 120 Squadrons rotated through the base for varying periods of anti-submarine patrols. The exception to these operations was the temporary use of Ballykelly, in the spring of 1943, by the Royal Navy, to accommodate squadrons while their aircraft carriers were being replenished for their next assignments. Nos 811,819,833,835,836 and 837 Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm, flew their Swordfish aircraft to Ballykelly in April and May, with No. 811 Squadron's Grumman Martlets also joining them. (In January 1944, all FAA Martlets were renamed Wildcat, in accordance with the US Navy and Marine Corp's designation.) Following the RN's departure, it was back to the life of arduous anti-submarine operations over the vast expanse of ocean from the Bay of Biscay in the south to Norvvay's North Atlantic coastline. Although the total of twelve U-boats sunk, together with the shared destruction and damaging of others, by Ballykelly squadrons, was a creditable

Aeroplane

No. 269 Squadron had been formed on 1 January 1952 from a nucleus of No. 224 Squadron at Gibraltar, and between 14--24 March, the unit was transferred to Ballykelly with its complement of Shackleton MR.l s. The unit's code was the letter 'B' and their eight aircraft carried individual letters in arange '/!\ to 'H'. No. 240 Squadron had been reformed out of the disbanded No. 120 Squadron at Leuchars in October 1946, and by December 1950 was operating from Kinloss with Lancaster GR.3s. These were replaced by Shackleton MR.l s in March 1951 and the unit moved, after ashort spell at Aldergrove, to become Ballykelly's second Shackleton squadron on 1 May 1952, carrying the unit code letter T. About the same time, the JASS replaced their Lancaster GR.3s with Shackleton MR.l s, with which they operated until being disbanded in March 1957. No. 204 Squadron was reformed at Ballykelly on 1January 1954, to give the base its full quota of three Shackleton squadrons, with new squadron's aircraft carrying the unit code T. The Shackleton MR.2 was now coming off Avro's production lines and the mixture of Mk.1s and Mk2s within individual squadrons at Ballykelly proved to be rather impractical. Therefore, Nos 240 and 269 Squadrons standardized with MR.1 s and by August 1954, No. 204 Squadron was an all MR.2 unit. In addition to the Shackletons, the base had an Anson C.xIX and an Airspeed Oxford allocated to the Station Flight. together with an ex-World War Two TIger Moth T.II. During the mid-1950s, Ballykelly's Shackletons became heavily involved in several overseas operations that were headline news. Besides bombing sorties during the unrest in various sections of the Middle East, the high points were possibly their employment during the EOKA terrorist activities in Cyprus and the survey work undertaken in preparation for Operation Grapple, the British thermonuclear weapons trials. Between December 1955 and January 1956, Shackletons from all three squadrons were detached to Lyneham in Wiltshire to act as troop carriers. Each aircraft could accommodate thirty-three fully-equipped soldiers for the 8~-hour flight to Luqa on Malta. The first available aircraft was then used on a shuttle service between Luqa and Nicosia in Cyprus. The Operation Grapple survey brought about the establishing of Christmas Island in the South Pacific as the operating base for the nuclear tests. Individual aircraft from all three squadrons undertook a 42-hour flight from Ballykelly to Christmas Island, staging through the Azores, Bermuda, the USAF bases of Charleston in South Carolina, Briggs in Texas and

Travis in California, before the Pacific crossing to Hickman Field on Hawaii, then on to Christmas Island. At least six aircraft were involved in Operation Grapple, which lasted from February 1957 to July 1958, the final Shackleton arriving back at Ballykelly during October 1958. On 1 November 1958 No. 240 Squadron was renumbered No. 203 Squadron, and on 1 December, the metamorphosis of No. 269 Squadron into No. 210 Squadron was accomplished. Over aperiod of eleven years, No. 203 Squadron flew Shackleton MR.1 As, MR.2s and MR.3s, before being transferred to Luqa. Until being disbanded at Ballykelly on 31 October 1970, No. 120 Squadron operated solely with the Shackleton MR.1. No. 204 Squadron escaped the rash of re-numberings and remained at Ballykelly with Shackleton MR.1As and MR.2s until being disbanded on 1 April 1971, when it was reformed at Hanington on the same day from the Majunga Detachment Support Unit. Its vacating of the Londonderry base brought an end, not only to Shackleton operations, but also to the RAF's tenure of the site. The Shackleton was not the only Avro aircraft to be based there and, 'keeping it in the family', the last project that Chadwick initiated, the Vulcan, became a regular detachment visitor on RAF and NATO exercises during the uneasy international climate of the 1960s and 1970s. In 1963, Operational Readiness Platforms (ORPs) were constructed on the side of the main runway threshold, to facilitate quick-reaction take-offs. The Royal Navy renewed its 1940s associations with Ballykelly during the 1960s, with ten-day detachments from both HMS Eagle and HMS Hermes. Both carriers sent flights of Sea Vixens and Gannets for shore operations while the JASS hosted visits from US Navy units, as well various NATO countries. P-3A Orions, S-2A Trackers, Arguses and Atlantiques all negotiated the Limavady hills -the highest of which was named 'Ben Twitch' by the Shackleton squadrons - to touch down on Ballykelly's runways. On 2 June 1971 the base was handed over to the British Army, but Sir Ernest's name lived on, with the site becoming Shackleton Barracks - you can't keep a good name down! From the reverberations of Griffons, Ballykelly's airspace now resonates to the more gentle displacement of rotary blades, with the Army's No. 655 Squadron operating Gazelle and Lynx helicopters. Due to the volatile political atmosphere in Northern Ireland during the 1970s and 1980s, the squadron was on a much more direct war-footing than the Shackletons ever were. Ballykelly was never the most popular of postings, particularly for ground crews. Although the location was among a largely hospitable local population and there were some spectacular sandy beaches nearby, the fact that. for the majority, getting home involved crossing the Irish Sea, which was usually in a maelstrom condition, evoked an atmosphere not usually found in postings within the United Kingdom. It was akin to an overseas posting, without the sunshine and cheap wine!

MARK 1 AND ITS DERIVATIVES

MARK I AND ITS DERIVATIVES

Both Nos 206 and 224 Squadrons used 'B' as the unit code letter. MR.1As WG526/B-C and WG527/B-D of No. 206 Squadron are flying out from St Eval, while a pristine MR.1A, WB844/B-M, awaits collection to join No 224 Squadron at Gibraltar in January 1952. In August of the same year, the squadron lines its MR.1As up after arriving at Negombo in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), B-O being WB845. Peler Allen, Harry Holmes and A. J. Freeborn Gibraltar features strongly in the Shackleton's history and No. 224 Squadron's first MR.1As arrived in July 1951. Here, WB846/B-P squeezes between the rock and the photographic aircraft while WB836/B-T is brought in close to fill the frame of Fit It Tom Pratt's Leica. 1. Pratt via A. J. Freeborn

More Squadrons Production of aircraft to the first contract proceeded at a teady pace and six from the first batch had flown by the end of 1950. Besides os 120 and 240 quadrons already mentioned, two more units were i ued with Shackleton MR.1s during 1951. . 224 quadron received VP283 and VP287 at Aldergrove injuly, while 0.220 quad ron was reformed at Kinloss on 24 eptember with VP294 as its first of the type. By the end of the year, both squadrons had eight MR. Is. When the first Lincoln prototype, PW925 , flew on 9 june 1944, it had no mid-upper turret, but wa later fitted with a GlennMartin installation. However, the remaining

50

two prototypes and all production Lincoln B.1 were equipped with the Bristol Type 17 turret, carrying two 0.50in machine-guns. The Lincoln 8.2's mid-upper turret armament was upgraded to a pair of British llispano 20mm cannon and this was the combination that was installed on the hackleton MR.1, with the tenth production aircraft, VP263, going to the A&AEE at Boscombe Down for turret trials on 20 july 1951.

57

MARK I AND ITS DERIVATIVES

MARK I A '0 ITS DERIVATIVES

-

~

-

(Above) MR.1A. WG529{A-H, serving with No. 42 Squadron at St Eval, was landed at night on 30 November 1953 with its undercarriage up, which greatly altered the geometry of the propellers. The aircraft was repaired on-site and transferred to No. 206 Squadron at the same base, on 15 July 1954. Harry Holmes (Left & below) VP291{B-C, an MR.1 of No. 224 Squadron, flying out from Gibraltar on a photographic session in September 1951, shortly before it suffered a Category 3 accident, which was repaired on 'The Rock'. Harry Holmes OPPOSITE PAGE:

When MR.1 VP289 of No. 269 Squadron was based at Ballykelly in March 1953, it followed the current practice of not having an individual aircraft code letter. It was destined to participate in Operation Grapple later in the same year. Aeroplane

The fir t aircraft of the second production batch, VP281, first flew on 24 April 1951 and when VP294 made its maiden flight three months later, on 18] uly, that wa the first contract completed. Avro had received ontract o.6jACFfj3628j B6(a), dated 1 May 1949, for a further thirty-seven hackleton MR.ls, built in two batches with the serials WB818 to WB837 and WB844 to WB 61. An additional aircraft, WB862, had featured in the draft contract, but this was cancelled before the paperwork was finalized.

52

53

MARK I A D ITS DERIVATIVES

MARK I A D ITS DERIVATIVES

Enter the MR.IA Before the start of the contract it had been decided that Rolls-Royce Griffon 57A would replace the Griffon 57s as the outboard power units. Thi required light widening of the outer nacelles, which was enough to warrant the allocation of new nomenclature and from WB818 the Shackleton MR.l A came into being. One further change to the contract involved the removal of the ixteenth airframe, WB833, from the production line, for rebuilding as the prototype hackleton MR.2, which will feature in Chapter 5. WB818 made its maiden flight on 1 August 1951 and, following preparation for issue at 38MU Llandow and St Mawgan, it wa delivered to 0.269 quadron

at Gibraltar in January 1952. The second MR.IA, WB819, first flew the day after WB818 and it went to Gibraltar ahead of the first production aircraft, to join o. 224 Squadron, on 1 October 1951.

No. 236 Operational Conversion Unit o. 6 OCU had been e tablished at Kinloss on 18 July 1944, using the Mosquito T.Ill to convert pilot from other twinengined types before they progressed onto the Unit's Beaufighter Vis and Xs. These had replaced the Beaufort as Coastal Command's strike aircraft, forming the special Beaufighter Wing; each aircraft could carry either the British 18in or American 22Y! in

torpedoe . On 31 July of the same year, the Unit was re-designated No. 236 OCU and Lancaster ASR and GR.3s came onto the inventory. At least five of these cra hed while erving with the OTU, before Lancasters were gradually transferred to the School of Maritime Reconnaissance (SMR) at St Mawgan, in readiness for the arrival of Kinloss's first Shackleton. This was the eleventh production MR.l, VP264, which was delivered on 31 May 1951 and coded C-Z. Three month later, on 24 August, it was truck by RE186, one of the few Lancaster GR.3s still flying from the Unit, but the repair was carried out on ite and VP264 remained with the OCU for another eighteen months, before going to Rolls-Royce at Hucknall for strain gauge testing of it Griffon's reduction gear

(Above) WG525/E. an MR.1A of No. 205 Squadron based at Changi. passed through Khormaksar in July 1962. on its way to being stored at No. 23 MU. Aldergrove. as a Non-Effective Aircraft and sold for scrap. Ray Deacon Two of the three immaculate MR.1As of No. 269 Squadron that were among the hundreds of aircraft drawn lip for inspection at Odiham on 15 July 1953. for the Coronation Review. Harry Holmes

A Griffon 57A in position during the assembly of an unidentified MR.1A. which had yet to receive the modified exhaust system. Aeroplane

54

housing on 26 March 1953. Following torage at Llandow's 38MU the aircraft returned to Kinloss on 4 February 1956, to remain there until 15 March 1960, which was four years after the 0 U had changed its name to the Maritime Operational Training Unit (MOTU). On 28 June 1952, 0.42 Squadron was reformed at St Eval, having been disbanded on 15 October 1947, while flying Beaufighter TE 10 at Thomey Island. Their first hackleton MR. lA, WG509, arrived at St Eval three weeks b fore the squadron was officially reformed. WG509 was the third production aircraft from a new order received by Avro, Contract No. 6/ACFT/ 5047/ B6(a), dated Augu t 1950. It originally covered twenty MR.lAs in three batch ,with erial WG507 to WG511, WG525 to WG533 and WG553 to WG558. The contract was fulfilled as ten MR. lAs, WG507 to WG511 and WG525 to WG529, the remaining ten aircraft being completed as Shackleton MR.2s. t Eval also saw the reforming of o. 206 quadran on 27 eptember 1952, which received MR. lA, WB833, two weeks later, on 15 Octobet. o. 205 Squadron had been in the Far East ince

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MARK I AND ITS DERlVATIVES

reforming on 23 July 1942, flying various Catalinas until September 1945, but it started receiving Sunderland GR.Vs in June of the same year. It continued with these until 14 July 1958, when it took on charge WB854, its first Shackleton MR.1 A - and its first true landplane.

Specialist Units The Central Servicing Development Establishment (CSDE) at Witte ring received MR.1 VP257 on 29 November 1950 for

variou trials, shortly after it had attended the SBAC Display at Farnborough. The trials programme kept the aircraft at Wittering until 13 April 1951, when it was despatched to No. 38 MU. The Joint Anti-Submarine School (JASS) was officially opened on 30 January 1947 at the Londonderry Naval Base, commanded by both RN and RAF personnel in tandem. The FAA' No. 744 Squadron had Barracudas at Eglinton, while the RAF element was a Flight at Ballykelly with a miscellany of Lancasters, Warwicks and the obligatory Anson, with the task of running

MARK I A D ITS DERIVATIVES

courses to train both ship and aircraft crews in the finer points of combined tactics again t the submarine. The School took delivery of MR.lA WB849 on 18 March 1952, where it was coded G-W and remained with them until being transferred to No. 120 Squadron on 27 April 1955. Two further MR.lAs were placed on the JASS trength, WB850 arriving on 26 March 1952 to be coded G-X, followed five days later by WB851 on 31 March, given the code G-Y. This aircraft left the JASS but remained at Ballykelly to join No. 269 Squadron on 16 eptember 1954, while

MR.1A WB851/G-V was on the strength of the JASS when photographed in the spring of 1953. The distinctive black bands indicate that it is an 'Orange' (enemy) aircraft during NATO naval exercises. A. J. Freeborn (Below) MR.1 VP266 was uncoded during part of its operating time with two Ballykelly units, Nos 269 and 204 Squadrons, from where it joined the MOTU in October 1958, coded 'P'. Harry Holmes

56

WB850 also moved acros the airfield on 13 December, to go on the inventory of No. 240 Squadron. Early in 1955, th JASS replaced their MR.lAs with hackleton MR.2s WR966, WR967 and WR969, the aircraft staying with the School until it wa disbanded in March 1957. The Air-Sea Warfare Development Unit (ASWDU) moved up from Thorney Island in Sussex to Ballykelly on 27 May 1948. Having several Lancaster GR.3s on its strength, its task was to test and develop new maritime equipment, both airborne and sea-borne. It received its first Shackleton, MR.1 VP261, on 27 April 1951, but the aircraft only stayed with the Unit for two weeks before being transferred to No. 120 Squadron at Kinloss a couple of days before the A WDU itself was posted to St Mawgan on 10 May. Once established at its new Cornish base, the Unit received MR.1 VP282 on 14 June and MR.lA WB856 on 18 April 1952. A number of Shackletons of various marks were used by the Unit, with MR.1, VP285 arriving on 7 May 1957 for operational trials of ASV21 Blue Silk equipment while still on charge to the A&AEE. MR.1A

MR.1A WB856/l stands on a damp Kinloss tarmac. Author's collection

WB851 joined on 23 November 1959 for a. six-month period and WB858 arrived in August 1963, after being converted to T.4 configuration. During the course of 1951, six more MR.1s, VP268, VP284, VP285, VP286,

VP292 and VP293, were delivered to the OCU, together with four MR. lAs, WB822, WB826, WB827 and WB829, from the first batch of the second contract. On 14 January 1953, VP293 was flown from Kinloss to No. 224 Squadron at Aldergrove, before going

The Morayshire Duo With the Grampian mountains precluding the siting of airfields inland, it was only along a narrow band of coastline that any suitable terrain could be found in this part of Scotland. Full advantage of this was taken during World War Two and no fewer than twenty-one flying bases were established between Montrose and Inverness, a distance of some 150 miles (240km). Today, only two remain as RAF stations, Kinloss and Lossiemouth, both of which were built in 1938-39, at the end of the airfield expansion programme. Kinloss opened in late 1939 as No. 14 Service Flying Training School (SFTS). equipped with North American Harvards and Airspeed Oxfords, for advanced training. Less than a year later, in April 1940, the School was moved to Cranfield and Bomber Command took over at Kinloss, in the wake of the airfield having already been host to detachments from Nos 10, 49, 50, 51 and 102 Squadrons at various times. The new units to replace the SFTS were detachments from No. 77 Squadron and. once again. NO.1 02 Squadron, both operating with Whitley Vs. By the middle of 1940. Kinloss had become more of an entity unto itself, rather than a host to detachments. No. 45 MU was established on 15 April, with the principal brief to prepare new-build Halifax, Wellington and Whitley aircraft. prior to allocation to operational squadrons. Supermarine also kept up a steady flow of various marks of Spitfires, for pre-delivery inspection work. At more or less the same time as the MU was estabished, No. 19 OTU was formed, to provide Bomber Command with night crew training, using a mixture of Whitley variants and twelve of the OTU's aircraft participated in the first 'Thousand Bomber' raid, against Cologne on 31 May 1941. At the beginning of September 1941, Kinloss again became host to a detachment. but this one was different. No. 90 Squadron, struggling to make something of ahigh-altitude bomber out of the Boeing B-17C Fortress Mk I at Polebrook in Northamptonshire, sent a few aircraft to carry out raids on the German Navy's 'pocket-battleship' Admiral Scheer, undergoing servicing at Oslo. Their first sortie was unproductive and their second, on 8 September, became an abortive mission when, nearing the Norwegian coast, one aircraft was shot down by Bf 109s and another was lost through unknown causes. A third was nursed back in a crippled state with no hydraulics, and the resultant crash-landing at

Kinloss wrote it off. This mission finally convinced Bomber Command that the Fortress Mk I was far too vulnerable to both enemy action and its own technical inadequacies to make a viable operational aircraft. Of the twenty aircraft originally supplied to the RAF, ten were lost, nine of them serving with No. 90 Squadron. By 1943. No. 45 MU's concentration was on assorted variants of the Halifax. Spitfire and Wellington, which, in 1944, were joined by the Warwick. Preparations for D-Day on 6June 1944, made the Halifax the prime type for attention as they were extensively employed as glider tugs for that operation. However, times change and by the beginning of 1945, the MU was heavily involved in the wholesale culling of early variants of the aircraft. The' preparation of Spitfires ceased at about the same time and by the end of hostilities in Europe, on 8 May, the Unit was awash with Anson, Halifax and Warwick airframes for breaking down. The autumn of the following year saw over 1,000 aircraft littering almost every bit of space desig'nated for the Kinloss MU, and beyond. Meanwhile, No. 19 OTU had continued providing crews for Bomber Command, with the final course departing on 25 May 1945. One month later, on 26 June, the Unit closed and Kinloss was transferred from Bomber to Coastal Command's jurisdiction. They established NO.6 OTU which, on 31 July, became No. 236 OCU, tasked with providing operational crews for the Command's Lancaster GR.3s. By January 1952. the first LendLease Lockheed Neptune MR.l sarrived from the reformed No. 217 Squadron at St Eval and potential crews for them formed a new course stream. Three additional units. Nos 36, 203 and 210 Squadrons, became Neptune operators during 1953, staying that way until the Shackleton came into service. From June 1951, Shackleton MR.ls and MR.1As were operated by the OCU, which was re-designated the Maritime Operational Training Unit (MOTU) onl October 1956, with an inventory of fifteen aircraft. The Shackleton 14 was gradually becoming the predominant variant when the MOTU was transferred to St Mawgan in July 1965. However, Griffons would still shatter the peace around Kinloss for afew more years as Nos 201, 206 and 210 Squadrons had re-equipped with Shackleton MR.3s. But these had (continued over/eaf)

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MARK I A D ITS DERIVATIVE

The Morayshire Duo continued been pensioned off by early 1971, and although NO.8 Squadron was reformed on 1January 1972 to operate the Shackleton AEW.2, eighteen months later, on 14 August 1973, the squadron moved to Lossiemouth, thereby ending Kinloss's involvement with the Shackleton. Today Kinloss is the main base for the Shackleton's successor in the maritime reconnaissance role, the Nimrod, with Nos 42(Rl. 120, 201 and 206 Squadrons operating the type there.

Although a detachment from No. 280 Squadron arrived on 25 November 1945 with its Warwick ASR.l s, the following summer witnessed another change of ownership for lossie'. The RAF relinquished command of the base on 12 July 1946, in favour of the Royal Navy, who commissioned the shore base as HMS Fulmar, to accommodate its own Operational Flying School, No. 766 Squadron, equipped with Fireflys and Seafires. The Senior Service had to tolerate an RAF presence for the first six months, as No. 46 MU still had hardstandings crowded with aircraft for pre-delivery preparation or dismantling for scrap. By February 1947, to the relief of both parties-as MU personnel and RN training staff had rather differing views on the subject of service life - the task had been completed and No. 46 MU closed down. The whole range of the FAAs inventory operated from Lossiemouth for varying lengths of time, with the Naval Air Fighting and Strike School proving the pre-service capabilities of the Scimitar, followed by the Buccaneer. Then, on 29 September 1972. the RAF once more took command and the base was closed for extensive alterations, in preparation for the arrival of Coastal Command's Shackleton, which would herald the return of four-engined aircraft to the Morayshire station. The base was ready to receive them in the summer of 1973 and NO.8 Squadron arrived from Kinloss with its AEW.2s on 17 August to start an eighteen-year partnership that ended with anostalgic farewell at the end of June 1991. SEPECAT Jaguar GR.l s took up residence when No. 54 Squadron was reformed at Lossiemouth on 23 April 1974, with NO.6 Squadron going through the same procedure on 1 October, to operate the same type of aircraft. The 1 October also saw the birth of No. 226 OCU by the renaming of the Jaguar Conversion Unit. but within two months all Jaguar operations had transferred from Scotland to Coltishall in Norfolk. 1September 1976 brought a new sound to Lossie's environment, when a detachment from No. 202 Squadron brought its Westland Whirlwind HAR.l Os. Upgrading to the Sea King HAR.3 took place in July 1978, and today the detachment is classified as '0 Flight', to which the Sea King HAR.3A has been added. After the political assassination of the BAC TSR.2 strike aircraft and the cancellation of its first proposed substitute, the General Dynamics F-lll, the RAF was persuaded to accept the Buccaneer S.2 instead and Lossiemouth once more became home to this Blackburn-designed low-level strike aircraft. No. 216 Squadron came up from Honington on 4July 1980 and No. 12 Squadron took the same route the following month. Three years later, on 1 July 1983, No. 208 Squadron also transferred from Honington. By the mid-1980s, the Panavia Tornado GR.l was taking over the RAF's strike role and today the base is home to Nos 12(B) and 14 Squadrons, while No. 617 Squadron has renewed its association from the Tirpitz days, but as a full member of Lossiemouth's Tornado force, some of which have been upgraded to GRA standard. No. XV IRes) Squadron also operates as the national Tornado OCU. The Moray Firth has been witness to continuous military flying for over sixty years. The calls made upon the abilities of the Nimrod and Tornado constitute another world compared to the Harvards that first staggered off the two Scottish bases at the commencement of World War Two - although the sound of the North American trainer's propeller thrashing away without any reduction gear, might have prepared the local populace for 'The Growler'!

About 12 miles (19kml to the east, on the south side of the Moray Firth,lies the small town of Lossiemouth where, at the same time as Kinloss, construction of another permanent station was started in 1938, to be opened in the summer of 1939. The first unit, No. 15 SFTS, took up residence with Harvards and Oxfords, but their tenure was to be short-lived, as the School moved to Middle Wallop on 20 April 1940. Like its neighbour, the airfield housed a Maintenance Unit, No. 46 MU, which was opened on 1April 1940. Biplanes, such as the Audax, Hector, Hind, Hart and Tiger Moth, occupied the new unit to begin with, but by the end of the year, the majority of them had been replaced by Defiants, Hurricanes and Wellingtons. On 27 May 1940, one month after No. 15 SFTS's departure, No. 20 Operational Training Unit was established, operating with Ansons and Wellingtons. The fact that the Anson formed a major constituent of a night-bomber training unit speaks volumes about the equipment that potential crews for Bomber Command had to use in the early days of its offensive against the enemy, not to mention the conditions of flying from the airfield's grass runways during a Scottish winter! Two years later, in the spring/summer of 1942, concrete runways were at last laid down and No. 46 MU received its first Lancaster shortly before Christmas. A subsidiary of Prestwick's NO.4 Ferry Pilots PoollFPPI was formed and later this became a unit in its own right, with the designation No. 10 FPP From early days, the base became colloquially known as lossie' and at the same time as NO.4 FPP's formation, runway extensions were constructed by a USAAF engineering team, together with additional hardstandings, to facilitate the anticipated use of the station by the 8th USAAF, but this did not materialize and the RAF gained from the American efforts. The base became operationally involved when, like Kinloss, attack formations on the Tirpitz by Nos 9 and 607 Squadrons were assisted by the top-up refuelling of the aircraft involved. This was particularly necessary for Operation Paravane in September 1944, which involved the two squadrons, plus a No. 463 (Australial Squadron Lancaster, flying to Yagodnik in the northern USSR, from where the sorties against the battleship, moored in Alten Fjord, were carried out. No. 20 OTU continued to supply qualified bomber crews throughout World War Two. It is possible that lossie's' geographical. as well as meteorological, characteristics, with the adjacent Grampians generating arather unpredictable local climate, produced better quality pilots and navigators - but it is just a thought! By 1945, No. 46 MU was handling Lincolns, Warwicks and Yorks, but during a single week in the summer the base lost two units. The FPP was disbanded on 10 July and the OTU on the 17th. Like Kinloss a month earlier, Lossiemouth came under the authority of Coastal Command and by August 1945, Liberators of No. 111 OTU had taken up residence - the work carried out by the American engineering battalion back in 1942 at last benefiting American-built aircraft.

to Avro's Langar works on 17 August 1956, for converting into the second hackleton T.4. Five more new MR.IA, WB830, WB834, WB847, WB848 and WB855, had arrived at the CU by April 1952. From then, MR.ls and MR. 1As that joined the Unit were ex- quadron aircraft. Over the year , no Dwer than twentyt'wo different airframes served with No. 236 OCU which, on 1 crober 1956, was renamed the Maritime Operational Training Unit (MOTU), with a strength of fifteen aircraft. Th two MR.l variants were gradually replaced by the T.4 and the whole unit transferred to t Mawgan in]uly 1965.

Five year later, the MOTU reverted to the o. 236 OCU title and was tasked with crew conversion training for the imrod.

The Shackleton Classroom The Lancaster MR.3s used a operational trainers for Shackleton crew were fa t approaching the end of their airframe flying hours and the obvious solution wa to produce a trainer version of the hacklet n itself. With MR.2 coming off the production line at a st ady rate, there was a large enough surplus of MR. lAs that could be

58

converted into trainers. MR. 1, VP258, was on charge to o. 120 Squadron at Aldergrove, although actually in store in May 1955 and not required for further squadron service. It was made ready and flown to Avro's Woodford works, for converting to become the prototype hackleton T.4. The metamorpho i to produce the trainer involved the removal of the Bristol Type 17 mid-upper turret, enabling the in tallation of additional radar- and radioop rator po ition in the bunk area. Being an MR. 1, VP258 still had Griffon 57s in the outboard installations, so the necessary nacelle modification were carried out and

VP256, the third production MR.1, was unmarked during its stay with the RAF Handling Squadron at Manby - apart from the Griffon exhaust staining! Harry Holmes

59

With Piskies and Pasties

MARK I AND ITS DERIVATIVES

MR.1A WB834/L had been C-L when flying with No. 236 OCU and retained the T when the unit's name was changed to MOTU. Harry Holmes

WB847 was converted from MR.1A to 1.4 standard between August 1956 and February 1958. Coded MOTU in July 1965, it is seen visiting Fairford the following year. Ray Deacon

a pair of Griffon 57 As fitted before the aircraft flew to the A&AEE at Boscombe Down for the official trials of the new variant. Following the Establishment's acceptance, it was transferred, on 3 May 1957, to Avro's Langar complex, for a trial installation of the ASV21 Blue Silk radar that brought it up to full T.4 standard as specified in Contract No. 6jACITjl2278j CB6(a), which the manufacturer had received in 1955. It was seconded to the Ministry of Supply (MoS) Air Fleet on 27 january 1958 for the installation of the

'z' by the

Phase II radio, which was given clearance at Boscombe Down by the end of the year. This allowed VP258 to be placed on charge to the MOTU at Kinloss on 12 january 1959, where it was coded '0'. Further periods at Armstrong Whitworth' Bitteswell works in 1959, No. 49 MU Colerne in 1960 and Langar during 1962-63 kept the aircraft busy, but on returning to the MOTU in the middle of 1963, it was coded 'N', destined to remain with the Unit until being sold to the Board of Trade, who delivered it to the Fire School at Stansted on 17 july 1968.

60

Wing (H) flew its B-36Ds and -Fs from its home base at Carswell to Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, thereby sparing Cornwall the enormous noise of the B-36's six piston and four jet engines. But St Mawgan did reopen, in April 1951, and in June the first Lancasters of the School of Maritime Reconnaissance (SoMRI took up residence, closely followed by the ASWDU. The FAAs No. 744 Squadron also used the base for a short period of development flying. On 4 June 1956, No. 22 Squadron's 'A Flight started operating Search and Rescue (SARl. flying Whirlwind HAR.2 helicopters, and three months later, the SoMR was disbanded as the MOTU flew down from Kinloss. The Shackleton MRJ, which was entering service, required alonger take-off run than its predecessors and St Mawgan's vast runways suited the aircraft perfectly. No. 220 Squadron arrived on 4 December 1956, still with MR.2s but scheduled to receive the MRJ. No. 228 Squadron preceded it by a week, arriving with its MR.2s on 29 November. Strangely, this squadron did not re-equip with MR.3s and moved to St Eval two years later, eventually to be disbanded on 5March 1959. No. 206 Squadron became the second MR.3 operator when it moved to St Mawgan on 14 January 1958. In 1959 the base became unique, as the RAF now shared the airfield with a civilian airline. Starways Limited started a tourist service and, although several other small companies tried to emulate the idea, many found it financially impossible. However, Newquay County Council was a bit of a rarity in being a forward-thinking council and, by dint of continuous gently persuasion, they got permission from the Air Ministry to construct a small civil terminal on the north side of the airfield. The airport operated on a small scale, until the arrival of British Midland in 1969 greatly increased the number of passenger movements, which was enhanced when Brymon Airways began operating a London-Newquay service in 1977. On the military side, No. 42 Squadron transferred from St Eval and, with No. 201 Squadron, the renumbered No. 220 Squadron, by 1959 St Mawgan had become possibly the most important surveillance station in Coastal Command's No. 19 Group. New buildings replaced the older ones, many of them dating back to World War Two. The MOTU had moved up to Kinloss several years before, but when Nos 201 and 206 Squadrons transferred to the Scottish base in 1956, the MOTU returned to Cornwall. to share St Mawgan with No. 42 Squadron. A major change in Coastal Command's aircraft began in the late summer of 1969, when the first of the Nimrods arrived at St Mawgan and No. 236 OCU was formed out of the MOTU, to convert Shackleton crews onto the new type. One year later, the RAF reformed NO.7 Squadron at Tarrant Rushton, on 1 May 1970. This had been a Valiant B(PR)K.l unit when it was disbanded at Wittering on 30 September 1962. The purpose of the reforming was to provide a unit to operate the Canberra IT.18, a high-speed target tug for both Lightning airborne gun-firing practice and for Tigercat surface-to-air missile firing. The squadron arrived at St Mawgan in formation on 1July, after a farewell display at Tarrant Rushton. The Canberras were destined to stay at the Cornish base for the next twelve years, until the squadron was stood down on 5 January 1982, when the aircraft were distributed between NO.1 00 Squadron at Wyton and the Fleet Requirements and Air Directional Training Unit (FRADU) at Yeovilton. Today, besides being a Master Diversion unit, available every minute of every day throughout the year, St Mawgan is primarily a search-and-rescue base as well as being amajor operational station for RAF/NATO commitments, whenever they occur. The SAR requirements are handled by No. 203 (Reserve) Squadron operating with Sea King HAR3/3As.

Just over 3 miles (4.8km) north of the Cornish 'surfing centre' of Newquay lies a major airfield that started life as a disaster and came very close to closure. Situated on a plateau overlooking Watergate Bay, Trebelzue airfield was laid down in 1941 but its first occupants, NO.2 Overseas Aircraft Despatch Unit (OADU) formed out of Ferry Command, soon realized that it was totally inadequate for their requirements and, furthermore, could not see it being of much use to any other branch of the RAF. Consequently it was decided to extend the airfield's perimeters by a very large margin and rebuild the site as an operational base. With a war in progress, the acquisition of land was no problem and three hamlets, plus the access to amuch-used roadway, were engulfed in the new airfield. One of the hamlets to disappear was Mawgan Cross, but its name was retained in a revised form and the new base was to be called St Mawgan. By February 1943, construction work was at a stage where units could be accommodated - or at least their aircraft could. Beaufighters, Henleys and Welling tons came in from Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit at Cleave, outside Bude, though personnel had to put up with living under canvas. Adetachment that arrived from No. 297 Squadron at Thruxton in May 1943, flying Airspeed Horsa gliders, was none too impressed but things did improve and when the first runway was activated on 1July, heralding the arrival of a USAAF B-24 Liberator, together with a B-17 Flying Fortress, St Mawgan was ready to go to war. The original little runways of Trebelzue became dispersals and were heavily engaged in turning around hundreds of Allied aircraft taking part in the North African campaign during autumn 1943. USAAF meteorological units, flying B-17s, took up residence in the winter and BritiSh Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), in conjunction with the Dutch airline KLM, began Trans-Atlantic flights, using the base as part of OADU operations. Construction work was still in progress but by May 1944, with a new control tower, meteorological section, operations block and an extended runway, St Mawgan saw the last of the construction crews, enabling it to be put on a proper service basis, and with its 1O,200ft (3,11 Om) main runway it became avery busy airfield. A Transport Command passenger service was established in March 1944, but on 1 November that year, BOAC moved its operations to Hurn. At about the same time, No. 1529 Radio Aids Training Flight (RATF) was reformed with half a dozen Oxfords and they began instruction using one of the first Instrument Landing Systems (ILSI that were constructed by American units in the UK. The heavy Bomber Command and 8th USAAF raids in the early months of 1945 produced many diversions by the aircraft involved and the airfield became atruly Allied base on many occasions, handling every type of aircraft used by the two powers. Following the end of World War Two in Europe, St Mawgan became involved with providing all that was required for the heavy aircraft movements that were necessary to bolster squadrons still engaged in the war against Japan. Westward-flying traffic increased in the summer of 1945, when NO.6 Group of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) took over 150 Lancasters back to Canada. NO.1 Air Traffic School (ATSI opened in July that year, and the following month the USAAF relinquished its facilities at St Mawgan and the RAF became the sole occupier for the first time since the base had been built. As was to be expected, the wholesale movement of aircraft to destinations both East and West in 1945 gradually declined, although the first 'good-will' mission to the North American continent, made by Lancasters of No. 35 Squadron in July 1946, provided a short burst of activity when they left, and on their return the following month. But by July 1947 the airfield was reduced to Care and Maintenance and the weeds quickly took command. Two years later, the Plymouth Aero Club started pleasure flights and stories abounded that the base would soon reopen, to accept the leviathan of the US Strategic Air Command (SAC), the Convair B-36. This did not materialize however, for the 11 th Bomb

Two further MR.1s were modified to T.4 standard: VP259, which was converted at Woodford, starting on 28 April 1956 and VP293, whose conversion was handled by Avro's Langar works after it had arrived on 17 August 1956. VP259 was accepted by the MOTU on 22 july 1957 and coded 'Q', while VP293, after being converted, spent nearly three years on trial installation work at various establishments before arriving at the MOTU on 1 March 1960, to be given the airframe code 'X'. VP259 was only with the

An ex-MOTU aircraft, WB832/U is shown at No.2 SolT, Cosford, in 1965, where it was used for ground training and became 7885M before later being scrapped. Ray Deacon

67

MARK I A D ITS DERIVATIVES

MARK I A D ITS DERIVATIVES

VP293 was converted from an MR.1 into a T.4 between August 1956 and March 1958. It spent three years with the MOTU, before being purchased by the MoA in January 1964, to be used for trials work at RAE Farnborough, where it was photographed in 1968. Ray Deacon

Unit for six months a , on 10 January 1958, it crashed outside Elgin. VP293's stay with the MOTU lasted until 2 April 1962, when it went to Langar for modifications, was placed in storage at Aldergrove's 23 MU on 20 February 1963 and transferred to RAE Farnborough for weapon and low-level TV trials, on 6 January 1964. At the RAE it became unique in having the front propellers on the outer engines painted with black and white stripes and the rear propeller on the port side Similarly treated. The remaining thirteen aircraft to become Shackleton T.4s were all MR.1As, starting with WB819, and all the conversions were undertaken by Avro' Langar works. The last aircraft, WG511 from the third production contract, left Langar as a T.4 inJuly 1957. (A full list of aircraft converted to T.4 standard is given in the table right.) All sixteen T.4 erved with the Maritime Operational Training Unit for ome part of their operating lives. WB831 i believed to have spent the longest time with the Unit, having arrived on 25 ovember 1957, coded' '. Apart from a year at Bitteswell for Phase II modifications in 1959-60, the aircraft moved with the Unit from Kinloss to St Mawgan, where it was recoded 'U' in

October 1965, and remained until 17 May 1967, when it cra hed on take-off at the Cornish base. The resultant damage wa considered beyond economical repair and WB831 was struck off charge on 7 June 1967, to be con igned to the ba e' dump for fire practice.

Colours and Markings From 10 Augu t 1941, it was ordered that all Coastal Command aircraft should be painted white on the undersurfaces and sides, with surfaces viewed from immediately above finished in a Dark late Grey and Extra Dark ea Grey camouflage pattem. The scheme was adhered to by all long-range reconnaissance and submarine-attack aircraft, but it did not seem to apply to the shorter-range strike aircraft, such as those in the Beaufighter Wing, together with anti-shipping Mosquitoe . Al 0, po t-war Lend-Lease Lockheed Neptune MR.1s retained their US Glossy Sea Blue finish, presumably because it would be uneconomical to repaint them for the short duration that they would be in oastal ommand service and then to restore their original colour prior to their return to the United States.

62

The upper-surface camouflage colours were gradually altered to a single Medium Sea Grey (BS.637) after World War Two and this was the colour scheme in use when the hackleton was first produced, with all MR.1s and MR.1As leaving Avro in this finish. Serial number and unit codes were applied in Light Slate Grey (B .639), although during production, underwing serials were changed to black, a were a number of code letters applied by the respective units. Some local variations were introduced, such as the painting of a black band around the rear fuselage, broken by the roundel, and two black bands

===51 c' I -·,~" ~l

First Shackleton Trainers Two MR.l aircraft confirmed as being converted to 14 standard by Avro at Woodford: VP258, VP259 One MR.l aircraft confirmed as being converted to T.4 standard by Avro at Langar: VP293 Thirteen MR.l A aircraft confirmed as being converted to 14 standard by Avro at Langar:

WB8l9, WB820, WB822, WB826, WB83l, WB832, VVB837, VVB844, VVB845, VVB847, WB849, WB858, WG511

Later during its service with the RAE, VP293 had a special paint scheme applied to the two port propellers and one of the starboard ones, Just why the starboard inner was not similarly treated has not been ascertained. Aeroplane

63

MARK I AND ITS DERIVATIVES

MARK I AND ITS DERIVATIVES

chord-wi e acro s the outer wings, on ]A aircraft. Also, pinner bo e were sometimes painted to make one squadron's aircraft di tingui hable from other. In the case of o. 224 Squadron at Gibraltar in 1952, the spinners were painted red. Then, in 1955, a big change wa made, when the whole airframe was finished in Dark ea Grey (BS.638), with serial number and unit/aircraft codes painted red (B .538), with white outlines. In some case the A V radar housing was painted Medium ea Grey, but it seem to have been an arbitrary matter and, for example,

MOTU had theirs in the overall BS.638. Yet more change came in 1959, when all Shackletons had their fu elage top finished white to reduce interior temperatures when the UK weather conditions featured the un, but also becau e of the over ea detachment in which the aircraft were increasingly becoming involved. In this cheme MR.IAs anJ T.4 aw out their time. One anomaly was the RAE' T.4, VP293, at Famborough, which, besides having the black/ white propeller blades, had the nose, fins, rudders, rear-turret fairing and outer wing panels painted red. A black anti-glare panel

(Above) MR.1 VP256 in the Shackleton's first colour scheme. Harry Holmes

(Below) WB834/L is in the overall Dark Sea Grey finish of 1955. Harry Holmes

In June 1975, VP293 was withdrawn from RAE service and sold to the Strathallen Museum, where it is landing on 3 March 1976. But by 1979, after three years as an outdoor exhibit in a Scottish environment, the aircraft's condition had deteriorated and it was scrapped, apart from the front fuselage, which is housed at Woodford, on behalf of the Shackleton Association. Author's collection and Aeroplane

64

ahead of the wind creen and black engine cowlings finished off the ensemble. One aesthetic advantage of the Dark ea Grey was that the four broad bands of Griffon exhaust staining over the upper wing surface, 0 conspicuous on the Medium ea Grey, were not so obvious. The carrying of unit crests and badge was not too prevalent during the MR.l' service. After the aircraft had received the darker grey, os 120, 240 and 269 quad ron applied unit badges on the noses of their MR.lA , as did the MOTU on some of their T.4s.

65

MARK 1 AND ITS DERIVATIVES

CHAPTER FIVE

Mark 2 - 1951 to 1972 It became glaringly obvious even before the start of the Shackleton MR.l 's RAF service that the aircraft had several shortcomings. Some were more critical than others, and by the winter of 1950-51 the MR.l was officially considered an interim aircraft; although the Establishments had passed it for service this was on the basis that a new variant would be forthcoming. Avro's design office was tasked with a

By 1959, white fuselage tops had become standard.

Specification - Avro 696 Shackleton MR.l, MR lA and T.4 Dimensions: Powerplants: Weights: Crew: Armament: Performance: Numbers built: Served with:

Span 120ft (36.57ml; length 77ft 6in (2362m): wing area 1,421 sq ft 1132sq m) Four Rolls-Royce Griffon 57/57A twelve-cylinder, liquid-cooled, in-line engines Empty 49,6001b (22,500kg) or (Phase III 54,5001b (24,700kg): loaded 82,0001b (37,000kgl Ten Two 20mm cannon in mid-upper turret; maximum bomb load 14,0001b (6,400kg) comprising varying numbers of depth charges, mines, sonobuoys and 1.0001b or 500lb bombs Maximum speed 294mph at 12,000ft 1470km/h at 3,700m): service ceiling 20,700ft (6,300m): maximum range 4,200 miles (6,800km) Three prototypes, twenty-nine M.R.1s, forty-seven M.R.1As: total of seventy-nine aircraft Nos 42, 120, 203, 204, 205, 206, 220, 224, 240 and 269 Squadrons, No. 236 OCU, ASWDU, CSDE, JASS and RAF Handling Squadron

66

Aeroplane

The Aerodynamic Trials Aircraft As already stated in Chapter Four, the first Shackleton prototype, VW 126, went back into Woodford's works complex in the winter of 1950-51 for conversion into the aerodynamic test vehicle for a proposed newly-configured fuselage. A longer nose was grafted onto VWI 26, from a point in

now being installed in a semi-retractable, two-section ventral 'dustbin', positioned aft of the bomb-bay; the latter was retained with the same dimensions as in the Mark 1. The obvious benefit gained by this new radar housing was that it virtually eliminated the potential 'bird strike' hazard that the chin position presented - a challenge that was quite often accepted by the large sea-birds encountered over the oceans -

Despite VW126's metamorphosis to a purely aerodynamic trials aircraft for the MR.2, the mechanics for the retractable ventral ASV housing were in full working order. Harry Holmes

major redesign within the basic Specification R.5/46, which was amended in July 1950 and referred to as Issue 2. The resulting aircraft would be known as the Shackleton Mark 2, incorporating all the modifications required to meet the Mark I's weaknesses and deficiencies - at least, that was the ambitious intention.

line with the windscreen framing. It featured the facility for installing a pair of 20mm British Hispano cannons, remotely controlled from an upper siting position. The nose shape also incorporated the position for a flat glass bomb-aimer's window under the gun installation. The original 'chin' A V housing was gone, the radar

67

and was amply demonstrated as early as late 1950, when the second Mark 1 prototype, VW 131, was returning from tropical trials at Khartoum. Furthermore, the ASV13's full 360-degree scanning capability could at last be utilized. A new tailwheel assembly was fitted, consisting of a pair of smaller wheels that retracted to be

MARK 2 - 1951 TO 1972

MARK 2 - 1951 TO 1972

fully enclosed by twin doors, instead of the large single fixed unit on the MR.l. The whole rear fuselage, from the crew entrance door back, was more tapered, to finish in a transparent pointed tail cone, providing the crew with the ability to visually confirm the re ult of their bomb or depth charge attacks. On persistent complaint by MR.1 pilot was the aircraft' poor ground handling. Thi was addressed on the 'newlook' VW126 by a completely revised

braking sy tem, incorporating toe-activated brakes and a rudder-locking capability, which together provided greatly enhanced control while taxiing. The aerodynamic test aircraft first flew in its new gui e on 19 July 1951 and ix days later it went to the A&AEE for a se sment of the toe-brakes and lockable rudder . 1t returned to Woodford on 1 August for further Mark 2 development work, which occupied the next seven months, before going back to Boscombe Down for

full performance and handling trial of the Mark 2 a a ervice aircraft. The e were completed, enabling VW126 to fly back to its manufacturer on 3 October 1952, after which it wa engaged on noi e-reduction trial - the atisfactory result of which crews would trongly question! During the ame period, Avro also te ted the effects of ditching on the bomb door. At th end of 1955, the aircraft was allocated to the Radar Research Establishment (RRE) at Defford, who took delivery on 12

II

(Above) When this photograph of the prototype MR.2, WB833, was taken, the small amount of exhaust staining indicates that it had not accumulated many flying hours. Harry Holmes A fine air-to-air shot of WB833, before armaments were installed. AuthOr's COllection

January 1956 and retained it for two years. It was fitted with a 'homing head' en or in its tail, a part of a programme for the development ofguided weapon control intelligence, using various aircraft on charge to the EstabIi hment. It was also engaged on work a 0ciated with the adoption of an updated guided weapon technology as a rear warning Electronic Countermea ures (E M) system, derived from the 'Boozer' pa ive rear warning sy tem fitted to Bomber Command aircraft towards the end of World War Two. During its tenure at Defford, VW126 wa involved with the 'Gee' Mk 3 lattice map navigation aid, as well as work on the 'Rebecca' range, homing and approach system utilizing the ground-based 'Eureka' beacon for homing, plus, after the Establishment moved to Pershore, the Blind

(Above) An early production MR.2 lines up behind four MR.ls, during a visit to

(Top) MR.2 assembly gets under way at Woodford, with at least five airframes visible in this photograph. Harry Holmes

No. 236 OCU. Author's collection

68

69

MARK 2 - 1951 TO 1972

MARK 2 - 1951 TO 1972

sonobuoys as well as the passive ones already in ervice. The e revisions were cleared by the A&AEE following WB833's arrival on 22 September 1959, and the aircraft demonstrated its revised sonobuoy system to a mixed American and Canadian delegation assembled at RAE Famborough on 10 ovember that year.

When the Shackleton first went into quad ron ervice, the RAF were none too pleased to discover that the sound-proofing fitted in the three prototypes and demonstrated to Coastal ommand, was not fitted in production MR.l aircraft. This situation had been carried over into the MR.2. The noise and vibrations within the

Two brand-new MR.2s await collection from Woodford. with Wl754. which would later become an AEW.2. in the middle ground. standing beside an unidentified lancastrian. Harry Holmes

Approach Beacon System (BABS) for runway alignment prior to landing. The aircraft left the RRE on 29 May 1958 and wa housed by No. 23 MU at Aldergrove for storage. It was transferred to Mini try of Aviation charge on 25 November 1959 and tran ported to o. 2 Radio School at Yate bury during February 1960, as Instructional Airframe 7626M. Five years later it had been broken down into sections at Yatesbury, for conveying to No. 71 MU at Bice ter in October 1965, which was a ad end for such a hard-working airframe.

MR.2 Prototype The only true prototype for the Shackleton MR.2 was WB833, removed from the MR.IA production line under a separate order, Contract 0.6/A Ff/5834/CB6(a). It made it maiden flight from Woodford on 17 June 1952 and was flown to Boscombe Down on 23 July for pelformance,

engineering, radio and navigational trials. The aircraft had the nose armament of twin 20mm cannon housed in a Boulton Paul 'N' turret, in addition to the pair in the midupper Bristol Type 17 installation. With the A&AEE trial completed, the prototype was transferred to RAE Famborough on 2 December, for radio compass test, returning to Woodford on 29 January 1953 for performance trials.

The Phase Modifications WB833 went to Langar on 30 ovember 1954 for Phase I modification, including a new radio installation, together with a revised cockpit layout incorporating new lighting, as recommended by the RAF Handling Squadron at Manby, all of which were subsequently cleared by Boscombe Down. A return to Langar wa made on 1 October 1958, for Phase II radio and radar installation modifications, the radio changes involving improved UHF equipment,

70

neces itating their aerials being moved further aft, plus a UHF radio homer which produced an additional aerial on the nose. A TACtical Air Navigation (TACAN) uite was incorporated and improvements were made to the radio compass, requiring a recessed aerial immediately aft of the cockpit roof. The radar changes concentrated on the introduction of an ECM suite that required a large new aerial on the mid-upper fuselage. The Bristol turret had long since gone, in keeping with a modification to all produ tion MR.l, MR.IA and MR.2 aircraft, introduced during 1955-56. Consequently the new ECM aerial, with an exterior appearance similar to a lighting beacon, was installed in a dorsal po ition roughly where the turret had been sited. There was considerable drag from the new aerial and, unless the ECM equipment was going to be u cd on a particular flight, the aerial would often be removed. The Mark lc onic ystem was installed, giving the aircraft the facility to drop active

71

An MR.1A of No. 206 Squadron formates with two MR.2s of No. 224 Squadron. during rehearsals for the Coronation Review in 1953. George Hart

A fine study of a No. 228 Squadron MR.2 approaching a rocky UK coastline. Author's collection

MARK 2 - 1951 TO 1972

MARK 2 - 1951 TO 1972

aircraft generated a very difficult working environment for the crews and the ears were still ringing long after disembarking. Strong complaints from all squadrons produced a series of trials undertaken at RAE Farnb6rough, which Coastal Command firmly believed would disprove the squadron grievances. However, the Establishment confirmed that the service crews were absolutely correct and while modifications contained within Phase Ill, which

test programmes conducted by the Armament and Instrument Experimental Unit (AIEU) at Martlesham Heath in Suffolk. The Shackleton was scheduled to replace the Lancaster ASR.III, which itself had succeeded the Warwick ASR.1. No. 202 Squadron provided several additional MR. 1As to further the test programme, but when the Shackleton MR.2 began to enter service, the trials were transferred to the ASWDU at St Mawgan and it is

gear, through an aperture in the bomb doors, which were closed. On release, four 42ft (l2.8m) diameter parachutes were deployed, keeping the craft' bows at an angle of 60 degrees until it hit the water. The Mark III was fitted with a 500cc Vincent motorcycle engine and sufficient fuel was provided to give the lifeboat a range of 1,250 miles (2,000km). The Mark III lifeboat was never used 'in earnest' by the Shackleton, although MR.2

The Griffon's power is demonstrated at Farnborough 1953, as Wl796 follows the display flight line with three of its propellers fully feathered. Author's collection

included a considerable amount of airframe rebuild, did indeed alleviate the situation to a certain extent, they were still some way from being completely successful.

ASR Trials

At the 1953 SBAC Display, the thirty-fifth production MR.2, Wl796, was displayed with Mk III Airborne lifeboat No. 804 fitted. The second prototype Vulcan B.1, VX777, is parked on the same tarmac area. Harry Holmes

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Trials of the Shackleton with an air-sea rescue system centred around the Mark III Airborne Lifeboat had begun on 26 ovember 1951, using MR.1A WB834 for

confirmed that at least WB533 was used for the programme. Some fifty 'Airborne Lifeboat Mark III' craft were built by Saunders Roe (Anglesey) between 1952 and 1957. (Coincidence raises its head here, as the President of Saunders Roe was Sir Alliott Verdon-Roe, Avro's founder, who had sold his interests in his company to Sir John Siddeley in 1928, but the company had retained its name.) Each boat was winched up to be attached by a single locking lug to the bomb release

73

WL796 was loaned to Avro for demonstration at the 1953 SBAC Display at Farnborough, with a Mark III lifeboat fitted. By the mid-1950s, the craft had been replaced by the 'Lindholme Gear', so named because Squadron Commander of RAF Lindholme in Yorkshire at that time, invented the apparatus. It consisted of an MS9 self-inflatable lib'aft, equipped with a homing beacon, food, fresh water, firstaid and even cigarettes, all fitted in a canister that opened on striking the water.

MARK 2 - 1951 TO 1972

MARK 2 - 1951 TO 1972

Attached to the raft by lengths of floating rope were two additional containers, the contents of which were dictated by the climatic conditions prevailing in whatever part of the world the particular squadron was operating. It was installed in the bombbay of the aircraft and was so successful that even today Nimrods carry Lindholme Gear, virtually unchanged since the 1950s.

The MR.2 Starts Service Life Avro had received Contract No. 6/ACFT/ 5047/CB6(a), dated August 1950, covering nineteen MR.1As but this order wa amended and only ten MR. lAs were completed, with the balance to be MR.2 aircraft. Here the paperwork gets confusing, as records show that ten MR.2s in two

o

•

batches, WG530 to WG533 and WG553 to WG558, were completed, making a

total of twenty aircraft, against the contract calling for nineteen. The second aircraft, WG531, with cannon fully fitted in both turrets, had a flying slot at Farnborough's 1952 SBAC Display, where its lowlevel fly-bys included the deployment of its ventral ASV radome.

:

Avro received their first order covering only MR.2s with Contract No. 6/ACFT/ 6129/CB(6a) dated December 1950, the previous order being the second part of the last MR.1A contract, referred to in the pre-

vious paragraph. Forty aircraft were ordered with the contract, to be built in two batches, the first containing twenty-three aircraft, WL737 to WL759. Batch number two had seventeen aircraft, WL785 to WL801.

Br~531

(Above) The second production MR.2, WG531, first flew on 21 August 1952 and two weeks later was demonstrated at Farnborough's SBAC Display. Aeroplane and author's collection

(Left) With Westland Wessex HAS.1 '02' from HMS Ark Royal in the background, MR.2 Wl795/T belonging to No. 38 Squadron came in to Khormaksar from luqa during 1964. Ray Deacon

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The sixth production MR.2, Wl742/B-Z, had been well used by No. 206 Squadron when these photographs were taken in January 1954. Aeroplane and authOr's collection

75

By the time that the first aircraft from the new order, WL737, had its maiden flight on 17 November 1952, none of the ten aircraft from the previous order had been allocated to a squadron. Some did

MARK 2 - 1951 TO 1972

MARK 2 - 1951 TO 1972

eventually join No 38,42, 120, 204, 205, 206 and 210 Squadrons, but only after several years of trials. Only the last two of the ten-aircraft batch, WG557 and WG558, went directly to No. 206 Squadron after clearance by No. 23 MU.

Fast Production The new-contract aircraft entered Coastal Command service much earlier in their lives, with WL737 reaching No. 220 Squadron at St Eval on 24 March 1953, just over four months after first flying. WL738 and WL739 joined No. 240 Squadron at Ballykelly one week later, on 31 March. Aircraft built to the new contract were leaving Avro's factory at a very steady rate, four having their first flights in December 1952 and five more in the first two months of 1953, which was a good production turnover for a four-engined aircraft in peacetime. The thirteenth aircraft, WL749, had a very short career, being issued to No. 120 Squadron on 20 April 1953 and landing short of Aldergrove's runway three weeks later, on 14 May. Its port undercarriage collapsed and the aircraft slewed off the tarmac to finish its flying days in the controller's caravan. Damaged beyond repair, WL749 was struck-off-charge the same day and consigned to being a components spares airframe. This rapid allocation of MR.2s to squadrons saw some units operating the

No. 224 Squadron had only just received MR.2 WL753 at Gibraltar, when Fit Lt Freeborn flew it to be photographed by Fit Lt Tom Pratt on 20 May 1953, during a Coronation Review rehearsal. The aircraft was later coded 8-Q. T. Pratt via A. J. Freeborn

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new variant alongside MR.IAs, and this soon became a problem. The operating procedures of the two types differed in many ways and, from a servicing point of view, the two Marks were very different aeroplanes, which dictated that two sets of spares of many components became necessary. Nos 42,206 and 240 Squadrons at St Eval, No. 120 Squadron at Aldergrove, No. 220 Squadron at Kinloss and o. 269 Squadron at Gibraltar were all finding the dual arrangements becoming the source of much frustration. Consequently, by 1954 Coastal Command had decided to rationalize the situation such that a squadron was to operate with just one variant. This created a 'musical chairs' syndrome during the year, which evened out as Nos 120, 204, 206, 220, 240 and 269 Squadrons becoming MR.IA units, while Nos 42,210 and 224 Squadrons were all MR.2 operators. The equipping of No. 204 Squadron with MR.IAs contributed to the decision that the unit would become a part of Opera'tion GrapJ)le in the future (see page 129).

The Busy Life The first batch of the latest contract was completed when WL759 made its maiden flight on 24 April 1953. It had a varied career, which was rather typical of many Shackletons. The aircraft was issued to No. 37 Squadron at Luqa on 2 September of the

MR.2 WL738/D, arriving at Khormaksar after a Phase II update in the UK, had yet to receive its No. 37 Squadron identification. Ray Deacon

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same year, remaining in their charge for the next four years, although it was loaned out to the JASS at Ballykelly and used at St Mawgan for short periods. Twice the aircraft was involved in heavy landings while with the squadron, necessitating repairs to the rear fuselage undertaken by working parties at Malta's No. 137 MU at Safi, to where it was transported. Following the second repair, WL759 came back to the UK, where 0.49 MU installed additional equipment before the aircraft joined No. 204 Squadron at Ballykelly, on 27 August 1957. A year later it was again at No. 49 MU, this time for a Phase I update, before going back to Luqa on 10 March 1959 and being entered on No. 38 Squadron's inventory. In 1962, the aircraft again returned to the UK, where it was placed on loan to the MoA for trials involving the carrying of the Mk 44 torpedo, followed by a period with Dowty Rotol testing a new tail-wheel jacking ystem. It went to Boscombe Down for trials of these installations, where it was retained by the Establishment for release trials of Marine Markers and Underwater Sound Signal equipment. ll1ese were completed by 18 February 1964, when WL759 was posted to the ASWDU at Ballykelly. Two years later, the aircraft left the UK for the last time, to join No. 205 Squadron of the Far East Air Force (FEAF), arriving at Changi in August 1966. It flew with the unit until 11 November 1968, when it was struck-off-charge; in 1969 WL759 was broken up at Changi.

MARK 2 - 1951 TO 1972

The Second Batch WL785 had its maiden flight on 10 May 1953, as the first MR.2 from the second batch. Two days later WL786 did likewise, with WL787 following on 18 May and WL788 on 4 June. All were destined for Middle East Air Force (MEAF) service, with WL785, WL786 anJ WL788 being issued to 0.37 Squadron at Luqa, while

WL787 joined No. 38 Squadron at the same Maltese base.

MAD Trials Their successor, WL789, after first flying on 10 June, went to No. 38 MU at Llandow on 15 June to have a special installation, made by an Avro Company Working Party

MARK 2 - 1951 TO 1972

(CWP). This involved the fitting of a substantial Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD) boom, projecting from the rear fuselage. With its new equipment, the aircraft went to St Mawgan on 10 September 1953 and became a constituent of the base's ASWDU on 30 September. Coded 'F-D' it was employed on extensive MAD trials lasting over four and a half years, during which time several modifications were

incorporated in the equipment. The MAD boom was removed at the ASWDU and, on 9 April 1958, WL789 was transferred to No. 49 MU at Colerne, for conversion to Phase I standard prior to being issued to

No. 224 Squadron at Gibraltar on 13 April 1959, where it was coded 'W'. Eighteen months later the aircraft flew back to the UK and went to Avro's Langar works for a Phase II update, returning to the squadron

I

No. 37 Squadron's Wl744/B and Wl747/C on the pan at Khormaksar in 1963. The housing for the Orange Harvest ECM on 'B' shows that it has undergone Phase II modifications, while 'C', with its ASV housing resting on the tarmac, has yet to be updated. Ray Deacon

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MR.2 W1789 photographed during MAD trials at the St Mawgan ASWDU in 1955. Brian Wright

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on 2 February 1962, to be re-coded 'A'. Two years later, on 18 October 1966, WL789 was allocated to No. 38 Squadron at Luqa, but its stay on Malta was short-lived as, on 23 January 1967, it went much further

MARK 2 - 1951 TO 1972

MARK 2 - 1951 TO 1972

afield and was flown to Changi to become a member of the FEAF's 0.205 quadron. Eighteen months later the aircraft wa back in the UK, arriving at o. 27 MU Shawbury on 24 August 196 where it was declared a on Effective Aircraft. WL7 9 was broken up in December of the arne year, and sold a scrap on 2 March 1969.

Short Lives A couple of aircraft from batch number two did not fair 0 well. WL794 fir t flew on 7 August 1953 and after clearance by

WL794 crashed into the Mediterranean off the northern Maltese island of Gozo during a night exercise attack on a submarine and was declared a missing aircraft. WL799 made it maiden flight on 18 eptember 1953 and after spending five month at No 2 and 49 MUs for special Autolycus fitments that were tested at St Mawgan, it was ferried to afi on 28 eptember 1955, only to return to Langar three weeks later. During a disastrous fire at Langar on 22 December, WL799 was completely destroyed and th ree other aircraft were extensively damaged. The additional tragedy so far as WL799 was

covering the production of a further forty MR.2 , but, due to the large number of complaints regarding noise and vibration that have already been mentioned, the order was completed as nineteen MR.2s. The remaining twenty-one aircraft would be the forthcoming and improved hackleton MR.3. The MR.2s were to be built in one batch, to which the serial number WR951 to WR969 were allo ated. Their production continued the existing line of airframe and WR951 had its maiden flight on 20 October 1953, just ten days after WL801, the final aircraft from the previous order. It wa issu d to 0.204 Squadron on

Seen at Khormaksar in 1963, WL752 had just returned from its Phase II update in the UK. Ray Deacon

Following its MAD trials, WL789 was converted back to a standard MR.2 and, after receiving Phase II modifications, was coded 'A' with No. 224 Squadron. Ray Deacon

No. 205 Squadron at Changi received WL756/C on 11 June 1962, after its Phase II update, with the ECM aerial mounted in its housing. George Pennick

Having received its Phase II modifications, WL800, the penultimate aircraft from the second production order, was allocated to No. 203 Squadron on 15 May 1962, where it was coded T. Aeroplane

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o. 23 MU at Aldergrove, wa issued to o. 3 quadron, making the ix-hour flight to Luqa on 4 January 1954 to be coded 'T'. Many of these ferry flight to overseas bases were undertaken by o. 167 Squadron which, on 1 February 1953, was formed by the renaming of No.3 Long Range Ferry Unit, based at Abingdon. On 16 April that year the squadron was moved to Benson, till in Oxfordshire, to become a part of Transport Command. One month after arriving at Luqa, on 12 February,

concerned was the fact that it had been at the Avro works having pecial test equipment fitted and wa due to d part for Malta the following day, for trials of the installation. ot the ideal Christmas present for anyone involved!

More MR.2s Avro received ontraet No. 6/ACFT/ 6408/ B(6a) dated 8 February 1951,

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4 January 1954, four days after the quadran had been reformed at Ballykelly.

New Aircraft For All The allocation of aircraft from the new order was fairly evenly distributed throughout Coastal Command's Shackleton units. The second aircraft off the line, WR952, went to No. 206 quad ron at St Eval on 10 February 1954, while WR953 joined No.

MARK 2 - 1951 TO 1972

MARK 2 - 1951 TO 1972

22 quad ron at the same location on 16 February 1955, after spending a year at o. 38 MU, Llandow, and WR954 flew out to Luqa's No.3 7 Squadron on 1 April 1954. No. 120 quadron at Aldergrove accepted WR955 on 8 April, while No. 228 Squadron, having been reformed on 1 january 1954 at t Eval, received the next seven aircraft, WR956 to WR962, during the year. This got the reformed quad ron off to a flying start as a Shackleton unit its previous mount, when it disbanded on 4 june 1945 at t Eval, had been Liberator Mk VIII. The aircraft had changed but not the location.

receiving one of the new Coastal ommand aircraft codings, '22S-Z', the system incorporating the squadron number with the airframe letter. Before the squadron di banded fifteen months later, on 6 March 1959, WR962 went on free loan to Controller (Air) charge and joined 'B' Squadron at the A&AEE, Boscombe Down, for a series of trial concerning armaments and Lindholme Gear releasing. By 1 june 1959 the e trials were completed and the aircraft was allocated to the British Force Arabian Peninsular on 27 july, where it was put on charge to No.3 7 quadron, who took delivery at its Aden base on 29 july, coding the

No. 27 MU at hawbury on 9 eptember 1967. It was declared a one Active Airframe and was sold as scrap on 28 March 1969. From the rest of the produ tion batch, WR963 is believed to have been the busie t, ama ing 14,957 flying hours; this wa by virtue of the AEW conver ions that took place during the early 1970s and is covered in full in Chapter Ten. Prior to this conversion, WR963 did the rounds of hackleton units, erving with os 38, 205, 210 and 224 quadrons between October 1954 and December 1970, as well a having all three Phases incorporated at

Both WR959/F of No. 37 Squadron and WL798/y of No. 38 Squadron had yet to be Phase II-upgraded when these pictures were taken. Ray Deacon

MR.2 WR962/A rejoined No. 37 Squadron in 1962, after serving with two previous units, three months at the A&AEE on Lindholme Gear trials and three Phase upgrades. Ray Deacon

The last of the e seven, WR962, had quite an eventful career. Arriving at t Eval on 7 july 1954, it was coded 'L 'and was till with the squadron when the unit moved to t Mawgan on 29 ovember 1956. On 6 March 1957 the aircraft was tran ferred to No. 220 Squadron at the same base. Nearly a year later, on 1 june 195 , WR962 returned to No. 228 Squadron, which had returned to St Eval the previous january,

aircraft '37-A'. WR962 returned to the UK, arriving at Langar on 23 September 1960 for a Phase III upgrade, which wa fini hed on 28 February 1962, ready for the aircraft to return to o. 37 Squadron. It arrived at Aden on 19 March, but on 27 july it su tained damage that r qui red repair at Muharraq lasting a month. When o. 37 Squadron disbanded, WR962 again r turned to the UK, and wa accepted by

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various times. WR969, the la t MR.2 built, po ibly h Id the record for the number of individual units where it served. os 38, 204,205,210,220,224 and 228 quadrons all had it on charge for varying lengths of time, as did th jA S and the MOTU. The timespan was between December 1954 and eptember 1971, wi th sixteen months being spent at Langar for modification to T.2 tandard.

No. 205 Squadron at Changi received WL790/E on 21 June 1962, after its Phase II modifications. The aircraft remained on squadron charge until returning to the UK in January 1971 for converting into an AEW.2. Author's collection

83

MARK 2 - 1951 TO 1972

MARK 2 - 1951 TO 1972

MR.2 WR967fZ with No. 38 Squadron in 1964, has the 'ROYAL AIR FORCE' legend on the fin/rudder assembly. It is believed that this was a unit anomaly that was not retained for long. The squadron released the aircraft in March 1967 and it flew to Langar for conversion into one of the ten T.2s. Ray Deacon

Second Shackleton Trainers

Ten MR.2 aircraft confirmed as being converted to 12 standard by HSA Langar: WG533. WG534, WG558. WL739. WL750. WL787, WR964. WR966. WR967. WR969

Khormaksar had a great number of Shackletons on its pans during the early 1960s. Here MR.2s WL785/A and WR955/C, both belonging to No. 42 Squadron at St Mawgan, carry the Union flag during their time of detachment to assist in quelling the unrest in Aden. Ray Deacon

The Mark 2 Trainer By late 1965, the T.4s flown by the MOTU were beginning to show signs of age and con id ration was given to their replacement. They had given good ervi e and of the seventeen produced, only one, VP259, had been 10 t, crashing on 31 May 1958 as related in hapter Four. WB832 was withdrawn from service on 8 July 1965, through tress damage, and was conveyed to No.2 S hool of Technical Training (SoTT) at

Co ford, with the [n tructional Airframe number 7 85M. In 1960, the politic of the aircraft indu try' 'rationalization' began to rumble around the corridors of power. A. V. Roe had been a member of the Hawker Siddeley Group ince July 1935, but still retaining it own name - a did fellow Group members Armstrong Siddeley, Arm trong Whitworth, Gloster, Hawker and Avro Canada - but on 1 July 1963, the name Avro disappeared, fifty-three years after its

84

inception on 1 January 1910 (it has made a more recent return in the Regional Jet commercial aircraft market). The company became an element of Hawker Siddeley Aviation Limited (HSA) and Avro Langar became HSA Langar. Arrangement were put into motion for ten hackleton MR.2s to be converted into training aircraft, with the work being handled by HSA Langar. To the layman, the logical de ignation for th new trainer would be 'T.S', its predece or

being the T.4, a the mark number 3 was already in existence for the final Shackleton MR variant. But the minds of officialdom do not necessarily adhere to logic, 0 the trainer ver ion of the MR.2 was to be designated T.2, just to confuse • everyone. WL739, a Phase II aircraft, was withdrawn from service with No. 204 quad ron at Ballykelly in eptember [966 and flown to HSA Langar for conversion into the first T.2. Dorsa[ turrets had been removed from all Shackletons several years previously, so the modification to produce the trainer were mostly internal, with the removal of the two 20mm cannon in the no e turret being one of the few external difference. The re t bunk were removed - no time for resting when on a training course! - and in the fonner cooking/ ating area, a master radar wa installed, with a slave set fitted in place of the bunks. These were the on ly radars operating in the trainer, the standard radar

po ition not being used, and both trainees faced aft. WL739' conver ion was completed by the end of 1967 and on 3 January 1968, it wa fl wn to the MOTU at St Mawgan as oastal Command's first Shackleton T.2. Conversion of the remaining nine aircraft progressed from WL750's arrival at Langar on 14 December 1966, until WR967 departed on 5 September 1968. The latter did not to go directly to the MOTU. It first joined the Ballykelly Wing, before going to H A's Bitteswell works two months later, where modifications were incorporated before the aircraft finally arrived at St Mawgan on 2 April [969. All ten trainer saw their time out until they became redundant, except WR967. This was damaged in a flying accident on 7 eptember 1972, while operating from Kinlos, where it had received the name Zebedee. After the accident, the aircraft wa grounded and the fuselage converted into an AEW training aid by Marconi Elli tt Avionics ystems. The wings and tail unit were removed and the fuselage mounted on blocks, before it wa handed over to the RAF on 14 August 1975, with th In tructional Airframe number 8398M - plus the unofficial, but very apt, name Dodo.

85

The la t T.2 u ed in it de ignat d rol was WL7 7. Operated by No.8 quadron at Lossiemouth, the aircraft' fatigue life was expended on 3 January 1974, when it wa allocated to the base's fire-fighting training unit, but two months later it was broken up. New-build Shackleton MR.2s ended with the sixty-ninth production aircraft, WR969, but when it made its maiden flight, on 10 May 1954, there were still two aircraft at Woodford that had yet to fly. WR967 had its first flight a week later, on 17 May, and WR968 became the last new MR.2 to get airborne for the first time on 17 June. Including the prototype, WB833, a total of seventy airframes were built over a two-year period.

Shackleton Highs ... A the 'MR' prefix indicate, the hackleton's primary role was maritime reconnaissance and, in this field, it was a good aeroplane. Some wi II say it was the best of all th fixed-wing sear h and rescue aircraft too, as its long endurance, slow speed, very good observation positions and abil ity to carry a mass of A R equ ipment made it ideal for this task. No doubt

MARK 2 - 1951 TO 1972

MARK 2 - 1951 TO 1972

No. 224 Squadron at Gibraltar said 'goodbye' to WL792/K on 14 September 1957. An MT driver at the base took this shot as the pilot made a bit of a hash of a low pass during that year's Battle of Britain Air Display. The local population thought it was all part of the show and possibly were disappointed when it was not repeated in 1958! George Williams

proved that these statistics did not diminish the affection that the type installed in its operators.

Goodwill Tours

The Shackleton's maritime reconnaissance role is exemplified in this picture, as WL742/B-Z is flown over vast tracts of open sea. Author's collection

the present-day Nimrod, with its myriad of electronics, carries the crown, but it doesn't have the same noise. When you had been in a dingy, floating in a vast expanse of ocean for m.any hours, the growl of Griffons was the 'Last ight of the Proms, your team winning the Cup, and Christmas', all rolled into one! But the ability to detect and track shipping, on or below the sUlface, together with determining friend or foe, was amply demonstrated over many years of service. This ability was greatly assisted by the many items of additional equipment that were added on a regular basis. Orange Harvest passively detected radar emissions from vessels and Autolycus 'sniffed out' diesel fumes emitted by a submarine using its snorkel. The aircraft' sonobuoys, both passive and

active, were dropped to surround a submarine with an encompassing audio mesh. The ASV13 radar in the ventral position on the MR.2 was capable of detecting a target as small as a submarine's snorkel from a range of over 30 miles (50km).

... and Lows However, on the negative side, the Shackleton was, like many a service aeroplane, plagued with mechanical problems, many of which were centred around their mighty Griffon engines. These could quite often prove temperamental and had an exa perating penchant for jamming starter motors. (The author had a car like that once. Exasperating it was and the cure to each inci-

86

dent was the same as the service procedure with the Griffon - a good hefty clout with a large spanner on the offending starter!) The Griffon also had a propensity to haemorrhage oil at every available joint. As has been indicated several times in this narrative, the Shackleton was noisy in the extreme and had a heating system that was ineffective in the cockpit, but tropical nearer the tail. There was also the sobering fact that, with eight MR. Is and ten MR.2s bei ng destroyed in crashes, the Shackleton held the record for the number of aircrew killed in one type in the peacetime RAE Though the 10 per cent of MR.ls and 7 per cent of MR.2s that were lost were not high percentages of the aircraft built, at least ten aircrew each were killed in a large number of these crashes. But history has

Japan's surrender on 15 August 1945 brought an official end to World War Two and in the general euphoria that existed within the Allied countries, exchange visits of armed forces were arranged. This has • settled down over the years but the pattern still exist today. An early tour made by the RAF involved Lancaster B.ls of No. 35 Squadron based at Graveley in Huntingdonshire, resplendent in their white upper surface/black underside 'Tiger Force' finish, applied for their intended use in the Far East that was negated by 15 Augu t. They flew to the United State on 9 July 1946, to spend over two weeks visiting USAAF and Canadian RCAF bases, before returning to Graveley on 29 July. The arrival of the Shackleton in squadron service provided the RAF with an excellent aircraft for such tours as, with its capacious fuselage and bomb bay, the aircraft could travel as self-contained units. Ground crew were conveyed within

the fuselage, together with a plethora of spares, and special bomb-bay panniers were designed to carry spares that were too large to go through the crew-entrance door. These were also useful for the return trip, when mess bars could be stocked with alcoholic beverages and food not usually found in the UK at that time. All five continents were visited over the years, with Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) being an early destination. No. 220 Squadron flew some of its MR.IAs to the island in February 1952 and No. 224 Squadron did likewise in August of the same year. 1953 saw No. 42 Squadron's MR.2s visiting the island and later sending a detachment to South Africa, which was the goodwill tour that initiated Avro's only Shackleton export order (see Chapter Seven). A subsequent tour by the MR.2s of No. 204 Squadron, in Exercise Durbex II in June/July 1955 was instrumental in consolidating the deal. The journey to Durban, via Khartoum and Nairobi, took a total flying time of 33 hour. A flight of two MR.2s from No. 210 Squadron (one of them being WR969, the last production MR.2), to Singapore in April 1960, was followed three months later by four imilar aircraft from No. 204 Squadron making a goodwill tour of the

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Caribbean. Leaving Ballykelly on 11 July, they visited Kindley Field in Bermuda, Palisadoes in Jamaica, plus Trinidad, and Stanley Field in British Honduras. While in the Caribbean, the squadron's aircraft provided transport for a local regiment, by flying twenty-nine troops per aircraft, from Trinidad to British Honduras, as an element of troop rotation, before returning home on 2 August. Such goodwill tours, including two to South America, continued throughout the Shackleton's service and many of them combined with various overseas exercises. It meant that the distinctive noise generated by four Griffons, driving twenty-four propeller blades, was shared with other nations on a very generous scale.

The Royal Review On 15 July 1953, the year after her accession to the throne and six weeks after her Coronation on 2 June, Her Majesty Queen EI izabeth II attended a Review of the Royal Air Force at RAF Odiham in Hampshire. (This ai,field had been born of the 1930s Expansion cheme and the official opening ceremonyon 18 October 1937 had a degree of

MARK 2 - 1951 TO 1972

MARK 2 - 1951 TO 1972

(1.8m) gap between wingtips in a Shackleton, a lot of practice wa needed. Three aircraft each were drawn from 0 42,206 and 220 quadrons at St Eval. Another three each came from os 120, 240 and 269 quadrons in orthern Ireland, the e quad ron moving into St Eval clos to th Review date for joint practice, to ensure the hackleton Wing was a credit to the Command. As it was nearly impos ible to fly hackleton in close formation faster than 235mph (380km!h) or slower than 165mph (265km/h), a target speed of 200mph (320km/h) was aimed for, which was some 30mph (50km/h) faster than the Washington formation 30 seconds ahead of them when they reached Odiham.

The Earl of Bandon, is known to have ingled out the hackleton Wing as being the tandard to attain by some of the other large-aircraft formation - another plus for 'The Growler' and it crews.

Colours and Markings The whole MR.2 production came off the line in the White overall with Medium ea Grey finish but, like the MR. Is, in service their colour was changed to overall Dark Sea Grey. Large authorized squadron and individual aircraft code letters were displayed in white, as were the serial numbers. From the early 1950s,

round each character/number. Serial numbers were in red and the underwing numbers had white outlines. While these were the basic Command markings, some units introduced variations and in 1956 os 204, 240 and 269 Squadrons, together with the JASS, decided to do away with the individual aircraft letter on the no e. Also around 1956-57, Ballykelly's three squadrons started carrying a small reproduction of their individual crests on the aircraft's nose. In order to be een against the grey, o. 204 quadron had it crest within a white shield shape, No. 240 quadron's was within a white rectangle and No. 269 Squadrons' appeared inside a white disc. Many aircraft also had

An early production MR.2 drawn up at Odiham alongside a 8-29 Washington, positioned behind a fighter row containing Vampire NF.1Os and Canadair-built F-86 Sabres, at the Coronation Review. Michael Stroud via Harry Holmes

irony, con idering the near future: it was perfonned by General Erhard Milch, the German ecretary of State for Air.) The two re ident units in 1953, os 54 and 247 quadrons, both flying Meteor F. ,were temporarily moved out in the spring, to make way for the Review. Their place wa taken up by ome 320 aircraft, representing all eight RAF Commands in th UK, the 2nd Tactical Air Force in mainland Europe, some Commonwealth Air Force and the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. The hackleton was represented in th line-up by three MR.ls and an MR.2. Drawn up in four immaculate rows down the length of the runway, with an arc of five rows of trainers on the base's large hard-

standing behind them, they occupied close on an hour of Her Majesty's time, as she was slowly driven down the ranks. (One can not help speculating on whether the young Queen, not being an aeronautical enthusiast, considered the saying 'If you've seen one aeroplane, you've seen them alii ') Almost immediately after he took her place on the Royal dai ,a Bri tol Sycamore, streaming the Royal Air Force ensign, led a procession of some 640 aircraft in a flypast that constituted the large t formation seen over the UK since the end of World War Two, and the like of which we shall never see again in UK skies. A mixed formation of eighteen Shackleton MR. lAs and MR.2s led Coastal

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Command's representation, dovetailed between Bomber Command's last formation of Washington B.ls and a trio of Hastings .2s of Transport Command. The great variety of aircraft participating in the stream had a very broad speed envelope. The ycamore's cruising speed of 132mph (212km/h) was vastly different from that of the wift F.4 that brought up the rear, flown by upermarine's Chief Test Pilot, Mike Lithgow: two months after the Review, he achieved an averag of 743mph (1,195km/h) in a World Airspeed Record attempt over Tripoli harbour. Close-formation flying is an art that did not ~ ature too highly in a service pilot' skills, and when it came to flying with a 6ft

No. 224 Squadron painted the spinners of their aircraft white for a period and here WR951/W is in line with the 1962-introduced policy of having 'ROYAL AIR FORCE' on the rear fuselage, which necessitated the roundel being made smaller and positioned in line with the wing's trailing edge. Ray Deacon

Despite 15 July being a dull, overca t day, the formation flying down the estabIi hed corridor from Watford at the northeast tarting point, to Lasham, outh-east of Odiham, where the individual formations 'broke ranks', was of a very high order. Forty- even separate formations flew past the Royal dais at altitude ranging from 500-1,900ft (l50-580m), set to avoid the slipstream wake of preceding aircraft. The organizer, Air Vice-Mar hal

Coastal Command adopted a single-letter unit code, positioned to the rear of the fuselage roundel, with the individual aircraft letter to the fore. With the advent of the overall Dark S a Grey, a sy tem displaying a unit's identification as the squadron number - i.e. 37,210,228, etcwas introduced. Thi wa positioned to the rear of the fuselage roundel, with the individual aircraft letter on the nose, and all were painted in r d with a white outline

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the crew captain' name displayed below the squadron crest. In 1959, the many overseas tours and detachments carried out by Shackle tons proved that Dark ea Grey had no reflective powers 0 far as the sun's heat was concerned. Therefore, white top to the fuselage were introduced on all hackletons, irre pective of the variant - although not on some T.4 - and aircraft operating in the FEAF on a regular basis also had the part of the top

MARK 2 - 1951 TO 1972

MARK 2- 1951 TO 1972

OPPOSITE PAGE:

ABOVE:

No. 224's squadron crest receives some attention in this posed-for-the-occasion picture. Aeroplane

The special dispensation whereby Aden-based MR.2s had the area of white-top increased is well illustrated by WL744/B and WL747/C, shimmering in Khormaksar's heat during 1962. Ray Deacon

wing surface directly above the fuel tanks painted white. Until 1963, Aden-based MR.2 had the special dispensation of the white cheat-line being lowered, to align with the base of the cockpit framing. By 1960, Ballykelly's units, including the ASWDU, had to fall in line with the re t of oastal Command and ach aircraft's code letter wa painted on the nose. The

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letters allocated to each unit were: ASWDU 'A' to 'e'; 0.203 Squadron 'E' to 'L' (excluding '1'); o. 204 Squadron 'M' to 'R'; and No. 210 Squadron 'T' to 'Z'. The varying number of aircraft per squadron at anyone time meant that not all the letters were always u ed. A year later, the size of fu elage roundel and squadron numbers was reduced, to

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allow 'ROYAL AIR FORCE' to be po itioned, in white, ahead of the tailplane leading edge. Propeller bosses were also painted at around this time, with each squadron on a particular base having its own c lour. aturally, there was th odd anomaly. Aircraft of No. 38 Squadron at Luqa kept the large '38' and roundel, having their 'ROYAL AIR FORCE' legend painted

MARK 2 - 1951 TO 1972

mall on the fin/rudder assembly. In 1971, o. 205 Squadron at Changi carried a caricature of a hackleton painted light grey alongside the nose identification letter. o greater anomaly existed than T.2 WR966, erving with 0.205 quadron at Changi, oded 'G'. The squadron was disbanded on 31 October 1971, but WR966 wa placed on detachment with No. 204

quadron (Far East Detachment), based at Tengah on the other side of Singapore Island. To mark it di tinction of being the last Shackleton in the FEAF, it underwent considerable cosmetic adornment prior to its return to the K. It already carried the o. 205 quadron cr t on the outer face of each fin. Thi consisted of a crossed trident and kris (a Malay dagger with a wavy

Specification - Avro 696 Shackleton MR.2 and 1.2 Dimensions: Powerplants: Weights: Crew: Armament: Performance: Number built: Served with:

Span 120ft Oin (36.57ml; length 87ft 3in (26.60ml; wing area 1,421sq ft 1132sq m) Four Rolls-Royce Griffon 57A/58 twelve-cylinder liquid-cooled in-line engines Empty 51 ,0001b (23,000kg), Phase III 59,0001b (27,OOOkgl; loaded 84,0001b 138,000kgl. Phase III 89,0001b (40,OOOkg) Ten Two 20mm cannon in nose turret; maximum bomb load 14,OOOlb (6,300kg) comprising varying numbers of depth charges, mines, sonobuoys and 1,OOOIb or 500lb bombs Maximum speed 299mph at 12,000ft (480km/h at 3,700m); service ceiling 21,400ft (6,500ml; maximum range 4,300 miles (7,000km) One prototype, sixty-nine MR.2s (the aerodynamic prototype was an MR.1 conversion, so is not included) Nos 37, 38, 42, 120, 203, 204, 205, 206, 210, 220, 224, 228, 240 and 269 Squadrons, ASWDU, ETPS, JASS, MOTU, RAE, RRE and RAF Handling Squadron

blade), set in a white circle. The legend 'WHITE KN CKLE AIRLI E' was paint d on both ide, at the white-top meeting line with the dark grey. On the nose a 'T' was added after the code letter 'G', to denote the Gran Turismo classification popularly applied to a certain cia of car at that time - and certainly not merited in many cases! Following the automobile connotation, '146, OOcc' wa added alongside the 'GT', this bing the total cubic capacity of the four Rolls-Royce Griffon 57 As. In this guise, the aircraft departed from Tengah just after the ew Year celebrations, arriving at No. 32 MU St Athan on 10 January. Declared a Non Effective Aircraft, it was stored at St Athan until 22 June 1973, when it was struck off charge and crapped.

No. 228 Squadron at St Eval bade farewell to its Shackletons on 6 March 1959. Here, WR956 leads WR957 and WR959, while WR953 takes up the rear slot. Aeroplane

CHAPTER SIX

Nose-Wheels, Tip Tanks and CODlfort Many of the shortcomings of the MR.I/IA were carried through to the MR.2, which had received ome cosmetic surgery, such as the moving of the ASV radar housing and Pha e updates, but they were nothing like what was necessary. The Shackleton was not a nice aeroplane in which to work on a fifteen-hour patrol and the majority of squadron crews let this be known in no uncertain manner. With these facts firmly in mind, as has been mentioned in the previous chapter, MR.2 production finished with the nineteenth aircraft in Contract o. 6/ACFT/640 /CB6(a) and the balance of the order wa to be fulfilled by a redesigned aircraft. pecification R.5/46 wa again amended and I sue 3 was activated on I ovember 1953. The new design, started in the fir t months of 1954, wa to be designated the hackleton MR.3 and the depth of redesign was sufficient for Avro to allocate it a new company number, the Type 716. Great urgency was placed on Avro' Design Office (DO) because, with the long-serving Short underland at last being withdrawn from service, with ome airframe exceeding their fatigue life, the need for more Shackletons was becoming ever pre ing. The company re ponded very well and by the time that the last new-build MR.2 left Woodford, on 17 • June 1954, the design of its successor had hardened and detail work on the Type 716 was progres ing through the main DO.

Further Fatigue Trials By 0 tober 1954, The Institute of Aviation Medicine (JAM), a branch of RAE Farnborough, had been drawn into the question of hackleton MR.2 crew fatigue. The Institute proposed a trials programme and No. 240 quadron at Ballykelly was tasked with undertaking it. The programme entailed everal crews flying sixty hours at night, in a even-day period. Thi gruelling schedule meant that each crew was required to fly four fifteen-hour sorties within the

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Proving that the camera does not lie, but the retouching artist has a jolly good tryand the author was one for over forty years! - the Hawker Siddeley Group's advertising in September 1954 carried an illustration of the Shackleton MR.3 with no indication that it was an artist's impression. The shape of the tip-tanks had obviously not been finalized and the artist went to a lot of trouble to get a take-off impression, in order to show the tricycle undercarriage. The fact that Coastal Command would change its colour scheme by the time that WR970 took to the air was unfortunate, but otherwise the conversion of WB833 into 'WR970', with a few airbrush clouds, is quite creditable. Derek James and Harry Holmes

week, flying on alternate nights. Take-offs were scheduled between 16.00 and 16.30hr, with landings being made the following morning around 07.00hr.

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Every member of a crew was detailed to undertake specific jobs during the flight and their performance was monitored, in order to ascertain if any loss of efficiency was

NOSE·WHEELS, TIP TA

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NOSE·WHEELS. TIP TANKS A D COMFORT

incurred as the flight progressed. Weight loss, plus the effects on bodily functions, were recorded and the lAM found that nearly all the participating airmen were physically affected. The loss of several pounds' weight coupled with a continual buzzing in the ears long after touch-down was found amongst most crewmen and quite a high proportion found that full advantage of the 'night off' could not be taken, for various reasons.

External Changes The results of the test programme were relayed by the lAM to Avro and the DO's draughtsmen were urged to incorporate features that would expunge these fatigue problems. The basic concept of the Shackleton was good and it met Coastal Command's requirements for a land-based

The aircraft was given a new, slightly longer, front fuselage. The nose had a slightly more sloped contour, as did the gunner's sighting position, and the bomb aimer's window was subtly more horizontal. The Boulton Paul twin-cannon turret was retained and the sighting position was equipped with a new attack sight. The cockpit glazing was changed: out went the previous substantial framing and, in its place, a curved, clear-vision perspex canopy was designed, with narrow frames holding a sliding window on the port side. The principal reason for the reconfigured nose was to accommodate a new, steerable nose-wheel that retracted rearwards - due to the new design's increased weight the Shackleton now had a tricycle undercarriage and was no longer a 'tail dragger'. For some crew members, this was the first time that they had operated in a tricycle-undercarriage aircraft since the Varsity used on

wheel. A retractable bumper was fitted in the rear fuselage, aft of an additional camera installation. The incorporation of a tricycle-undercarriage meant that the bomb-bay had to be shortened to make space for the nose-wheel bay and a crew entrance position between the two bays. The crew entrance door on the starboard side of the rear fuselage, as fitted on all previous hackletons, was retained as an emergency exit. A slightly different wing plan-form was designed, with increased-chord ailerons to improve control at low levels, together with wing-tip tanks each holding an additional 250gal (1,1401tr). The total fuel capacity was increased to 4,716gal (21,2221tr) in an attempt to increase the aircraft's range, but as things turned out, a greatly increased allup-weight resulted in the MR.3 having a slightly shorter range than its predecessors. Griffon 58 engines were fitted to the new

On returning to Woodford from Farnborough, WR970 took on a unicorn-like appearance when fitted with a long nose probe to carry the yaw meter. Less than three months later it had crashed, claiming the lives of an Avro test pilot, plus three flight technicians. Harry Holmes

Three days after its maiden flight at Woodford, on 2 September 1955, the MR.3 prototype, WR970, was taken down to Farnborough for the SBAC Display, bedecked with Avro and Hawker Siddeley Group logos, to put up an impressive performance in the hands of Johnny Baker. Aeroplane and author's collection

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maritime reconnaissance aircraft. Therefore the redesign had to be subtle, and the result turned out to be just that. Few great external changes, but a considerable amount of improvement within.

their Advanced Flying School course at Cranwell. The new undercarriage employed twin-wheel units all round, with the main wheels retracting forwards and having a Dunlop Maxaret braking system on each

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variant from the start; these had a new sealed exhaust system routed under the wing, and this change alone provided an enormou ly improved environment for the crew.

NOSE-WHEELS, TIP TANKS AND COMFORT

Internal Improvements Another major contributory factor to the enhanced working environment was the fitting, at last, of soundproofing. The entire fuselage was lagged with a substantial layer of fibreglass, which was covered with cream and brown 'Rexin' artificial leather material. The appearance alone, compared to the former black-painted interior, was uplifting. Each crew member was provided with a large, padded, armchair-style seat and the four-man tactical team was seated alongside each other, facing portside, at a one-piece working table above which the controls for the electronic and detecting systems, updated to the latest specifications, were situated. As the dorsal turret on all Shackletons had been dispensed with some time ago, a combined galley and rest-bunk area

was provided, with the two outwards-facing observers situated further aft. Having learned from the past, the designers left space for the installation of new equipment, as and when it was ready for service. Attention was also given to the fact that, with the increased weight of the new aircraft, plus the new weapons that were being developed and that it would be required to carry, it would most certainly require additional take-off power, a fact that was to prove correct when the MR.3 reached service use.

The MR.3 Prototype Flies Although it was the prototype, the first MR.3 was classified as a production airframe, covered by the second half of the amended Contract No. 6jACFfj6408j

The production of at least six MR.3s for the RAF is shown in Bay 3 at Chadderton, from where the units were conveyed to Woodford for assembly. Harry Holmes

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CB6(a) for MR.2 production, originally issued on 8 February 1951. The amended order covered the building of twenty-one aircraft in one batch, to which the serial numbers WR970 to WR990 were allocated. Construction of WR970 started in late 1954 and the aircraft was ready for its maiden flight at the end of August 1955. It was taken on charge by the Controller (Air), for the variant's development trials to be conducted by the manufacturer and on 2 September, Johnny Baker took it for its first flight. This was to be his one and only instance of taking a prototype into the air for the first time. Three days later, he took WR970 down to Farnborough for the SBAC Display, this being the seventh consecutive year that a Shackleton flew at the event, and it was to be the last time that Avro displayed the type. Five years later the MR.3 was back: at

As the RAE's T.4, VP293, approaches Farnborough's operational runway, the distinctive propeller blade striping becomes very apparent. Aeroplane

(Below)This fine study of T.4 WR964/Z shows how the MOTU repeated the aircraft's individual code letter on the rear fuselage. Harry Holmes

J

A No. 38 Squadron formation, flying over Valetta harbour at low level, gives the Maltese capital's population the 'Griffon growl'.

(Above) No. 224 Squadron's WL752/T flies over Jebel Akhdar. Mike Pettet MR.2 WL754/F of No. 42 Squadron was detached from St Mawgan to assist No. 37 Squadron during the troubles in Aden. Ray Deacon

OPPOSITE PAGE:

Maintenance equipment in Aden was rather rudimentary, but you got a good tan! Mike Pettet

No. 42 Squadron's WL801/B and WL754/F during their detachment to Khormaksar in 1962. Ray Deacon (Below) WL752/T of No. 224 Squadron has its red spinners glistening in the Arabian sunshine. Mike Pettet (BoNom) Another of No. 224 Squadron's detachments to Khormaksar was WR969/S. Mike Pettet

(Top) No. 224 Squadron's MR.2 WL753/0 formates on the starboard side. Mike Pettet (Above) In July 1963. MR.3 WR989/B from No. 120 Squadron passed through RAF Eastleigh in Kenya. from Kinloss. Ray Deacon

With Fit Lt Sherdon at the controls. MR.3 XF707/C of No. 206 Squadron flies over Perranporth in 1963. just up the coast from its base at St Mawgan. George Hart

(Above) An all-Avro line up at Mildenhall in 1988, as the BBMF Lancaster B.1, PA474, and Vulcan B.2 XH558 stand either side of Shackleton AEW.2 WL747. Author's collection (Right) Nimrod XV226 was the first production airframe of the Shackleton's maritime reconnaissance successor. Gordon Bartley

With red tip tanks and white spinners, MR.3 WR989/B of No. 120 Squadron shows that it has received Phase II and III updates. Harry Holmes

(Below) No. 120 Squadron's hangar at Kinloss, under the nose of WL741. shows that No.8 Squadron had not moved to its permanent base at Lossiemouth when this photograph was taken. Derek James

(Above) Khormaksar's dispersal has No. 224 Squadron MR.2s basking in the desert heat. Mike Pettet

XF708/C of No. 201 Squadron has Vipers in its outer nacelles, to prove it is a fully Phased Shackleton MR.3. Dave Jackson

NOSE-WHEELS, TIP TANKS AND COMFORT

the 1960 Display, as a part of the RAF's participation, XF711, of No. 201 Squadron, took off for a 22-hour patrol and XF708, from the same squadron, landed after a similar sortie. Just what the pilots thought of having to make a landing in front of a very large gathering of the world's aeronautical fraternity after such a long flight, is a subject upon which to ponder!

Delayed Service Entry Because of the loss of WR970, the issuing of the MR.3 to Coastal Command was put on hold until a proven stall-warning system had been perfected. The satisfactory solution proved to be the fitting of a spoiler on the leading edge of the wing centresection, sited between the fuselage and inboard engine nacelles. The second aircraft, WR971, which in effect was the first

to the A&AEE for this work on 28 December 1956 and the trials occupied the next five months. Avro had the aircraft back on 24 May 1957 and it became a testing vehicle for numerous systems, before being purchased by the MoA on 13 March 1959, on behalf of the RAE. The aircraft went to Langar several times for the installation of updated equipment required by the RAE and, on 10 April 1961, WR972 started a series of drag

Prototype Development and Tragedy

I

(Top) AEW.2 WL747 was a regular participant on the Air Show circuit in the 1980s, and here at Mildenhall in 1988 it presents a top side to the Media enclosure. Author's collection

(Middle) A wet dispersal pan awaits WL757 as it taxies in. Harry Holmes (Bottom) A fine study of WR963, which was one of the six aircraft withdrawn from No.8 Squadron in 1981. Dave Jackson (Left) Sentry AEW.1s had taken over from the venerable Shackleton by 1991. and here ZH102 arrives at Brize Norton for their Air Display in 1992. Author's collection

WR970 continued development trials at Woodford, during which a 12ft (3.6m) nose probe, carrying a yaw meter for the aerodynamic test programme, projected from the gunner's sighting station. An anecdotal account of an air-to-air photographic session involving Avro's excellent Chief Photographer, Paul Collerne, sitting in the tail of a Lancaster from which the rear turret had been removed, alleges that he kept calling for Johnny Baker to bring WR970 closer. Baker became rather irritated by these repeated requests and is purported to have brought the Shackleton to a position where the probe almost touched the photographer, asking 'Is that close enough?' It is a nice story, but one that has not been substantiated. The prototype was sent to Boscombe Down on 7 September 1956 for flight assessment, together with an Avro technical team, as the company was responsible for the development trials. The A&AEE soon found that the aircraft had undesirable stalling characteristics, which were exacerbated when the bomb-bay doors were open. Consequently, the Establishment returned the aircraft to the Avro team on site and WR970 was flown back to Woodford on 28 November for an urgent programme to install and test improved stall-warning equipment. On 7 December, Squadron Leader Jack Wales, a senior member of Avro's team of production test pilots, took WR970 for a test flight with a revised stall-warning fitted. 'Black boxes' were not common in those days, so the exact causes of the day's tragedy must have a certain air of supposition. It is believed that an induced stall was made in cloudy conditions and the prototype became inverted without engine power. It fell out of the sky, to crash near the Derbyshire village of Foolow, killing the test pilot and three Avro technicians aboard.

The first production MR.3, WR971, photographed while undergoing handling trials with the A&AEE on 13 February 1957, carries some of their test equipment under the starboard wing. Harry Holmes

production aircraft, had first flown on 28 May 1956, a full seven months before the accident. It was held by the manufacturer and armament trials at Boscombe Down were not started until 12 December. These were curtailed and the aircraft was used for further development work by Avro, pending the results of the stall-warning programme. When these came to a satisfactory conclusion, WR971 went back to the A&AEE for a continuation of the annament trials, arriving back at Woodford on 12 May 1958. WR972, which first flew on 6 November 1956, was also retained by the Controller (Air), as a test vehicle for the development of navigation radars and photographic equipment. It was delivered

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parachute tests at Farnborough and was used at the Establishment for the next twelve years on a variety of research programmes. By 31 January 1973, with its fatigue life expended, the aircraft was consigned to the RAE's rescue and fire fighting section. The fourth MR.3, WR974, first flown on 1 May 1957, was allocated for tropical and winter trials. Preparation was undertaken by both Woodford and Langar, this being the first MR.3 to go through the latter's works. It was delivered to Boscombe Down on 5 July 1957 and their pilots flew it to Idris in Libya for a month's armament testing in a tropical environment. On returning to the UK in August, WR974 went to No. 49 MU at Colerne, where an Avro Company Working Party (CWP)

NOSE· WHEELS. TIP TANKS AND COMFORT

OSE·WHEELS. TIP TANKS A D COMFORT

WR972. the second production MR.3. became an Establishment aircraft following its maiden flight on 6 November 1956. operated by both the A&AEE at Boscombe Down and RAE Farnborough. It was photographed at the latter in 1968; three years later its fatigue life was expended. following which it was consigned to the RAE's fire fighting and rescue unit. Ray Deacon

Squadron Deliveries at Last The first MRJ to go into RAF service as a new aircraft was the sixth production airframe, WR976. After pre-delivery checks

by o. 23 MU, it left Aldergrove on 30 August 1957 to join No. 220 quad ron at St Mawgan and be coded 'K'. The following year, on 2 May 1958, it suffered a partial inflight hydraulic failure and during a landing

on a foam strip laid down at it base, the nose-wheel collapsed. Three days later WR975, which had been used by the RAF Handling Squadron to compile the MR.3 'Pilot's Notes', had to make an emergency

(Below) No. 220 Squadron at St Mawgan was the first to receive the MR.3. and WR978/M was delivered to the unit in November 1957. Author's collection

J

(Above) WR977. the seventh production MR.3. was shown in the static park at the 1957 SBAC Display. before joining No. 220 Squadron as T. in October. Author's collection

prepared it for the winterization trials. The A&AEE accepted the aircraft again on 20 September and flew it to Canada on October, but it was damaged a month later. Repair were made by The Fairey Aircraft Company of anada, following which the trials were continued befor the return to Boscombe Down, who delivered back to 0.49 MU on 16 April 195 . After a Phase I update, the aircraft had a brief spell with No. 203 quad ron at Ballykelly, before returning to Langar for mo lifications to

bring it up to Phase II standard. With these updates completed, WR974 was transferred to the Air Mini try Air Fleet. With thi unit, the aircraft spent the next eight year on a vast number of trials programmes for the A&AEE, the RAE and Hawker iddcley at Bitte well. Flight te 1'ing of the Griffon 58 with modified oil cooler, together with another round of tropical and winterization trials, were conducted with the aircraft, until it eventually returned to Ballykelly's No. 203

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(Below) No. 201 Squadron based at St Mawgan. started receiving MR.3s in January 1958. but XF706/N. shown here launching its lindholme Gear. was a late arrival. having previously served with Nos 120 and 203 Squadrons. The ECM aerial housing shows that it had been Phase II updated and the rear fuselage camera bay doors are open. Author's collection

Squadron in August 1968, only to be loaned to No. 42 Squadron at St Mawgan for four month. Returning to Ballykelly in January 1969, WR974 had a month of modifications at Bitteswell the following year, but on returning to the quadron, was transferred to the Kinlos Wing on 6 April 1970. It was pas ed to o. 2 SoIT as Instructional Airframe 8117M. Eighteen years later, WR974 was put up for sale and joined the Peter Vallance ollection at harlwood in West Sussex.

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St Mawgan's.third MR.3 unit was No. 206 Squadron, who received WR986/F in June 1958. By the time that this picture was taken, white tops had been introduced but the two aircraft shown had yet to be Phase II updated. The aircraft parked in the background, under 'F's port outer engine, is a Hastings from an unknown unit. Aeroplane

landing on a foam trip at the same base with a retra ted nose-wheel, also due to hydraulic failure. While a Company Working Party carried out the repairs to WR976, WR975 was attended to by a team from No. 49 MU at Colerne. WR976's repairs were ompleted in December 1958, by which time the unit had been reformed as No. 201 quadron. When WR975 had been repaired, it joined WR977 to WR980, all having been delivered to the unit during the repair ession. WR987 had also became a No. 201 Squadron aircraft, which meant that it had seven aircraft, one more than the established trength. However, WR975 left in August 1959 for Phase [ modifications, so the unit's strength was rationalized. o. 206 quadran, also a t Mawgan resident, received WR98 [ as it first MR.3

in January [95 and by June had taken delivery ofWR982 to WR986, bringing it up to full strength. o. 120 quadron at Aldergrove was the third unit to receive the new variant: WR988 was received in July 1958, followed by WR989 in August and WR990 in eptember, this being the final aircraft fram the contract in its original form.

Another Order On 23 September 1953, the same contract was amended again, to include seventeen additional MR.3s, built to Issue 3 of Spec ificarion R.5/46. They were to be built in two batches, with serials XF700 to XF711 and XF730 to XF734. However, on 14 February 1956 th second batch was cancelled,

.~:"

WR989/B served with No. 120 Squadron from August 1958 to December 1963, and when it visited RAF Eastleigh in Kenya during July 1963 it had received its Phase II modifications. Ray Deacon

XF704/D was the fifth aircraft from Avro's final MR.3 order, which returned to No. 120 Squadron after its Phase II upgrade in July 1962. A year later it visited Embakasi Airport in Nairobi from Kinloss, and parked alongside Victor B1A XH594 of No. 55 Squadron at Honington. Behind them are an East African Airways DC-3 and a BOAC Comet 4. Ray Deacon

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Lakenheath's Open Day in 1965 saw MR.3 Phase II XF708/A, whose captain was Sqn Ldr G. A. King, representing No. 120 Squadron. Archer/Fenn via Aeroplane

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except for XF730, which wa ordered as a replacement for the first MR.3, WR970. XF700 became o. 120 Squadron's fourth MR.3 on arrival in September 1958 and XF701 follow d it the next month. The sixth aircraft was XF704, which had been on the strength of o. 203 Squadron before going to No. 49 MU for a Phase 1 upgrade by a CWP, which wa completed in April 1960 and the aircraft was delivered to Aldergrove. 0, although it was the quadron' ixth aircraft, it was their fir t brought up to Phase [ standard. In November 1958, o. 203 quadron was reformed at Ballykelly by th renumbering of No. 240 Squadron. The new squadron still held five MR. 1 , a legacy from the previous unit, and in the same month it took delivery of it first M.R.3, XF702. XF704 was received in the same

OSE-WI-IEELS, TIP TA

month, with XF703, XF705 and XF706 arriving in December. XF704, XF705 and XF706 were all flown direct to Ballykelly from Woodford, instead of the u ual procedure of being delivered via 0,23 MU. The ixth aircraft, to make up the full quad ron complement, was WR974, which also arrived in December, to be the unit' first Phase I standard aircraft. So, while entry of the MR,3 into squadron service was curtailed in the first place, Avro had ertainly worked hard to ensure that units received the new variant as soon as possible.

KS AND COMFORT

The MR.3 Phases As with the MR.2 aircraft, all the MR.3s went through the Phase programmes of modifications, except WR972 and XF710. The former was retained by the Controller (Air) to be used for a multitude of trials, including ome of the Phase I and II equipment, although it was not modified to include them as permanent fixtures, XF710 was a No. 120 Squadron aircraft that had undergone Phase I and II update but crash-landed on ulloden Moor in

(Above)The 1960 SBAC Display at Farnborough saw No, 201 Squadron put up an MR,3 each day, to start a twenty-two hour patrol. The flying programme was preceded by an aircraft taking off to commence the patrol and ended by the previous day's take-off participant landing. Here XF711/l, a Phase I MR.3, returns after its patrol, Author's collection

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Inverness on 10 January 1964 due to an engine fire, before it had received the Phase III update. MR.3 Phase I modifications involved replacing the aging and, by now, rather unreliable A V13 radar designed by the TRE, with an updated version devi ed by EMI, the A V21, which functioned with input from the Green Silk Doppler navigation radar, the maritime patrol version of Green atin, that provided ground tabilization by measuring ground speed and drift, A radio homing device, Instrument

(Below) When photographed in 1965, WR975/S was flying with No, 206 Squadron at Kinloss, having received the Phase III update, but before the installation of the two Vipers, The Phase II Orange Harvest ECM aerial is conspicuous protruding above its housing, Derek James

Landing System (ILS), plus radio/radar activated altimeters, all contributed to an improved operational capability, The fourth production aircraft, WR974, was modified to full Phase I standard by a CWP at 0.49 MU. Arriving at olerne on 16 April 1958, its update wa completed by 27 Augu t and the aircraft is believed to have been the first to receive the Phase 1 series of modifications. Phase II updates on the MR.3 were imilar to those performed on the MR.2 and again were concentrated on what we today refer to as avionics, The E M suite wa installed, with its prominent beacon-like aerial mounted on the roof, in line with the wing' rear spar. As with its predecessor, the MR,3's E M aerial could be removed if a particular sortie was such that the suite would not be in use, but such flight were fairly rare, The Mk Ic Sonic ystem of active and passive sonobuoys wa installed, together with TACA radio bearing/distance measuring equipment. hackleton MR,3 Phase III modifications, started in March 1963 on WR975, involved considerably more rebuilding than on the MR.2. There had been several instances of nose-wheels collap ing, 0 Dowty were asked to come up with a more ubstantial forging for a replacement nosewheel leg, The tip-tanks were slightly increased in size, each to hold 253gal (l,1511tr), Together with a con iderable amount of additional equipment installed within the aircraft, these modifications, as foreseen at the design stage, increased the all-up weight to a point where four Griffon 58 were insufficient to get an MRJ Pha e 111 aircraft airborne from the warmer, higher-altitude airfields overseas from which the hackleton had operated for many years, Roll -Royce could not incr as the Griffon's performance to any appreciable degree, so extra power would have to be obtained by adding at least a pair of additional engine, which in tum would add even more weight. Good power-to-weight ratios were bing achieved by the smaller turbojet engine in production at the time, the Bri tol iddeley Viper wa een a the most suitable, How ver, the fitting of two additional engines, no matter how good their power-to-weight ratio, meant that the MR,3's wing structure had to be trengthened, In its Viper 11 form, the engine was selected as the additional power source for the Shackleton MR,3 Phase Ill, and the variant was designated the Mk 203. From an all-up weight of 549lb (249kg), it could

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AVenomous little Turbojet Armstrong Siddeley Motors at Coventry entered the turbojet field at the end of 1942, with their ASX, designed in conjunction with the RAE at Farnborough, where Dr A. A. Griffiths had been working on axial-flow turbojet research since the 1930s. The ASX first took to the air, slung under the bomb-bay of lancaster Mk III ND784 in the spring of 1945. The company progressed to designing a turbojet with a reduction gear to drive a propeller; its first production turboprop was the Python, a large engine weighing 3,4501b (1,565kgl, which produced 3,670 equivalent shaft horse power (eshpl, plus 1,1501b (522kg) residual thrust. Flight testing commenced in 1948, using lancaster Mk Ills RE137 and then TW911. The Python's only service application was as the powerplant for the Fleet Air Arm's big Westland Wyvern strike aircraft. In parallel with Python development, Armstong Siddeley recognized a market for a smaller turboprop engine in the 1,000eshp range and, using a straightthrough gas flow as opposed to the Python's reverse flow, had an example bench-running in the spring of 1948, to which they gave the name Mamba. Test flying began on 14 October 1948, in the modified nose of lancaster ND784/G, the aircraft that had taken the ASX aloft for the first time. The 'G' suffix had been added since the aircraft's ASX days and denoted that it had to be guarded when on an airfield away from its home base. The Mamba was producing 1,320eshp, together with 4051b (184kg) residual thrust. The engine was produced to power the Avro Athena and Boulton Paul Balliol advanced trainers; both were built in rather limited numbers in their Mamba-powered versions, RAF Training Command also receiving both types in versions powered by Rolls-Royce Merlin 35 engines. However, it enjoyed long service, again with the FAA, in its Double Mamba form, powering the Fairey Gannet. Armstrong Siddeley produced the ASA.1 Adder from Mamba research, as a quick-to-produce, cost-effective

turbojet in the 1,OOOlb (450kg) thrust class. Weighing just 580lb (253kgl, it passed a 150hr type test in May 1951 and the ubiquitous lancaster was again used as a flying test-bed. This time it was SW342, which already had a later version of the Mamba in its nose, and the Adder was installed in the rear-turret position. The SAA8 210 flying scale-model of their forthcoming J-35 Draken used the Adder in the 1950s, as did the Australian GAF C.1 Pika target drone. In the early 1950s Armstrong Siddeley decided to turn their attention to an expendable turbojet using slightly lower-grade alloys and designed to run at high turbine temperatures. Although it followed the Adder, the new engine really owed very little to that design, being more of a smaller version of Armstrong Siddeley's Sapphire, inheriting that engine's excellent compressor aerodynamics. Giving it the name Viper, Armstrong Siddeley had the ASV2 variant. weighing only 3651b (166kgl, ready for flight testing in 1952 and, as may be guessed, lancaster SW342 was chosen for the job (they certainly got their money's worth out of the aircraft!). The Viper replaced the Adder in the rear fuselage and the combination first became airborne in November of that year. From its beginnings as ashort-life engine, produced in its ASV3 and ASV6 versions, the Viper was recognized as being capable of development into a turbojet for piloted aircraft. The ASV8 was developed from the ASV5, which did not go into production, using higher-grade materials and, giving 2,4601b (1,116kgl thrust, it powered the early Jet Provosts, together with Italy's Macchi M8.326. Canberra B.2 WK141 was adapted to carry a single ASV8 Viper under its starboard wing, to start a programme of test flying in September 1958. In 1959, Armstrong Siddeley and Bristol Engines merged to form a new company, Bristol Siddeley. The Viper 8 was in production and from it. the Viper 11 was developed for the later Jet Provost 14 and 16, as well as the Indian Air Force's Kiran 1 trainer.

Specification - Bristol Siddeley Viper 11 Mk 203 length to exhaust cone 12ft 8Xin (1.74ml; maximum width 2ft ~in (0.624m) 5491b (249kg) Take-off rating 2,7001b 11 ,224kgl thrust at 13,500rpm; maximum continuous rating 2, 1601b 1980kg) thrust at 13,1 OOrpm Specific fuel consumption: 1.07Ib/hr 10.485kg/hr) at maximum thrust

Dimensions: Weight (dry): Performance:

produce 2,700lb (1 ,200kg) thrust. The engine was a simple turbojet, using a seventage axial compressor driv n by a singlestage turbine. For its MR.3 application, much research was put in to enable the engine to run on the high-octane petrol (AVGA ) of the Griffons, thereby avoiding the need for a separate kerosene fuel system and additional tanks, The Viper proved it could indeed be operated on AVGAS, but there had to be a restriction on the time that it ran at maximum power, to avoid dangerous lead deposits building

703

up on the turbine blade, At maximum power, a time restriction of five minute was imposed, although up to four hours at cruise etting could be employed in anyone flight, As the engine came into general ervice, it wa found that it could operate at any power setting in an emergency but, once the oil pressure warning light came on, it had to be hut down pretty quickly, A very neat Viper installation was designed for the M,RJ, with the engine fitted b hind th outboard Griffons. Efflux was via an orifice in the rear of the reconfigured

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OPPOSITE PAGE:

(Top) WR973 was retained at Woodford as the Viper installation trials aircraft, after serving with Nos 203 and 206 Squadrons. The Vipers were first flight tested in the MR.3 in February 1965. and are seen here with their air intake-scoop plates lowered. Aeroplane

(Bottom) This close-up of the starboard Viper installation on XF701/T of No. 206 Squadron shows the turbojet's intake plate in the closed position, Aeroplane

nacelle, and with such a short jet pipe there was not the loss of power that occurred when long jet pipes had to be employed. The intake for the Viper was through an aperture in the base of the nacelle, which was covered by a contoured plate that came down on four stays to act a an air-scoop when the additional power was required and retracted to lie flush with the nacelle underside when not in u e. WR973, th third production MR.3, after serving with Nos 203 and 206 quadrons, was allotted to Woodford for Phase III modification in July 1963, where it was retained as the trial aircraft for the turbojet in tallation. Its owner hip was transferred to the MoA on 29 January 1965, in ord r for flight trials of the new assembly to be made. A special Contract No. KD/L/l 02/CB6(a) was issued and flight testing with WR973 commenced on 29 February 1965. early three months later, on 19 May, the aircraft went to Boscombe Down for two weeks' preliminary performance testing, following which it r turned to Woodford on 9 June for alterations to be incorporated. Establishment pilots found that the flying characteri tic had changed conSiderably from previous Shackleton, with WR973 showing a distinct tendency to tail-heaviness; Avro rectified this by removing all the fib reglas soundproofing aft of the crew's rest area. Although the two observers were now in a noisi r environment than the rest of the crew, the redirected engine-exhaust sy tem and stiffer wing construction made it a lot better than in previous aircraft. There were al 0 rack of flare stowed on the side walls, which, to a certain extent, acted as baffles. The A&AEE received the aircraft again on 28 July for a full trials programme, which included operating under hotw ather conditions in the United States during August. On 30 September, WR973 returned to Woodford, with the Viper installation cleared for service and, after all the te t equipment had been removed

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by Langar's engineers, the aircraft resumed its RAF career by being tran ferred to the Kinloss Wing in February 1967. The Wing at Kinloss aro e in that month, when os 120, 201 and 206 quadrons based there gradually lost their own individual aircraft. Squadron number had di appeared from the aircraft in the 1966 repainting scheme and, at Kinloss, a system of single-letter codes was introduced for individual aircraft. o. 120 Squadron wa allotted the letters 'A' to 'H', 0.201 Squadron']' to 'Q' and No. 206 quadron 'R' to 'z'. A series of Viper trials was also conducted with WR9 9, which was loaned to the A&AEE for low temperature/high humidity tests, when it flew in a calibrated water spray produced by an berra B(1).8 WV787, which had a long ventral spray bar extending from the water tank situated in the bomb-bay.

was i sued. This was to cover the construction of an additional thirteen aircraft to pecification R.5/46 (Issue 3), for which the erials XG912 to XG924 were allocated. However, this whole ord r wa cancelled on 14 February 1956.

Busy Aircraft Many of the thirty-three production MR.3s endured a lot of'to-ing and fro-ing' between quad ron , the manufacturer and the Establishments, for new equipment t be installed. All had to be tested and it is fair to say that quite a significant proportion of the two production batches almost spent more time in this way than on operational sortie. An xample of this is WR974, which was testing the Griffon 58 with modified oil coolers at the A&AEE from June to

Photographed at a Wethersfield Air Show on 28 May 1960, Phase I XF730/C was the last new-build Shackleton, which served with No. 206 Squadron from new. It was transferred to No. 120 Squadron after its Phase II update in December 1963 and had Vipers installed in 1966. George Pennick

While WR973' test programme were continuing, new-build MR.3 were coming off the line at Woodford, with the intention of fitting Viper in retrospect. In fact, of the whole MR.3 production, only a few left the works with Vipers in tailed, the majority going to Woodford or Langar for the fitment from their unit. XF707 was the last MR.3 to have Viper installed, the work being handled by Woodford between May 1967 and January 1968, it maiden flight with six engine on board taking place on 19 December 1967, a fortnight before it return d to No. 42 quadron. Another MR.3 order, Contract No. 6/ACFT/llll06/CB6(a) dated July 1954,

705

September 1965, following which it was employed by Langar to t t tand-by bomb-bay heating and new photographic fla h unit. This wa all of eight year after its maiden flight and a year spent at the beginning of its career on varying climatic trials. It had also served nearly a year with No. 203 Squadron and, following all the trials programme, it returned to squadron ervice in 1965. With only two exceptions, every MR.3 flew with at least three different squadrons, the exceptions being WR983, which only served with Nos 120 and 206 quadrons, and WR990, which also flew with No. 120 Squadron at Aldergrove, before being

NOSE-WHEELS, TIP TANKS AND COMFORT

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transferred to No. 210 Squadron. With the Central Servicing at Kinloss, both aircraft became members of the Kinloss Wing. At the other extreme, WR975, WR977, WR981, WR982, WR984, XF703, XF705

and XF706 all served with five different squadrons which, considering that the MR.3 was only in RAF service for thirteen years, shows quite a high degree of aircraft movement. By comparison, the MR.l(rA

served for seventeen years, while the MR.2 flew with the Service for nineteen years (not including those converted to AEW.2s in 1971, which took the time served nearly off the clock!).

MR.3 Departures While the Viper was a necessary addition to the MR.3, and the wing structure was stiffened to allow for their fitment, there is no doubt that they brought about an early wing fatigue problem. The BAe Nimrod MR. 1 (whose roots lay in the Comet 4 from de Havilland, who had been absorbed into Hawker Siddeley during 1960) was starting to come off the production line and No. 201 Squadron received their first in the spring of 1970. (What a culture shock that must have been!) By the end of that year, Nos 120, 201 and 206 Squadrons had all bid their MR.3s a fond farewell. But No. 203 Squadron had taken theirs to Malta on 29/30 January 1969, when the unit was posted to Luqa. A political dispute with the Maltese Prime Minister, over the cost of the RAPs bases on the island, precipitated a move to Sigonella, on the island of Sicily in December 1971 and, as the Squadron had already started conversion to the N imrod, the last four remaining Shackletons, WR987, WR988, WR989 and XF708, left the Mediterranean area in the following month and flew to No.5 MU at Kemble on 12 January 1972. Incidentally, by the spring of 1972, the Maltese Government had come to appreciate the input of the RAF on the Maltese economy and No. 203 Squadron was back at Luqa by 23 April.

No. 206 Squadron's XF701/T lifts off from Kinloss, with Vipers providing additional power. Author's collection

MR.3 Losses (Above) WR975/P of St Mawgan-based No. 201 Squadron, before it received any Phase updates. The aircraft had been used at Manby for MR.3 Pilot's Notes and was coded 'P' with No. 220 Squadron before the unit became No. 201 Squadron. After Phase I modification it was issued to No. 203 Squadron, coded 'F'; it returned to No. 201 Squadron in 1962, coded '0'. Following its Phase III update, it became'S' at No. 206 Squadron, then 'It with No. 120 Squadron. Following its Viper installation, the aircraft joined the Kinloss Wing, still as 'A', until being scrapped in 1971. Author's collection

(Below) A nice in-line formation shot of a pair of MR.3s belonging to an unidentified Coastal Command squadron. Crown copyright

Four MR.3s, WR976, XF702, XF704 and XF710, in addition to the prototype WR970, were lost due to crashes while in squadron service, which represents just over 8 per cent of the production. Also, • WR986 was declared a write-off for a very bizarre reason. While serving with No. 203 Squadron at Safi on Malta, severe damage was sustained in the wings due to an invasion of rats, that had a very detrimental effect on the control linkages, together with fuel and hydrauliC lines.

Colours and Coding Shackleton MR.3s first came out from Woodford in the overall Dark Sea Grey finish, but by 1960, the white fuselage tops had been incorporated, together with the squadron number on the rear fuselage and individual code letter on the nose, both in red with a white outline. Union flags

706

On 24 March 1961, Short Sunderland Mk III Ml824 returned from France and flew up Milford Haven before touching down at Pembroke Oock for conservation. It now resides in the RAF Museum at Hendon. Being a former No. 201 Squadron aircraft, it was fitting that she should be escorted by current unit aircraft, so MR.3s WR975/P and WR980/0 performed the honours. Here WR980/0 is seen in formation with the flying boat, which was still carrying the colours of the French Maritime Nationale, with which it had served. Peter Thomas

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NOSE-WHEELS, TIP TANKS AND COMFORT

started to appear on the nose of No. 201 Squadron aircraft, with a reproduction of the squadron crest on the fin above the service flash. This unit, together with No. 203 Squadron at Ballykelly, opted to paint their tip tanks red. No. 206 Squadron at Kinloss also indulged in red tip tanks, but positioned their crest under the service flash on the fin and, as has already been said, the Central Servicing introduced at the Scottish base

saw the disappearance of squadron number. In their place on the rear fuselage, 'ROYAL AIR FORCE' was lettered in white. The Controller (Air) MR.3, WR972 , the second production aircraft, flew with a variety of finishes between its maiden flight on 6 November 1956 and when its fatigue life was expended on 31 January 1973. The white top was applied over the Dark Sea Grey at the same time as the rest

of the MR.3s, but Day-Glo red was added on the nose, rear fuselage, tip tanks and spinner, while the underside was finished in broad bands of yellow and black. By 1966 the Dark Sea Grey was replaced by a painted aluminium finish, with the yellow/black underside retained, apart from a ventral white panel covering the radome and its surrounding skinning. At a later unknown date, a more stylish colour scheme

CHAPTER SEVEN

Table Mountain's Octet Historical Background

Specification - Avro 716 Shackleton MR.3 Dimensions: Powerplants:

Weights:

Crew: Armament:

Performance: Numbers built: Served with:

119ft 1Din (36.6m); length 92ft 5in (28.1 mIIWR972 was slightly shorter, due to modifications carried out on the rear fuselage for drag-parachute trialsl; wing area 1,458sq ft (135.45sq m) Four Rolls-Royce Griffon 58 twelve-cylinder liquid-cooled in-line engines plus (after Phase III modifications) two Bristol Siddeley Viper 11 Mk 203 turbojet engines each producing 2,5001b 11,134kgl thrust Empty 57,8001b (26,200kg); empty with Vipers 64,3001b (29,200kg); loaded maximum takeoff weight 1OO,OOOlb (45,000kg); loaded maximum take-off weight with Vipers 108,0001b 149,000kg) Ten Two 20mm cannon in nose turret; maximum weapon load 1O,OOOlb (4,500kgl comprising varying numbers of torpedoes, depth charges, mines, sonobuoys, marine markers and 1,0001b or 500lb bombs Maximum speed 297mph at 12,000ft (478km/h at 3,700m); service ceiling 18,600ft (5,700m); maximum range 3,660 miles (5,890kml One prototype, thirty-three MR.3s Nos 42, 120, 201,203,206 and 220 Squadrons, Air Ministry Air Fleet, ASWDU, RAE and RAF Handling Squadron

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A fine study of MR.3 Phase III WR973/U, after it had been withdrawn from No. 206 Squadron to become a member of the Kinloss Wing. Author's collection

was introduced, where the white top finished at a dark blue cheat-line that was carried over the nose ahead of the windscreen. The blue was carried onto the tail assembly, tip tanks and engine nacelles, with the colour continuing acros the top wing surface across the chord, in line with the engines, rather reiterating the old exhaust stains of the earlier variants. Above the cheat line, on both sides of the aircraft, 'Royal Aircraft Establishment' in red left one in no doubt as to its ownership.

In 1912, the Union Defence Force (UDF) was formed in South Africa, from which the South African Aviation Corps (SAAC) materialized as a part of the Active Citizen Force (ACF). The ACF's Commandant-General, Brigadier-General C F. Beyers, paid a visit to Europe to learn how the aeroplane was fitting into military operations, after which he reported back, advocating the establishing of a national school of aviation. A Mr Compton Paterson had a private flying school at Alexanderfontein, near Kimberley, and in April 1914 six of his pupils were sent to the Central Flying School (CFS) at Upavon. South Africans were granted permission to join the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and many flew with the Corps throughout World War One, becoming members of the RAF on its formation on 1 April 1918. An indigenous aircraft industry was formed to manufacture Avro Tutors and Hawker Harts under licence. The SAAC was reformed as the South African Air Force (SAAF) in 1920 and fifty-seven Tutors were built by the SAAF Aircraft and Artillery Depot at Pretoria Zwarfkop, which was the site of the SAAF's first airfield in 1921, plus a much larger number of Hinds during 1936-37. Licence-built Westland Wapitis, together with sixty-five Hartbees, were produced by the SAAF Roberts Heights factory at Pretoria and they formed part of the SAAF's first-line strength when World War Two broke out on 3 September 1939. Many Harts were supplied as trainers for the South African schools and the type was used by the SAAF on operational service in British West Africa. In the North African campaigns the SAAF had eleven squadrons, who flew nearly 34,000 sortie and destroyed 342 enemy aircraft. Avro supplied many Ansons to the SAAF, which were used for training, while Nos 31, 32 and 33 Flights, No. 35 Squadron and No. 60 Squadron all flew the aircraft on maritime surveillance around the Cape Town

coastline. An Avro York CI, MV107, became the personal aircraft of outh Africa's leader, Field Marshal Smuts and it was later given the SAAF serial 4999. [n the great expansion programme between 1937 and 1939, Battles, Blenheims, Gladiators and Hurricanes were supplied in considerable numbers. During the 1939-45 conflict the SAAF operated in the Western Desert against both the German and Italian forces, as well as in East Africa. Strangely, while the Commonwealth countries of Australia, Canada and New Zealand each had several squadrons ~ith predominantly their own national air and ground crews, South Africa did not, although hundreds of its countrymen served with the RAE World War Two saw the SAAF fly a total of 82,401 missions, which cost the lives of 2,227 airmen. The SAAF operated with distinction and one VC, 35 DSOs, 429 DFCs and 88 AFCs were won by its members. South Africa's contribution to World War Two was greatly enhanced by the Joint Air Training Scheme OATS), under which RAF, SAAF and other allied air crews were trained at thirty-eight different air schools. During the Scheme's five-year existence, some 33,347 aircrew passed out from the schools, with their wings or brevets. Three months before the end of the war, No. 35 Squadron was formed on 2 February 1945, flying Catalinas and Sunderland GR.Vs. In the immediate post-war years, the SAAF was equipped with a miscellany of different types, including the Lockheed Ventura GR.5, and in 1950 it supplied a small number of F-51D Mustangs to the United Nations forces flying in Korea. In 1952 the SAAF accepted F-86 Sabres from the USAF. No. 35 Squadron soldiered on with the Sunderland until 1957, when the Shackletons arrived, as related later in this chapter. [n the early 1960s, the country's security position had deteriorated to a point where the government had to seriously consider a re-arming programme. Canadair Sabres, de Havilland Vampires, Canberras, C-130

109

Hercules, Transall C-160Zs and Buccaneer S.50s were all purchased over the years. In April 1962, the SAAF received its fir t Mirage IllCs and a helicopter force of SA330 Pumas, SA321 L Super Pumas, Alouettes and Westland Wasps was formed. But by the late 1960s, the country's apartheid policy of racial segregation was almost universally condemned and an arms embargo was threatened. The South African Government did not heed this warning and the embargo was introduced, which not only stopped the delivery of new aircraft, but spares for the AAF's existing equipment, too. This affected the delivery of the Buccaneers and, while the original order for sixteen aircraft was honoured, a follow-up option on an additional fourteen S.50s was denied by the British Government. The country was forced to give a virtual rebirth to its aircraft industry in 1964, with the forming of the Atlas Aircraft Corporation, founded by Bonuskor as a private company; and in 1966 the first Aeromacchi MB.326 built under licence by the new company was flown, named the Impala. In the 1980s the Mirag lIIs were extensively refurbished to improve their capabilities, and given the name Cheetah. The Alpha XHl, revealed in April 1987, was South Africa's first home-designed attack helicopter and followed by the Rooivalk, derived from the Puma; while the Oryx was a licence-bui It version of the Super Puma. On 1 April 1992, the Atlas Aircraft Corporation became a part of the Denel Aerospace Group. The sweeping constitutional changes in the country during the 1990s led to a relaxing of the anns embargo and aJoint Military Co-ordination Council (JMCC) meeting in January 1994 initiated the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), with the AAF being its first constituent. The country has returned to the international fold and the SAAF is tasked with maintaining its capability to fulfil its primary role of providing air power within a modern national defence force, which includes making a contribution to world peace and

TABLE MO J TAlN'S OCTET

ecurity, through air operation in support of international bodies, subject to sanctioning by the South African Government. Today, the SAAF can buy modern warplanes again. Consequently, the Impala is to be replaced by the Bae Systems' Hawk Leadin Fighter Trainer (LIFT) and the Cheetah by the AAB/Bae ystems Gripen.

Interest is Born As has already been tated, South Africa's intere t in the hackleton was started by o. 42 Squadron's goodwill tour in 1953 and enlarged when No. 204 Squadron visited in the summer of 1955, for Exercise Durbex 11. Both these visits were by MR.2s, but the knowledge that a Mk.3 variant was starting to fill Avro's production line furthered the AAF's interest even more. When presented with the development plans for the Mk.3, on the lines of the Phases that had been introduced on the two previous variants, the South African Government was convinced that the

hackleton would meet the pressing need to replace the underland. Avro were given Contract BI/8129, i ued in March 1954, for eight MR.3 aircraft, constructor's numbers 1526 to 1533, and the SAAF serials 1716 to 1723 were allotted to them. This was in line with the AAF policy of having maritime reconnaissance aircraft serials commencing with '17', which wa tarted around th end of World War Two when sixteen underland GR.5s were delivered, first carrying RAF serials but, on arrival in South Africa, given the numbers 1700 to 1715.

Cape Town, Here We Come The aircraft were to be delivered as MR.3 Phase 1 aircraft, starting in the spring of 1957, and in February of that year some forty personnel from o. 35 quadron, AAF, led by the unit's Commanding Officer, om mandant M. J. ys, were received by Avro at their Woodford site. There, the South African contingent

TABLE MO NTAlJ 'S OCTET

underwent a concentrated course offamiliarization with the aircraft and, following the maiden flight of the first two aircraft, they took them to St Mawgan on 21 May 1957, to take part in a joint exercise with oastal Command. The first AAF MR.3, 1716, had made its maiden flight on 29 March 1957, followed on 6 May by 1717. Both aircraft carried SAAF markings, 1716/J and 1717/0, when they were officially accepted on 16 May by Commandant Uys, on behalf of his squadron. The work-up at St Mawgan lasted nearly three months, during which time the two were joined by 1718/K, and on 13 August the trio started the five-day flight to Cape Town, where they arrived on 18 August. ourh Africa's fourth Shackleton, 1719/L, had it first flight on 6 eptember, with 1720/M, following on 26 eptember, but the pair did not leave the UK until 8 February 195 ,arriving in South Africa on 13 February. 1721/N fir t rook ro the air on 12 December 1957, while I 722/P had its maiden flight nearly two months later, the 1716/J, the first SAAF MR.3, before departing for South Africa in the spring of 1957, wearing the old-style SAAF roundel. Aeroplane

Wl738/M of No. 204 Squadron together with aircraft of No. 42 Squadron made goodwill tours that influenced South Africa's decision to purchase Shackletons. Ray Deacon

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day before the previous pair left the UK, 7 February. The last of the AAF order, 1723/Q, had it first flight on 10 February. Three days later, on 13 February, 1721 flew down to St Eval, but joined up with 1722 and 1723 the following day for the trio ro start their delivery flight, which terminated at Ysterplaat on 26 February. 1723's arrival could not have been more dramatic, short of complete di a ter. The Shackleton's propen ity to hydraulic failure • loomed its ugly head, re ulting in the undercarriage and flaps having to be lowered by u ing the emergency air-pre ure system. However, the brakes were not capable of functioning, so that on touchdown, 1723 ran off the runway and crashed into one of the base's brick buildings. The encounter gave the maintenance staff its initiation on hackleton repairs, which with 1723 involved considerable work on o. 1 engine, plus its urrounding trucrure. The underlands had operated from Durban's Congella flying boat station, but for land-based maritime reconnaissance aircraft, the Cape Town base at Ysterplaat was initially mooted as 0.35 quadron' Shackleton operational station. However,

it wa realized that this would nor be large enough for a fully laden MR.3 to get airborne, so a portion of the D. F. Malan civil airport was allotted ro the quad ron and Ysterplaat became the maintenance facility. (This airport was named after Group aptain Malan, who was the third-highest scoring fighter pilot in the RAF during World War Two, with thirty-five victories to his name.)

SAAF Service Begins At the time of delivery, AAF MR.3s were very similar to their RAF equivalents externally, the repositioning of the astrodome from its mid-fuselage position to one further aft being the most noticeable change. Three of the aircraft were fitted out to carry the aro Mk 3 airborne lifeboat, but te t made with the Lindholme Gear convinced the SAAF that it wa superior and, like the RAF, they opte I for the latter. The remaining five aircraft were completed without the lifeboat attachment point. An early modification made to the aircraft by SAAF engineers was th fitting of rails for four 3in ro ket flares, mounted under each outboard

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wing section. A imilar installation had already been tested by Avro, u ing MR.2 WG532, under the codename Glow Worm. Trials were started by the A WDU on 21 January 1953 and the aircraft wa transfelTed to the A&AEE in ept mber for another eight-month assessment of the system. However, the installation was not accepted for squadron service by Coastal Command. ome of the early long-range sortie made by o. 35 quadron's hackletons involved fifteen-hour flights covering some 3,000 miles (5,000km) of South African territory. Known as 'border patrol " they were flown at low level over vast areas around the Kalahari Desert and Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). National game park wardens filed complaints about the effect of these flights on the wildlife under their juri diction, and as outh Africa is very aware of the importance of maintaining her many indigenous species, the flights were topped. More important, so far as the international scene was concerned at that tim, was the increase in oviet maritime activities in the Atlantic. The hipping routes around the Cape of Good Hope were a constant patrol area, with the movements

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South Africa's second MR.3, 1717, participated in an air-to-air photo-call before receiving its individual code letter. Author's collection

On the threshold, ready to leave for Cape Town, 1717 now displays its '0' code, but still has the old SAAF roundels. Aeroplane

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When South Africa's last three aircraft were photographed at Woodford, they had the revised SAAF 'Castle' roundels in place. Aeroplane

MR.2 WG532 shows the Glow Worm rocket flare installation on trial at the A&AEE, which the SAAF adopted as standard, but the RAF did not. Harry Holmes

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of USSR naval forces between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans monitored on a roundthe-clock basis.

Lows and Highs The SAAF's Shackleton strength was reduced by one in August 1963. 1718 had previously suffered a hydraulic failure, resulting in a wheels-up landing at D. F Malan on 9 November 1959, but the required repairs were carried out in record time, in order to get the aircraft back into service. On 8 August 1963 the aircraft had been engaged in joint exercises with the RAF and was on a return flight to Cape Town. In gusting winds and severe icing conditions down to 3,000ft (l,OOOm), 1718 struck high ground before crashing into the Wemmershook mountain range outside the town of Worcester, some 60 mile (96km) east of its destination. All thirteen crew members were killed in the tragedy, that was hard to accept by the squadron for some time. The aircraft had made a total of 777 flying hours during the six years since its acceptance by the SAAF

On the other side of the coin, two years later 1722 took part in an impressive display of search and rescue. Eight Buccaneer S.50s were in loose formation on their delivery flight to the SAAF when one, SAAF No. 419, had a flame-out in both engines at high altitude, about 500 miles (800km) south of the Canary Islands. The two crew members, Captains Jooste and de Kerk, ejected while Major A. M. Muller, who was leading the formation, relayed their position. 1722 was scrambled, and only a couple of hours into the mission picked up the 'blips' from the downed ainnen's SARAH beacons. Coloured flares were fired by both the hackleton crew and the survivors in the Atlantic, to verify visual contact by all concerned. Another MRJ, 1721, was drafted into what was no longer a search, but a rescue operation and two sets of Lindholme Gear were dropped to the Buccaneer crew. The Dutch lin r Randfontein was in the area and 1722 guided it to the rescue location, where a successful transfer from life raft to luxury was made. 1722, captained by Major Pat Conway, had flown nearly eighteen hours on the AR mission, which had been undertaken as a text-book operation.

The SAAF pilot displays great confidence in his aircraft and its Griffons, as he tucks the undercarriage away so soon after lift-off. Author's collection

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Combined Operations In 1971, the treacherous currents around the Cape of Good Hope claimed another victim. The 70,000 ton oil tanker Wafra ran aground on rocks off Cape Agulhas, the most southerly tip of the African continent. With its 60,000-ton cargo of crude oil threatening to cause an ecological disaster for the area's wildlife, not to mention the renowned holiday resorts that were located around that part of the country, an ocean-going tug was called in to tow the stricken vessel off the rocks. Good seamanship by the tug's crew got the Wafra clear of the reef wi th very little oil spi Ilage and the tanker was towed some 200 miles (300km) out to sea. As the vessel was unsalvageable in her existing state and there was no chance of transferring her cargo to another tanker, the SAAF was briefed to sink her, with the added instruction that, if possible, the ship's internal structure was not to be ruptured, so that she could take her cargo with her when she sank. No. 24 Squadron's Buccaneer S.50s, armed with a pair of Nord AS-30 air-to-

ground missiles under each wing, carried out two sortie against the vessel, under the guidance of No. 35 Squadron, but the tanker remained intact. Consequently, MR.3s were called into action and a salvo of depth charges dropped alongside the Wafra had the desired effect. She sank onto the Agulhas Plateau, 2,300ft (700m) below the turbulent meeting place of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, complete with her crude oil. At least two SAAF MRJs are known to have returned to the UK. 1719 arrived on 25 February 1963 for a six-week training exercise with Coastal Command and it arrived back at D. F Malan on 1 April. The following year, 1722 touched down at BalIykelly on 28 June, for a four-week course at the JASS, returning to Cape Town on 30 July 1964.

Phases and Damage After the loss of 1718, the seven surviving MR.3s were all progressively modified to Phase III standard by Hawker Siddeley CWPs, except that the Armstrong Siddeley Viper was never installed in any of the South African aircraft. The bases used by No. 35 quadron were deemed to be large enough to get even a fully laden MRJ airborne, The Phase III modifications were implemented before the arms embargo and the full ECM suit was installed in all seven aircraft, so that they approximated to the

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RAF's final MR.3 condition, apart from the Viper. Wing re-sparring was carried out on at least two aircraft, 1716 being out of service for the work between March 1973 and April 1976. Re-sparri ng on 1717 took a lot less time - no doubt the engineers had learned from the work on 1716 - the squadron being without the aircraft from September 1975 to October 1977. At least two other aircraft, besides 1718 and 1723 already mentioned, had undercarriage problems on landing. 1722's nosewheel refused to lock down on 7 June 1960 and the aircraft landed on a foam strip laid down at Langebaanweg, the nose-wheel assembly collapsing on contact with the runway. Two years later, on 10 September 1962, 1721 had to make a wheels-up landing at Ysterplaat, but the damage sustained was repaired in a comparatively short time. One other mishap to the SAAF MRJ fleet occurred on 18 September 196 I, when 1.720 was undertaking asymmetric landing practice. The pilot undershot the runway at D. F Malan and the aircraft was extensively damaged. Rather than dismantling 1720 and taking it away for repair, a hangar was constructed around it for the work to be carried out where it was.

Swansongs The arms embargo certainly had a detrimental affect on the SAAF's MR.3s, and

1719/L. after having received all three Phase modifications. is now at the Cape Town Waterfront Museum. Author's collection

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the two re-sparrings already mentioned were quite an engineering accomplishment on the part of their maintenance engineers. Engine spares were impossible to obtain, as were new tyres and electronic replacements so, in November 1984, the Shackleton was officially withdrawn as an operational aircraft in the SAAF. 1723 had expended its fatigue life several years prior to this and had been grounded since 22 November 1977. It was stored in the open at Ysterplaat, until being purcha ed by Vic de Villiers, who acquired the aircraft via a triple deal involving both the South African Airways Mu eum and the SAAF Museum. De Villiers gave the airways mu eum Vickers Viking ZS-DKH, which he had held for many years, and they let the SAAF Museum have a Lockheed Ventura. The SAAF completed the convoluted agreement by selling 1723 to de Villiers, who mounted it on the roof of his 'Vic's Viking Garage' on the Johannesburg to Vereeniging road. For many years it remained in its service colours, but without national markings. However, by 1994, commercial advertising had taken over and the aircraft was repainted a vivid red, over which' oca Cola' logos were liberally displayed. A sign that is mounted beside the aircraft, incorrectly said 'World War Two Shackleton'; today this has b en edited and the word 'Two' has gone, although the legend is still inaccurate. On 24 April 1978, five months after 1723 was grounded, 1719 followed suit and

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it too was tored in the open at Ysterplaat to begin with. Later the aircraft was moved on it own wheels to an airfield at tellenbosch, in the outh African wine region. Finally, in 1991, 1719 was moved, to the Cape Town Waterfront complex, where it i displayed today. 1720 had reached the end of it fatigue life by 10 March 19 3, so it was grounded. It had been planned to mount the aircraft a the gate guardian at Y terplaat, but someone 'pulled rank' and instead it wa positioned outside the Warrant Officer's Club. For a reason that cannot be ascertained, it wa repainted to repre ent '1719', complete with the individual code 'L'. Maybe it was hoped to frustrate future aviation historians, but today the aircraft's proper identity has been restored. In 1984, 1717 too was grounded; it had only been kept flying to that date by courtesy of a technical team that ascended the Wemmer hook Mountains to where the wreckage of 171 lay, in order to retrieve serviceable parts that could be used on 1717. After open-air storage at Y terplaat, the aircraft wa di mantled to be taken by sea to Durban. From there, in October 1987, it went by road to Midmar Dam and was rea embled for static display at the atal Park Board Museum. The nostalgia of the Shackleton' retirement was not lost on the SAAF and on 23 November 1984 the surviving trio of airworthy MRJ ,1716,1721 and 1722, took part in a ceremonial flypast at D. F. Malan Airport. Twelve growling Griffons was quite a farewell note! Two weeks after the ceremony, 1716 and 1721 were flown to the AAF Museum at Swartkop, while 1722 was retained in ground-running ondition by o. 35 Squadron for the museum. In N vember 1991, the aircraft was flown to Y terplaat, which, by then, had developed into the second largest military aviation museum in South Africa.

Ambitious Dream and Disaster A long-held ambition to have an airworthy hackleton on the UK di play circuit reached the point of practical planning in the beginning of 1994, when the allimportant fuel sponsorship, plu technical support, was promised by FL Aerospace (Lovaux) Limited at Bournemouth. 1716 was to fly from Cape Town to the UK and tart its display fixtures at Duxford. The aircraft had been a part of the SAAF

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Museum's Historic Flight at wartkop, where stringent maintenance standards are combined with trict criteria for accepting pilot, in order to en ure the continuation of their exceptional safety record. With all 1716's technicalities settled, the Museum gave the go-ahead for the flight to be made on an approved route via Libreville in Gabon, Abidjan in the Ivory Coast, Lisbon, then Duxford, with flying legs varying between five and thirteen hours. Take-off for the epic flight was made from Cape Town on 7 July 1994, with nineteen aboard. Major Eric Pienaar was captain with two other pil ts, two navigators, three communications officers and two flight engineers. Three ground-crew, together with three electrical/radio/instrument technicians con tituted the aircraft's maintenance and support team, with the museum's Curator, Treasurer, and Public Relations officer, making up the complement of nineteen. The flight went smoothly until 1716 was approaching Abidjan, when o. 1 (the port outer) engine developed a boo t problem in it upercharger and the engine was shut down prior to landing. An examination was made by engineer Gus Guse from the ground-crew aboard, who recommended that an engine replacement was advisable and one of the two Griffon 5 s held as spares at ape Town was flown out. The new engine was installed and, following succe sful ground running, the aircraft left A bidjan for a nigh t fl ight routed acros the Sahara Desert to Las Palmas, which was designated as a turning point in order to avoid the Atlas Mountain range, then back on course for a traight run to Lisbon for refuelling. Over the Mauritanian ahara, higherthan-anticipated ambient air temperatures were encountered and o. 4 (starboard outer) engine started to overheat. lajor Pienaar was at the controls and he shut the engine down as a precaution. He also altered course, making a westerly heading in order to find cooler air over the Atlantic, but thirty minutes later, with the coastline still some hundred mile ahead, park tarted flying out from the gap between the propellers on o. 3 engine. The engine was hastily shut down and 1716 was now flying with no power on the tarboard side, but with 0.4 engine's propellers wind-milling at 600rpm. The drag that this caused exa rbated the existing asymmetric thrust to such an extent that

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th pilot wa fa t losing rudder trim. A quick assessment of the situation by the pilot produced agreement that the only option wa to make a controlled landing in the desert, as they had already come down to under 3,OOOft (1 ,ooOm) and the descent was showing no signs of slowing down. The crew prepared for the forthcoming landing and all loose equipment wa stowed away before they took up their positions, with crash belts firmly locked. Radio contact had been maintained with Cape Town during the drama and when 0.3 engine had been shut down, a 'Mayday' wa declared, using the call-sign 'Pelican One Six', derived from No. 35 quadron's pelican unit badge, together with the last two numbers of the aircraft's erial. SAAF MRJs had the hydraulic powered by os 3 and 4 engines, and the windmilling propeller made up for the drag that it caused, by supplying enough pressure to lower the flap to take-off posi tion, thereby enhancing the lift/drag ratio. A shallow descent at about 200ft (60m) per minute was held and the aircraft's landing lights illuminated the ground enough to confirm the radar altimeter's readings that the ground appeared to be reasonably flat. At 50ft (15m), the last radio me sage was relayed to Cape Town and the ventral radar canner was the first part of 1716 to make contact with the Sahara. The aircraft sl id along on its underside, then veered to port, before coming to a halt in a horizontal position at 01.35 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). A quick roll-call revealed, to everyone's surprise, that there were no serious casualties, so a ha ty evacuation was made, in case fire broke out. The emergency radio was set up by some, while others retrieved the water, food, blankets and so on from the aircraft, before camp was et up. 0one was in a mood to sleep and when dawn broke, they were able to see the trail of a sorted hackleton pieces that trailed back to where it had first touched down. 'Murphy's Law' had come into the picture, for the port undercarriage had been torn from its mountings by the only sizeable rock in the whole vicinity. So flat was the aircraft' trajectory that the wing had not made any contact with the grounJ anywhere. A fal e hope of early rescue was raised when an aircraft appeared in the di tance, but its heading carried it away from th crash site. However, the notes of an air-

(Top) Now residing at the Swartkop SAAS Museum. 1721/N casts a maternal shadow over the MiG-21 on its starboard side. Author's collection (Above) 1716/J looks a sorry sight as dawn breaks over the Mauritanian Sahara. Aeroplane 'Pelican One-Six' deposited a veritable scrap-yard of pieces as it slid sideways. following the removal of the port undercarriage by a substantial Saharan rocky outcrop. Aeroplane

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craft's engines were heard again a little later and the port main-wheel was doused in hydraulic fluid, before being et alight. The ensuing fire was larger than had been hoped, a the magnesium in the undercarriage leg burned well enough to produce the generou plume of black smoke that greeted a Breguet Atlantique of the French Navy, which flew overhead to drop a canister of medical supplies, together with food and water. The time was 07 .30hr and the Atlantique circled the crash site for about thirty minutes, before flying away to guide a United Nations border patrol in a couple of vehicles towards the survivors. hortlyafterward, a third vehicle arrived and later a UN Bell helicopter landed to generate its own personal sandstorm. The Shackleton's crew mad radio contact with Cape Town, 0 as to allay the fear of tho e back home, before pu tti ng a II the equipment back in the fuselage, closing all hatches and doors, and taking up the U 's offer of a lift to civilization. This turned out to be their base at the oasis of Hasi Aqu nit, from where, the next day, they were flown to Tindouf in Algeria, where everyone except Colonel Derrick Page, the Public Relations officer, boarded a AAF Boeing 707 and flew home. Colonel Page kept his promise to be at Duxford, albeit without 1716, but he was able to recount, first-hand, the traumas of the flight that finished up in the sand. Everyone's disappointment at not hearing

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the 'Growler' in the Cambridgeshire air, was tempered by relief that, knowing how tragic the event could have been, there were no serious casualties. 1716, or what is left of it, is till lying where it landed. 0 doubt the ravage of seven years in the de ert has taken its toll and it i quite possible that the aircraft is now buried under the sand. It was an inglorious ending to what had started out as an ambitiou project, that excited everyone connected with it, as well as the international fraternity of aviation enthusiasts. The SAAF's 1722 is still very airworthy and in 2000 it appeared at the annual Ysterplaat air show, together with Mike Beachyhead's Lightning T.5 and Buccaneer S.2B. Also, a group of Friends of the Air Force Mu eum at Swartkop is working hard to bring 1721 back to pristine condition and they too have dreams of getting it flying once more, although the great hurdle of finding good engines may prove insurmountable.

Colours and Markings When the first three aircraft left the UK, they flew with an Extra Dark Sea Grey finish on the upper urface, plus the nearest equivalent to 'PR Blue' on the fuselage sides and under-sUlfaces. erial numbers were in black and the individual aircraft code letters in yellow. Th national roundels had a blue outer ring with white centre, over

The friendly silhouette of a Breguet Atlantique of the Maritime Nationale, drawn to the site by the MR.3's burning undercarriage, was a welcome sight. Aeroplane

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which a leaping springbok was featured in orange. This style of roundel had been initiated in 1951, replacing the tandard RAF roundels carried during World War Two. The 0.35 quadron badge, showing a cartooned pelican standing on a tylized map of the African continent, was sited on the sides of the aircraft's nose. During the time of production, the AAF had introduced a new national in ignia and this was applied to the remaining five aircraft prior to their delivery flights. The new insignia was commonly known as the 'Castle' marking, as the design featured a stylized ground plan of the Castle of Good Hope in dark blue with a white outline. Centred in this was a gold springbok, leaping from right to left on the port ide and left to right on the starboard side. In 1981 the SAAF insignia was changed again, the springbok being replaced by a gold eagle with outstr tched wings, but this was not applied to the hackletons. oon after arriving in South Africa, white fu elage top were introduced to reduce the aircraft's internal temperatur and later the fuselage 'PR Blue' wa extended over the tops of all flying surface, plus the fin/rudder assembly, with all und 1'- ulfaces finished in Dark ea Grey and all spinners were painted red. In 1978, a white '21' was added to the nose of 1717, to celebrate the twenty-one year that it had erved in the AAE The author ha been unable to confirm if the remaining aircraft were similarly 'zapped'.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Variety is the Spice of Life

Right from the start, the Shackleton gave notice that it had a cavernous bomb-bay - and could fly on two engines if not too heavily laden! Aeroplane

Avro's first brochure on their Type 696 projected the design as being purely the Maritime Reconnaissance aircraft called for in Specification R.5/46, although Roy Chadwick and his design team could have had other roles in mind, when they gave the aircraft Avro's customary enormou bomb-bay. While declaring that the fuselage would provide good walkway space and headroom, together with a mall galley/re t bunk area, the brochure also stated that it would be soundproofed from the cockpit to the resting area, with adequate heating for all crew stations. That some of these provisions did not app ar until the Mk 3 was designed, and then principally becau e of squadron demands, should not detract from the fact that the hackle ton proved to be a 'maid of all work', which met the multitude of tasks placed on it in a very competent way. For a hackleton squadron, life may have been noisy, but it certainly had variety.

MR.2 WR959/F of No. 37 Squadron displays the lower white cheat-line of Aden-based Shackletons as it flies over Aden Harbour in 1961, with the extinct volcano Sham Sam in the background. Ray Deacon

Monitoring the Middle East Shackletons were engaged in overseas tours and detachment almost from the beginning of their RAF career, but a more

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permanent situation existed for os 37 and 38 quadrons, both based at Luqa when they received their MR.2 in 1953. Their entire ervice with the type was conducted within the Middle East Air Force

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE

(MEAF) domain, No. 37 Squadron moving to Khormaksar in Aden on 2 Augu t 1957 and 0.3 Squadron, whil staying on talta, relocating to Hal Far on 30 October 1965.

Troubles in Cyprus

(Above) WR961/S was a fully updated Phase II aircrah when parked on a wet Luqa tarmac in 1964. George Pennick

(Below) No. 42 Squadron goes trooping, as 'squaddies' prepare to embark on WG533/H for their noisy journey to Cyprus. Aeroplane

It is believed that the first use of the hackleton in a truly operational capacity, as oppo ed to exercises, was in 1955. The ongoing strife b tween Greece and Turkey over the status of Cyprus escalated in that year, with the Greek Cypriots forming the terrorist organisation EOKA, for union with Greece, under the lead rship of General Grivas, with the political aspect being managed by Archbishop Makarios. The ensuing campaign of abotage and bombing proved th inadequacie of the existing British Army forces on the island, and towards the end of December it wa decided to reinforce them with all peed, under the codename Exerci e Encompass. Nearly every Shackleton squadron in the UK was ordered to provide some aircraft for this project and each carried thirty-three soldiers, squatting on their kitbags in every available bit of space, with their rifle and other equipment packed in the bomb-bay panniers. Hastings transports carried the vehicles and heavier equipment. Malta was used as the advance base for the operations and no-one could pretend that the flight, which lasted over eight hours, provided any degree of comfort for the Army, but expediency was the keyword. For the trooping flights, which ended on 24 January 1956, the Shackleton's crew was reduced to two pilots, a navigator, a flight engineer and a signaller.

Agreement had been signed in October 1954, and to meet it objectives British force had withdrawn from Egypt by June 1956. The Baghdad Treaty's existence was becoming omewhat tenuous, so it was broadened to include Pakistan and renamed the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO). But the ambition of the new Organization were thrown into turmoil on 26 July 1956 by President asser's declaration that he intended to nationalize the British- and French-controlled Univer al Suez Canal Company. The two governments already had an outline plan drawn up for joint action again t Egypt in case

such an action should arise, under the codename Operation Musketeer, 0 Nasser's announcement put the Operation into motion, in collaboration with Israel, the official announcement being made in London and Paris on 31 October 1956. It wa firmly considered that a concerted military action against Egypt by uperior for es would overthrow a er' government, but history has shown that such an outcome was overambitious, to say the least. Th day of 'send a gunboat' were over. The RAF's strength in the area at the start of Musketeer stood at 289 aircraft on yprus and ninety-two on Malta, with

Operation Musketeer Les than nine months later the Mediterranean wa again the focus of military attention. In an effort to stabilize this volatile area and ensure that the flow of natural minerals would not be interrupted, the Baghdad Treaty between Iran and Turkey had been signed in February 1955. Britain signed a treaty with Iraq two months later and, by so doing, hoped to stem the spread of Communist influence within the oil-producing states. However, the catalyst for the next round of ume twa Colonel Nasser, the nationali t President of Egypt. An Anglo-Egyptian

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The nose-code '0' indicates that panniers loaded with Army equipment are being man-handled into the bomb-bay of No. 42 Squadron's WL737. Aeroplane

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VARIETY I THE SPICE OF LIFE

VARIETY I THE SPICE OF LIFE

Canberras forming a large proportion of this total, plus Valiants that were being u ed in combat operations for the first time. The hackle ton featured in the operation in its primary role of maritime reconnaissance but, once again, it wa impressed into the tran portation f additional troops to the area. Operation Challenger was established on a similar basis to the earlier Exercise Encompass, and five aircraft from 0.206 Squadron at t Mawgan were each employed to inflict eight hours of di comfort on thirty-three members of the 16th Parachute Brigade, a they conveyed them from Blackbu he in

on Allied aircraft for D-Day in 1944. Then it wa a sensible expedient, as there were literally thousands of aeroplanes engaged in the operation and the Luftwaffe was still a force to be reckoned with, but for Musketeer it was only handfuls of aircraft by comparison. Not all of the various type used in the operation carried the markings, but some Shackletons were thus adorned. However, as no-one else had a similar looking, or sounding, aircraft in the operation, it all eem rather pointles , unless you were a paint manufactur r! The whole Suez campaign lasted ju t seven days, until a ceasefire was declared on

the British Government and renamed Zambia, from the Zambezi river that form d it outhern border with South rn Rhodesia. In the latter country, which had been a British colony from the end of the nineteenth century, Prime Mini ter Ian Smith's white minority government made a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in 1965 and named the country Rhode ia, dropping the 'Southern' part of the name. So started fifte n years of int rnational pressure and embargoes, together with a protracted guerrilla war, until legitimate independence was secured in 1980. A black-majority government was then

WL754/F was one of the aircraft that No. 42 Squadron detached to Khormaksar to take over from No. 37 Squadron during Operation Mizar. Ray Deacon

No. 37 Squadron's pan at Khormaksar, from where the unit supplied MR.2 detachments for the 'Beira Patrols' on Operation Mizar. Ray Deacon

Hampshire, to Cyprus. (The current obsession with taking hourly walk during long-distance flight, in order to waylay the on et of thrombosis, wa not on Medical Officer's itineraries in tho e day !) The aircraft were al 0 u ed to tran port RAF ground- and aircrew from the units involved in Musketeer to their respective MEAF ba es. For ome obscure rea on, which most likely seemed a good idea at the time, some aircraft participating in Musketeer had three yellow stripes painted around the rear fus lage in a similar fashion to the black and white 'invasion' stripes painted

6 November and a United Nations Emergency Force took over from the ground forces. The elements of the British armed force inv Ived prepared to return to the UK, with Nos 204 and 228 quadrons joining No. 206 Squadron for these trooping flight, which also involved carrying the per onnel, plus staff, of three parachute regiments.

The Rhodesian Problem In 1964, the Briti h colony of Northern Rhodesia was granted independence by

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established and the country was renamed Zimbabwe, from the ma ive stone buildings of Great Zimbabwe, occupied by the hona-Karanga civilization from AD 12001450. Strict sanction were applied against Rhode ia which, being a landlocked country, was dependent to a certain extent on the port facilities of it ea tern neighbour, Mozambique. The United ations recei ved reports that Rhodesia was receiving copious oil supplies, which were landed at the Mozambique port of Beira and then tran ferred across the border. Consequently, the Royal Navy

brought in a number of boat to patrol the Indian Ocean's Mozambique Channel, between Mozambique and the island of Madagascar (which in those days was known as the Malagasy Republic), and the RAF was ta ked to provide air reconnaissance of the area, for any su picious shipping. Details of such were relayed to the RN, for them to intercept and board the vessels, in order to confirm the cargo's • destination. The e patrols were jointly called 'Beira Patrols', with the RAF elements for thi Operation Mizar involving detachments of Shackleton MR.2s from No. 37 Squadron, based at Khormak ar, and o. 38 quad ron at Hal Far. For the patrols, the detachments were stationed at the RAF taging Post of Mauripur on the north-west coast of Madaga car. Mauripur was one of the last British bases on the African sub-continent; it enjoyed a tran ient international flow of traffic that would have been an aircraft potter' dream. However, to ay that it was lacking in comfort is a gro s understatement, though the forty or so permanent RAF personnel tationed there, who shared their facilities with the local air-

fi ld, did all that was possible to accommodate the Shackleton units. Additional hard-standings were laid down for the Shackletons and for the weekly visits by Britannias of os 99 and 511 quadrons, bringing necessary spares. With the typical British tongue-in-cheek attitude, the tent and prefabricated metal hut that constituted the living quarters was known as 'Camp Britannique' by all their inhabitants. Each deta hment, consisting of three MR.2s with crews and ground personnel, lasted two months, during which time many monotonou hours were spent flying up and down the Mozambique Channel. ighting a su picious tanker and directing an R ves el to intercept it was the highlight of such patrol. To break the tedium there was also the tropical weather, which, on occasions, put extreme pressure on the aircraft, its crew and the fitter back at the taging Post. o. 38 Squadron wa di banded on 31 March 1967, o. 37 quad ron following suit on 7 September that year. A detachment ofMR.3 from 0.42 Squadron at St Mawgan tepped into the breach, but by

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April 1967, Ballykelly had b en drawn into Op ration Mizar and o. 210 Squadron became the fir t Ul ter base to provid a three-aircraft detachment. MR.2 WL751 i known to have be n a member of the trio, and it tayed at Mauripur until March 1968, with ju t the crews rotating. Detachments from os 204 and 210 Squadron took it in turns to do the Beira Patrol for the n xt fourteen months, after which o. 205 quad ron sent three aircraft from their base on Singapore Island for six month. The hackleton involvement with Operation Mizar lasted until March 1971, when WL754 of o. 42 quadron returned to t Mawgan; this aircraft had another ten years' service to perform, which will be detailed in hapter Ten. Shackleton MR.2s Confirmed as Participating in Operation Mizar WB833, WL737, WL738, WL747, WL751 , WL754, WL755, WL785, WL793, WL800, WR955, WR961, WR965 Of these. WL737 is known to have been used twice during the operation.

VARIETY IS THE

PI E OF LIFE

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE

the point of a particular sortie, and the Shackleton's bomb-bay could accommodate a great number of these. A full load of twenty-five 5001b, or a dozen 1,000Ib, bombs was used against more fortified positions, but the results of uch attacks were inclined to be disappointing unle a direct hit wa scored. Twelve-hour patrols were a usual a feature of hackleton orties and they were often the target of small-arms fire from the local tribesmen. No. Squadron, with their mix of Venom FB.1/FBAs and Hunter FGA.9/FR.1O were also stationed at Khormaksar. Joint operations between the two squadrons became a regular occurrence,

the Venom and Hunter planning their strikes ba ed on a rial photography supplied by the ha kletons, as the local map were found to be too unreliable. I am ure that no-one in o. quad ron could have foreseen that they would be the one and only hackleton unit one day. o. 37 quadron became another Khormaksar resident for some years: during the Aden operations they, like o. 42 quadron, worked closely with No.8 quadron on their fighter-bomber operations. When an uprising by tribesmen in Muscat occurred, No. 42 Squadron d tached two aircraft to harjah, on the Persian Gulf, to be closer at hand.

No. 210 Squadron at Ballykelly also supplied fully-armed MR.2s, in this case WL751/U and WL748/X, to assist during the Rhodesian problem. Ray Deacon

The Arabian Problem While the major operations d scrib d above captured the headline, the hackleton was engaged in numerous activities around the Aden and Yemen Protectorat that were true 'shooting war' operations, y t did not gain so much publicity. Communism had infiltrated into the South Yemen Republic,

while local warring faction in Kuwait, Muscat and Oman required policing on a regular basis in the second half of the 1950s. o. 42 quadron, ba ed at St Eval, ent a detachment of four MR.2s, which arrived at Khormaksar in Aden on 7 January 1957, starting a rotation of aircraft through the base for operational duties that lasted for the next two years. Prior to

No. 42 Squadron provided several detachments to Khormaksar during the Arabian troubles and WL754/F was involved again, in 1963, when it was photographed after lift-off en route for an operational sortie over South Arabia. Ray Deacon

124

this, o. 1426 Flight, operating Lincoln, had undertaken the task, which included air support and air cover for the ground forces, bombing, gunnery, and acting a a radio link between the various forces in the area. An as ortment of ordnance wa carried on bombing mission, dependent on the individual target. 20lb practice bomb were dropped if intimidation was

MR.2 WL748/X of No. 210 Squadron was detached in 1962 to join with the resident Khormaksar-based No. 37 Squadron's WR962/A, in operations against the hostile tribesmen in the Aden Protectorate. Ray Deacon

125

The squadron also pent everal months at Bahrain in the Gulf, to quell the busy gun-running trade operating between that island and Oman. By June 1957, bombing missions were flown against the local tribesmen on a regular basis. Each raid was preceded by a leaflet drop, warning the di sidents of a forthcoming bombing raid. After the bomb-bay had been emptied, low-level trafing runs, using the two 20mm no e cannon, were carried out, although it is believed that the tribe' animal population was depleted on a larger scale than th ir troops. Just in ca e the e activities were not enough for the qua Iron to cope with, their MR.2s oc asionally

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE

deputized for the Valetta unit in the area and engaged in a pot of freight-hauling. No. 42 Squadron had returned to St Eval by the end of 1957, but within seven months, in July 1958, it was back at Khormaksar, before transferring to Sharjah for two months' bombing operations in Iraq, where, once again, various local tribesmen were flexing their muscles against their neighbours, to the detriment of peace and stability within the area. Detachments of No. 224 Squadron from Gibraltar took over the Colonial Policing mantle at the beginning of 1959 and their activities followed the same pattern as their predecessor's. Both ground- and aircrew found the experience of operating in the extreme heat of the area very arduous indeed. For the fitters, working inside a fuselage or picking up spanners in temperatures of over 100°F was not easy. Similarly, for the aircrews the climatic conditions in the rocky hills and mountains where they flew produced some very turbulent air current, making for some very bumpy rides. It was a pleasant change when a not infrequent SAR call came, entailing a patterned flight over the cooler sea. On 1 November 1970, No. 210 Squadron was reformed at harjah with MR.2s and they stayed there for exactly a year before being disbanded. No. 204 Squadron also made their presence felt in the area, when they sent a detachment to Majunga in Madagascar in April 1971, which also occupied a twelve-month period.

Wl152/D of No. 31 Squadron flies over the rugged terrain of the Radfan, in the Aden Protectorate, with the rear camerahousing doors open to provide photographic assistance for future No.8 Squadron Hunter offensive patrols. Aeroplane

126

Monitoring the Far East No. 205 Squadron wa an out-of-the-ordinary unit, in so far as it was reformed on 23 July 1942 at Koggala, on the island ofCeyIon (now Sri Lanka). Initially equipped with Catalina Mk Is, it spent the next twenty-nine years, until its disbanding on 31 October 1971, in what became known as the Far East Air Force (FEAF). On 1 March 1958, the quadron moved further north on Singapore island, from Seletar to Changi, and there received its first Shackleton MR.l A . Maritime reconnaissance, together with some search and rescue, were the main

operations that occupied the unit's first four Shackleton years, but in 1962 they started a new role.

The Indonesian Problem On 16 September 1957, Britain and Malaya had signed a defence agreement and when an armed rebellion erupted in the n ighbouring Sultanate of Brunei in D cember 1962, the British military presence in Malaya was increased. The principal cause of the area's problem was the aspiration of President Sukarno of Indonesia to ann x th whole of Borneo and produce

,;

.,

,-:}/.'~-- -'-. ~-.~;...

--

'! No. 31 Squadron's involvement in the conflicts with Arabian tribesmen went as far as sending a detachment to Majunga including Wl191/C and Wl152/D. Aeroplane

A sad sight at Shawbury's No. 21 MU, as Wl189/H, which had only served with No. 205 Squadron for seven months, is parked beside '0' of an unidentified squadron, both aircraft having had their wing-tips removed. Author's collection

127

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE

an Indonesian 'super-state'. Communist factions had initiated the rebellion, which gained support from both [ndone ia and Sarawak. The whole episode became known as the 'Borneo Confrontation' and while Canberras of Nos 32, 45, 73 and 249 Squadrons, in a detachment cycle, bore the brunt of the offensive against the rebels in a four-year conflict between 1962 and 1966, Ballykelly supplied a detachment of No. 204 Squadron to Changi, arriving on 19 May 1964. Three MR.2s, WG555, WR964 and WR966, made the journey, taking a total of 41 hI' 50min flying time. Once at Changi, the aircraft performed numerous survey patrols to ascertain the movements of Indonesian forces over a twelve-day period, before starting the return flight to base and landing in Ulster on 19 June. Events in the area escalated to a point of nearly total war by August 1964 and Ballykelly's squadrons were again called into action, to assist Changi's resident No. 205 Squadron with their MR.2s. A mixed formation ofWR965 from No. 203 Squadron, WL739, WR964 and WR969 from No. 204 Squadron, plus WL748, WL751 and WL791 from No. ZIO Squadron all left their home base on 11 September for a much longer stay than the earlier detachment. As each particular aircraft became due for Phase modifications or major servicing, it returned to the UK and a replacement from its squadron was flown out. [n view of the great distance and number of flying hours involved in getting back to base, a careful monitoring of each aircraft was kept, in order for it to actually be capable of making the journey. Under the codename Hawk Moth, the aircraft flew regular reconnaissance patrols over the Straits of Malacca, monitoring the activities of rebel forces. A two-week rotation was established where two MR.2s operated from the island of Pulan Labuan off the north-west coast of Borneo, known as Labuan for short, which had excellent runway facilities. During Hawk Moth, the pre ence of Soviet naval vessels was recorded on several occasions, although they were not intercepted, but Indonesian shipping was tracked and shadowed by the Shackletons until British or Commonwealth naval patrol boats came alongside to investigate their cargoes. In April 1964, before the Ballykelly aircraft had arrived, a member of No. 205 Squadron, travelling in a Hastings, was

responsible for spotting an Indonesian submarine in the South China Sea. The transport's crew radioed the Royal avy and HMS Lincoln intercepted the submarine, which, considering discretion to be the better part of valour, promptly turned about, to head back to its base. In October 1965, No. 203 Squadron flew the last Hawk Moth sortie, so far as Ballykelly's aircraft were concerned, and the

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE

d tachments were back at base by the end of the month, leaving No. 205 Squadron to continue the patrols. Ten month later, on 13 August 1966, a peace treaty was signed, which guaranteed mutual respect between Indonesia and the new state of Malaysia. No. 205 Squadron's tenancy at Changi ended in 1971, when the unit returned to the UK to be disbanded and Shackleton operations in the FEAF were over.

The Thermonuclear Tests At 09.30hr on 3 October 1952, Britain successfully detonated its first nuclear device. This took place aboard the timeexpired naval frigate HMS Plym, anchored off the Monte Bello island group, some 50 miles north-west of Australia's largest state, Western Australia. In the test, codenamed Operation Hurricane, the device was in reality only the core for an operational nuclear weapon, which five years later emerged as a hydrogen bomb (Hbomb), meeting Operational Requirement (OR) 1001 and code-named Blue Danube. Prior to Hurricane, four specially modified Shackleton MR. Is of No. 269 Squadron at Ballykelly were detached to Darwin, on the north coast of Australia's Northern Territory, in order to obtain weather data around both the Timor Sea and the Indian Ocean, in which the Monte Bello group was situated. Under the codename Operation Mosaic, each aircraft operated with a meteorological observer as an additional member of the crew. These flights included climbing to 18,000ft (5,500m) for special temperature readings. To mark the end of the detachment, the four aircraft involved flew in a tight formation over the Sydney Harbour bridge, before setting course for the UK, via Sharjah, as Karachi's airfield was flooded. This

is believed to have been the first time that Shackletons landed at Sharjah. In the summer of 1956, Australia gave permission for the testing of a limited-yield thermonuclear weapon on their Maralinga range, deep in South Australia, under the codename Operation Buffalo. Four aircraft from No. 204 Squadron were detached to the RAAF base at Pearce in Western Australia in August 1956, to fly meteorological reconnaissance patrols around the range. The Blue Danube weapon was dropped by Valiant WZ366 of No. 49 Squadron on 11 October, and the following month the Shackletons returned to their horne base. The United States' first H-bomb test took place in November 1952, at Eniwetok Atoll, one of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. This was followed on 1 March 1954 by a larger weapon tested at Bikini Atoll, and the enormous destructive power unleashed in the two tests convinced the Australian Government that th~ proposed British testing of a similar weapon, under the codename Operation Gral)ple, should not take place on Australian territory and made it quite plain that the 'Mother Country' should choose a site well away from Australia. Consequently, in view of their previous meteorological survey work, Shackletons were once again called upon to exercise their long-range capabilities and two aircraft

This photograph was awarded second place in the 1963 Coastal Command Annual Photographic Competition. Taken by Sgt Martin, it was titled 'Turning on' during No. 204 Squadron's involvement in the 'Borneo Confrontation' the following year. Aeroplane

No. 204 Squadron's Wl796/M was scheduled to take part in the unit's 'Borneo Confrontation' detachment, but suffered Category 3 accident damage, which was being repaired by No.71 MU when the squadron's detachment left Ballykelly. Authors collection

128

Two years after its Operation Grapple detachment with both Nos 240 and 269 Squadrons during 1957 and 1958, WB826 was converted to T.4 configuration. After initially being coded 'Y', it was recoded 'B' before being scrapped at Shawbury's No. 27 MU in February 1968. Harry Holmes

129

from No. 206 Squadron at St Eval were initially detached to Australia in late 1956, flying via the Azores, Bermuda, Charleston in South Carolina, El Paso in Texas, then Travis AFB, before crossing the Pacific. Between Charleston and EI Paso, violent tornados were predicted, so a diversion was made to New Orleans Airport, where the squadron's detachment enjoyed a plea ant introduction to the city's amenities! This was a ten-day flight ending at Christmas Island, known locally as Kiritimati, a small stretch of coral that is just 25ft (7.6m) above sea level at its highest point and inhabited by tens of thousands of red land crabs. A land survey team confirmed that the site would be adequate for the Grapple base and all three Ballykelly squadrons got prepared for detachments that would turn out to be a two-year involvement with the thermonuclear test drops. Two runways and associated hard-standings were constructed on the island, and by April 1957 over 1,300 people were learning to live with the land crabs. The Shackletons' task covered a number of operations. Meteorological reconnaissance flights were flown over a vast tretch of the ocean, including the island of Malden, lying some 400 miles (640km) to the south-east of Christmas Island, which was the designated site for the actual dropping of the bombs. There were also transport shuttle fights between Christmas Island and

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE

Honolulu, casualty evacuation flight, and their primary role of search and re cue. Modifications to the aircraft, in order for them to fulfil their many Gm/Jple requirements, were undertaken by No. 49 MU at Colerne and No. 240 Squadron's first aircraft for detachment left Ballykelly at the end of February 1957. One advantage that the hackleton po e sed was its capacious fuselage and bomb-bay, which allowed each aircraft to carry its ground crew, together with an as ortment of spares. A route was established for the Canberras and Valiants engaged in the operation, which went via Aldergrove, Goose Bay and Namao in anada, then Travis AFB in California, before crossing the Pacific to Hickham AFB on Honolulu, the final staging po t before arriving at Christmas I land. The Shackleton units flew a partly different route, through Lajes in the Azores, Kindley Field in Bermuda, Charle ton, Biggs and Travi AFBs in the United tates, after which they followed the jets' route to Honolulu and Christmas Island. The jets' total flying time was in the order of 23 hours, while the Shackletons' worked out at around 42 hours. No. 240 Squadron's aircraft returned to the UK in early July 1957, two months after Gra/J/JIe I had been dropped, but in January 1958, a detachment from 0.240 quadron was detailed to assist with Grapple Y, the fifth of the H-bomb te t drop. On the way there, one of the aircraft wa struck by lightning about three hours out from the Azores, which removed the W and trailing aerial. The pilot brought the hackleton down from 9,000ft to 1,500ft and arrived in Bermuda with about one hour's fuel left in the tanks. The Americans on Burmuda found it hard to believe that the Shackleton had flown at 1,500ft for nearly six hours. On reaching Travis, one of their Griffons was due to be changed and another No. 240 quadron aircraft flew out with the replacement in its bomb-bay. However, this aircraft suffered an engine fire while flying over Texas and had to make an emergency landing at Austin. It u ed the replacement Griffon that was being carried in the bomb-bay, so when it eventually reached Travis, it produced one unserviceable engine, to replace another unserviceable engine! Seven aircraft made the initial flight to the Grapple base and three of them were used for data collection prior to the first test. They stayed in the area for two and a half months, before returning to Ballykelly on

rr

3 June, their role having been taken on by No. 204 Squadron, who had left the UK in May to participate in Grap/Jle Y and the final test of the eries, Gra/J/JIe Z. In July, No. 204 Squadron's detachment was joined by one from o. 269 Squadron and when Gmpple Z had been dropped on 11 September 1958, the Shackleton's involvement in the test series wa finished, with the final aircraft, WG 57, arriving back in Ulster during October. While the hackleton wa always considered to be a low-level aircraft, during the Grapple operations many flights were made at 18,000ft. The procedure was that on the climb to this altitude, they levelled out every 3,000ft to take special temperature readings. At 18,000ft, the aircraft flew for about 200 miles (J20km) before letting down to ea level, repeating the temperature reading exerci e that had been carried out on the ascent. Although o. 204 Squadron used four MR.2s for Operation Buffalo in 1956, MR.ls were used during the whole of the Operation Grapple programme, as this variant was considered better for the role. This meant that o. 204 Squadron had to surrender their MR.2s before leaving Ballykelly in May 1958, but they were back with their MR.2 within six months of returning to the base. A complete list of hackletons involved in Operations Mosaic, Buffalo and Grapple is given in the table below. Shackleton Aircraft Confirmed as Being Detached to Support Operations Mosaic, Buffalo and Grapple

No. 204 Squadron Shackleton MR.1 s:

VP263 and VP266

Shackleton MR.1As:

WB828. WB850. WB856 and

Shackleton MR.2s:

WL739. WL 747. WL748 and

WB857 WL795

No. 240 Squadron Shackleton MR.1 As:

WB823, WB826, WB828, WB835, WB856, WB859, WB860, WB861, WG507 and WG509

No. 269 Squadron Shackleton MR.l s:

VP265, VP289 and VP294

Shackleton MR.1As:

WB826. WB835, WB857 and WB860

It will be seen that some alfcraft were used by more than one squadron on indiVIdual detachmenrs, as only acertain number of alfcraft were fltled with the speCIal eqUIpment requlfed for the thermonuclear test programmes. The Idenrlty of the two No. 206 Squadron atrcraft has not been conflfmed.

130

The Good Samaritans In the 'Shackleton era', converted frigates equipped as weather ships and anchored in all the fishing areas around the British Isles, as well as out in the North Atlantic, had an uncomfortable employment. owadays the satellite has taken over, ending the long, boring and sea-tossed weeks endured by their crews. Beside upplying an hourly report on the weather in any particular area, to both the civil and military meteorological services, the vessels were often used by aircraft on navigational exerci es ( avex) as positional checks at night. In return, any particular weather ship was able to verify its own homing equipment via the aircraft's electronics. By way of recompense, the Christma spirit of goodwill was dispensed by hackleton crews, who flew out to these lonely ves els to drop seasonal supplies to the crews; the e sortie were used as an exercise in precision dropping, from which individual aircrews derived great satisfaction when their drops landed close enough for a member of the ship's crew to retrieve them with a boat hook. When King George VI died in February 1952, Princess Elizabeth was on holiday in Kenya with her husband Prince Philip, and a hasty return to Heathrow had to be organized, where she emerged from a BOAC Argonaut - the Canadair-built DCA with DC-6 wings, powered by Rolls-Royce Merlins - as Queen Elizabeth II. The young Queen's journey by air was symbolic of the age and the Royal Family used air travel on an increasing scale during the 1950s. However, it was considered necessary for long-distance royal flights to be escorted and the hackleton, with its capacity to carryall the rescue equipment of the day, was called upon to provide the e escorts. The procedure was for one aircraft to fly ahead and one astern of the transport carrying the Royal passengers, transatlantic flights being made to a half-way point where two aircraft of the Royal Canadian Air Force took over, with a reciprocal arrangement being made for the return flight. In October 1956, Prince Philip, now HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, made a flight from Gibraltar to Nigeria, for which o. 204 quad ron provided MR.2s WL738 and WL740 as escorts. The main four-engined transatlantic airliners of the era were the Boeing Stratocruiser and Lockheed onstellation. Engine malfunction was not an altogether

rare occurrence, and it wa standard procedure when an engine had to be shut down, for Ballykelly to be notified and a Shackleton scrambled to rendezvous with the civil airliner, to escort it into Shannon Airport. From the Shackleton crew's point of view, this could prove a source of slight embarra ment, for a Constellation flying on three engines could till fly higher and faster than 'The Growler' with all four Griffons at full chat. However, the knowledge that it wa in the vicinity, with all it AR equipment available, gave great comfort to the airliner's captain and crew. True SAR operations, where lives were in danger on a large scale, often made the national-press headlines. On 5 February 1960, the United States freighter Valley Forge ran aground in the small i land group of Pulau Sibu and Pulau Tinggi, to the north-west of ingapore island. o. 205 quad ron at hangi received the emergency call and despatched an MR.IA, which found the freighter within thirty minutes. Lindholme Gear was dropped to the stricken vessel from under 100ft (JOm), after which the aircraft rendezvoused with the R minesweeper HMS Fiskerton, which was sailing in the South China Sea, and guided it to the Valley Forge. Within twelve hours the freighter's crew had been taken on board the R vessel and the whole SAR operation was a great success, with the two ca ualtie from the US ship receiving emergency medical attention on the minesweeper, before being transferred to hospital on the mainland. In October of the following year, the Caribbean wa truck by Hurricane Hattie, with British Honduras being particularly badly hit. No. 42 Squadron sent MR.2s to a ist in the restoration of services in the < rea, flying in troops and emergency supplies from Jamaica. To relieve 0.42 Squadron of some of their workload, os 204 and 210 quadrons each sent an MR.2 out to Stanley Field on British Hondura, for what turned out to be a two-month detachment. It is interesting to note that the Shackleton' rugged structure enabled it to undertake this work, while the RAF's tandard transport aircraft were unable to cope. Four months later, o. 204 quadron was back in the aribbean, but this time it wa a man-made emergency, rather than a natural one. Political rioting in British Guiana had brought the country to a standstill and the docks were closed by a strike by militant dock workers. The squadron detached two of its MR.2 , WG555 and

The starboard observer's station on the MR.1 was a draughty position if the window was raised. Aeroplane

WR966. Due to its other commitments, the unit had to borrow WL74 and WL787 from its neighbour at Ballykelly, o. 210 quadron. The four aircraft flew out to Jamaica on 19 February 1962 and, upon arriving, tarted delivering supplies to British Guiana's capital, Georgetown. The service went on for nearly a month on a regular daily ba is, rather like a scaleddown Berlin Airlift, but by 23 March normality had returned to the country and the four Shackletons returned to Ul ter. Later, in eptember 1962, another SAR mi sion made the headlines. A Lockheed -121 Constellation, the military transport version of the Super Con tellation, 10 t all power on three of its four Wright R3350 radial engines, as it approached the south-west coast of Ireland. A creditable ditching was made in the Atlantic, although spilled fuel ignited on the sea' urface, cau ing many burn injuries. Fifty of the eighty-two people aboard the aircraft, including some of the injured, managed to climb into life-rafe- that had been deployed before the C-121 sank. Their 'Mayday' was picked up by a patrolling hackleton, which found them and marked their position with sonobuoys before locating the freighter Celaina and

131

directing her to the survivors. ix people had already died in the life-raft, but the urviving forty-four boarded the freighter, from where RAF and U AF helicopter that had been brought into the re cue attempt managed to winch up the more eriou ly injured, to transfer them to hospital on the Irish mainland. POSSibly one of the most famous SAR operations involving the hackleton occurred in December 1963, when the Greek cruise liner Lakonia caught fire during the night, when lying off the coast of Portugal, ome 500 miles (800km) north-we t of the Straits of Gibraltar. A dawn broke, WL757, an MR.2 of the local No. 224 Squadron, piloted by Fit Lt (now Air Cdr) David Leppard, was detailed for the AR mission. When the stricken liner was located, it was buming fiercely, with many of it lifeboats and life-rafts scattered over a large radius, many of them with survivors. WL757 dropped two et of Lindholme Gear. The Shackleton's crew was heartened to ee survivors climbing into the rafts that had been delivered as they stayed on station for nearly nine hours, locating other shipping in the vicinity and directing them to the scene. A US Navy Douglas -118B, en route to the Azores, was called in to assist in

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE

the co-ordination of the re cue vessels. Prior to WL757 leaving the scene, she reported that there were no more survivors in the water and those that had be n in lifeboats were being transfened to the ships that she had summoned. Out of the total of 1,032 on board the Lakonia, 128 did not urvive and the consensus of all who w r involved in the tragedy was that Fit Lt Leppard's endeavours en ured that this figure was not a lot higher. It wa another example of a first-rat AR aircraft, with a first-rate crew, accomplishing the results for which they had re pectively been built and trained.

Endurance Flights In September 1955, No. 240 Squadron at Ballykelly provided three MR.l As for a detachment codenamed Operation Cook's Tour. Their mis ion was to upply photographic surveys of some of the line Islands, a group that extends nearly 2,000 miles (3,200km) in a north-west/south-east string across the Christmas ridge in the central Pacific. The trio routed via Goose Bay, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Honolulu to Canton Island in the Phoenix Group, about 800 miles (I ,300km) west of their projected survey area. One of the detachment had an engine failure and flew to the island of Suva, in the Fiji I land group. The squadron ent WG507 out to uva with a replacement engine, via Luqa, Habbaniya, Mauripur, egombo, Darwin and Townsville to Nandi on uva island. Having delivered the Griffon, WG507 flew back to Ballykellyon the detachment' outward route and, in so doing, completed the first world round trip made by a Shackleton.

early four years later, No. 201 quadron at t Mawgan supplied XF707, an MR.3 Phase I aircraft, for Operation Globetrotter. This was a round-the-world flight, during which flying demonstrations were put on for the benefit of the Indian Air Force at Poona, the RAAF at Richmond ( ydney) and Noura, the RNZAF at Whenuapai (Auckland), the avy at San Diego and orfolk, Virginia, and the RCAF at Greenwood, ova cotia. At the various ba e , the aircraft was inspected by many high-ranking officers of the respective services. Captained by the Squadron om mander, Wg dr J. G. Roberts, DF , DFM, the aircraft left St Mawgan at 07.00hr, bound for El Adem, on 8 May 1959 and landed back at its Cornish base eleven days later, on 19 May. The distance covered had been 24,300 nautical mil s, which had been planned as a flight time of 134 hours 5 minutes but was actually accomplished in 130 hour (see the table right). For the operation, two JA officer accompanied the aircraft, which meant that the flight was made with twelve aircrew and seven groundcrew, in a total party of twenty-one. The bomb-bay was filled with panniers containing luggage, spare parts and tools, as well as a spare mainwheel. The only major problem during the whole fight was the failure of a rack bolt in the contra-rotating as embly for the tarboard outer engine, which necessitated a replacement propeller being sent out on the next available Hastings that regularly plied between ingapore and Au tralia. By the time that the propeller had arrived, been fined and tested, four days had been lost from the original timescale, but this

Seen at No.5 MU Kemble in 1967, WR986/N had been a member of No. 206 Squadron when it was engaged in the 1959 endurance-check flight. Ray Deacon

732

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE

was not considered to be too disastrous and, when XF707 had landed, the Captain received a personal signal from Coastal ommand's ommander-in- hief stating 'Congratulations to yourself and your crew on the successful completion of Globetrotter. You have beaten Jules Verne' record by some thirty-eight days.'

Leg

Planned flight time (hours)

St Mawgan - EI Adem EI Adem - Khormaksar Khormaksar - Bombay - Poona Poona - Bombay - Changi Changi - Darwin Darwin - Richmond Richmond - Whenuapai Richmond - Whenuapai Whenuapai - Nandi Nandi - Christmas Island Christmas Island - Hickham Hickham - North Island North Island - Kelly Kelly - Norfolk Norfolk - Greenwood Greenwood - St Mawgan

9.40 10.35 9.20 11.15 10.30 9.35

9.30 9.40 8.45 12.15 9.15 8.55 Ireturned) 1.25 6.15 5.45 5.30 6.25 1130 10.30 5.45 6.30 13.15 13.20 5.40 5.30 7.10 7.05 4.10 3.45 12.30 13.05

Between 17 and 18 September 1959, a hackleton MR.3 of No. 206 Squadron was used for a comprehensive endurancecheck flight. The actual aircraft employed in this sortie is unknown, but it is known to be one of the batch WR983 to WR986. The selected route entailed a circuit of the anary Island and registered 3,440 nautical mile, and the aircraft was airborne for 24hr 21 min. On landing back at t Mawgan, the MR.3 till had 270 gallons (l ,020Itr) offuel in its tank. Almost exactly four years later, on 7 February 1963, 0.210 quadron at Ballykelly despatched an MR.2 to Thule in Greenland. From there it undertook a gyro-steering grid navigation exercise to Bodo in Norway, flying over the orth Pole. The whole exercise lasted four day longer than scheduled, as the aircraft became snowed-in at Thule. The following month, o. 204 quad ron entered the endurance programme. An MR.2 followed the Canary Island route made by o. 206 Squadron in 1959 and stayed aloft for 24hr 36min, beating the previou flight by an extra fifteen minutes.

The extensive modifications to lincoln B.2 SX973, in order to accommodate the Napier Nomad for flight testing, are well illustrated here. Aeroplane

Longer Endurance Aspirations With Rolls-Royce no longer interested in further development of the Griffon, any 'thoughts of increasing the range of the Shackleton lay in the in tallation of different engines. The re earch being done at the long-e tablished engine company ofD. Napier and on Ltd at Acton, into perfecting a diesel engine for aircraft, intersted the powers in Whitehall, as well as the designers at Manchester. apier went further than ju t thinking out uch an engine, and th ir designer produced a compound piston/gas turbine engine, whi h basic thermodynamics howed could provide a higher thermal efficiency figur than either of it constituent units. The development engine carried the company identification E.125 and the name omad Nm.l was designated for it production. In principle, it was

a twelve-cylinder, horizontally-opposed, liquid-cooled, in-line diesel engine, geared to a centrifugal com pre or that could drive the aft portion of a ix-bladed, contra-rotating propeller. The die el exhaust was expanded across a three-stage gas turbine, directly driving a twelve- tage axial compres or, which wa geared to the front portion of the propeller unit. By early 1951, specific fuel conumption figures showed 0.33Ib/hr/eshp and Armstrong Whitworth-built Avro lincoln B.2 SX973 wa delivered to Napier's works at Luton airport, where it was converted to act as a flying test-bed for the engine. The conversion in itself required major restructuring of the lincoln's nose forward of the cabin, for the engine was 9ft 11 in (3m) long and 4ft lOin (105m) wide, weighing 3,5801b (l,624kg). The te t-bed performed at the 1951 SBAC Display, where it flew down the fight-line with all four Merlin' propellers fully feathered, proving that a single Napier

733

engine could well ustain a lightly-fuelled lincoln. Avro's project office was very interested in the Nomad a a pro pective hackleton powerplant and it was planned that the new engine would replace the outboard Griffons in a propo ed hackleton MRA - which was rather confusing, as there was already a hackleton T.4. 0 doubt it would have changed at a future date. The Mo sanctioned a trial installation of this layout and the second Shackleton prototyp , VW 131, was allocated for the conversion. It went to Woodford on 18 October 1952, for inspection prior to flying to Luton, where it arrived on 16 January 1953, on loan to apier from Avro. The outboard Griffons were replaced by dummy omads, to determin the engineering that would be required for the project. A wing leading edge cooling radiator wa installed on each wing, between the

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE

The Lincoln test-bed for the Nomad makes a pass down the flight line at the 1951 SBAC Display. Aeroplane

inboard Griffon and the new engine. The dummy having established the necessary engineering, a flight-test engine wa prepared by Napier. This was the E.] 45, Nomad NNm.2, which was a simplified engine, with the diesel and compressor outputs being coupled through a variable gear unit, driving a four-bladed de Havilland propeller with a diameter of 13ft (4m). This proved to be quite a lengthy undertaking and Avro extended the loan of VW 131 to 31 july 1954. Some indication of I' he work

involved can be gathered by the fact that, besides having a epa rate cooling system, the Nomad required an entirely separate fuel system from the Griffons'. In April ]954, a test engine was installed on the starboard side, in order to take vibration test readings and the whole project wa proceeding well, with a Lincoln proposed as a complementary test vehicle, under the Avro's designation Type 717. Then, in the summer of 1954, with the customary bad timing retained for such

occasion, the Treasury performed one of its periodic decimations of the aircraft industry. All funding for the omad programme wa withdrawn and with it went the Shackleton MRA. Avro's commitment to the omad as the hackleton's future powerplant can be appreciated from the fact that their design office was well on the way with the Type 719 Shackleton MR.5, with the Griffons completely gone and four omad m.6 engines, delivering a maximum power output of 3,050shp, plus 3201b (l45kg) thrust, in their place. VW 131 remained at Luton in a partially converted state for nearly two years until, in january 1956, it was dismantled at Napier's and the fuselage went to Avro's works at Bracewell Heath in Lincol hire where, after being used for research into hackleton ditching qualities, it was tested to destruction and struck-off-charge on 10 May 1962. There was also a projected variant fitted with four Wright Cyclone RJ350- 5 engines. A maximum take-off weight of 132,nOlb (59, 62kg) was anticipated for the aircraft, which would retain the MRJ wing plan and have a large ingle fin/rudder assembly with an extending dorsal fin, plus a dihedral tailplane. The radar aerial housing would be in a similar position to the AEW.2 but further aft, in order to accommodate a nose-wheel undercarriage. One aspect that was not aired too liberally was how the crews of Shackletons with increa ed endurance would view the idea, considering that th average patrol all' ady occupied some twenty hours' flying time.

CHAPTER NINE

AEW - The Roundabout Years Among the many litanies of official hesitation, customer's vacillation and manufacturer's misplaced optimi m, the saga of the imrod AEW.3 must surely reign supreme. This sorry story led to the Shackleton being given a new lea e of life as an Airb rne Early Warning (AEW) platform and continuing in this role until some forty years after it first entered ervice. The detailed history of the hackleton AEW.2 is related in Chapter Ten; first, however, it is worth examining the background to the whole saga, which started as far back as World War Two.

The Fw 200 In 1936, the Focke- Wulf Flugzeughau GmbH, under its Technical Director, Prof. Dipl.lng. Kurt Tank, came up with a design for a four-engined, high-speed passenger airliner, capable of operating a regular transatlantic service. The design was given the company designation Fw 200; thi was in reality a propaganda ploy to give the impression that there were many other

designs in existence which, the company having only been in exi tence for five years at the time, was rather fanciful. The new airliner wa named the Condor and the prototype, Fw 200 VI, made its maiden flight on 27 july 1937, in an unregistered tate, but was later given the civil marking D-AERE. The company had high expectation for the airliner capturing export orders, and on 28 ovember 193 the aircraft, re-registered D-ACO , flew to Tokyo for demon trations, which resulted in an order for five Fw 200B aircraft being placed, to be operated by the Dia Nippon Kabushiki Kaisha airline. A sixth aircraft was ordered by the Imperial japanese avy, to be delivered in a modified form, fulfilling a maritime reconnaissance role. The japanese Navy's intentions sparked an interest in the aircraft at the German Air Ministry, the Reichsluftfahrtsministerium (RLM) and the second prototype, Fw 200 V2 D-EATA, was converted into the Fw 200 ,with a strengthened structure, a ventral gondola to accommodate a bomb aimer/observer, a bomb-bay, wingmounted tations for weapon or auxiliary

fuel tanks, and a formidable combined machine-gun/cannon armament, with the first production aircraft clas ified a Fw 200C-I. When France fell to the German Army in june 1940, the whole French Atlantic coastline was available to the Luftwaffe and KG40/Gruppe 1II set up air bases around Bordeaux, to become the scourge of Allied shipping convoy for some considerable time. They were soon joined by fast E-boats, whose nocturnal activities started with mine laying, as well as actually atta king convoys. An early countermeasure to the Fw 200 was the usc of merchant vessels fitted with catapults to launch Hawker Hurricane fighters, though unless they were launched within reach of land bases, their pilot had to ditch or bale out as close to a friendly vessel as possible. When Fw 200 atta ks started to increase in numbers and further out in the Atlantic, Prime Minister Winton hurchill sent a personal minute, dated 21 March 1941, to both the ecretary of tate for Air and the Fir I' Lord of the Admiralty, saying: Thc usc of these acroplancs nO[ on Iy

w arrack

our ships, but also to direct the -boats onw thcm, is largely responsiblc for our losses in the Westcm Approaches. 0 effort [() destroy the Focke- Wulfs should be spared. If we could employ radar mcthods

W

find their positions

and direct long-range fighters or ship-borne aircraft to thc arrack we ought to be able to inflict serious casualties.

The TRE's Answer

The second Shackleton prototype. VW131, before going to Luton to have Nomads installed in the outer nacelles. The whole programme was halted aher a test engine had been fitted in the starboard outer position. Harry Holmes

734

Crude as it may look. the TRE's conversion of Wellington IC R1629, in 1942, was the world's first 'AWACS' installation. William H. Sleigh

735

On 6 A pri I 1941, the Fw 200 problem was raised at a meeting of scientists at the TRE, where it was agreed to fit out an aircraft a an experimental flying Ground Control Interception (GCl) station, analogous to the GCI system being used to direct night fighter on to enemy aircraft, located by the Chain Home (CH) early warning radar sites dotted around the British I Ie ' coastline.

AEW - THE ROU

The proposal was to install a rotatable Yagi aerial in a dorsal position, with GCI equipment fitted, minus the height-finding facility in order to save weight. A smaller transmitter wa already being developed by the TRE, so the whole installation, powered by an auxiliary petrol/electric motor, would weigh no more than 1,600lb (730kg). The Air Ministry gave their approval to the project, issuing authority to proceed in August 1941, and this was followed, at the first meeting of the Air/Sea Interception Committee later in the same month, by an agreement that the facility would be used as an extension of the existing radar cover provided by the Chain Home system in the North-Western and South-Western Approaches, which wa approximately 100 miles (l60km). The range of the trial installation would be around 50 miles (80km) and the system was seen as being particularly beneficial in providing air cover for the convoys plying the east coast. Adapting what was already a proven system, the new installation would be based on the ASV Mk II receiver, a highpowered transmitter and a light-weight Plan Position Indicator (PPJ) using a 9in (23cm) cathode ray tube, with the whole exercise following the existing standard principle of being capable of providing radar with increased power, but not at the expense of an increased weight of hardware. In those early days, scientists were responsible not only for the invention itself, but also for the design and proving of any new system, in order to meet its ultimate requirement. This was quite a responsibility and, for the new installation, a rotating Yagi aerial head was constructed using a renector element, a folded dipole with eight parasitic elements, fixed in an aerodynamic-sectioned rotating beam, mounted on a pylon sited on the aircraft's upper fuselage. The system was to be driven by a 24-volt electric motor, through a gearbox. To prove that the TRE engineers were not too proud, the gearbox originated from a crashed Luftwaffe aircraft! The catapulted Hurricanes were beginning to be supplemented by the first of a new type of small escort carrier, and between them the Fw 200 threat was on the way to being contained, but the E-boats certainly were nor. The Chain Home radars could not detect these attacks due to their inability to separate the target's signal from the surrounding geography, and consequently plans were drawn up for the trials of

DABOUT YEARS

the GCI radar to be directed at providing an early warning of surface attacks on Allied shipping in the North Sea and, as such, it would be designated Air Controlled Interception (ACt), which today we recognize as an Airborne Warning And Control System (AWACS). The aircraft selected for the installation of this dorsal-mounted, revolving radar head was R1629, a Vickers-Armstrongs Wellington Mk 1C, one of 550 built at the company's Chester factory in 1939-40,

J..

AEW - THE ROU

under Contract No. 992424/39. The aircraft was converted and fitted out by the TRE, for night trials to commence in the spring of 1942. Concern was now growing at the Admiralty about the safety of Arctic convoys shipping supplies to the USSR, as the German Navy was starting to move capital ships north along the coast of Norway. One that had been identified was the battleship Lutzow and R1629 was nown up to Wick, in Scotland, to assist in the search

~.~

This view of the revolving unit on R1629 shows to advantage, from left to right on the beam, the reflector element, the folded dipole and eight parasitic elements. William H. Sleigh

for the vessel. On the night of 19-20 May 1942, the Wellington took off from Wick on a course for Norway, nown by a Telecommunications Flying Unit (TFU) pilot, Fg Off Jack Ruttledge, with a civilian TRE scientist, Roy Hodges, who had hastily been supplied with an RAF uniform, to operate the radar. This was the first time that a radar system, with an aerial capable of rotating through 360 degrees, had been employed in a wartime environment and was also a first for an aircraft's radar being used as an Airborne Early Warning vehicle. The radar was very much in its infancy and the Lutzow was not located, as it was 'ma ked' by the land surrounding the Norwegian fjord where it was anchored, but at TRE, the magnetron valve was being used to develop the 10cm HzS radar system, under the direction of Bernard (later Sir Bernard) Lovell, and the maritime ver ion, designated ASV Mk Ill, was to transform radar's capabilities in the Battle of the Atlantic. After World War Two, in 1947, Britain's first purpose-built Airborne Early Warning radar, with an outsize 10cm-wavelength Al radar, was night-tested on the second prototype General Aircraft GAL.58 Hamilcar Mk X, LA728. The Hamilcar was originally designed to Specification X.27/40 as a large glid r, capable of carrying a 7.8-ton tank and was the largest Allied glider used in the connict. Many were employed in the D-Day invasion of mainland Europe in 1944, towed by Halifax and Stirling bombers, converted to the glider-tug role. The Mk X, powered by two Bristol Mercury 31 radial engines, was intended for Far East operations, but only twenty-two had been completed by the time that Japan surrendered on 15 ugust 1945. LA728 was converted at the TRE by having the clam hell nose doors removed and a radome fabricated from several acrylic sheet panels, attached to a wooden supporting frame. A certain amount of night

DABOUT YEARS

In LA728, the 10cm radar had a 198.12cm-diameter parabolic aerial installed in the nose. William H. Sleigh

(Above) The whole ungainly installation is brought together at TRE Defford. Maybe 'ungainly' is not very fair on the TRE conversion. for the Hamilcar was far from being an elegant aeroplane in its original state. William H. Sleigh

This very poor-quality frame from a cine film is included because the converted LA728 has rarely been photographed flying, or even taking off, as here. William H. Sleigh

The 9ft-high hemispherical Perspex radome manufactured to interface with the front fuselage of Hamilcar Mk X LA728, for the first officially recognized British AEW Mk 2 system. William H. Sleigh

136

137

AEW - THE RO

testing was undertaken by this Hamilcar radar trials aircraft, but the results have not been recorded.

AEW is Born The Airborne Early Warning (AEW) system, as it is generally accepted today, was developed and put into production for the U avy, as a result of the traumas of 7 December 1941 at Pearl Harbor. Intense research led to the General Electric-

AEW - THE ROU

NDABOUT YEARS

Specification GR.17/45 was issued in late 1945, for a shipboard, two-seater antiubmarine strike aircraft, powered by an Armstrong Siddeley Double Mamba turboprop engin . Two prototypes, VR546, first flown on 19 September 1949 and VR557, on 6 july 1950, were followed by a third, WE4 . The latter wa a threeseater variant, built to a separate contract and first flown on 10 May 1951. All three were flown in competition with Blackburn's YA.5 and hort's B.3, designed to meet the same specification. Fairey was

its maiden flight on 20 Augu t 1958. This variant had an entirely new fuselage and tail unit, with a crew of one pilot and two radar observers. A large radome to carry the ubiquitous AN/APS 20 radar was mounted in a ventral position, in line with the wing main par. The Double Mamba 102, rated at 3,875e hp for take-off, was installed and the first of forty-four production aircraft, XL449, fir t flew on 2 December 1958. Designated the Gannet AEW.3, the type took over from the Skyraider AEW.l in 0.849 Squadron, with 'A' Flight being

DABOUT YEARS

. LM

.----'

--- -

Fairey Gannet AEW.3 Xl479/lM762 of No. 849 Squadron RN, still had its AN/APS 20 radar when photographed at an RNAS Veovilton Open Day on 8 September 1973, but by the end of the year its AEW system had been passed on to NO.8 Squadron to keep its Shackletons operational. P. J. Cooper via Aeroplane

A fine air-to-air shot taken in 1953 of Douglas Skyraider AEW.1 WT949/308, of the Royal Navy's No. 849 Squadron, with the AN/APS 20 radar's scanner housed in the ventral radome. Aeroplane

produced AN/APS 20 radar, via the AN/APS 2, 4, 5 and 15, working on the 'X' Band system in a podded installation. Under the Mutual Defence Assi tance Programme, the Royal avy was supplied in 1952 with forty Douglas AD-4W kyraiders, which carried this AEW radar in a large radome fitted in a ventral position, between the aircraft's main wheels. They were d ignated Skyraider AEW.l by the Royal Navy, who only operated them with No. 849 quadron, assigning four to each aircraft carrier.

awarded the production contract and the designation Gannet AS.! was bestowed upon the three-seater version of their design. One hundred and sixty-nine examples of this variant were built, along with thirty-six T.2 trainers, both being powered by the Double Mamba 100. These were followed by eighty A .4s, fitted with a Double Mamba 101. Fairly early in the Gannet's development, the adaptation of the aircraft into a shipboard early wanting aircraft was conceived and an aerodynamic prototype, Wj440, had

138

ba ed on HMS Victorious, 'B' Flight on HMS Centaur, 'C' Flight on HMS Ark Royal and 'D' Flight on HMS Eagle. The number of Gannet AEW.3s in service gradually redu d a the avy ran down its carrier fleet, opting at the arne time to do away with fixed-wing aircraft altogether in the future. 'C' Flight was the last to be disbanded, when the aircraft were pensioned off in ovember 1978. The erious position in which this left the Navy, in so far as they no longer had early warning air cover, was not really

The hastily manufactured AEW adaptation of the Westland Sea King, shown here on HAS.1 XV371/181, with the retractable radome housing extended. Author's collection

139

AEIV - THE RO NDABOUT YEARS

AEW - THE ROUNDABOUT YEARS

LXH 90-4<'3

NATO ~~ OTAN

(Above) NATO Boeing E-3A LX-N90443 comes in to attend the 1996 JAT at Fairford. Author's collection

(Below) XV226 was the first production Nimrod MR.1, and had its maiden flight on 28 June 1968. The days of the maritime reconnaissance Shackleton were numbered. Gordon Bartley

appreciated until Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands in 1982. A task force was formed in just forty-eight hours to sail down to the South Atlantic with troops and aircraft, but no early warning y tem was available for the forces involved, resulting in the much-publicised loss of several vessels, due to bomb and Exocet missile attacks by the Argentine Air Force and Naval Aviation Command. A very hasty conversion of some Sea King helicopters to carry a Searchwater radar scanner in a retractable radome on their starboard side, was too late to have any effect on the conflict. The RAF had been content for the Royal Navy to provide early warning facilities, they themselves relying on the Chain Home installations around the UK. However, the Navy's decision to phase out fixed-wing aircraft suddenly made everyone aware that there was going to be a serious gap in the Fleet's defence cover. It was thought that the RAF could provide AEW cover from land bases, and the Service said nothing to dispel this belief, although at the time they had no aircraft capable of converting this into reality. As related in Chapter Ten, the Shackleton AEW.2 was developed, fitted with AN/APS 20 radars taken from the nowredundant Gannets, but it was anticipated that this was a strictly temporary measure, until a fully up-to-date AEW platform could be brought into service.

AWACS is Born In the United tates, the USAF had pioneered the overland surveillance system with the Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star, a conversion of the Super Constellation ivil airliner. It was used quite extensively and successfully in the Korean War, using the call-sign Disco, teamed up with Red Crown off-shore surveillance vessels, and gave USAF fighter crews advance warning of when MiG-ISs were being scrambled. But its limitations in modern warfare, through being powered by piston engines, were well displayed. The need for a turbojet-powered replacement was placed high on the agenda for the 1967 fi cal year, with both Boeing and McDonnell Douglas being allocated funds to investigate the feasibility of producing a flying radar station out of their respective civil aircraft, to be identified as AWACS, an acronym from Airborne Warning And Control System. The Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 had

140

been in service for some time, so it was considered that the basic aerodynamics, having been proven, would not require much in the way of modification. Boeing was notified on 8 July 1970 that it was being awarded a contract to build an AWACS aircraft, based on its submitted design. Among the company's proposals was the mounting of a radome, similar to the eventual shape, on a swept-forward tail-fin, but by the time that their design had hardened enough for a brochure presentation, it was mounted on a pair of struts fixed in a dorsal position on the rear fuselage, in a more sophisticated way, but following the TRE configuration of nearly thirty years earlier. The whole structure was in effect two D-shaped fibre-glass radomes set either side of a rotating girderlike head, making a circular scanner 30ft (9.15m) in diameter and 6ft (I.8m) deep. The whole radome was angled 2.5 degrees downwards, to minimize the aerodynamic movements of the rotating head and it ro'tated at just six revolutions per minute, in order not to break down the lubrication of the head's bearings. Designated EC-13 7D by the USAF, the aircraft was to be powered by eight TF34 turbofan engines, but before construction began, this had been amended to four TF33s, each producing 21 ,000lb (9,500kg) static thrust. Two prototypes, 71-1407 and -1408, started a series of fly-off trials between 4 April and 5 September 1972, one fitted with a Hughes radar system, the other with a Westinghouse system. The five months of flight trials resulted in Westinghouse being given a contract to produce their AN/APY-l radar and the production EC-13 7D was designated the E-3A Sentry. Boeing's initial production contract covered twenty-four aircraft, and this was increased by ten more in the late 1970s, which would take advantage of the radar improvements made since the first order had been placed. From airframe No. 24, the entry was linked to the Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS), which made it compatible with all NATO forces. The aircraft were progressively upgraded to E-3B, then E-3C standard, in which, at 29,000ft (8,800m), the aircraft had a cruising speed of Mach 0.72. At that altitude, the Westinghouse radar had an operational range of 230 miles (370km) and the E-3C could remain on patrol for up to eleven hours, which could be extended to over twenty hours by in-flight refuelling.

141

The MR Shackleton is Replaced In Britain, the British Aerospace Nimrod was produced as the replacement for the Shackleton in its maritime reconnaissance role, with deliveries of the Nimrod MR.l starting on 20 October 1969. The RAF' original maritime reconnaissance requirement in the early 1960s was virtually tailored around the Breguet Atlantic, which had been in service with France's Aeronavale for several years, but Hawker Siddeley, before it became absorbed into BAe, hastily prepared their HS801 design, utilizing the fuselage and wings of the Comet 4C, to which were added four Rolls-Royce Spey 250 turbofan engines. An unpressurized ventral section was added to the fuselage to provide a very copious weapons bay, ahead of which was the radar scanner bay. Forty-nine Nimrod MR.ls were ordered in three batches, with the serial numbers XV226 to XV263, XW664 to XW666 and XZ280 to XZ287. Airframe No. 44, XZ285, became the prototype for the next variant, the MR.2, while Nos 45 and 46, XZ286 to 287, were earmarked for a possible Airborne Early Warning aircraft.

Boeing's Offer to NATO In its E-3A configuration, Boeing received an order from the Royal Saudi Air Force for five AWACS aircraft and NATO was offered the same variant. It was appreciated that, at a unit cost of some $200 million, the Sentry would not be an affordable system for every individual NATO country, although Britain was offered the aircraft early in its development programme. Therefore, early in its production, the aircraft was offered to the Organization as a collective unit and so started the protracted piece of aviation history that, had decisions been made within a reasonable time from that date, could have produced such a difference to the subject of this book. But prevarication became the order of the day and over a period of several years, the defence mini tel'S of member states were involved in meetings thqt only broke up with a promise to 0\<1 another meeting, at an undecided dCl e. it) has to be said that We t Germany was Ot J) of the chief procrastinators in the I )ng drawn-out chapter, but they were not alone. Each member country contributed to the muddle that prevailed.

AEW - THE ROUNDABOUT YEARS

Britain Goes it Alone ato's indecisiveness eventually wore down the British Labour Government and, on 31 March 1977, ecretaryof tate for Defence Fred Mulley announced in the House of Commons that the RAF would get the Nimrod AEW.3 as the country's AEW system, which NATO could also order if they were so inclined. Meanwhile, an AEW variant of the hackleton, that had been produced as an 'interim solution' or 'temporary expedient', depending on who was talking about it, would have to continue operating for a little longer than had originally been planned. The aerodynamic modifications required to convert the imrod MR.1 into the

degree coverage of air and surface targets through the GEC Marconi Argu System. This wa to be a Frequency Modulated 1nterrupter Continuous Wave (FMlCW) AEW radar, which at the time of the decision to go ahead with the AEW.3 was at a very experimental stage. During the sy tem's development, the electronics company changed their name to GE Avionics.

Enter the Comet The Air Staff is ued a target date for an A irborne Early Warning aircraft in Augu t 1972, which, after all the design feasibility studies had been accessed, they wanted to be ready for service testing by February

AEW - THE ROUNDABOUT YEARS

development of the AEW radar. The RRE at Pershore was technically responsible for the design and in tallation of the crew tations, ystems racks, cabling, and so on, plus the manufacture of the very large nose radome, which would be the biggest ever made in the West at that time. 1n imrod AEW.3 production, this unit would be manufactured by BAe, but a test rear radome was not fitted on XW626. The modified Comet, as an airframe, was completed on schedule and made its maiden flight in the hand of a BAe test crew, in June 1977. The following year it had a flying slot at the SBAC Display at Farnborough. Flight trials with XW626 continued until the mid-1980s, when it was transferred to the RAE at Bedford for further electronic test programmes.

De Havilland Comet 4C XW626. converted as the aerodynamic trials aircraft for the Nimrod AEW.3. displays its substantial proboscis. William H. Sleigh

AEW.3 were ba ically confined to the extreme front and rear end . Rather than combining the radar canners into one unit, as done by Boeing, where the fuselage ~av momentary signal distortions when I () ing downwards, the imrod AEW.3 w.( u lei have separate dish antennas at eltl:'lcr extremity, each giving a 1 O-degree sweep, which were co-ordinated to supply data to the various operator's stations. Between them, they would provide a 360-

1975. The Operational Requirement (OR) was set out and, in order to prove the aerodynamics of the imrod's physical modifications, as well as the radar system itself, a de Havilland Comet 4C, which had been registered as G-APDS when flying with the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) but now carried the military serial XW626, was stripped out and refurbished by BAe at Woodford in the early 1970s, to become a flying laboratory for the

142

The AEW.3 is Ordered The original conception had been for the AEW Nimrod's two radomes to be identical in size and shape, but the no e unit had to be shaped to present a clean aerodynamic profile, which could cope with rainerosion and bird strikes. To have made the rear radome similar in hape to the no e unit would have induced in tability due to the mann r in which the airflow would

XW626's nose radome being formed in the Pershore Plastic Shop in 1970. At that time, it was the largest plastic radome that had been produced in the West. William H. Sleigh

143

AEW - THE RO

British Aerospace Nimrod AEW.3 New-build aircraft XZ286 (DB1), XZ287 (DB2) Converted Nimrod MR. Is XV259 (P2). XV261 (P81. XV262 (P7), XV263 (P31. XZ280 (P51. XZ281 IDB31, XZ282 (P6), XZ283 (P41. XZ285 (Pl) DB. development batch alrcrah p. production aircraft

break away. Consequently, the rear-end shape was more rotund in profile. In April 1977, a formal Instruction to Proceed was i ued by the MoD Procurement Executive and eleven Nimrod AEW.3s were ordered. Only two would be new-build aircraft, the re t to be produced by conversion of imrod MR.l (see the table above). The aircraft side of the AEW.3 was sound and well proven by the MR.l 's eight year of RAF service. o-one could pretend that the parameter et for the aircraft' radar, together with the electronic sy tems, were not extensive and maybe rather ambitiou for their time. But then, it i easy to talk from hind ighr. Nevertheles , the system's manufa turers said that they could do it, so they were bel ieved and the orders were placed. There were to be three main sensors to detect and classify targets. These were a pas ive radio and radar detection system (E M), a multi-mode Doppler radar and an IFF system that would identify friendly targets on the surface or in the air. A data handling system from the radar-collected plots would give readings of target' range, height, radial velocity and azimuth. These would be collated and co-ordinated with data provided by the aircraft's navigation system, together with target Jara obtained from the IFF system and the ESM's findings. A low-flying aircraft would be detected by the changed frequency of reflection that it gave off, regardle of strong return signals from either the ground or sea. In 1980, the manufacturer guaranteed that the chosen radar frequencic would en ure a lack of interference from other radars and have a good longrange detection performance, which would be protected by tate-of-the-art anti-jamming equipment. The communication facilitie would consi t of Low (LF), High (HF), Very High (VHF) and Ultra-High (UHF) frequencies. These

DABOUT YEARS

would provide the aircraft with the ability to communicate with friendly fighter, other AEW aircraft, land stations and all naval ve el. But in the real world, ATO had at last made up its mind and ordered ten Boeing E-3A AWACS, whose deliveries commenced on 22 January 1982. Furthermore, the Organization would order an additional eight aircraft, with an improved specification, later on. To circumnavigate the politics, the aircraft were placed on Luxembourg' civil regi ter, to be operated by multi-national crew based at Geilenkirchen in Western Germany, with registJ'ations that ran from LX-N90442 to LXN90459.

Construction Gets Under Way To assist the development of the aircraft's avionics, full-size ground rigs were built at BAe's Woodford plant and Marconi's test ite at Radletr. The e were employed not only to determine the wiring loom and cooling-duct layout, but al 0 the positioning of the various tactical operator' display consoles. The fir t AEW.3 to be completed, XZ286, was one of the two new-build airframes and was classified as Development Batch aircraft DBl. It was rolled out from its Woodford assembly bay on 30 April 1980 and made it maiden flight nearly three months later, on 16 July. The BAe Manchester Division Chief Test Pilot Charles Masefield was at the controls, with the AEW's Project Pilot, John Cruise, in the right-hand seat and a crew of four test observers at stations within the electronic bays. The flight lasted over three hours, during which time handling tests were carried out at altitudes up to 25,000ft (7,600m), which was w II below it designed cruising altitude of 30,000ft (9,200m). On landing, Masefield expressed great satisfaction at the way the aircraft had performed, within the flight envelope undertaken. Two months later, XZ286 haJ a flying lot at Farnborough's biannual SBAC Display but it did not land, instead making the flight from Woodford each day and returning as soon as its programme finished. In 1982, it repeated the operation, but not every day, as the other two Development Batch aircraft were now engaged in the flight development programme and XZ287 (DB2) represented the type on everal days.

144

AEW - THE RO

XZ286 was scheduled for the handling trials, the testing of the aircraft's flight performance and the development of various electronic systems as they became available. It was not fitted out with the Mission ystem Avionics (MSA), which were listed to be installed in DB2 and DB3. The engineering side of the Nimrod AEW.3 programme progressed quite quickly, with XZ287 (DB2) having its first flight in January 1981 and XZ2 1 (DB3) following six months later, inJuly. In 19 0 BAe had rather put its neck on the line by is uing a pre relea e claiming that the AEW.3 would be in RAF rvice by early 1982. This was not so outlandish as it appears in retrospect, for their side of the programme, the building and conversion of the airframe, was well on schedule, as was Rolls-Royce's delivery of the peys. At that time, they were not to know anything of the avionic headaches that would arise in the future. Nimrod AEW.3 hopes were higher than XZ286, the first production aircraft (DBl I, as it made a low pass during Abingdon's air show in 1981. Author's collection

Trouble Looms As already stated, NATO received its first E-3A on 22 January 1982 and it wa fervently believed that the AEW Nimrod could work in concert with the NATO AWAC . This would not happen in that year, a had been optimi tically predicted in the 1980 press release, becau e it was being admitted that there had been a 'slight lippage' in the delivery dates, but certainlybythcmid-19 O. This 'slight slippage' was mainly caused by clutter problems within the radar systems. In order to deal with this, GEC Avionics had developed a new filter system which, the company declared, virtually eliminated the whole problem. However, due to the regular changes to many of the system demanded by the RAF, doubts were being raised as to whether the GEC 4080M computer was indeed powerful enough to handle all that was being demanded of ir. ome report went so far as to ay that a 300 per cent increase in capacity would b needed for the system to meet existing requirements, let alone have growth potential for the upgrading that it was guaranteed would be demanded by the Service. A further question that was also beginning to loom large, was the programme's costs. When the Nimrod maritime reconnaissance aircraft were originally ordered, Hawker Siddeley and the MoD agre d a

fixed price per aircraft, which uited both parties, together with the engine manufacturer and the many equipment suppliers, who would all deal with Hawker Siddeley as the contractor responsible for all costs. imrod AEW proHowever, with the gramme, where the proving of airframes was only half the story and, in fact, wa the less co t1y of the required operation right from the start, no one manufactur r was nom inated as prime contractor. Consequently, whereas the airframe modification from MR. I to AEW.3, plus the two new-build aircraft, were a definable factor, he on-going development of the avionics, even if everything went moothly, was rather an unknown quantity, which could escalate - and escalate it did'

GEC Avionic's Optimism Hawker Siddeley had supplied all eleven airframes as ordered, complete with their Spey 251 turbofans, but th delays in fitting them out with ati factory avionics became a subject that was rai ed in the House of Commons. A Con ervative government had been elected with Margaret Thatch r as Prime Mini ter, since the previou Labour Government had made the decision to produce an indigenous AEW

aircraft, and they made great capital out of th delays, together with the piralling costs. Of course, they were in a trong position, not bing responsible for any of the initiating, and could take the attitude adopted by the man in the hoary old jok who, when asked the way to a certain place by ramblers, replied 'I wouldn't have started from here in the first place!' hackleton AEW.2 Meanwhile, the would have to carryon for a little longer. Early in 1985, GEC Avionics were still expressing optimism that the bugs could, and would, be ironed out of the systems, but the uncertainty urrounding the co tings influenced the Ministry of Defence to start new negotiations with the lectronics company for a fixed-price contracr that would include all future development and integration work on the Nimrod's MSA. It would replace the open-ended cost-plu contract that had cost the Briti h taxpayer £816 million up to the end of 1984 and had no definabl areasofre ponsibility. Furthermore, the MoD placed a time-scale on the whole programme and stated that the various systems should 'have an operational capability by sometime in 1987'. GEC Avionics were satisfied with th new contract and revealed that feasibility studies had been made with potential overseas customers to supply designs for their systems to be in tailed in

145

other airframes. The company admitted that export orders were becoming vital for their well-being and a decision by Lockheed to adopt the GEC Avionics APY920 AEW system for a new variant of the ubiquitous C130 Hercule gave them a much-needed vote of confidence. Lockheed con idered that, because C-130 operators were spread all over the world, a commonality of spares made the AEW Hercules a ound economic propo ition. Consideration was also given to the system being adapted for in tallation in the Aeritalia G-222, Canadair CL.601 and even the EH-I01 helicopter.

Uncertainty Still Reigns Despite the fact that the financial side of the whole saga had been stabilized, th performance of the avionics was till much in doubt. It was admitted that as things stood at the end of 19 5, the AEW's electJ'onic ystems would only be supplying 60 to 65 per cent of the original specifi ation's demands. Any thought of repla ing the 40 OM computer would have to be re erved until aircraft were due for a midlife update. XZ2 3 (P4) had been delivered to the Joint Trials Unit (JTU) at Waddington, in November, with XV263 (P3) anticipated to follow early in 1986.

AEW - THE ROU

For ome time, NATO expressed great concern at the delays in the AEW.3 reaching operational service, as their plans were very much tailored around the air raft working in conjunction with their E-3As, which had been in service for the past three years. But they were appeased to a certain extent by the new of the revi ed contract and official consideration that 1987 would be the aircraft's activation date. They were given further encouragement when the Minister of Defence for Procurement, Lord

DABOUT YEARS

JTU and the balance of the production order was in open storage at RAF Abingdon in Oxfordshire, awaiting their MSA fits. (The author well remembers seeing them hunted off into a corner of the airfield that year, when the base held its annual Air Display.) Also in 1985, XZ285 (PI) took part in the Battle of Britain display at Finningley. When the MR.ls were converted, the aircraft's white-top colour scheme was retained and perpetuated n the two new-

debat on the AEW situation was held in the House of ommon, and when a vote was taken the government had a 169 majority to terminate the whole project forthwith. It wa also announced that an order had been placed with Boeing, to upply seven E-3D entrys, which would tart being delivered to the RAF in 199 I and complete the circle that had been tarted fifteen years earlier. Meanwhile, the hackl ton AEW.2 would have to carryon a little longer.

Abingdon 1986, as Nimrod AEW.3 airframes XZ281 , with a white top, plus XZ280 and XZ287 in hemp finish, are parked at the back of the airfield during the base's annual Air Display. Author's collection

Nimrod MR.2 XV232 shows that the new two-tone hemp finish gives it a smoother appearance than when the Nimrod had the white-top colour scheme. Author's collection

Trefgarne, announced on 25 eptember 19 6 that hi department hoped to make an AWAC decision by the end of the year, at the same time confirming for the fir t time, that there would be a fly-off between the imrod AEW.3 and the Boeing E-3A entry. The final asse ment would be made on all-round performance alone and would not be influenced by the fact that many high-ranking RAF personnel leaned towards the Boeing aircraft. By the end of 1986, the three D velopment Batch aircraft were still heavily involved in trying to perfect the avionics; P3 and P4 were operating with Waddington's

build AEWs. Later, a two-toned hemp finish was adopted on some types, including the imrod MR.2, and all the AEW.3 were imilarly treated.

AEW.3 is Guillotined With the whole Nimrod AEW.3 programme running four years late and GEC Avionic still stating confidence in having their ystem fully operational to RAF standards, but not for another year or two, the government finally ran out of patience and acted. In January 19 7, an emergency

746

The cost of the E-3 D order would be £ 60 million, which was about £200 million more than remained outstanding on the revised AEW.3 contract. However, when the ,WOO million already spent on the programme was added to this £200 million, for which there wa a total of eleven inoperable aircraft to be shown, it became obvious that a huge sum of money would have to be written off, but it was expedient to do so. How different the e figures would have been if the 1976 overture by Boeing had been played to the full. Boeing stated that British industry would receive over £1 billion-worth of orders in

Boeing E-3D Sentry AEW.1 ZH102 shows that hemp is the colour in vogue in 1991, Author's collection

the next six years, which would create over 4,000 new jobs, though whether this would become a reality was not so much of a onsideration as the fact that the Nimrod AEW.3 project had, at last, been axed. ATO, too, was satisfied, not only because a guaranteed input would be forth oming from the RAF, but that there would be a measure of commonality with their own AWA S fleet, which was bound to be benficial to all parties concerned.

The Sentry Takes Up His Post The prototype of the RAF's E-3D order made its maiden flight, as yet unpainted, on 16 June 1990 and the first aircraft, now officially designated Sentry AEW.l, atTived at Waddington early in November, where the entry Training quadron ( TS) had been formed on 1 July. This aircraft was ZHI02, which was actually the second of the seven aircraft ordered, carrying the serials ZHI01

747

to ZH 107.lt was fitted out with radar, computer consoles and communications ystems by a team of Boeing and BAe technicians. The official handover to the RAF took place at Waddington in March 1991 and subsequent aircraft arrived at two-monthly intervals. Elements of No.8 quadron had moved from Lossiemouth to the Waddington's STS prior to the official handover and from 30 March 1991, the Shackleton AEW.2 would have to carryon no longer.

CHAPTER TEN

AEW - the 6,848-day 'InteriDl Solution'

(Above) Before becoming the AEW.2 Conversion No.1, MR.2 Wl745 was coded 'M' while serving with No. 204 Squadron.

(Below)Wl741/D was operated by No. 42 Squadron in 1959-60, before joining No. 205 Squadron at Changi in 1962 and then returning to the UK for the ninth AEW.2 conversion in April 1972.

Ian Mactaggart

George Williams

It is open to debate as to whether more column inches of print or frames of film have been expounded on any twelve individual ailframes, than on the Shackleton AEW.2s. But then, we are talking about a legend in its own lifetime. The 1967 agreement to modify a number of low-flying-hour Shackleton MR.2s into AEW aircraft was considered very much an 'interim solution', because of the hesitant situation existing within the NATO partnership. Although the procrastinations did not look like ending in the near future, it was obvious that there would eventually be an outcome of some sort, so the idea of refurbishing some fifteen-yearold piston-engined aircraft was not considered too bizarre, and met with Treasury blessing. It was repeated that they would be purely an 'interim solution', which would only be required for a few years.

The Select Few A cull of existing MR.2s was put in hand, in order to see if there were enough aircraft with low flying-hours to make a reasonablesized unit. Twelve aircraft were selected for a conversion to AEW requirements and an extra three were allocated for crew/pilot training, one of which reached the end of 4 its fatigue life during its squadron service and had to be replaced. There was also WR967, which had been damaged in a crash, and had its fuselage restored as a ground trainer/simulator. No.8 Squadron, a fighter unit with a long pedigree, had just been disbanded in Muharraq and it was decided to reform it as the RAF's AEW squadron when the first aircraft was delivered. The squadron would be reformed at Kinloss, within No. 11 Group of Strike Command.

The Timeless ANIAPS 20 When the Royal Navy took delivery of the Fairey Gannet AEW.3 as the replacement

148

No.8 Squadron Brooklands in Surrey was the birthplace of the squadron on 1January 1915, to be one of the Royal Flying Corps IRFCI units designated to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force fighting in France. It was equipped with BE.2Cs and went to Gosport in Hampshire for training six days later. At Gosport its inventory was increased with the addition of both BE.2As and -Bs, so that when the squadron was posted to St Omar on 15 April, it was a well equipped unit. In June the squadron received the Bristol Scout. with which it operated for some considerable time, until it was back with the BE.2s, this time the '0' and 'F variants. With these, it undertook a recon. naissance role adjacent to enemy lines and spotting potential targets forthe ground artillery. In August 1917, the squadron took delivery of Armstrong Whitworth FK.8s and retained them until December 1918, a month after the end of hostilities, when they re-equipped with Bristol F2b fighters. After operating from numerous airfields on the European mainland, the squadron moved to Duxford on 28 July 1919, to be disbanded six months later, on 20 January 1920. Its demise was short-lived, for on 20 October of the same year, NO.8 Squadron was reformed at Helwan, on the east bank of the River Nile, to operate with DH.9As. This was the start of twenty-five years' overseas service. Over this period, its aircraft ranged from the DH.9A through Fairey IIIFs, Vickers Vincents and aflight of Hawker Demons, until the outbreak of World War Two, when it started operating with the Bristol Blenheim Mk I. During the conflict, its equipment included the Martin Maryland - which was its first American aircraft- Blenheim Mks IV and V. the Hudson Mk VI. and the Wellington Mk XIII. On 1 May 1945 the squadron was disbanded, but again it was quickly reformed, just two weeks later, this time at Jessore in India, on 15 May, by the re-numbering of No. 200 Squadron. It took over the existing Liberator Mk Vis and flew them for six months, until 15 November, when the unit was disbanded for the third time. This time, the disbandment lasted ten months. On 1 September 1946, No. 114 Squadron at Khormaksarwas re-numbered NO.8 Squadron, to fly Mosquito FB.6s, then the Tempest F.6 and Bristol Brigand B.l until 1 December 1952, when it received its first turbojet fighter-bomber, the Vampire FB.9. Assorted Venoms, Meteor PR.9s and Hunter FGA.9jFR.l0s followed, and on strike sorties made against dissident tribesmen in the Aden Protectorate, No. 8 Squadron first made the acquaintance of the Shackleton, as the MR.1 sof No. 42 Squadron supplied pre-strike reconnaissance photography for them. Having served from various Middle East bases for the previous twenty-one years, the squadron

149

The Squadron's crest with a Jambiya and the motto

Uspiam et passim ('Everywhere Unbounded'). Air Portraits via Aeroplane

underwent its fourth disbanding, this time at Muharraq on 21 December 1967. The great change in operational role came on 1January 1972, when the squadron's fourth reforming took place, at Kinloss. The Shackleton had come full circle, for it was at Kinloss, in March 1951, that No. 120 Squadron became the first unit to operate Avro's new maritime reconnaissance aircraft. NO.8 Squadron was to be the UK's Airborne Early Warning unit. flying Shackleton AEW2s. Lossiemouth was to be their permanent base but on 1 January 1972 the work to lengthen and strengthen the runways there in order to accommodate the squadron's new charges was still in hand. On the day of reforming, they received MR.2 WL787 for crew training, prior to the arrival of the first of twelve AEW2s. So began the nineteen-year legend of the 1940s radar, fitted in a 1950s airframe, that became responsible for the early warning system of the United Kingdom's defences at the end of the twentieth century. The squadron's tenure at Lossiemouth lasted until 1 July 1991, when the last Shackleton was officially retired and the squadron moved to Waddington in lincolnshire, to start operating the AEW2's successor, the Boeing E-3D Sentry - and what a culture shock that was! But they learned to live with the quiet. heated interior that did not vibrate for ten hours and the modern avionics that were not presented on 7in screens. Life can be so hard sometimes!

AEW - THE 6.848-DAY 'INTERIM SOLUTION'

for their Douglas Skyraider AEW.ls, the dependable Westinghouse-designed AN/ APS 20F radars were removed from the American aircraft, to be installed in the thirty-eight new early warning aircraft. There, they performed impeccably for more than ten years, until the Treasuryinfluenced decision was made by the Royal Navy to finish with fixed-wing aircraft. The Gannet AEW.3s were phased out and the venerable, but still reliable, radars were about to become operational within an RAF aircraft for the first time.

The Conversion Schedule A timetable for the MR.2s to become AEW.2s was laid down, specifying when the selected aircraft were to transfer from their respective squadrons to No.5 MU at Kemble. There, each aircraft would be inspected and, if necessary, overhauled prior to being put in storage to await del ivery to the Hawker Siddeley works at Bitteswell in Leicestershire. The airfield at Bitteswell had been an Operational Training Unit (OTU) from February 1942 until July 1945 although, early on in that period, Armstrong Whitworth established a facility there for the assembly and test-flying of Lancasters that the company had produced in their

Baginton factory at Coventry. This engineering aspect took over the whole airfield in July 1946 and in the 1960s, Armstrong Whitworth became absorbed within the Hawker Siddeley Group. As there was no production line laid down at Bitteswell, the works were extensively employed in the modification and repair of the varied selection of Group aircraft. The Bitteswell modifications were externally distinguishable by the removal of the retractable ventral 'dustbin' radome and the installation of a large aerial housing at the forward end of the bomb-bay, as well as the deletion of the 20mm canon turret in the nose. Internally, n w electronic systems abounded, with the Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) updated to an APX-7 unit. The radar positions were fitted with facilities for three operators. The five-man radar crew worked in shifts, a necessary arrangement on ten-hour-plus patrols. With the plethora of equipment and seating for its operators, combined with the separate navigation station and, of course, the great wing-spar that dominated the lower half of the centre-section's interior, it has to be said that they presented an obstacle course of Olympic proportions whenever crew members needed to move around. As the whole AEW scene was new to the RAF, instructors from the Royal

AEW - THE 6,848-DAY 'I TERIM SOLUTION'

Navy's No. 849 Squadron were initially loaned to the Shackleton unit. With their experience on both the Skyraider and Gannet, the Navy had a surplus of trained operators and several of them became Shackleton crew members until the RAF had sufficient operators of their own checked out on the new avionics. From Bitteswell the aircraft, now classified as a Shackleton AEW.2, would fly back to No.5 MU for repainting with an overall dark blue/grey gloss, before being taken on charge by No.8 Squadron.

January 1973, and after a four-month repair on site it returned to the squadron, renamed Dylan, where it served until its fatigue life was expended on 3 January 1974. WL787 had been one of only two four-engined types on the unit's inventory during nearly fifty-two years of active service, the previous one being the Liberator Mk VI flown in India for nine months during 1945. A transfer to the Lossiemouth fire-fighting section on the day of its retirement lasted less than two months, as

by March Wl787 was broken up and eventually destroyed.

The AEW.2s Arrive The quadron's first Shackleton AEW.2 was WL747, named Florence, which arrived on 11 April 1972. The following month, WL756 arrived and by the end of 1972 the squadron had eight AEW.2s on charge. The ninth,

No.8 Squadron's First Shackleton The reformed squadron's first aircraft was a standard Shackleton MR.2, WL787, to be used for crew training. It had seen considerable service in both the M idd Ie and Far East, with No. 210 squadron at Sharjah being its last unit, from where it was scheduled to be allocated to the Fire School at Catterick on 1 November 1971, but won a reprieve. It was delivered to Kinloss on 19 November to await the reforming of No. 8 Squadron. With its new unit, WL787 was christened Mr McHenry, to start the vogue of AEW.2s being given the name of a character in a popular children's programme of that era. It survived a flying accident on 25

(Below) AEW.2 WL756 was delivered to Kinloss on 5 May 1972. Author's

(Above) No.8 Squadron's first AEW.2, WL747 Florence, arrives over the threshold. Author's collection

collection

The heart of AEW.2 WL747, showing the mighty wing spar that divided the operators, who spent hours peering at their 7in radar screens. Air Portraits via Aeroplane

150

WR965, was delivered on 31 January 1973 and two more arrived at monthly intervals. The unit's last AEW.2, WL745, was employed for AEW-configuration performance checks by Woodford and the MoA Air Fleet, between March 1970 and September 1971. These were followed by official service clearance trials at A&AEE, Bascombe Down, which took from 5 April 1972 to 26 February 1973. The squadron eventually put the aircraft on charge on 17 September 1973.

151

AEW - THE 6.848-DAY 'INTERIM SOL TlOI .

AEW - THE 6.848-DAY 'INTERIM SOL TION'

No.8 Squadron's Shackletons WL741 Conversion NO.9. To storage NO.5 MU 2.2.73. Withdrawn. flown to HSA Bitteswell for conversion 4.72. Delivered NO.8 Squadron as AEW2 4.4.73. named PC Knapweed. Withdrawn squadron service 1981. To Central Training Establishment. Manston. as 8692M. Burnt 6.81. WL745 Conversion NO.1. To Woodford for basis performance with radome 18.3.70. In storage Woodford 25.3.70. To MoA Air Fleet for Assessment 12.8.70. To A&AEE after conversion for service release 5.4.72. Completed 26.2.73. To HSA Bitteswell for AEW2 production standard 2.3.73. To NO.5 MU for repainting 30.7.73. Delivered NO.8 Squadron 17.9.73. named Sage. Withdrawn squadron service 6.81. To RAF Fire Fighting and Safety School. Catterick. as 8698M. Burnt 1983. WL747 Conversion No. 3. To major overhaul NO.5 MU 17.12.70. To HSA Bitteswell for conversion 2.2.71. To NO.5 MU for repainting 8.2.72. To Lossiemouth for APS 20F fit 16.3.72. Delivered NO.8 Squadron 11.4.72, named Florence. Withdrawn squadron service 7.91. Sold to Sawas Constantinides 3.7.91. Arrived Paphos, Cyprus 19.7.91. WL754 Conversion No. 12. To storage NO.5 MU 2.4.71. Withdrawn, flown to HSA Bitteswell for conversion 22.3.72. To NO.5 MU for repainting 18.10.72. To Lossiemouth for APS 20F fit 21.11.72. Delivered NO.8 Squadron 29.11.72, named Paul. Withdrawn squadron service 1.81. To fire practice/crash rescue, Valley 22.1 81, as 8665M, but put on display by 'Save the Shackleton' campaign. WL756 Conversion NO.2. To overhaul NO.5 MU 18.1.71. Flown to HSA Bitteswell 2.4.71 for conversion. To NO.5 MU for repainting 22.3.72. Delivered NO.8 Squadron 5.5.72. To Lossiemouth for APS 20F fit 19.5.72. Return NO.8 Squadron 21.6.72, named Mr Rusty. Withdrawn squadron service 1.7.91. To crash rescue, St Mawgan 7.91. Burnt by 1998. WL757 Conversion NO.6. To storage NO.5 MU 14.12.70. Withdrawn, flown to HSA Bitteswell 26.8.71 for conversion. To NO.5 MU for repainting 3.7.72. To Lossiemouth for APS 20F fit 25.8.72. Delivered NO.8 Squadron 29.8.72, named Brian. Withdrawn squadron service 7.91. Sold to Sawas Constantinides 3.7.91. Arrived Paphos, Cyprus 15.7.91. WL790 Conversion NO.7. To storage NO.5 MU 4.1.71. Withdrawn, flown to HSA Bitteswell 30.9.71 for conversion. To NO.5 MU for repainting 3.8.72. To Lossiemouth for APS 20F fit 19.9.72. Delivered NO.8 Squadron 23.9.72, named Mr McHenry, later renamed Zebedee. To HSA Bitteswell for re-sparring 1980. Return NO.8 Squadron 28.7.81. Withdrawn squadron service 1.7.91. To open storage Air Atlantique, Baginton 10.7.91. Sold to Shackleton Preservation Trust, delivered Macon, Georgia, USA as N790WL 7.9.94. WL793 Conversion NO.5. To overhaul and storage NO.5 MU 2.4.71. Withdrawn, flown HSA BittesweIl5.6.72 for conversion. To NO.5 MU for repainting 12.1.73. To Lossiemouth for APS 20F fit 12.2.73. Delivered NO.8 Squadron 23.2.73, named Ermintrude. Loaned to MoA Air Fleet and A&AEE 16.8.73. Returned NO.8 Squadron 29.8.73. To HSA Bitteswell for re-sparring 28.4.77. Return NO.8 Squadron 29.3.78. Withdrawn squadron service 1981. To Battle Damage Repair Flight, Lossiemouth 7.81 as 8675M, but dumped 7.81 and scrapped 7.82.

The Roles Are Determined Before the la t AEW.2 was delivered, the improvement at Lossiemouth were completed, and on 14 August 1973 No. 8

WL795 Conversion NO.8. To overhaul and storage NO.5 MU 2.2.71. Withdrawn, flown to HSA BittesweIl4.2.72 for conversion. To NO.5 MU for repainting 5.9.72. To Lossiemouth for APS 20F fit 18.10.72. Delivered NO.8 Squadron 20.10.72, named Rosalie. Withdrawn squadron service 1981. To fire practice/crash rescue, St Mawgan 24.11.81 as 8753M. Not used and open storage St Mawgan until renovation 3.89 to 4.89 for display. WR960 Conversion NO.4. To storage NO.5 MU 9.11.70. Withdrawn, flown HSA Bitteswell 27.5.71 for conversion. To NO.5 MU for repainting 5.72. To Lossiemouth for APS 20F fit 7.6.72. Delivered NO.8 Squadron 8.6.72, named Dougal. To HSA Bitteswell for re-sparring 17.3.78. Return NO.8 Squadron 12.3.79. Withdrawn squadron service 11.82. To Cosford as 8772M. Dismantled for transport Greater Manchester Museum of Science And Industry. Delivered 27.1.83. WR963 Conversion NO.5. To storage NO.5 MU 17.12.70. Withdrawn, flown HSA Bitteswell 30.6.71 for conversion. To NO.5 MU for repainting 2.6.72. To Lossiemouth for APS 20F fit 18.7.72. Delivered NO.8 Squadron 1.8.72. named Parsley. To HSA for re-sparring 1.3.76. Return NO.8 Squadron 13.5.77. Withdrawn squadron service 1.7.91. To open storage Air Atlantique, Baginton 10.7.91. WR965 Conversion No. 11. To storage NO.5 MU 2.4.71. Withdrawn. flown HSA Bitteswell 28.4.72 for conversion. To NO.5 MU for repainting 28.11.72. To Lossiemouth for APS 20F fit 18.1.73. Delivered NO.8 Squadron 31.1.73. named Dill,later renamed Rosalie. To HSA Bitteswell for re-sparring 1.9.76. Return NO.8 Squadron 21.10.77. Crashed Outer Hebrides 30.4.90. WG556 MR.2. To open storage No. 32 MU St Athan 7.10.70. Refurbished early 1977. Delivered NO.8 Squadron 5.5.77 for crew training. replacing WL738. Heavy landing 1980. Withdrawn squadron service 1980. To Battle Damage Repair Flight. Lossiemouth 1980, as 8651M. To Fire Section 20.2.81. Scrapped 7.82. WL738 MR.2. To storage NO.5 MU 19.4.72. Refurbished 1973-74. Delivered NO.8 Squadron 8.3.74 for pilot training. Withdrawn squadron service 14.10.77. Renumbered 8567M for spares. Displayed Lossiemouth from 5.4.78. Scrapped 1991. WL787 MR.2. To Kinloss 19.11.71. Delivered NO.8 Squadron 1.1.72 for crew training, named Mr McHenry. Flying accident 25.1.73. Repaired on site. Returned NO.8 Squadron 15.5.73, renamed Dylan. Withdrawn squadron service 3.1.74. Broken up and destroyed 3.74. WL801 MR.2. To storage NO.5 MU 5.5.70. Withdrawn, delivered NO.8 Squadron 15.8.74 for crew training. Withdrawn squadron service 6.79. Transferred to Aerospace Museum, Cosford. Scrapped 1991. WR967 MR.2. To Kinloss 23.11.71, awaiting NO.8 Squadron reforming. Delivered NO.8 Squadron 1.1.72 for crew training, named Zebedee. Flying accident 7.9.72. Wings removed, fuselage only converted AEW training simulator. Delivered NO.8 Squadron as 8398M 14.8.75, renamed Dodo. Scrapped 1991.

quad ron took up residence at their new permanent home, 'Lossie'. In the beginning, so far as the Royal Navy wa conc rned, No. quad ron was con ide red to be the replacem nt for their

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No. 849 Squadron Gannet AEW.3 . Howv r, much to the Senior ervic 's chagrin, the yawning gap in the early warning facilities available to the United Kingdom Air Defence Region (UKADR) as a whole

Wl745 is seen on an early test flight as an AEW.2, coded '0' and without any squadron identification. Derek James

made it imp rative that they be given priority above all other consideration. The mistru t between the USSR and the NATO powers in the early 1970s was far from being a model of international r lationships. The North Atlantic, with its approaches via the Norwegian and orth Sea, witnessed a vast amount of naval activity by the two conglomerate, which attracted very regular air force 'attention from both ide. This area became o. 8 Squadron's main responsibility for many years, with its interminable patrols over featureless seas, in inclement weather condition, relieved by the regular interceptions of Bears.

Enter the Bear Due to the Russian language making name of Soviet aircraft manufacturers difficult for Westerners to tran mit on radio, a system of codename was devised by ATO, with the initial letter of each codename ignifying the particular aircraft's role. Thu , fight r began with 'F' (Farmer, Fishbed, Fishpot, etc.), tran ports, influenced by U AF

nomenclature, began with ' , for cargo (Candid, Coot, etc.) and bombers with 'B' (Badger, Beagle, Blinder, etc.). The principal 'customer' for o. 8 Squadron was the Tupolev Tu-20, codenamed Bear. This was a very large four-turboprop air raft, originally developed in th mid-1950s as a strategic bomber, known to ATO a Bear-A, to meet specifications drawn up by the Dalnaya Aviatsiya (Long Range Aviation). During the 1960s, the design was adapted for the long-range reconnaissance role, with large search radars and provi ion for in-flight refuelling via a nose-probe of field-artillery proportions. To ATO, this was the Bear-B, which, with a wingspan of 163ft (49.6m) and length of 150ft (45. 7m) is a large a roplane by any standards. The four Kuznetsov NK-12M turboprops each drove eight-bladed, contra-rotating propellers, which meant that when a hackleton took up station alongside a Bem', there were fifty-six propeller blade thrashing the surrounding air. Such was the volume of sortie to intercept (in the 'find' connotation) Bears, that the squadron, with it hi toric motto Uspiam et Passium (Everywh r Unbounded), adopted the unofficial designation 'Bear

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Hunter' - and did a roaring trad at Air Displays, sell ing a logo-patch declaring the fact! The Bear-hunting routine meant that when the S viet aircraft's position had been determined and relayed to Fighter Command (No.8 Squadron was operating within No. 11 Fighter Group), Lightning, and later Phantom, fighters were crambled from RAF Leuchars, to make the interloper's crew aware that th y were flying in British airspace. The Phantoms of No. 92 A on board HM Ark Royal al 0 becam involved in Bear-intercepting, when they were in the vicinity. These encounters were g nerally on a friendly, but professional, ba is. The fighter took up positi n on the port side of the Bear, to ensure he was seen by its pilot. Sedate waving was exchang d between the two crews, together with a photographic record of the encounter. Date, time, altitude, position and course were logged and the engagement often lasted long enough for the fighter to require inflight refuelling. Eventually the Tupolev broke away and set course for its ba e in the Soviet Union. Night-time was no barrier to these exchanges, and the AEW.2's

AEW - THE 6.848-DAY 'INTERIM SOL TlO

AEW - THE 6,848-DAY 'INTERIM SOLUTIO'

performances were excellent under these conditions, with the A /APS 20F working as well as the ancient airframe. Bear-B and Os made an average of six reconnai sance flights a week into UK airspace and to cater for this o. S quadran initiated a system of Quick Action Alert (QRA), where an AEW.2 could become airborne within ninety minute of any target being located by Chain Home radar. This may not seem a quick 'scramble' compared to squadrons equipped with turbojet-powered aircraft, but it was a creditable performance for a 1940s piston-engi ned type weighing over 40 ton (43,536kg). Also, the ten crew of two pilots, two navigator/signallers, one flight engineer and five radar operators all had to be briefed on

basis once the imrod AEW.3 got into service. They were to be disappointed. Many of the e exercises involved naval forces and maritime detection was a much a province of the AEW.2s a the early warning of incoming attacking aircraft. Despite their age, the radars coped well with modem, high-speed aircraft, whose performance was far greater than tho e operating in the 1940 , when Westinghouse developed the AN/APS 20, and it speaks well of the provisions for upgrading that were built in the system in the first place. It wa al 0 a credit to the radar operators who viewed the outside world through a 7in (lScm) scope. Other regular detachments made by the squadron were those to Akrotiri in Cyprus, where exercises were conducted with the

The antiquity of their aircraft seemed to produce a bond between aircrew and ground taff, which fo tered a de ire to always have as many aircraft as possible available for whatever demands might be made of them. Being human being, the regular official declaration that they would have to c ntinue for longer than was promised the previous time did produce moments of reduced enthusiasm, but the e were soon forgotten and pride wa restored in what th y did with what they had. One regular morale-booster was a request for an aircraft to attend an Air Display. The AEW.2 wa a firm favourite throughout the display fraternity. Its appeal was not confined to aircraft enthusiasts - it appealed to the public at large. The Griffon 'growl' and

The mighty Tupolev Tu-20 Bear-D is an imposing-looking piece of aeronautical engineering. This one was photographed in September 1974, while engaged in monitoring the NATO Exercise Northern Merger. MoD via Aeroplane

--

A fine study as WL747 Florence taxies in with a C-160 Transall parked in the background. Dave Jackson

!'he particular task before them; it was impractical for hackletons to be on readiness to the same extent as Bomber ommand's aircraft.

Exercises and Displays

Phantom FGR.2 XT864/007 of the Royal Navy's No. 892 Squadron came up from HMS Ark Royal as a result of No.8 Squadron's notification of a Bear-Dtaking an interest in Exercise Northern Wedding in September 1978. The Phantom's crew is a US Navy/RAF collaboration, as Lt Pat Gravity, USN, shares the cockpit with Fit Lt Selwyn Rodda. HMS Ark Royal via Aeroplane

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Joint RAF/NATO exercises were a regular feature of o. quadron's life, but at all time at least one QRA aircraft had to be r tained for possible interceptions. For the exercises, detachments were often deployed to St Mawgan to work in conjunction with NATO E-3A, and the Organization anticipated, before the saga related in Chapter Nine, that this co-operation would be on a more technically-even

MEAF and NATO fleets in the Mediterranean theatre. About half a dozen per year were held, where the AEW.2s would also integrate with locally-based squadrons engaged in armament exerci e under a Mediterranean environment. The other climatic extreme wer ncountered when the squadron sent small detachments to Iceland, for joint exerci e under low-temperature conditions. ne con ideration that had to be made with these detachments was the fast-reducing availability of piston-engine aircraft fuel (AVGA). With the almost univer al use of gas turbine aircraft, station holding stocks of AVGAS - and in enough quantity to replenish Shackle tons for a number of days - were becoming fewer and fewer.

155

majestic flying wa a popular altemativ to the reheat-burning winged missiles that were gone almost before one could focus on their presence. This does not in any way denigrate the kill of tho e flying the m dem aircraft, but their individual display r utines had to be similar, because their mounts were not so individualistic. (One exception wa the Vulcan, but then again, its roots lay with th g nius that wa Roy hadwick!) The manoeuvrability of the hackleton was, for an aircraft of its size, always a good display feature and the exciting vision of a pair of feathered propellers on the am wing windmilling away while th t\Vo engines on the other side were thrashing away at full throttle, was something that the turbojet pilots could not emulate.

WR963 Parsley flies over the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious as it disturbs the North Sea on 9 May 1983. Air Portraits via Aeroplane

Another Political Travesty

Keeping Them Flying

In 1981, there was a Conservative Government in power again and in the spring, the Minister of Defence, John Non, put another round of defence cuts into motion. No.8 Squadron felt the full force of this political foolishness when they were informed that they were to 10 e half their AEW.2 force. Consequently, six aircraft with the highest number of flying hour - WL741, WL745, WL754, WL795, WR960 and WR963 were withdrawn from the unit's inventory. Two, WL741 and WL745, were burnt, although some equipment, tog ther with the engines, was salvaged for spares. This lack of official consideration for the future and not just the pre ent wa something that the service in general had to come to terms with. In No.8 quadron's ca e, it ignited more determination than ever to keep their handful of aircraft at almo t con tant readine s and it is to their credit that this was accomplished for another ten years, which was aided by periodic scrounging of fire dumps for individual spare.

The task of maintaining the remaining six aircraft in an operational condition, which wa an 'in-hou e' affair, wa the re ponsibility of the enior Engineering Officer (SENGO) who, on an average, had a staff of three officer and around 100 other rank. They had liberal assistance from a BAe Contractor's Working Party (CWP) based at Lo siemouth, whose staff worked on a rotational basis from Woodford. Structural Integrity In pections (SIIs) en ured that the airframes were to operational standard, with special attention paid to the wing spars, for the Shackleton was a heavy aircraft, which operated in the turbulent flying conditions found at low altitudes over the seas for the majority of its life. Three aircraft, WL790, WL793 and WR965, returned to Bitteswell for re-sparring during the 1970s, while vigilant monitoring of the other three became routine. Close liaison between the squadron and Woodford was essential, so that ][s were scheduled into normal ervicing interval, in order to nsure that as many aircraft as

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possible were available for whatever operational task arose. Keeping the Griffons going was an enterprise in its own right, for they were the last of the large reciprocating engines in frontline RAF service. These, too, were serviced 'in-house', with assistance from Rolls-Royce if neces ary, but experienced engineers in that field were a di appearing breed. Prior to 1983, the Rolls-Royce facility at East Kilbride had the engine support contract, but this became a victim of cost-cutting and the E GO with hi staff were, officially, on their own - but officialdom was unaware of the personal aspect that endured between the Griffon-operating fraternity and most likely would not have under tood if they had known. The Lossiemouth engine maintenance team became good Griffon engineers: when you are thrown in at the deep end, you learn to swim, fa t.

Disaster The fatal cra h of an aeroplane is always a tragedy, but that No. 8 Squadron's

Wl756 in the hangar for service on 10 May 1983, with the rear fuselage being raised by one of lossiemouth's mobile cranes from the MT section. Air Portraits via Aeroplane

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AEW - THE 6.848-DAY ·INTERIM SOLUTIO'

(Above) A good, tight formation is being flown by Wl790 Zebedee, WR965 Rosalie and the photographer's aircraft. On 30 April 1990 No.8 Squadron suffered its only AEW.2 disaster, when WR965 crashed in the Outer Hebrides, claiming the lives of the unit's Commanding Officer and nine other members. Author's collection

(Below) A beautiful shot of WR960 Dougal as it slides beneath the photographer's aircraft. It is very noticeable how the Griffon's modified exhaust system virtually eliminated the top-wing surface staining, so much a Shackleton characteristic in previous years. Mind you, knowing No.8 Squadron's pride in their aircraft, it is highly likely that they gave them a 'wash and brush-up' at very regular intervals! Harry Holmes

AEW - THE 6,848-DAY ·INTERIM SOL TlON·

impeccable safety record with the Shackleton AEW.Z should be broken in the y ar before the type was withdrawn from service is particularly sad. On 30 April 1990, WR965 Rosalie crashed into a hillside near orthton, on South Harris in the Outer Hebrides. The 10 of WR965 was bad enough, for it repre ented 16 per cent of the un it's force, but the crew of ten that perished included Wg Cdr Stephen Roucoroni, the squadron's Commanding Officer, who was piloting, and Wg dr Charles Wrighton, officer commanding operations. The rest of the crew comprised Sqn Ldr Jeremy Lane, Fit Lts Alan Campbell and Keith Forbes, Fg Off Colin Burns, Fit Sgts Graham Miller and Kieren Rickets, Engineering Officer Roger Scutt and Technician Stuart Bolton. It was stressed by the Ministry of Defence at the time of the accident that 'the aircraft's age was not a contributory factor'. The crash had a sobering effect on the whole squadron and the new CO, Wing ommander Chris Booth, made it his duty to reinstall the unit's pride in what they were doing. You can't keep a good squadron, or its aircraft, down for long!

Considering the length of time that the hackleton erved, there were remarkably few fatal accidents. MR.I VPZ86, from o. 236 OCU, exploded during a gunnery exercise off Tarbat e, Cromarty on 8 October 195Z and MR.Z WL746 crashed into the ea off the cottish coast on 1Z December 1953. A ha already been stated earlier in this narrative, WL794 crashed in the Mediterranean on 1Z February 1954, during exercises with a submarine. The blackest day so far as hackleton fatalities are concemed was II January 1955, when MR.Zs WG531 and WL743 both went missing and it is believed that they collided over the Atlantic, south-west of Ireland. The first production MR.l, VPZ54, hina Sea on 9 crashed in the South December 1958 and MR.Z WL786 ditched in the Indian Ocean following an engine fire on 5 ovember 1967. The MR.Z prototype, WB833, crashed on the Mull of Kintyre in poor visibility on 19 April 1968. Other than these, all other hackleton mishaps involved crash landings, from which there were no fatalities. Possibly the most embarrassing of the e wa WL79Z's impact with Gibraltar's runway during an

•

Wl754 crosses the Scottish coastline as it returns from another North Atlantic patrol, in August 1977. MoO via Derek James

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759

AirDi play on 14 eptember 1957, which resulted in the aircraft being written-off.

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow The hackleton AEW.Z' retirement had been prophesized at regular interval for 0 long, but it did eventually material ize, though not at Lossiemouth. Waddington was scheduled to be the RAF's base for the new breed of early warning aircraft, which were classified a Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), the entry AEW.l. A new purpose-built hangar graced the main operations hardstanding and, on I July 1991, every top in the organ pertaining to formal ceremonies was pulled out. Two years before, the fortieth anniversary of the Shackleton prototype' first flight on 9 March 1949, was celebrated on the actual date by No.8 Squadron putting up a four-aircraft formation, plus one more as a 'singleton'. Only WL747, in the throe of a major overhaul, mis ed out on the occa ion. The pride of the crews flying that day wa only bettered by that of the engineering staff, who had made it technically

AEW - THE 6.848-DAY 'INTERIM SOLUTION'

possible. This was teamwork personified and illustrated just what a squadron's esprit de corps was all about. The four-aircraft formation flew across Liverpool to enter Manchester's Control Zone, performing a fly-by over the city's international airport at their request, before making a line-astern break

to get into position for a stream-landing at Woodford. The 'singleton' had set its own course for the manufacturer's site and the sight of five of the six Shackletons still operational lined up in front of the assembly sheds, their 'womb', was a red-letter day for all concerned.

But 1 july 1991 really was the end. Four of the five aircraft extant had flown down to Waddington and one, WL757, was positioned on the ramp, flanked by the two E3D Sentrys that had so far been delivered. As befits all official ceremonies, 'best blue' was the order of the day and much blowing by the RAF band gave the occasion the correct martial touch. The handing over of the No.8 Squadron standard was performed by the Lossiemouth (No. 8 Squadron, North) presentation to Waddington (No. 8 Squadron, outh) and the salute was taken by the Commanding Officers of the squadron's two divisions. The Waddington side of No. 8 quad ron had been formed in 1990, when elements of the squadron were posted to the Lincolnshire bas to prepare for this day. The handing-over ceremony wa a fitting finale to a nineteen-year epi ode that did nothing but good for the history of the squadron and the annals of the Royal Air Forc .

Colours and Markings

With crew members at every vantage point, the squadron's Commander, Wg Cdr David Greenway, brings WR963 in to fill the camera frame. Air Portraits via Aeroplane

'Over and out'. AEW.2s Wl756, Wl757, Wl790 and WR963 fly in formation to bring the curtain down on an era. Aeroplane

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All twelve AEW.2s came out of No. 5 MU Kemble's paint shop resplendent in an overall blue/grey gloss, with a matt black antiglare panel ahead of the windscreen. The squadron emblem of a jambiya (a curved dagger originating in South Yemen) set in a white circle, was featured on both sides of the nos section. Th tips of each propeller blade were painted with red/white/red stripes and a liberal amount of stencilling informed an outsider of where just about every piece of emergency equipment was located and how to get to it. Demarcation lines indicated the danger area, so far as rotating propeller blades were concerned. 'ROYAL AIR FORCE' was painted in white on either side of the rear fuselage, and the last two numbers of each aircraft's serial, in red outlined with white, were carried above the national insignia on the outer face of each fin a an individual aircraft's identification. To show No.8 Squadron's fighter lineage, a yellow/blue/red-striped bar was painted fore and aft of the fuselage national rounde!. Further identification of the AEW.2's operators was introduced around the beginning of 1987, by the painting of a large I' d figure '8' with a white outline, ahead of the 'ROYAL AIR FORCE' legend on both sid s of the fuselage. The Shackleton AEW.2 was quite a colourful spectacle, and it was maintained as such throughout its service with No.8 Squadron.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Once Upon a TiDle Nearly all aeroplanes invoke anecdotes about their good and bad features, from the narrator's point of view. The Shackleton is no exception, in fact it engenders more than many other types. But the majority of reminiscences appear to be viewed through the nostalgia provided by the rose-tinted spectacles of time. The varying hot/cold temperatures, the oilspewing Griffons, th noise and vibration, all seem to have evaporated, leaving a lovely old metallic lady, that is revered by nearly all who operated with her. There is also an immense pride, borne of the fact that many who operated with her, both on the ground and in the air, were considerably younger than their charges. Some tales may be a little apocryphal, but they make good reading and are reproduced here by kind permission of The Shackleton Association.

Stu Ruddock recalls a Shackleton that was returning to Aldergrove and made the call to Approach, requesting clearance. He was instructed by the civilian Controller to 'Hold over Lough Neagh, due traffic.' The Shackleton's pilot then requ sted clearance for immediate approach and landing, as he was low on fuel. The answer came again 'Hold over Lough Neagh.' The pilot repeated that he required an immediate approach due to low fuel and requested to talk to the Supervisor. When the Supervisor came on the microphone, the pilot again requested an approach. The request was denied and the holding instruction reissued. The pilot asked if that was the ATC's last word on the subject and was told 'Yes'! After the briefest of pauses, over the air came a simple call 'Mayday, Mayday, Mayday"

Khormaksar was the scene of so much Shackleton activity, with No. 37 Squadron being based there with their MR.2s from 21 August 1957 to 7 September 1967. Several air displays were put on during this time and Wl744/B proudly surveys the type of bombs she had deposited on dissident tribesmen, together with belts of 20mm ammunition for her two forward-firing Hispano cannons. Aeroplane

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•••

John (Mo) Botwood, the President and founder of the Shackleton Association, tells of work on MR.2 WL748. Having made six attempts to get it serviceable and airborne for a sortie to Labuan in Dec mbel' 1964, the No. 210 Squadron crew adjourned once more to the transit tent. Half an hour later, the Technical Officer came in soaked in sweat and, grabbing a mug of tea, shouted that 'The bloody thing should be melted down and made into saucepans.' From the gloom at the back of the tent came 'And they would leak!' Bob Symons admits that when he had only recently arrived at Ballykelly from Radio School, he was allowed to operate the ground-to-air radio circuit for the first time. A hackleton called up, asking for signal strength and readability, to which Bob gave a positive reply. Being keen to

ONCE UPON A TIME.

ONCE UPO

A TIME.

John Cordy piloted No. no Squadron's MR.IA WB825 when it assisted in the recovery of the yach t Oumie in the Engl ish Channel on 31 July 1956. In 1958 a letter was received by Cordy from the Air Ministry, to say that an award was being made to the crew. The gross value of his share was 7 pounds and 4 pence (approx £7.02 in today's money). The letter added 'The income tax liability will be dealt with at a later date by H M Inspector of Taxes, to whom details of the award are being forwarded.' John Cordy felt that the name of the yacht was most pertinent. Edmund Phillips relates that as a Radar Gunner, when he was suffering from a heavy cold and grounded for a few days, was given a job in the office files of No. 240 Squadron at Ballykelly. Idly glancing out of the window, he saw a Shackleton taking off, but rapidly running out of runway and showing no signs of lifting off. He watched it run on and on, heading for Limavady still on the ground, scattering earth, mud and clumps of grass as it ploughed along. The office door opened and the CO entered, asking 'Who the Hell was that?' The desk-bound gunner replied 'One of 269's, sir.' 'Good show,' said the CO, 'Carryon Sergeant'. The CO closed the door and didn't even go outside to look again - well, it wasn't one of ours, was it!

As at all other MR.1 operational bases, Aldergrove's electronics operators were not blessed with a surfeit of space. Aeroplane

receive his first Morse-code position report from an aircraft, he asked 'What is your position!', to which he received the reply 'Not airborne yet!' Bob says his ego was instantly deflated. Tommy Gough, Air Signaller with No. no Squadron from 1952 to 1955, tells of being on an eighteen-hour Navex. Somewhere over the Bay of Biscay, the second

navigator woke at 06.45, as he was due to take over navigation at 07.00. He decided to amble up the aircraft and start getting settled in. He left the other beam occupant asleep, passed the bunks with the two occupants asleep, to find the radar operator, navigator, signaller, engineer and both pilots, all asleep, with 'George' (the automatic pilot) working like stink. All at I,500ft, off the Spanish coast.

162

Sqn Ldr Roger Read was a Shackleton display pilot in the 1980s and recounts the happenings at some of the various air show venues. Before the tragic accident at Ramstein, Germany held many, and one venue that stands out in the Shackleton crew's memory is Auf dem Dumpel, where they participated four times. This was a tiny grass strip, balancing precariously right on top of a precipitous hill in the middle of the Black Forest. The approach to one runway was made towards a near-vertical cliff, with the threshold right on the edge of the strip. From the other direction, a steep down-hi II approach had to be made, with huge pine trees practically brushing the underside of the aircraft. One year, there was to be a massed glider launch following the Shackleton's display and the gliders were pOSitioned at one end of the field, as the 'Growler' commenced its low, fast pass. One of the gliders' ground crew looked over h is shoulder to see the Shackleton bearing down on him at great speed and not a lot of height.

MR.2 WR962 joined No. 220 Squadron in March 1957, but suffered Category 1 damage the following month while being flown by a pilot from No. 228 Squadron. Harry Holmes

NO.8 Squadron's WL747 was a regular on the Air Show circuit during the 1980s. Author's collection

He yelled a warning to his comrades before throwing himself flat on the ground, as the aircraft roared at least 50ft overhead. The organizers considered this to be the high point of the display. Also in Germany, the crew was sent to the airfielJ at Westhofen, in Bavaria, and told that the display line was to be to the north of runway 09/25. The pilot and navigator agreed it must be a misprint, which would be sorted out when they got there. It was found not to be a misprint, for the

runway had a 20-degree bend at its middle point! Air Traffic Controllers in the UK generated several heart-stopping moments during the Shackleton's display, such as an F-15 cleared for a vertical climb during the Shackleton's orbit; the sight of a Swordfish puttering slowly across the display line, at the same height, or a Sukhoi doing an upward roll directly in front of the Shackleton's nose. Some ATCs were rubbish, but they were British rubbish!

163

Dinty More, one of The Shackleton Association's chief organizers, was a young National Service Air Gunner in 1951, who was posted to No. 120 Squadron, Coastal Command, at Kinloss. He sums up two years of Shackleton service as follows: With whisky at sixpence a tot (Scottish measures) and beer ninepence a pint, for a young buck on his first time away from home, this was Shangri La indeed. To leave the station, you needed a pass and everyone wore uniform with

ONCE UPON A TIME.

ONCE UPON A TIME.

From this view of No.8 Squadron's WR963, one cannot tell how the Flight Engineer is 'beavering away' to keep everything working. Air Portraits via Aeroplane

self-satisfied

pride. tation Commander's Parade once a monlh, on a aturday; WeJne~#

day aftern(xms, sports; and a trip to a distillery or brewery considered educational. Through all this there were six-, twelve-, fourteen- or eighteen-hour trips. apparent.

0

nags became

night illumination; tail-wheel

shimmy problems; the loss of radar contacts in the tail-wheel's shadow; engines that regularly threw exhaust stubs; plus the debilitating noise and vibration. Detachments were flown to Gibralmr, Malta, America, Iceland and even England. On these, there was the crew that were given the first Land Rover seen in Iceland as their crew coach, whIch was sold by an SNCO to a local. The near 'Mayday' when a towel was placed on the galley heater and forgotten, until the aircraft filled with smoke. The enquiry into why there were always dents in the radar modulator case, which was answered by the disclosure that a thermal

With a legendary disdain for young copilot, the Flight Engineer were arguably the most important members of any crew. They eemed to develop a nose for trouble, knew precisely what it was and what was not acceptable in terms of unserviceability and, when the chips were down, were always there with unfailing ound advice for the captains. The Shackleton was the last aircraft to require the servic s of the trusty, infinitely skilled breed of Flight Engineers that grew up in the war years. Modern aircraft technology has eliminated the need for that type of engineering. It is now all computerized, black-box wizardry. When the last Shackleton retired, so too went this incredible bunch of men, with their slide rules, infallible instincts and seemingly limitless knowledge. We shall never know their like again. John (Mac) McCubbin, a former 0.206 quadron Met observer on Grapple detachment, tells of the day they gave the Royal avya present, during the daily meteorological reconnaissance flight over the Pacific, looking for weather that never seemed to be there:

The fitters had their problems too, as a rather bent MR.1, VP292/e-S of No. 236 OCU. is surveyed at Kinloss on 22 October 1952. Harry Holmes

relay unit carried the official instruction that, if it did nor work after two seconds, tap it gentlysi:e eight flying boots had their own degree of

We took off at 0740 on 2 March 1957, in

gentleness. The secretly passed-on method of

MR.I A WB 56 flying the first leg at I ,500ft. On I March, we had found out at briefing that

how to shorten a trip, by using the mu::le-blast

the aircraft carrier HMS \\'larrior had steamed

We called up on the VHF and told them to

and, on coming to the end of those instructions,

from the mid-upper guns, to break the fixed aerials. Smuggling nylon stockings in the gun

through the Panama Canal a few days before. It

stand by, as we had a present to deliver from Xmas and wanted to drop it on the deck. We

said to him 'Let's go.' The lad, though willing, was nor very bright and I had to repeat it to him

were cleared for a low pass. In we came, wheels

in a sharper tone.

barrels after a detachment (eleven pairs to a gun

was on its way to Christmas Island lknown as Xmas] with supplies and to observe the forth-

hackleton roaring up

from nowhere.

thi being his first trip, was having difficulties with the mixer box. I proceeded to instruct him

barrel). The initiative exercise, when all aircrew were given 2 pence (old money) for a

coming tests. We had noted that Warrior was

down, flaps down and bomb doors open, with

going to be just 50 miles off our first leg and we

full revs and the Griffons roaring. We dropped

assuming that it came from the captain, waved

phone call and told to see how far they could go in twenty-four hours and, at the appointed time,

decided to deviate 'slightly' from track and give the navy lads a big surprise from all the lads at

the canister slap bang in the middle of the deck as we thundered past and it split open, scatter-

away the chock on his side. The effect of removing the starboard chock while we were on the

a call was received from the British Consulate

Xmas. About an hour before take-off, we col-

ing crabs in all directions. We did one more cir-

full-power checks, was quite dramatic and I'm

in Ccuacus, Venezuela, enquiring how a certain

lected loads of those horrible Christmas Island

cuit of the carrier before coming to our senses,

afraid it caused a severe twisting strain on the

crew member was to get back home.

land crabs and stuffed them into an old Lind-

remembering that we had a Met. Recce. to do.

port undercarriage, thus causing the brakes to

holme A R canister. With the help of ground

We bade Warrior farewell over the VHF and

fail and the captain to jam his hand between the

Sqn Ldr W. J. Howard, formerly of No.8 quadron, extols the Shackleton's Flight Engineers. While the rest of the crew were involved in their various operational 'antic " the Engineer - apart from being in charge of the Verey pistol- wa overseeing the aircraft systems and engines. A unique member of each crew, the Engineers tended to be a breed of their own, u ually rough-and-ready, salt-of-the-earth types.

The Met observer had a large area of perspex from which to view proceedings in the MR.1A. Harry Holmes

The

o-pilot up front overheard this and,

crew (who had 'found' the canister for us), we

wished them a happy journey to Xmas, as we

pitch and the throttle levers. This in rurn

fixed it in the bomb-bay.

disappeared over the horizon.

caused the port wheel to jump its chock. This

ome four hours out on the first leg, the navigators reckoned that we were about 50 miles away from Warrior, so off we deviated, to drop our little present. On the run-in, the crew

temporary retardation made the Shackleton

Master Signaller S. McGinty tells of an alleged report to the ommanding Officer, o. 269 quadron, RAF Ballykelly:

decided to do one of those low-level radar approaches - down to about 50ft, up to 1, OOft for a ten-second radar scan, then back to 5 ft.

slew rapidly to port, in the direction of the hangar on the other side of the perimeter track, towards which we were now approaching at a considerable rate of knots.

I write in haste in reference to an incident

The hangar party, under the Engineering Officer, showed great initiative in smartly open-

uddenly, there she was, 10 miles ahead. As we

which is currently on your desk for action. I

ing the doors, but unfortunately did not have

shot over the deck at 'nought' feet and did a

wish to place it in its proper perspective before you form any opinions from reports emulating

the wings outboard of number one and four

tight circuit around the carrier, the navy sun-

764

sight with the mighty

if,

bathers jumped up and started waving like the

from other persons, who I'm certain will tend to

clappers. We had certainly caught them nap-

over-dramatise the affair.

time to open the rear doors fully. These removed engines. In his efforts to retard the progress of the aircraft, the captain retracted the undercar-

ping - and this was true, as they did not know

We were just completing the cockpit checks

riage. This achieved little more than making

we were coming. It must have been a marvellous

and our new signaller was on Wrr watch and,

the aircraft fallon the Line Chief's caravan

765

o

(fortunately unoccupied at the time), the

ta-

tion Commander's car and two motor cycles. At the time the chock was removed, the corporal airframe fitter was in the process of removing the towing ann, which was in place between the tail wheel and the small rowing tracror and was just about ro release the pin from rhe tail wheel coupling. The slewing action caused a whiplash movement, which was transmitted ro the tractor. The prompt action of the corporal, in leaping lover] the rowing arm like a startled gazelle, ensured that there was no damage to the rowing arm and the slow manner in which the tractor overturned, enabled the driver to evacuate it in a safe - if hurried - manner. I am closing this preliminary report, Sir, as I

CE UPON A TIME.

Maurice Pope recall VP257 when it was an MR.I with o. 220 Squadron at St Eval, on 12 December 1952. He was working in the Maintenance Hangar at the time and VP257 had been in for ervicing. ext morning she was pulled out and parked on a hard-standing right outside the crew room, awaiting a flight test. When the crew arrived, the Engineering Officer had a word with them and they agreed to take him along. They all climbed in and the EO seated himself on the floor, with his back on the main spar, facing aft. Ground chocks were removed, they started the engines and within a few seconds, VP257 was seen to be buckling at the knees. This state increased, despite engines being stopped (in more ways than one), until the aircraft lay sedately

A long pause was followed by 'Malta Control,

patches. True love does not run that smooth.

please advise depth of water on your runway, this is a underland.'

Why docs he only remember the g(xxltimes! I know he experienced bad times and they arc well remembered somewhere in the recesses of

The rower's response was unfit for publtcanon.

his mind, but he never talks about them. The

Memories fade, but not the memory of him

whoosh' whoosh! whoosh! lit up the dark, angry Med. below us.

leaving me at some God unearthly hour, to be with her. I would bury my heau in the pillow to

'Christ, its a frigate with his nav. lights off'

deafen the sound of them, as they thundered

'Flares'

Flares!'

barked

the

skipper.

shouted the co-pi lot.

down the runway together, bound for some far

The words' case flares' were followed by an angry 'Thank you very much Royal Air Force.

distant romantic experience that I coulu never share.

ometimes their absences lasted a few

hours, sometimes weeks or months.

ow every EOKA caigue in the area knows the

I used to pray that she would grow older anu

Royal Navy is here"

uglier and would be pensioned off. Silly me, my

Our skipper remained silent, for once.

prayers were never answered. She just seemed to

Roger Marchant explained that 'A Navigator's SE nearly almost always, means SW.' Its called the 'Graduated suggestion of available options' or, 'You're the skipper, surely you don't need me to tell you which way is home.'

go from strength to strength and is still doing it

George Hart recalls o. 206 Sqn Ldr W. J. Howard alo quad ron being detached from recalls a o. 204 Squadron crew t Mawgan to R AS Culdrose, returning to Ballykelly after a used as a war base during exerlong patrol ofsome fifteen hours, cise. The squadron found it having previously been on duty strange how the Fleet Air Arm many hour before that. The airtreated a shore base like a hip. craft had one engine shut down. One evening, four of the It was just dawn and the captain VP263/0, an MR.1 of No. 220 Squadron, performed a wheels-up landing at St detachment decided to go to was clearly very tired. On land- Eval on 22 October 1955 due to hydraulic failure, but it was repaired on site. Helston for a few hours. As they passed the Guardroom, they ing, he misjudged his touch- Peter Allen down, bounced and attempted heard 'Oi! Where you lot to apply power to go round. going?' They turned to see a big However, with one engine out, pair of shiny boots, white gaiters he was unable to control the surge of asym- 'belly flopped'. The crew hot out like etc., which was a little different from the metric power. The whole aircraft yawed, a hurdlers in a race, the EO being the last Wellington boots and sea socks the detachwing-tip hit the ground and the Shackleton man out a , sitting on the floor, he was ment wore for work. They replied 'Helston'. cartwheeled, shedding engines, whe Is and used as a mat. 'Not on your Nelly. The liberty boat left parts of the ailframe. As it slithered to a halt, A Company Working Party took VP257 fifteen minutes ago, forty-five minutes to by this time travelling backwards, the whole in hand to repair, which took the best part th next.' aircraft erupted in flames. Wime e to this of a year. The defect was traced to a faulty The RAF personnel a ked for the meanhorrendous incident could scarcely believe electro-hydraulic undercarriage selector ing of thi and it wa explained to them: their eyes, as a hatch was kicked out at the valve. The seals had rolled on the valve 'You are only allowed ashore on the hourly rear of the aircraft and a crew member stems and the hydrauliC fluid took the path liberty boat and that 15yd black and white scrambled out, followed by another, then of least resistance. painted area is c1as ed a water. You are another and so on. In all, there had been nearly drowned. You CRAB FAT should twelve souls on board, including two pa - Brian Ellis recount a couple of message be more careful.' sengers, and now twelve somewhat alarmed, from the Mediterranean area: A taxi pulled up outside the gate at that but unscathed, individuals stood around on moment and one of the RAF quartet gave the airfield, dusting themselves down in the 'Malta Control, this is MBOAT. I am 25 miles the order 'Boats crew, fall in. Right turn. glow of the inferno. The entire complement north of you at 500ft. Reque t joining instrucRow you B-s.' had escaped because the structure of the airtions. Over.' They walked backwards with a rowing 'MBOAT, this is Malta Control. The runway action, reached the taxi and were gone. craft had stayed together; it had not colin use is 24, the wind is 205 at 15 knots. Cloud The FAA guard was none too plea ed and lapsed, been unduly distorted or broken up. The Shackleton was built to la t. Clearly 8/8 at 1,000ft. Heavy rain falling. You arc clear was last seen dancing up and down with the men at Woodford had done their job. ro join at 800ft. Call finals. Over.' rage, on hi side of the water.

tures of the not so lovely lady, adornmg the

find it very difficult to concentrate above the sound of the navigarors pounding on the door (I am considering a 'Redress of Grievance' about this), combined with the sounds of the Fire and Emergency vehicle's sirens and the stroboscopic effects of their flashing lights. I am, if, your obedient servant.

to other wives, what she did to me 33 years ago. Gruugingly, I have to admit she has great staying power for a very old lady. In 1966, he finally left her, or did he l A day never goe by without some mention of her, always in loving terms. He wears her picture on hi, tie, cufflinks and tie tae. There are more p,c-

766

wall, of our home, than there are of me. I give in, I cannot compete, she can have him. To all who kept the hackleton flying, may WB836/B-T, seen here flying over Valetta harbour, was an MR.1 that joined No. 206 Squadron in July 1954 and was recoded B-H. George Hart

I salute you.

ot only to the ground and air

crews of years gone hI', hut to the young men who carry on the trauition today. You cannot be much (j,fferent from the men of 33 years ago. Only age separates. But the ties that bind you to the Shackleton, I will never understanu.

The relationship between man and machine (in this case, the Avro Shackleton) is maybe best summed up by a lady signing herself Anonymous, who had a letter pu bl ished in the spri ng 1991 issue of The Growler, the newsletter of The hackleton Association. Entitled 'His Grey Lady', she wrote:

convinced she is the reason my husband suffers a

it. The eyes were nothing to write home about

. the 8 Squadron crews of the five remaining

and she had fat, rubbery legs. BO was another overpowering memory, it seemed as if she tried to

Shackleton airborne early warning 'planes, now

In 1957, I fell in love with the handsomest Air

gas all who loved her, though my husband con-

ation. But, to the handful of men who fly rhe

Signaller on o. 269 Squadron, Coastal Command. Marrying in 195 ,I went with him to an

sidered it to he the sweetest aroma, a mixture of

unforgiving but memorable Shackleton, there simply is no other aircraft. . these cold, thlm-

peculiar deafness - high tone deafness. Her skin was a mottled grey, with black splotches, as if somebody had thrown a tin of paint at her. Definitely she had the most terrible acne. Her nose was very large, with a peculiar bump underneath

Don Higgs writes of his impressions a a VIP on a nine-hour patrol with No. 8 Squadron. He marvelled at:

33 years old and the pterodactyls of modern avi-

RAF station that went by the absurd name of

Chanel, Brut anu Joy, all rolled into one. What had I to fear from her! he was no com-

'Ballykelly'. Bally what! I was told to fall in love

petition. How naive can one he at 22 years of

nightly watching for 'Boris' to come 'over the

with Ballykelly.

eedless to say, being a dutiful wife, I did. Then came the hitch in our rela-

agel For he was infatuated, hesotted with an

top', offer precious little to the nine-man crew in the way of comfort ... the toilet is a remark-

tionship - Love me, love my aircraft! This I

In fact, as he got older, it seemed to get worse. For the next eight years, she was a very

ahle accoutrement for a mooern fighting force

demanding mistress.

which is draped a crude curtain. Twin rolls of

never did. I was not that dutiful. 195 was the year I began my association

affaire de coeur, a love that has never dimmed.

he took him away from

dering flying machines of war, still up there

to lift aloft. It' a species of dustbin, around

with the Shackleton, an association that lasted

the family with monotonous regularity - Africa,

government-issue toilet paper lurch and dance

thirty-three years and only death will sever the

Gan, Canada, Gibraltar, Hong Kong and Malta,

ties. I found out that I hau met my husband's

to name a few. If my memory serves me correct-

on bits of string as the four huge Griffon engines drag the ancient aircraft into the heavens. You

mistre s. Like all relationships between a wife and a

ly. There were many more well publicised assig-

have ro be desperate to use the airborne bog -

nations. Some destinations were so secret, I

I'd been warned and stayed off the liquids for

mistress, I hated her from the minute I first saw

never found out where they went together.

hours ... at the radar consoles, the team peered

her, sitting fat, squat, c1irty and so ugly, on the tarmac at BK. She had a terrible voice. I am

They really had great times, him and her. Their relationship must have gone through some had

member checked for dangerous ice by using the

767

intently into the screens, while another crew

ONCE UPON A TIME.

ONCE UPON A TIME.

Navigator: 'Never mind, you might get some good detachments.' Captain 3: 'Yeah ... to the Shuttleworth Col-

retreated behind his scowling visage and rows of ribbons. What to dol Post him? Too valuable, who else would go round and round in tight circles for a living. Steal the helmet? No, he wok it

lection!'

everywhere with him. An inexperienced young

Geoff Corlet wrote:

Adj. had suggested that he be given a direct order, but this idea was not taken up, wiser heads

Fine; I understand the principles of air gunnery, but why did I never hit the target? How come

perhaps working on transport aircraft. Or maybe fighter?

'There doesn't seem w be much that's secret

'No question of that, old boy! You can get soup,

about the Shacklewn,' I bellowed w an indis-

pie and peas in a Shack. Try that in a fighter -

tinguishable face in the gloom.

it makes a frightful mess"

'No, only how the bloody thing stays up' he replied. It was time for food, which, like the 100, is another of 8 Squadron's wonders. On each

'North Pole Drop' from The Growler, September 1989:

sortie, a crew member (but not the pilot) is elected chef. His galley, between the bobbing 100 paper and the dinene, consists of a suitably ancient cooking ring and a Lilliputian fridge.

On the night of 7(8 February 1963. At precisely 03.24 GMT (well, that's what the Nav. said), an MR.2, Phase II of Ballykelly's No. 210

Such miracles as pancakes are possible, but wss-

Squadron, passed over the North Pole. The air-

ing them has apparently never been completely

craft was en route from Thule (Greenland) w

mastered in mid-flight.

Bodo (Norway), on a gyro-sening, grid navigation exercise. The avs. were on a winner here,

They say 'Age shall not weary them.' I think that refers w the dead. But age certainly wearied

as nobody would ever check up on this one.

A succinct comment was made by a former aircrew member, who was chatting to somebody in No.8 Squadron's crewroom after a fI ight from Woodford and the person said that one of the tricks used in air displays was to de-sync the engines, to make a very distinctive noise that penetrated and overpowered. 'Nothing new in that,' said the ex-aircrew type, 'I flew with quite a few Captains who considered it Standard Operational Procedure!'

for the remaining twelve months of his 22-year engagement. He wok his Mickey Mouse into retirement

malignant magnetic force 7 My air-to-air Cine results were similarly baffling, a fifty-second film

away at the ground target. The January weather

with him, ignoring all requests from

was vile. We bumped and bucketed around in

its return. Per ArduQ.

revealing a blurred target aircraft, whizzing across the frame for three or four seconds, then exit

tight circles a couple of hundred feet below cloud base, through a curtain of rain. Come the

left, gone for ever.

smell of cordite, my breakfast decided that it

I did not feel too unsettled however, as the RAF could apparently only afford four gunnery

would rather be out than in. When my tum came, I somehow fumbled and lurched up inw the turret, opened fire when wid and stopped when instructed. Dick B. was the last of the eight w fire. He looked ashen as he passed me, but mut-

picked up our gunnery instrucwr, a 1934-vintage Master. Small, as brown and wrinkled as a wal-

.in. Tight circles. 'Captain to gunner. Clear w open fire' Bang, bang, bang and then silence.

nut, he sported twO full row of colourful medal

No answer from Dick on the intercom. Our

ribbons and was none-w-pleased with his life

Master elbowed his way past us, stood below the

degrees w the north, W avoid a collision.' Canadians: 'Recommend you divert YOUR

going round in tight circles, supervising hopeless trainees, as they blasted away from a mid-upper.

turret and, looking up, yelled 'What yer doin'?'

course 15 degrees to the south, to avoid a colli-

Dick was sining there holding his Bone Dome in front of him. His meal had also taken a dislike

sian

w being barreled around over the Donna Nook range. On reaching down w his leg pocket, hor-

ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.' Canadians: 'No. I say again, you divert YOUR

ror of horrors, no paper bag. Gorge on the way

course.

Our Master was of truly awesome vintage, it being known that his first tour had been on Hawker Harts on the North West Frontier. However, what really impressed uS was that he wore a Mickey Mouse flying helmet, with stickout earpieces, incompatible with wearing a Bone

tered that he was okay. Up he got and strapped

up, only solution, use his Bone Dome. There followed an exchange of intercom.

both been tried but

minute burst, then we could all go home. Dick sat in the turret, miserably cradling his Bone

course 15 degrees north, that's one-five degrees

Dome-full. Our Master had twenty-odd years of

ensure the safety of this ship.'

avoiding mistakes and making things go his way.

Canadians: 'This is a lighthouse - your call.'

W

no avail. He simply

imperative was that Dick should finish his one

aberrations will occur. ow was such a time. Reaching up, he wok Dick's Bone Dome full, Mickey Mouse and handed it w Dick, with a

had lost its way and had called in to ask where it

bellowed instruction w finish the exercise.

at the Squadron after great research and con-

was. By the time the navigators had worked out its position, the crow had died from old age.

RAF Lossiemouth. As we prepared for wuch-down, the landing lights on the port side went 'phun'. So with

be revealed that these were Penguins, the favourites of the Squadron canteen.

o.

Our aircraft roared, bumped and slewed into its next series of tight, gut-dragging turns around the target. uddenly, from amidships by

205

the turret, arose a cry so dreadful as w make us all forget our own sorrows and worries. The Master was down in a crouch, helmetless irongrey head in hands, sobbing with rage. Dick had

Captain of Crew 3: 'Yippee' Specially selected

approached the Air Ministry for permission w

from thousands of applicants, w fly a twentyyear old aircraft for the next twenty years, in

again been overcome and honked in the Mick-

400gal of fuel spewed out w reduce landing fatigue, we were back on Sconish soil. I was left asking why men stay on these five Shack-

release the information that there were 'Pen-

support of an obsolete carrier force, from an

next, or on the remainder of the flight.

guins at the North Pole' in an advertisement. This was refused.

unspecified airfield 'somewhere' in Scotland. Now that's what I call a career posting!'

lewns. How much cosier w be in another area,

The makers heard of this amazing feat and

168

three destroyers, three cruisers and numerous support vessels. I demand that you change your north, or countermeasures wi II be undertaken to

But, in the great scheme of things, occasional

They found a dead crow in the Navigawr's Office

of

Americans: 'This is the aircraft carrier USS lincoln, the second largest ship in the United States' Atlantic Fleet. We are accompanied by

Invective between Master and Captain about

Eddie Phillips (obviously not a Nav I) produced this anachronistic but amusing tale:

Pertama, the magazine Squadron, told this tale:

Americans: 'This is the Captain of a US Navy

trainees and life in general. The Captain's

with a grimace passing it w us. He wok off his

vouchers and two chocolate biscuits. It can now

15

Dome. The laner was a Command introduction

of one of the Ballykelly Squadrons, one fine day.

Into it had gone: one copy of 'Desert Survival'; one piece of peat; two hair clips; four cigarene

Americans: 'Please divert your course

of recent memory and, as such, was a mandatory requirement. Persuasion and veiled threats had

The story in the Messes had it that the poor thing

Boris was ended. The great plane wheeled around and headed for the warmth (and bar) of

John Grice submitted this to The Growler, which only has a tenuous connection with aviation, but is told as an actual radio conversation between a US Navy vessel and the Canadian Authorities off the coast of Newfoundland, which was released by the Chief of Naval Operations on 10 October 1995.

OCU course; not much time w become an ace

The crew, with commendable concern for

radar screens go blank. Thus our trip to hunt

wres for

shot. Three of the trips were directly from Kinloss, one 'air-to-ground' via Leconfield. Here we

those that would follow, dropped an 'Irish Survival Pack' at the Pole. This had been made up sisted of all the major requirements for the area.

brand new Mickey Mouse, purchased on the Edgware Road for a couple of quid. This he wore

There were eight Signallers on board. We

the Shacklewn on our trip (I was glad w hear).

Such is the antiquity of these machines that, with one of those droning powerplams off, the

returned from his weekend, equipped with a

each wok it in tum w struggle up to the midupper; once into a tight orbit, we would blaze

The pilot reported a slight f1uner in one of the port engines and ordered it to be shut down.

pathetic note. All w no avail, as our be-ribboned hero

way, then that, always finally veering sharply

exercises (i.e. four minutes shooting) on our

technological wizardry of shining a wrch OntO the wings, through a window

unthinkable position of having w back down!

Bone Dome set from Stores and placed it in the appropriate flying locker, with a kindly and sym-

my projectiles swerved through the air, first this away from the taJ·get, as if repelled by some

'The loneliness of the long-distance aeroplane.' WR960 illustrates what Don Higgs was writing about. Derek James

realizing that the RAF might be placed in the

a long weekend off on urgent business. In his absence, his Flight Commander drew out a new

ey Mouse. I will not dwell on what happened The scene of Geoff Corlet's recollections. flarry flolmes

Years later however, it was recounted to me that following the trip, the Master had requested

169

And finally, while retaining the nautical theme, an anecdote that has circulated for many years, tells of a Shackleton MR.3 Phase III that made a series of low passes over a United States aircraft carrier. Each pass was made with an increasing number of Griffons shut down and was followed by a rapid climb on full power in order to gain momentum. The fifth and final approach was made with just the Vipers on full chat. When the undercarriage was momentarily lowered, the story goes that the carrier's crew frantically started pushing aircraft to the edge of the flight deck in preparation for ditching them. Whether it was technically possible cannot be guaranteed, but it i lovely to contemplate.

SHACKLETO

APPENDIX [

Shackleton Squadrons No. 236 Operational Conversion Unit Formed at Kinloss on 31 July 1945, by renumbering No.6 0 U. Initially using Lancaster ASR.3s and GR.3s, its first Shackleton MR. I was delivered on 31 May 1951. Rede ignated the Maritime Operational Training Unit (MOT ) on 1 Octob I' 1956, and it MR.IA aircraft were gradually replaced by T4s. The Unit moved to St Mawgan in July 1965 and its T4 had given way to T2s by July 1968. The last Shackleton conversion course passed out on 28 July 1970, but the T2s remained until 21 December. Representative Aircraft

MR.!: VP262, VP281 MR.IA: WB824, WB829 T2: WL750, WR964 T4: WB826, WG511

Representative Aircraft

Representative Aircraft

AEW.2: WL795, WR960

MR.2: WL756, WL785

No. 37 Squadron

No. 42 Squadron

Fir t formed on 15 April 1916, the unit operated until being di banded on 1 July 1919. Reformed as a Bomber Command squadron on 26 April 1937, the unit flew various marks of Wellingtons and Liberator VIs during World War Two and was disbanded on 31 March 1946. Reformed the following month, on 15 April, to fly Lancasters in the Middle East until 1 April 1947, when it was disbanded. Reformed again at Ein She mar as a Coa tal Command quadron on 14 September 1947, equipped with Lanca tel' GR.3s, the squadron received its fir t hackleton MR.2 at Luqa, in July 1953. The Squadron operated with these in the Middle East, until being di banded at Khormaksar on 7 eptember 1967.

From its formation on 26 February 1916, the unit flew BE.2s, then RE.8s, until 26 June 1919, when it toad down. On 14 December 1936, the squadron was reformed and, from 18 June 1942, spent the rest of World War Two in the Far East, flying Beaufort Is, Blenheim Vs, then Hurricane IICs and [Vs. A short time was spent flying Thunderbolt lIs, after a temporary di bandment, then it was back to the UK to fly the Beaufighter TEI0. Di banding on 15 October 1947, the squadron was not reformed until 28 June 1952 when, at St Eval, it started receiving hackleton MR.IAs. In January 1953, MR.2s joined the squadron, which was transferred to St Mawgan on 8 October 1958. By ovember 1965, the first MR.3s had arriv d and the unit flew with the e unti I eptem bel' 1971, when the last Shackleton departed, leaving the squadron fully equipped with Nimrod MR.ls. Nimrod MR.2s started being delivered in June 1983 and today the squadron is the designated imrod OCU, tationed at Kinloss.

No.8 Squadron A fighter squadron that was first formed on 1 January 1915, it served until being disbanded on 20 January 1920. Reformed on I October 1920, it spent World War Two in the Middle Ea t, until being disbanded on I May 1945. Reformed for a brief period in the Far East on 15 May 1945, until being disbanded on 15 November of the same year. The squadron was back in the Middle East again when reformed on 1 Sept mber 1946 and tayed there until disbandment on 21 December 1967. The Squadron was reformed for the fourth time on 1 January 1972 at Kinloss, to operate Shackleton AEW.2s. Transferred to Lossiemouth on 14 August 1973, it remained th re until 1 July 1991, when the last AEW.2 retired. Moved to Waddington on same date, to become the Sentry AEW.l unit and is still fully operational.

Representative Aircraft

MR.2: WL757, WR954

No. 38 Squadron First formed on 1 April 1916 at Thetford, the unit operated until being disbanded on 4 July 1919. On 16 September 1935, the unit was reformed as a part of the Expansion Programme and was transferred to the Middle East on 12 ovember 1940, where it flew several Wellington variant during World War Two, followed by Warwick A R.ls and Lancaster GR.3s post-war. On 18 September 1953, while stationed at Luqa, the squadron receiv d its fir t hackleton MR.2 and operated with them until 31 March 1967, when it was disbanded at Hal Far.

770

Representative Aircraft

MR.1A: WG51O, WG526 MR.2: WG532, WR967 MR.3: WR984, XF703

No. 120 Squadron The unit flew various types for short periods, following its formation on 1 January 1918, and had started operating with DH.9s before being di banded on 21 October 1919. Reformed at utts Corner on 2 June 1941, the squadron flew several marks of Liberator until being di banded at Ballykelly, on 4 June 1945. [t was reformed at

Leuchars, by the renumbering of No. 160 quad ron ,on I October 1946 and ren wed its acquaintance with the Liberator, before receiving Lancaster GR.3s a month later. The unit moved to Kinlo on 4 December 1950 and became Coa tal Command's first Shackleton squadron, when MR.1s started arriving in March 1951. These were joined by MR.2s in April 1953 and MR.3s during eptember 1958. On 1 April 1959, the unit was posted to Kinlo s, where it started receiving imrod MR.ls in October 1970. By February 1971, the last Shackleton MR.3 had departed and ten years later, in April 1981, the first Nimrod MR.2 arrived. Today, the squadron is an element of the Nimrod MR.2-equipped Kinloss Wing. Representative Aircraft

MR.1: VP258, WB828 MR.2: WG530, WL745 MR.3: WR987, XF701

No. 201 Squadron The unit's roots go back to being o. 1 Squadron, RNAS, formed at Gosport on 17 October 1914 which, on 3 December 1916, was redesignated No. 201 Squadron, RFC. Operating with Nieuport 17s, Sopwith Triplanes, Camels and Snipes, the unit became a part of the Royal Air Force on 1 April 1918, serving as such until being disbanded on 31 December 1919. Reformed on 1 January 1929, it flew flying boats for twenty-eight years, including Southampton Ils, London I, [Is, Sunderland [, II, III and Seaford Is, until disbandment on 28 February 1957. • The squadron wa again reformed, on 1 October 1958, at St Mawgan, by the renumbering of No. 220 Squadron, and received its first Shackleton MR.3 in the same month. On 1 July 1965, the unit moved to Kinlos and in July 1970, the squadron became the fir t to receive imrod MR. Is, which flew alongsid the Shackleton for five months until the la t MR.3 left in December. [n January 1982, Nimrod MR.2s started arriving and today the unit operates with them in a maritime patrol role. Representative Aircraft

MR.3: WR975, WR979

SQUADRONS

No. 203 Squadron An element of o. 3 Wing R AS was redesignated o. 203 Squadron at St Pol, on 5 November 1916. The squadron was flying Camel when disbanded on 21 January 1920 and had the same type when reformed five week later, on 1 March. Disbanded again on 1 April 1923, the unit was reborn on 1 January 1929, by the renumbering of No.4 2 F[ight, at Mount Batten. Th quad ron erved in the Middle East throughout World War Two, before returning to the K on 19 May 1946, flying Liberator VIlIs and Lancaster GR. s. [n March 1953, it started receiving Neptune MR.l , which it retained until being disbanded for the third time, on I September 1956. Reformed at Ballykelly on 1 ovember 195 , by the renumbering of o. 240 quadron, the unit received Shackleton MR.1As the ame month and MR.3s a month later. In April 1962, MR.2s took over from the MR.3s, but four years [ateI', in June 1966, MR.3s were again taken on charge. On [ February 1969, the quad ron moved to Luqa with it MR.3, but by October [971 these started being replaced by the Nimrod MR.l, which were flown until the unit disbanded, at Luqa, on 31 December 1977. Today, the squadron is active again, as the Sea King helicopter OCU, based at t Mawgan. Representative Aircraft

MR.IA: WB835, WB848 MR.2: WL738, WL748 MR.3: WR974, WR989

No. 204 Squadron Another unit formed out of the RNAS, thi time No.4 (Naval) Squadron, which had been formed on 29 March 1915. It became No. 204 quadron on 31 December 19 [6, stationed at Coudekerque, outide Dunkirk. The squadron flew Sopwith land planes until being disbanded exactly three year later, on 31 December [919. [t wa reformed at Mount Batten as a flying boat unit on 1 February 1929. It operated first with the outhampton II, then the capa and London I, [[, before receiving its fir t Sunderland [ in June 1939 and serving throughout World War Two with various marks of the type. Disbanded on 30 June 1945, the unit was reformed on 1

777

August 1947, to fly Dakotas, then Valettas, until another disbandment, on 20 F bruary 1953, when it was renumbered o. 84 Squadron. The unit was reformed at Ballykelly on I January 1954, under its old de ignation, and received its first Shackleton MR.2 at the same time. [n May 1958, these gave way for MR.IAs, but only for a year, as MR.2s were received again in May 1959 and the squadron operated with them until I April 1971, when it stood down, till at Ballykelly. Representative Aircraft

MR.1A: WB826, WB 28 MR.2: WL738, WL 740

No. 205 Squadron One more squadron born out of an RNAS unit, No. 205 Squadron came from the redesignation of 0.5 (Naval) quad ron at Coudekerque, on 31 December 1916. Equipped with lYz trutters, DH.4s and DH.9s, the unit took part in conflict on the Western Front until the end of World War One, after which it stayed in service until disbandment on 22 January 1920. The squadron was reformed at Leuchars on 15 April 1920, to fly Parnell Panthers for three years, before it was stood down again, on 1 April 1923, to be p[it into Nos 440, 441 and 442 Flights. From being reformed on 8 January 1929, the squadron operated with Southampton lIs, Singapore II Is and Catalina [s in the Far East, until another disbandment wa made, at Freemantle, on 31 March 1942. Four months later, on 23 July, the squadron was re-activated, till in the Far East and still with Catalina [so Catalina IVs arrived in May 1944 and Sunderland GR.5s in June 1945. The squadron served with these in the Far East Air Force (FEAF) until receiving its first land plane for thirty-eight year, the Shackleton MR.1A. These arrived at Changi in May [95 and were followed by MR.2s in February [962, which stayed with the unit until it final disbanding, on 31 October 1971. Representative Aircraft

MR.1A: VP254, WB827 MR.2: WL737, WL798

SHACKLETO, SQUADRONS

No. 206 Squadron Like os 203, 204 and 205 quadrons, this unit's foundations stemmed from the RNAS. o. 6 (Naval) Squadron, formed on 1 November 1916, to become No. 206 quadron at Dover, on 1 November 1917. Flying DH.4s and DH.9, the squadron operated until 1 February 1920, when it wa disbanded at Helwan in Egypt and renumbered No. 47 Squadron. It reappeared under it former designation on 15 June 1936, at Manston, first equipped with Anson Is, then various marks of Hudsons. It started receiving other American aircraft, fi rst the Fortress II, followed by several marks of Liberators, until 25 April 1946, when it was deactivated. Reformed at Lyneham on 17 November 1947, the unit flew York C.ls for nearly two year, before once more being disbanded, on 31 August 1949. Four months later, on 1 December, another reforming, this time at Waterbeach, saw the unit flying Dakota for three months, when yet again it was stood down, this time on 20 February 1950. A more settled ex istence began on 27 September 1952, at St Eval, when Shackleton MR.l As started to be allotted to the squadron. These were joined by MR.2 in February 1953 and the squadron was relocated at t Mawgan on 14 January 1958. In the same month, its 'tail-dragger' Shackleton were replaced by MR.3s and the unit took these with it on 1 July 1965, when there was another move, this time to Kin10 s. In August 1970, the squadron's first Nimrod MR.l arrived and the Shackleton MR.3s left two months later, in October. imrod MR.ls were joined by Nimrod MR.2s in February 1980, and by February 19 1, all of the earlier variant had gone. Today the squadron operates in the maritime patrol role with its Nimrod MR.2s.

Representative Aircraft MR.IA: WB821, WG526 MR.2: WG557, WR952 MR.3: WR981, WR985

No. 210 Squadron No. 10 Squadron of the R AS formed the ba is of No. 210 quadron, when it was formed on 12 February 1917. By 24 June 1919, when it wa disbanded, the unit wa operating with opwith Camel. At Gosport, on 1 February 1921, o. 186

quadron was redesignated o. 210 Squadron and flew opwith Cuckoos until 1 April 1923, when it was split into os 460 and 461 Flights. Reformed as a full squadron again on 1 March 1931, it served as a flying boat unit throughout World War Two, principally equipped with various mark of Sunderland and Catalinas. The squadron had another disbandment on 4 June 1945, to be reformed a year later, on 1 June 1946, by the renumbering of o. 179Y Squadron. It operated with Lanca ter ASR.3 , followed by eptune MR. Is, until once more being deactivated, rhis time on 31 January 1957. 1 December 1958 saw yet another reforming, this time by the redesignation of o. 269 Squadron. hackleton MR.2s were flown from Ballykelly for nearly twelve years, before the next disbanding, on 31 October 1970, which wa followed by a reforming at harjah the next day. The squadron was allotted new MR.2s and it operated with them until 15 ovember 1971, when there was the final di bandment.

Representative Aircraft MR.2: WL788, WR96

No. 220 Squadron Formed on 1 April 1918 as a reconnaissance unit at Imbros, being an element of the Aegean Group, the squadron wa disbanded seventeen months later, on 1 September 1919. It was not until 17 August 1936 that the squadron reappeared and it flew Hudsons, Fortress Is and Liberators during World War Two. It was stood down on 25 May 1945, but six years later, on 24 September 1951, the squadron was reformed at Kinloss and recei ved its fi rst Shackleton MR. Is. On 14 November of the same year, the unit transferred to t Eval and received MR.IAs. In March 1953, MR.2s joined the unit and, following another move, this time to St Mawgan, MR.3s started to be issued to the squadron in August 1957. The next year, on 1 October 195 , the squadron wa stood down and renumbered o. 201 Squadron, and it MR.3s were pa sed on to the new unit. No. 220 Squadron reappeared at Pickenham on 22 July 1959, equipped with Thor ICBMs, which it held until 10 July 1963, wh n the squadron had its final disbandment.

172

Representative Aircraft MR.l: VP257, VP294 MR.IA: WB824, WB82 MR.2: WG557, W1737 MR.3: WR975, WR979

No. 224 Squadron This unit, flying DH.4s and DH.9s, saw less than a year's service in World War One, having been formed on 1 April 191 , only to be disbanded on 15 April 1919. On 1 February 1937, it was reactivated as a part of the Expansion Programme, to operate throughout World War Two as a reconnaissance squadron, flying Anson I , Hudon I, Il and Vs. It then became a four-engincd operator, with liberator II, III, V, VI and VIII , which were followed by Lancaster GR.3s. It was di banded again on 10 ovember 1947, to be reformed four months later, on I Mar h 194 at Aldergrove, before moving to Gibraltar on 18 October of the same year. There, the squadron flew Halifax GR.6s in a meteorological role. In March 1952, the Halifaxes were joined by hackleton MR.ls for the squadron to become the econd 'Growler' operator. In May 1953, MR.2s came onto their inventory and the squadron flew them from 'The Rock' until its final disbandment, on 31 October 1966.

Representative Aircraft MR.l: VP2 7, VP291 MR.2: W1741, WL753 WB846/B-P of No. 224 Squadron flies past the Rock of Gibraltar in 1953. 1. Prall via A. J. Freeborn

No. 228 Squadron Another unit formed late in World War One, it operated from 20 August 191 unti I 30 June 1919, equipped with Felix towe F.2A and urti s H.12/16 flying bats. On 15 December 1936, the squadron was reformed at Pembroke Dock for a longer exi tence. It retained it flying boat status, operating with the Scapa, London I, Singapore Ill, tranraer and underland I, JI, III and V until it was disbanded at Pembroke Dock, on 4 June 1945. From 1 June 1946, when it wa reformed by the renumbering of No. 224Y quadron, the unit came onto dry land at St Eval and flew liberator VIIls for three months, before standing down on 30 September.

till at St Eval, the squadron was born again on 1 July 1954, from a nucleus provided by 0.206 Squadron, and started receiving hackleton MR.2s. The unit moved to St Mawgan on 29 November 1956, then back to St Eval on 14 January 1958, still flying MR.2s. It remained at the base until being tood down on 6 March 1959. On 1 eptember of the same year, the squadron became a helicopter unit, with a succession of various Whirlwinds and Sycamores. It was renumbered No. 202 quad ron on 28 August 1964 and today is equipped with Sea King HAR.3s at its main base of Boulmer, with detachment Flights spread around the UK.

Representative Aircraft MR.2: WL744, WR962

No. 240 Squadron From its formation at Calshot on 20 August 191 , until being stood down on 15 May 1919, the quadron flew the Curti s H.12, Short 184, Short320, Campania and FeIixstowe F.2A flying boats. Reformed on 30 March 1937,againat alshot, the flying boat tradition was upheld and, during the eight years before it was disbanded, on 1 July 1945, the quadron

173

operated with Scapas, Singapore Ills, the Lerwick (for three uncomfortable months), Stranraers, plus various mark of atalinas. On the ame day as its disbandment, the unit was reformed from elements of No. 212 Squadron, still flying Catalinas, then underland Vs, in the Far East, until another disbandment, on 21 March of the following year. On 1 May 1952, hull and chine gave way to undercarriages, when the squadron was reformed at A Idergrove to fly hackleton MR. Is. A move twenty-seven days later, to St Eval, on 27 May, wa followed on 5 June by a return to orthern Ireland, but this time, Ballykelly. MR.ls were

SHACKLETO

replaced by MR. IAs, which were joined by MR.2s in March 1953, but the e had gone by August 1954 and when the unit was di banded, to be renumbered o. 203 quad ron on I ovember 1958, it wa still operating MR.I As. Another change of role took place on I August 1959, when the squadron received Thor ICBMs at Breighton, retaining them until finally being stood down, on January 1963. Representative Aircraft MR.I: VP255, VP287 MR.IA: WB824, WG507 MR.2: WL738, WL748

No. 269 Squadron This quadron was born at Port Said on 6 October 1918, and flew BE.2Es and DH.9s until standing down on 15 November 1919, to be absorbed by 0.267 quadron. Reformed in it own right at Bircham ewton, on 7 December 1936, from 'e' Flight of o. 220 quadron, the unit had a mixture of different types during World War Two. The e included Anson Is, Hudson I, II, Ills, Martin ts, a few Walrus amphibians, pitfire VBs and Warwick Is. II' was disbanded on 10 March 1946, but reappeared at Gibraltar on I January 1952, with a nucleus from No. 224 quadron. The unit's first Shackleton MR.l arrived the same month as the reforming, but the stay at Gibraltar was short-lived, for on 24 March of the same year the quad ron took its MR.ls to Ballykelly, where they were joined by MR.IAs. In March 1953, the fir I' of its MR.2s was delivered and the squadron remained active until] December 1958, when it stood down to be renumbered No. 210 quadran. On 22 July 1959, No. 269 Squadron was again operational, this time as a Thor ICBM unit at Cai tor and it remained as su h until the final disbanding on 24 May 1963. Representative Aircraft MR.!: VP289, VP291 MR.] A: WB818, WB860 MR.2: WL748, WL795

SQUADRONS

Air-Sea Warfare Development Maritime Operational Training Unit (MOTU) Unit (ASWDU) The unit transferred from Thorney Island on 27 May 1948, with an assorted collection of aircraft, many of which represented types flown by the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), including Barracudas, Avengers and Fireflys. Taking up residen e at Ballykelly, the Unit's RAF component mainly consisted of Lancaster GR.3 , which they took with them when they moved to St Mawgan on 10 May 1951. There, the Unit received its first hackleton MR.l and in March 1952, three MR.IAs were delivered. They were joined by two MR.2s in January 1953 and, by 1955, the Unit was back at Ballykelly, where it received at least one MR.3. The Unit tayed on at Ballykelly until I April 1970, when the work of the A WD wa finished and it closed down.

On 1 October 1956, the Unit was formed at Kinloss, by the renaming of No. 236 OCU, although this nit would come into existence again when the Nimrod started entering service. The MOTU took over the former CU's fleet of M R.l , MR.2s and T.4s, which it took when being transferred to St Mawgan in July of the next year. A small number of tandard MR.2s were later delivered, but on 29 December 1967, the fir I' of ten T.2s arrived, with eight more being delivered during 1968 and the last in April 1969. The MOTU continued its Shackleton crew training until 30 June 1970, when the final course had passed out and the Unit was closed down.

Representative Aircraft

MR. 1: VP266, VP289 MR.IA: WB822, WB827 MR.2: WG533, WG554 T.2: WL739, WR964

MR.!: VP261, VP2 2 MR.1A: WB 49, WB851 MR.2: WG532, WG553 MR.3: WG974

Joint Anti-Submarine School (JASS) The School was officially formed on 30 January 1947, as a joint R /RAF unit. The Navy's element was based at Eglinton, flying Barracudas, while the RAF's JASS Flight had Lancaster GR.3s, a Warwick and an An on. On 18 March 1952, the Flight received its first hackleton, an MR. lA, which was followed by three more over the course of the next two years. At the beginning of 1955, the first of three MR.2s was delivered to replace the MR.1As. The Flight was unique in having a broad black band painted around the mid-fuselage, as well as the outer wing sections. In March 1957, the JASS ceased operating and its three MR.2 were transferred to the quadrons at St Eva!. Representative Aircraft MR.IA: WB849, WB856 MR.2: WR966, WR967

APPENDIX II

Shackleton Production

Representative Aircraft

RAF Units that Serviced Shackletons 5MU Kemble, Gloucestershire 12MU Kirkbride, Cumbria 23MU Aldergrove, County Antrim 27M Shawbury, Shropshire 32MU St Athan, lamorgan 38MU L1andow, Glamorgan 49MU olerne, Wiltshire 60MU Leconfield, Humberside 71MU Bice tel', Oxfordshire 103MU Akrotiri, Cyprus 137MU afi, Malta 390MU eletar, ingapore ASF Eastleigh, Kenya CAPMF St Mawgan, Cornwall CCMC St Mawgan, Cornwall

Shackleton production in full swing at Woodford on 27 March 1950.

Shackleton Prototypes Contract No. 6/ACFT J077/CB6(a) , dated 28 May 1947, covering three protOtypes to meet Specification R.5/46. Serial numbers VW126, VWI31 and VW135.

.VW126 First flight 9.3.49. Manufacturer's trials 4.49 to 6.49. Hatfield propeller strain gauge tests 6.49 and 7.49. A&AEE full load trials 25.3.50 to 31.3.50. RollsRoyce exhaust tail pipe tests 13.7.50. A&AEE performance trial 29.8.50. onver ion to MR.2 aerodynamic trial aircraft 1.51 to 19.7.51. A&AEE brake system and control lock trials 25.7.51 to 1.8.51. A&AEE MR.2 performance trials 14.5.52 to 3.10.52. RRE guided weapons electronics development trials 9.12.55 to 18.9.57. 23MU storage 29.5.58. No.2 Radio School as 7626M 2.60. Broken up Yatesbury, sections to 71 MU 10.65.

VW 131 First flight 2.9.49. BAC Display 6.9.49 to 11.9.49. Manufacturer's trials,

774

then A&AEE 13.2.50 to 3.3.50. Hucknall engine adjustments 31.5.50. A&AEE official trials 9.6.50. Khartoum tropical trials 6.10.50. Return Woodford 18.11.50. A&AEE performance trials, then Hatfield propeller trials 5.8.52. Return Woodford 15.8.52. Inspection for omad 18.10.52. apier 16.1.53. tored Luton, then dismantled 1.56. Fuselage Bracewell Heath ditching trials 7.2.56. Tested to destruction, struck off charge 10.5.62.

VW135 First flight 29.3.50. Manufacturer' trials, then A&AEE 4.7.50. RAE 17.7.50. A&AEE 7.50. Return Woodford 14.3.52. A&AEE 19.3.52. 49M 8.4.54. Broken for pares, struck off charge 13.4.54.

Shackleton MR.l ontract o. 6/ACFT.6062/CB6(a) dated 21 March 1946, covering thirty ShackletOn MR. 1s. On 1)· twenty-nine built, serial

775

numbers VP254

to VP268 and VP281 to VP294 (VP253 cancelled).

VP254 First flight 28.3.50. Manufacturer's trials. Langar IFF 10 and S RAH trials 15.12.54. A&AEE equipment trials 6.2.52. Return Langar 4.4.56. FEAF charge 9.5.58. 205Sqn 25.5.58. rashed outh China ea 9.12.58.

VP255 First flight 30.6.50. Manufacturer's trials, then demonstrations Ballykelly, Kinloss, Leuchars, and St Eval in 8.50. Return Woodford 18.8.50. TFU Defford 3.10.50. A&AEE 31.10.50. B-] 7 turret trials 11.50 to 4.51. 240 qn 31.12.53. 269Sqn 5.7.54. 23M 28.1.58. 5MU 11.4.60. 205Sqn 1.6.60. 23MU 3.10.60. A&AEE 27.4.61. Langar storage 11.8.61. A&AEE 14.9.61. 23MU 2.10.61. Sold scrap 22.8.63. VP256 First flight 18.9.50. RAF Handling Squadron Manby 28.9.50. Return Woodford 20.11.50. Return Manby 20.12.50.

SHACKLETON PRODUCTION

Return Woodford 5.2.51. 3 MU 19.7.51. 224Sqn 30.8.51. 269Sqn 11.2.52. Cat. 4 damage 26.10.54. truck off charge ] 4.4.55 23MU and scrapped 2.63.

30.5.58. Grapple 6.58. MOTU 10.6.61. Cat. 3 damage 2.2.60. Repaired on site, return MOTU. 23MU storage 11.9.61. EA, sold for scrap 22.8.63.

VP257 First flight 28.8.50. SBAC Display 5.9.50 to 10.9.50. DE Wittering 29.11.50 to 13.4.51. 38MU 17.8.51. 220Sqn 1.11.51. at. 3 damage 12.] 1.52. Repairs on site, return 220 qn 15.9.53. 49MU 23.9.55. Return 220 qn 18.10.55. 23MU 21.1.58. EA, old for scrap 2 .2.63.

VP264 First flight 8.3.51. (A) 5.4.51. 38MU 17.5.51. 2360CU 31.5.51. Cat. 3 damage 24.. 51. Repaired on site. Return 2360CU. Hucknall 26.3.53. 38MU storage3.11.53.2360CU .2.55. Mods 9.1.56 to 4.2.56. Return 2360CU, became MOTU 10.56. 23MU torage 15.3.60. Sold crap 22.11.62.

VP258 First flight 13.10.50. 38MU 7.3.51. 120Sqn 3A.51. Cat. 3 damage 12.4.51. Repair on site, return 120Sqn 10.5.51. onversion to T.4 prototype, Woodford 5.55. A&AEE official trials, then Langar 3.5.57. MaS Air Fleet 27.1.58. MOTU 12.1.59. Langar 6.62 to 5.63. 23M ,return MOTU 6.63. Sold Board of Trade, to Stan ted Fire chao! 17.7.68.

VP265 First flight 29.3.51. 38MU 23.4.51. 120Sqn 17.5.51. 23MU storag 28.9.53. 49MU mods 1.11.55 to 8.12.55. 12MU 8.4.57. 23MU 17.5.57. 220Sqn 20.5.57.206 qn 14.1.58. 'Sp cial fitment' 2.2.58. 269 qn 30.4.58. MOTU 2.11.58. 23MU storage 5.10.59. MOT 5.5.60. 23MU 2.10.61. EA, old for scrap 23.10.63.

VP259 Fir t flight 24.10.50. 38MU 3.51. 120Sqn 3A.51. Autolycu in tallation 6.12.54 to 17.1.55. Woodford on loan 3.6.55. Conversion to T.4 28.4.56. 23MU 20.6.57. MOTU 22.7.57. rashed Haldan Hill, Elgin 10.1.58. Struck off charge 31.5.58. VP260 First flight 22.1.51. 38M 7.3.51. 120Sqn 30.3.51. rash landing Talaki 24.10.55. Repairs on site. 23MU storage 23.4.57. NEA, broken up 1962. old scrap 29.9.63. VP261 First flight 13.2.51. Elevator trials Woodford and A&AEE. 38MU 10.4.51. ASWDU 27A.51. 120 qn 18.5.51. Cra hed in sea near Berwick upon Tweed 25.6.52. Mi sing, struck off charge 11. .52. VP262 First flight 20.2.51. 38MU 27.3.51. 120 qn 13.4.51. Cat. 3 damage 5.51. Repairs on site. Return 120 qn lA.52. 49MU 'Special fitment' 24.1.53. MOTU 29.10.56. 23MU storage 22.9.58. NEA, broken up 1962. old scrap 22.8.63. VP263 Fir t flight 17.3.51. RAE 18.4.51. A&AEE 20.7.5 I. Cat. 3 damage 7.11.51. Repaired A&AEE. 38MU 4.2.52. Allotted 42Sqn 8.10.52. ancelled, 206Sqn 9.10.52. 220Sqn 8.7.54. 'Special fitment 10.54 to 8.55. Cat. 3 damage 10.12.55. Repaired on site. Return 220 qn. 206Sqn 14.1.58. Met recce mods 3.58. 269Sqn 29.5.58. 204Sqn

VP266 Fir t flight 4A.51. 3 MU 3.5.51. 120Sqn 18.5.51. 23MU 28.9.53. 269Sqn 2.12.54. 'Special fitment' 11.55. 204Sqn 5.5.58. MOTU 14.10.58. at. 3 damage 23.12.58. Repaired on site. 23MU storage 17.5.60. EA, sold for scrap 28.2.63. VP267 First flight 13A.51. 38MU 10.5.51. 120 qn 29.5.51. 23MU storage 6.10.53. 49MU mod 8.55. 23MU 14.6.57. 205Sqn 18.6.60. Withdrawn ervice, Cat. 5 components] .12.62. VP268 First flight 20.4.5 I. 38MU 25.5.51. 2360 U 15.6.51. Cat. 3 damage 22.3.52. Repaired on ite, then mods 30.11.55. MOTU 10.56. 23MU storage 9.6.59. NEA, old for scrap 23.10.63. VP281 Fir t flight 24.4.5 I. 38MU 25.5.51. A WDU 19.6.51. Considerable mods 27.10.54 to 12.4.56, then 2360CU. MOTU 10.56. 23MU storage 4.5.60. NEA, sold for crap 28.2.63. VP282 First flight 1.5.51. 38MU 31.5.51. ASWDU 14.6.51. A&AEE 6.56. 49MU mods 20.11.56. Return ASWDU. 49MU 'special fitment' 9.10.5 ,then Orange Harvest trials. 23MU storage 19.8.60. EA, sold for scrap 31.5.62. VP283 First flight 11.5.51. 38MU 19.6.51. at. 3 damage. Repaired on site, then 224Sqn 25.7.51. ra hed 12.8.51. Cat. 5, struck off charge 12.8.51.

776

VP284 Fir t flight 23.5.~ 1. 3 MU 20.6.51. 2360CU 29.6.51. 23MU storage 30.1.53. 204Sqn 26.2.54. 269 qn 9.8.54. Mods 1.55 to 2.55 and 5.57 to 7.57. Return 269Sqn. 23MU storage 22.8.58. NEA, sold for scrap 28.2.63. VP285 First flight 26.5.5 I. 38MU 28.6.51. 2360CU 11.7.51. Cat. 3 damage 30.12.51. Repaired Waddington. Return 2360CU 1.2.52. 3 MU storage 1.8.53. A&AEE 9.9.54. Blue Silk trials. 49MU 27.1.56. Mod A V21 13.3 .56. TRE Defford 14.5.56 to 11.7.56. ASWDU 7.5.57 to 12.6.57 as A&AEE aircraft. ASV21 removed. Return ASWDU, then 23MU 7.1.58. MOTU 20.4.58. ASV21 refitted 7.58 to 8.58. 23MU storage 22.3.60. EA, broken up. old scrap 2 .2.6 . VP286 Fir tflighd1.5.51.3 MU2.7.51. 2360CU 17.7.51. Crashed in ea off Tarbat Head, Cromarty 8.10.52. at. 5, struck off charge 27.10.52. VP287 First flight 7.6.51. 38MU 12.7.51. 224Sqn 25.7.51. Cat. 3 damage 21.9.51. Repaired on site. 269 qn 11.2.52. 240Sqn 5.6.58. 23MU storage 30.10.58. NEA, sold for scrap 23.10.6 . VP288 First flight 15.6.51. Retained Woodford, sonobuoy trials 12.7.51. RAE 10.10.51. 38MU 3.1.52. A WDU 25.1.52. Autolycus installation 27.5.54. 220Sqn 19.9.54. Mods 18.10.55. Return 220Sqn, then Langar, more mods 8.57. 23MU storage 21.11.5 . 205Sqn 12.9.59. Return UK .60. De Havilland, mods 26.8.60. Return 205Sqn 6.3.61. NEA, sold for crap 5.8.64. VP289 First flight 25.6.5 I. 38MU 19.7.51. 224Sqn 31.8.51. 269Sqn 7.1.52. Cat. 3 damage 22.2.52. Repaired on site. Return 269Sqn. 23MU storage 18..53. 49MU mod 3.55 to 4.55.206 qn 30.7.56. Met recce mods 1.57 to 2.57. 269Sqn 7.1.58, Gra/)ple. MOTU 12.11.58. 23MU torage 12.10.59. MOTU 17.5.60. Westonsuper-Mare as 7730M 6.9.61. Scrapped 4.66. VP290 Fir t flight 25.6.51. 38MU 19.7.51. 224 qn 5.10.51. 269 qn 23.1.52. 23MU storage 5.6.53. RAE West Freugh 17.9.54. 23MU torage 24.9.54. 49MU 'special fitment' 5.55, then 38MU. 2360CU 13.3.56. MOT 10.56. Kinloss, spar mod 4.60 to 10.60. 23MU storage 14.10.60. NEA, sold for scrap 22.11.62.

VP291 First flight 29.6.51. 38MU 21.7.51. 224 qn 7.9.51. Cat. 3 damage 15.10.51. Repaired on site. 269Sqn 11.2.52. Langar mods 6.57. 23MU 8.9.58. 205Sqn 10.11.58. Return UK spar mods 19.3.60. Return 205Sqn 15.12.60. 23MU torage 5.4.62. NEA, sold for crap 5.8.64. VP292 First flight 12.7.51. 38MU 10.8.51. 2360CU 1.10.51. Cat. 3 damage ite. Return 22. I 0.52. Repaired on 2360CU 1.53. 23MU storage 10.53. 2360CU 6.54. 49MU mods 23.12.55. 2 MU storage 10.56. MOTU 5.2.57. Langar mods 9.57. 23MU storage 23.12.58. 205Sqn 29.8.59. FEAF MU Seletar storage 23.1.61. NEA, Cat. 5 components. truck off charge 28.4.61. VP293 First flight 1 .7.51. 38M 10.8.51. 2360CU 7.9.51. 224Sqn 14.1.53. 23MU storage 22.5.53. 42Sqn 21.4.54. 206 qn 1.7.54. 49MU mod 3.12.54. CCMC 7.1.55 to 12.2.55, then return 206Sqn. Conversion to T.4 17.8.56. 23MU storage 4.4.58. Phase [[ mods 2.7.58. A&AEE clearance 22.7.59 to 1.12.59. MOTU 1.3.60. Langar mods 2A.62 to 8.2.63. RAE trials work 6.1.64. Withdrawn RAE 23.5.75. Id trathallen Mu eum 3.5.76. Broken up on site. VP294 First flight 18.7.51. 38MU 10.8.51. 220 qn 17.9.51. 2360CU 19.9.51. 224 qn 13.3.53. 38MU storage 22.5.53. RRE Blue Silk trials 5.4.54. 23MU storage 9.7.54. 220Sqn 25.6.57. 206Sqn 14.1.58. 49MU met recce mods 13.3.58. 269Sqn 10A.58. Grapple. MOTU 12.11.58. 205Sqn 1.7.59. Return UK. 23MU storage 2.12.59. 5MU repaint, then MOTU 7.9.60. 205Sqn 19.9.60. Crashlanding Gan 15.5.62. at. 5 components, truck off charge 18.5.62.

Shackleton MR.IA Contract No. 6/ACFT.3628/CB6(a) dated 1 May 1949, covering thirty-eight MR. Is. Aim'aft built as thirty-seven MR. 1As, serial numbers WB818 to WB 32, WB834 to WB837 and WB844 to WB861, plus one MR.2 prototy/)e, WB833. (WB862 allocated, but cancelled before construction.) WB818 First flight 1. .51. 38MU 29.8.51. CAPMF mods 17.9.51, then 269Sqn. 23M 8.57. Langar mods, then 23MU 7.11.58. 205Sqn 20.11.59. Taxiing

damage Gan 20.5.61. Withdrawn from servic, e1etar torage. Cat. 5 components. truck off charge 28A.62. WB819 First flight 2.8.51. 38MU 23.8.51. 224Sqn 18.10.51. 269Sqn 3.1.52. 38MU storage 18.9.53. 2360CU 11.1.55. at. 4 damag 25.1.55. Repaired on site. Conversion to T.4. 23MU 13.6.57. MOTU 10.7.57. Cat. 2 damage 20..57. Repaired on site. Kinlo station Flight I .9.64. MOTU 26.4.65. truck off charge, Stansted Fire School 14.6.68. Burnt. WB820 Fir t flight 14.8.51. 38MU 3.9.51. 224 qn 30.9.51. 269 qn 3.1.52. 'Special fitments' 8.55. 23MU storage 29.8.58. Conversion to T.4 8.9.60. MOTU 29.11.61. Withdrawn from service 22.11.66. Cat. 5 components. Struck off charge 1.6.67. t Mawgan dump. WB821 First flight 17.8.51. 38MU 14.9.51. 220Sqn 24.10.51. 2360CU 14.4.54. CCMC mod 3.11.54 to 22.11.54. Return 2360CU, then storage 12.55. 206 qn 27.7.56. 23MU storage 11.2.59. MOTU 17.9.59. 23MU 4.2.61. NEA, sold for scrap 31.5 .62. WB822 First flight 17.8.51. SBAC Display 11.9.51 to 16.9.51. 38MU 12.10.51. 2360CU 28.12.51. MOTU 10.56. 23MU storage 16.1.58. Conversion to T.4 8.11.60. 23MU storage, then return MOTU 8.62. Withdrawn from service 2.4.68. Cat. 5 component. truck off charge, fire practice 8.68. Burnt. WB823 Fir t flight 25.8.51. 38MU 18.9.51. 220Sqn 24.10.51. MC mods 12.54 to 2.55, then return 220Sqn. 206Sqn 7.11.56. 240Sqn 17.2.58. 23MU 12.10.58. EA, sold for scrap 29.5.63.

WB826 Fir t flight 3.9.51. 38MU 10.10.51. 2360CU 12.11.51. at. 3 damage 10.3.53. Repaired on site, then storage. Langar mod 1.55. 38MU storage 1955. 206Sqn 31.7.56. 'Special fitIn nts' 1.57. 240Sqn 15.12.57. 269Sqn 7.58. Grapple. 204Sqn 11.11.58. MOTU 21.9.61. 27MU 23.8.67. NEA, old for scrap 20.2.6 . WB827 First flight 12.9.51. 38MU 5.10.51. 2360 U 7.11.51. MOTU 10.56. Langar mods, then 23MU 8.5.5 . 205 qn 19.5.58. Return UK spar mod 20.10.59. Return 205Sqn 17.12.60. 23MU storage 11.6.62. Sold for crap 5.8.64. WB828 First flight 14.9.51. 38MU 12.10.51. 220 qn .1.52. CAPMF mods 12.5.53. 204 qn 6.1.54. APMF mods 1.4.54 to 27 ..54. 240Sqn 17.8.54. 38MU Cat. 3 repair 1.12.54. Return 240Sqn. 120 qn 15.9.55. ' pecial fitment' 1.56. 206 qn 5.11.56. 204Sqn 5.12.57. 204 qn 5.6.58. 23MU torage 24.2.60. EA, sold for scrap 22.1 I .62. WB829 First flight 21.9.51. 38MU 25.10.51. 2360 U 14.12.51. Stored 10.53 to 5.54. Return 2360CU 5.54. MOTU 10.56. Cat. 2 damage 15.5.57. Langar mod 7.57 to 10.58. 23MU storage 21.10.58. FEAF Singapore 21.8.59, but grounded on arrival due to wing par fatigu. elatar storage 22.12.60. EA, Cat. 5 components. Struck off charge 28.4.61. WB830 First flight 26.9.51. 38MU 14.11.51. 2360 U 4.1.52. Hucknall on loan 21.5.54. Return 2360 U 31.12.54. MOTU 10.56. 23MU storage 7.4.60. NEA, sold for scrap 31.5.62.

WB824 First flight 30.8.51. 38MU 20.9.51. 220Sqn 10.51. 206Sqn 1.54. 2360CU 9.9.55. MOTU 10.56. Cat. 3 damage 15.8.58. Repaired on site. Return M TU 6.11.58. 23MU storage 9.6.59. NEA, sold for scrap 3.1.62.

WB831 First flight 27.9.51. 38MU 23.10.51. 220 qn 21.12.51. CCMC AutoIycus installation 28.5.55. 2360C 29.7.55 to 5.8.55. 220Sqn 5.8.55. onversian to T.4 5.2.56. 23MU 2 .10.57. MOTU 25.11.57. Phase II mods 10.59 to 10.60. MOTU 4.10.60. Crashed t Mawgan 17.5.67. Cat. 5 components. Struck off charge 7.6.67. St Mawgan fire dump.

WB825 Fir t flight 31.8.51. 38MU 9.9.51. 220 qn 24.10.51. at. 3 damage 7.10.52. Repaired on site. ' pecial fitm nts' 11.54 to 2.56. Langar mods 10.57. 23MU 3.10.5 . 205Sqn 29.12.5 . Se1etar storage 7.3.61. Cat. 5 components. Struck off charge 8.8.61. Sold scrap.

WB832 First flight 3.10.51. 38MU 17.11.51. 224 qn 23.1.52. 206Sqn 15.10.52. 49MU and CCMC mods 11.54 to 12.54. Return 206 qn. Conver ion to T.4 23.8.56. 23MU 11.3.5. MOTU 15.4.5 . Pha II mods 10.1.61. Return MOTU 2.10.61. Withdrawn from service,

777

HACKLETON PROD CTIO

o. 2 oTT as 7885M 8.7.65. Cat. 5, scrapped Cosford.

o. 2 oTT as 028M 30.7.68. Scrapped Cosford.

WB833 Prototype Shackleton MR.2. Withdrawn MR.l production. Rebuilt to MR.2 standard. First flight 17.6.52. A&AEE pelformance trials 23.7.52. RAE radio campa s trials 2.12.52. Langar trial work, then Phase [ mods 30.11.54. A&AEE service clearance 21.2.58. Langar Phase II mods 1.10.5 . A&AEE performance trial 22.9.59. RAE onobuoy demon tration 10.11.59. Return A&AEE. ASWDU 17.11.60. Cat. 3 damage 28.3.62. Repaired on site 8.5.62 to 20.6.62. at. 3 damage 21.10.62. Repaired on site. Phase [l[ mods 15.5.64 to 30.9.66. 210Sqn 16.12.66. BalIykelly Wing 2.67. Crashed Mull of Kintyre 19.4.68. truck off charge 19.4.68.

WB845 First flight 8.11.51. 38MU 18.12.51. 224Sqn 1.2.52. 23MU storage 9.6.53. 2360CU 21.5.54. 23MU storage .56. MOTU 3.58. 23MU 20.5.58. Conversion to T.4 18.10.60. MOTU 2.62. 27MU 5.7.68. EA, sold for crap 12.3.69.

WB834 Fir t flight 1l.l0.51. 38MU 21.11.51. 2360CU 11.1.52. MOTU 10.56. Langar mods .57. 23MU 20.1.5 . 205Sqn 3.12.58. Seletar torage 15.4.61. Cat. 5 components. Stru k off charge .8.61. WB835 First flight 15.10.51. Manufacturer's trials Mk. 3 lifeboat 17.11.51, then AIEU 26.11.51. Cabin heating trials, then more lifeboat trails 3.52 to 4.52. A&AEE heating clearance 9.52 to 2.53. Return Woodford 1 .2.53. 2 MU torage 25.8.53. 240Sqn 2.11.56. 269Sqn 2.7.57. Langar mods 4.12.58. then 23M . 205Sqn 1.7.59. 23MU 11.11.59. MOT 5.8.60. 23MU 11.12.61. NEA, sold for scrap 23.10.63. WB836 First flight 18.10.51. 38MU 27.11.51. 224 qn 29.1.52. 206Sqn 7.54. 220Sqn 7.3.57. 240Sqn .58. Gmpple. 23MU storage 21.7.58. 205 qn 25.8.58. Retum UK wing spar mods 11.1.60. Rerurn 205Sqn 28.3.61. Rerum UK 7.62. 23MU storage 8..62. NEA, old for scrap 5.8.64. WB837 First flight 24.10.51. 38MU 21.11.51. 220Sqn 21.12.51. Conversion to T.4 28.3.56. 23MU 1.8.57. MOTU 8.61. Cat. 3 damage 21.3.62. Repaired on site, then returned MOTU. 27MU 27.5.68. NEA, sold for scrap 3.2.69. WB844 First flight 31.10.51. 38MU 12.12.51.224 qn 30.1.52. CAPMF mods 6.4.54 to 1.6.54. Rerurned 224 qn 1.6.54. 120Sqn 30.8.54. Conver ion to T.4 10.7.56. 23MU 3.12.57. MOTU 3.1.58. Phase II mods 23.11.60. MOTU 5.8.61.

WB846 Fir t flight 14.11.51. 38MU 12.12.51. 224 qn 5.2.52. 120 qn 30.8.54. MOTU 29.10.56. Withdrawn from service 26.3.58. MOTU as 7561M. crapped Kinloss. WB847 First flight 20.11.51. 38MU storage 20.12.51. 2360CU 11.3.52. Conversion to T.4 22.8.56. 23MU 13.1.58. MOTU 2.58. Phase II mods 4.60 to 11.60. Return MOTU. Withdrawn from service 6.6 . 8020M 5.6.6 . 'Gate guardian' Kinloss cancelled. Fire dump 12.3.69. Scrapped. WB848 First flight 25.1.51. 38MU 28.12.51. 2360CU 26.1.52. MOTU 10.56. 240Sqn 19.9.57. 23MU 10.1.58. N EA, sold f I' scrap 23.10.63. WB849 First flight 28.11.51. 38MU 11.1.52. ]ASS 18.3.52. 120Sqn 27.4.55. MOTU 31.10.56. 23MU 1.4.60. Conversion to T.4 4.8.60. MOTU 10.61. Withdrawn from service 7.68. Planned 27MU cancelled 17.7.68. ewton a 8026M 30.7.68. Cat. 5, scrapped. WB850 First flight 8.12.51. 38MU 11.1.52. JASS 26.3.52. 240Sqn 13.12.54. 204Sqn 5.6.58. 23MU 17.12.58. NEA, sold for scrap 29.5.63. WB851 First flight 12.12.51. 38MU 6.2.52. ]A S 31.3.52. 269Sqn 16.9.54. CCMC mods 13.10.54 to 3.11.54. Rerurn 269 qn. 38MU storage 30.9.55. 23MU 18.9.56. 220Sqn 15.8.57. 206Sqn 14.1.58. 269Sqn 29.5.5. 204Sqn 11.11.58. ASWDU 23.11.59. 23MU storage 18.3.60. NEA, sold for s rap 28.2.63. WB852 First flight 14.12.51. 38MU 6.2.52.224 qn 7.4.52. 269 qn 19.10.54. Autolycu in tallation 18.4.55. Rerurn 269 qn. at. 2 damage 13.12.57. 23M 7.1.5 . NEA, old for crap 29.5.63. WB853 First flight 19.12.51. 38MU 7.2.52. 224 qn 2.4.52. CAPMF mods 31.5.54. 120Sqn 23.10.54. CMC major

778

inspection 2.55 to 6.55. MOTU 29.10.56. 23MU expiry spar life 13.10.58. EA, sold for scrap 29.5.63. WB854 Fir t flight 29.12.51. 38MU 7.2.52. 224Sqn 9.4.52. 120Sqn 10.9.54. CCMC mods 22.10.54 to 6.12.54. MOTU 16.10.56. Conversion to T.4 cancelled 2.57. 23MU 10.6.5 . 205Sqn 14.7.58. Rerum UK wing spar mods 20.2.60. Return 205 qn 1.10.60. Withdrawn from service, Cat. 5 components. truck off charge 27.11.62. Scrapped Seletar. WB855 First flight 2.1.52. 38MU 8.2.52. 2360CU 15.4.52. MOTU 10.56. 269Sqn 1.8.57. 23MU 11.12.57. NEA, old for crap 28.2.63. WB856 First flight 9.1.52. 3 MU .2.52. A WDU 1 .4.52. 224Sqn 27.9.53. CCMC mods 9.8.54. ]A S 20.9.54. Autolycu installation 10.1.55. 240 qn 27.1.55. 49MU 1.57. Gmpple. Rerum 240 qn 15.2.57. 204Sqn 6.58. 23MU 8.2.60. NEA, sold for scrap 19.12.60. WB857 First flight 16.1.52. 38MU 20.2.52. 240 qn 28.4.52. CC(A) mod fitments 12.5.52 to 10.9.52. Return 240Sqn. 49MU Grapple mods 11.55. Return 240Sqn 5.12.55. 23MU cracked spar 25.2.56. 49MU then rerum 240Sqn 28.1.57. 204Sqn 25.4.58. 269 qn Gm/)ple 7.58 to 10.58. Manufacturer fatigue investigation 7.12.58. Rerum 204Sqn 30.9.59. 27MU storage 27.11.59. Sold for scrap 31.5.62. WB858 First flight 29.1.52. 38MU 27.2.52. 240Sqn 1.5.52. 23MU storage 11.6.53. 2360CU 22.2.55. MOTU 10.56. A&AEE armament and Lindholme trials 26.8.59. Return MOTU 30.10.59. Conversion to T.4 31.8.60. MoA Air Fleet l.l2.61. A&AEE temperate zone trials 24.7.62. 23MU torage 24.8.62. A&AEE radio trials 1963. 23MU 11.8.63. MOTU 10.4.64. Withdrawn from service, 27MU 12.7.68. NEA, sold for scrap 3.2.69. WB859 Fir t flight 30.1.52. 38MU 6.3.52. 240 qn 6.5.52. Unit renumbered 203 qn 1.11.58. 23MU storage 18.2.59. old for scrap 25.9.63. WB860 Fir t flight 7.2.52. 38MU 12.3.52. 240Sqn 1.5.52. 49MU Grapple mods 10.56 to 11.56. 269 qn for Grapple 6.58 to 10.5 . 203Sqn 1.11.58. 204Sqn 27.1.59. 23MU storage 18.3.60. NEA, sold for scrap 28.2.63.

WB861 Fir t flight 20.2.52. 3 MU 14.3.52. 240 qn 6.5.52. 49MU Grapple mods 25.6.56. Return 240 qn. Crash landing 5.9.57. Cat. 5 components. Struck off charge 6.9.57.

onn·act No. 6/A FT.5047/ B6(a) dated August 1950, covering twenty MR. lAs. Aircraft built as ten MR. 1As, serial numbers WG507 to WG51 1 and WG529, plus ten MR.2s.

WG525

to

WG507 First flight 26.2.52. 38MU 21.3.52. 240 qn 20.5.52. CCMC mods 2.11.54 to 24.1.55. Return 240Sqn. 49MU Gra/)ple mod 1.57 to 2.57. Return 240Sqn. 203 qn 1.11.58. 23MU storage 18.2.59. NEA, scrapped 31.5.62. WG508 First flight 8.3.52. 38MU 16.4.52. 240Sqn 4.6.52. 206Sqn 20.10.52. 220Sqn 2.7.54. 206 qn 7.11.56. 23MU 1.4.58. EA, sold for scrap 29.5.63. WG509 First flight 13.3.52. 38MU 16.4.52. 240Sqn 4.6.52. 49MU Gra/)ple mods 11.56 to 12.56. Return 240Sqn. Withdrawn from service, 23MU storage 28.11.5 . Sold for scrap 25.9.63. WG510 First flight 30.3.52. 38M 29.4.52. 42Sqn 2.7.52. 206 qn 15.5.54. CCMC Autolycus installation 27.4.55 to 30.4.55. Return 206Sqn. 23MU torage 2.12.57. NEA, sold for scrap 28.2.63. WG511 Fir t flight 7.4.52. 38MU 7.5.52. 42 qn 9.6.52. 120Sqn 24.2.53. 49MU Autolycus 'special' installation 4.55. 23MU storage 26.4.55. Conversion to T.4 25.5.56. 23MU 7.8.57. MOTU 26.8.57. Phase [I mods 31.8.60. Rerum MOTU 18.5.61. 'Withdrawn from service, at. 5 components 26.7.66. Struck off charge 3.8.66. 71MU Conversion to front fuselage 1968 to 1971. RAF Museum 8.74. Sold Cornwall Aero Park, Helston. WG525 First flight 18.4.52. 38MU 9.5.52. 42Sqn 16.6.52. 220Sqn 1.7.54. Langarmods 5.57. 23MU storage 30.7.58. 205 qn 29.9.58. Landing accident Gan 11.1.60. Repaired on ite. R rum UK wing spar work 24.5.60. Return 205Sqn 28.12.60. Retum UK 5.62. 23M storage 24.5.62. NEA, sold for scrap 5.8.64. WG526 Fir t flight 6.5.52. 38MU 4.6.52. 42Sqn 23.6.52. 206Sqn 1.7.54. CCMC Autolycus installation 1.55. Return 206Sqn

25.1.55. 220 qn 7.11.56. at. 3 damage 15.1.57. Repaired on site. Langar mods 11.57. 23MU storage 18.3.59. MOTU 15.9.59. ASWDU 22.6.61. truck off charge Cat. 5, crapped 11.7.61. WG527 First flight 15.5.52. 38MU 4.6.52. 42 qn 2.7.52. Conversion to T.4 18.7.56. 23MU 26.11.57. MOTU 12.12.57. 'Special fitment' 5.59. Phase II mods 3.11.61. Rerum MOTU 21.5.62. Cat. 3 damage 5.2.64. Repaired on site. Retum MOTU 5.64. Cat. 3 damage 17.7.67. Repaired on site. Withdrawn from service, 27MU storage 19.4.68. EA, sold for scrap 12.3.69. WG528 First flight 18.5.52. 38MU 8.7.52. 42Sqn 18.7.52. 206Sqn 13.10.52. 23MU storage 13.2.58. EA, sold for scrap 29.5.63. WG529 First flight 24.6.52. 38MU I .7.52. 42 qn 15..52. Cat. 3 damage 30.11.53. Repaired on site. 206 qn 15.5.54. 240Sqn 15.12.57. 23MU storage 21.8.58. NEA, broken up 1962. Sold for scrap 25.11.63.

Shackleton MR.2 ontract o. 6/ACFT.5047/CB6(a) dated August 1950, covering twemy Shackleton MR.IAs. Aircraft built as ten MR.IAs (serial numbers under Shackleton MR. 1A listing) and ten MR.2s, serial numbers WG530 to WG533 and WG553 to WG558. WB833, MR.2 prototype, see under Shackleton MR.IA listing. WG530 First flight 15.8.52. S(A) aircraft. A&AEE tropical.temperate performance trials and nose-gun firing 25.9.52. Bombing and gunnery clearance 4.53. CG positioning, leading-edge spoiler and camera operating completed 1.54. 23MU storage 20.10.54. 49MU mods 14.3.56 to 1.4.56. 120Sqn 16.10.56. Cat. 3 damage 13.12.57. Repaired on site. 49MU Phase I mod 19.12.58. Cat. 3 damage 13.3.59. R paired on site. 49MU torage 5.5.59. 224 qn 10.6.59. 49MU mods and Cat. 3 repair 27.4.60 to 29.12.60. 42 qn 18.1.61. Pha e II mods 5.6.51. 205Sqn 20.8.62. 27MU 28.7.67. NEA, sold for scrap 3.9.68. WG531 First flight 21.8.52. SBAC Display 1.9.52 to 7.9.52. CS(A) aircraft cabin

779

heating trials 10.52. 38MU cancelled 25.9.53. St Eval internal conditions clearance 15.12.53. t Eval tation Flight. 42Sqn 5.4.54. CMC mods 29.11.54 to 15.12.54. Believed to have collided with WL743, mis ing 11.1.55. WG532 First flight 12.9.52. (A) aircraft Glow Worm rocket flare trials. 23MU 14.1.53. ASWDU 21.1.53. A&AEE Glow Wonn trials 9.53 to 5.54. Langar mod 1.6.54. 42 qn 26.10.54. CMC major inspection 26.1.55. Cat. 3 damage 4.11.55. Repaired on site. Return 42 qn 7.5.56. 120 qn 9.10.56. Cat. 3 damage 4.4.57. Repaired on site. Return 120Sqn 15.5.57. 49MU Phase I mod 21.10.58 to 26.2.59. 224Sqn 26.2.59 Phase II mods 26.10.60 to 27.6.61. Return 224Sqn 3.8.61. 205Sqn 22 ..66. 27MU 23.8.67. EA, sold for scrap 3.9.68. WG533 Fir t flight 1 .9.52. RAF Handling Squadron, Manby 10.\ 0.52. 23MU storage 29.6.53. 42Sqn 25.1.55. Mods 13.5.55 to 6.6.55. Rerum 42 qn 16.6.55. 49MU mods 6.2.56 to 26.3.56 and 11.3.57 to 12.7.57. Return 42Sqn. ASWDU 1.9.58. Phase [ mods 12.3.59 to 27.2.60. 38Sqn 20.3.60. Phase II mods 4.4.61 to 10.1.62. 224Sqn 15.1.62. 38Sqn 25.10.66. Conver ion to T.2 20.2.67. MOTU 19.7.68. Bitteswell mod 2 .5.69. Rerurn MOTU 17.7.69. 2360CU 1.8.70. 5MU removal training equipment 26.10.70. 205Sqn after Phase III mod 21.12.70. 204Sqn 1.11.71. 32MU 10.1.72. NEA, for scrap sale 10.12.73. Cancelled, t Athan dump. WG553 First flight 2.10.52. 23MU 5.12.52. ASWD 1.1.53. CAPMF mod 3.54. Cat. 3 damage at RAE 27.1.56. Repaired on site 8.2.56 to 15.3.56. Return ASWDU 21.3.56.' pecial fitment' 5.4.56 to 9.5.56. Cat. 3 damage 15.5.56. Repaired on site 24.5.56 to 14.6.56. 49MU Phase I mods 11.2.57. Return ASWDU 12.5.57. Cat. 3 damage 2.5.58. Repair on site 5.5.58 to 11.6.5 .' pecial fitment' 30.6.58 to 24.9.58. Rerum ASW U 30.9.58. Phase II mod 2.3.61 to 30.4.62. 205Sqn 16.7.62. Cat 3 18.7.67. Temp rary repair on site. Return UK, 27MU 5.10.67. EA, old for scrap 24.6.68. WG554 First flight 10.10.52. 23MU 5.12.52. 42Sqn 30.1.53. Mods 17.6.55 to 9.7.55 and 26.3.56 to 26.4.56. Phase I mods 10.1.58 to 27.2.59.224 qn 12.3.59.

SHACKLETO

Phase [] mods 11.7.60 to 28.2.61. ASWDU 3.3.61 Cat. 3 damage 18.62. Repaired on site. Return ASWDU 10.8.62. Cat. 3 damage 27.5.66. Repaired 60MU. Return ASWDU 13.6.66. 205 qn 5.9.66. Conversion to T.2 16.1.67. MOTU 6.6.68. Cat. 3 damage 14.1.69. Repaired on site 20.1.69 to 6.2.69. Cat. 3 damage 2.2.70. R paired 71 MU 9.2.70 to 17.2.70. Return MOTU. 5MU removal training equipment 10.7.70. Phase III mods, then St Mawgan Gulf Detachment 25.9.70. 210Sqn 13.10.70. 32MU 1.6.71. N EA, Cat. 5 16.11.72. St Athan dump WG555 First flight 21.10.52. 23MU 912.52. 42 qn 12.1.53. Cat. 3 damage 27.4.55. Repaired on site. Return 42Sqn 5.55. Mods 23.5.55 to 10.6.55. Phase 1 mods 6.3.58. 210Sqn 6.4.59. Phase II mods 3.1160 to 5.6.61. 204Sqn 86.61. Cat. 3 damage 27.12.62. Repaired 23MU. Return 204Sqn 14.1.63. Phase III mods 26.11.65. Return 204Sqn 24.2.67. Majunga Detachment Support Unit 26.3.71 Return 204Sqn 2.72. truck off charge, RAF Fire Fighting School, Catterick 9.5.72. WG556 First flight 28.10.52. 23MU 912.52. 42Sqn 12.1.53. Mods 6.6.55 to 20.6.55. Cat. 3 damage 15.7.55. Repaired on site 19.7.55 to 18.11.55. Return 42Sqn 22.1155. 23MU storage 12.2.56. 5MU 14.3.57. 120Sqn 20.5.57. 37Sqn 13.2.58. Phase I mods 5.7.59 to 30.6.60. 224Sqn 7.60. MoA Air Fleet, Phase [II trials 1.62. A&AEE radio. navigation release trials 14.9.65. Langar 7.12.65. RAEJezebelsonic trials 12.5.66. ASWDU Jezebel trials 1.6.66. Ballykelly Wing 1.4.70. 32MU storage 7.10.70. Cat. 5 damage 1980. Battle Damage Repair Flight Lossiemouth, then Fire Section as 8651M 20.2.81 Scrapped 7.82. WG557 First flight 5.11.52. 23MU 11.12.52. 206Sqn 27.2.53. Cat. 3 damage 10.12.53. Repaired on site 17.12.53 to 25.2.54. Return 206Sqn. 220Sqn 19.3.54. 228 qn 16.9.54. Mods 29.11.55 to 20.12.55. 38MU storage 25.1.56. 23MU 9.10.56. 5MU 218.57. 23MU 18.10.57. RAE Armament Flight 20.12.57. ETPS 28.9.60. RAE Armament Flight 17.1.62. Withdrawn from service 13.5.64. Struck off charge 28.10.64. Farnborough dump. WG558 First flight 11.11.52. 23MU 11.12.52 206 qn 3.2.53. Cat. 3 damage 10.11.53. Repaired on site 16.11.53 to

PRODUCTION

SHACKLETON PRODUCTIOI

12.2.54. Return 206Sqn 19.2.54. CAPMF mods 2.7.54 to 26.7.54. 224Sqn 12.8.54. Mods 13.8.55 to 23.8.55 and 27.6.57 to 6.8.57. Phase I mods 3.7.58. 42Sqn 28.8.59. 204Sqn 11.10.60. A&AEE new launching chute trials 8.8.61. Phase II mods 25.1.62 to 13.8.62. 210Sqn 9.4.63. Cat. 3 repairs 71MU 11.2.64 to 21.2.64. Return 210 qn 21.2.64. Conversion to T.2 30.11.66. MOTU 222.68. Cat. 3 damage 3.11.68. Repairs 71MU. Return MOTU 14.2.69. Cat. 3 damage 19.5.69. Repairs 71MU 22.5.69 to 8.8.69. Return MOTU 8.8.69. 5MU removal training equipment 6.70. Phase III mods, then St Mawgan Gulf Detachment 10.9.70. 210Sqn 13.10.70. Return UK, 32MU storage 1.6.71. NEA, Cat. 5 scrap 25.174.

WL739 First flight 9.12.52. 23MU 21.153. 240Sqn 31.3.53. Cat. 3 repairs on site 14.5.53 to 11.12.53. 269Sqn 12.12.53. CAPMFmods312.53 to 12.3.54. 204Sqn 11.8.54. 'Special fitment' 6.4.55 to 4.5.55. 38Sqn attachment 27.4.58. Phase I mods 12.58. 37Sqn 20.12.59. Phase II mods 2.5.60 to 17.4.61. 204Sqn 19.4.61. Cat. 3 damagc, rcpaircd on sitc 3.6.65 to 15.6.65. Conversion to T.2 date unconfirmed. MOTU 29.12.67. Bitteswell mods 15.3.68 to 13.5.68. Cat. 3 damage 25.7.69. 71MU repair 28.7.69 to 7.8.69. 5MU removal training equipment 1.5.70. Phase III mods, then St Mawgan Gulf Detachment 4.8.70. 210Sqn 23.10.70. RAF Fire School, Catterick 1.11.71 cancelled. Manston firefighting training 1971.

Contract No. 6/ACFT.6129/CB6(a) dated December 1950, covering fony MR. 2s, serial numbers WL737 to WL759 and WL785 to WLBOI.

WL740 First flight 18.12.52. CS(A) longer exhaust pipe trials. 23MU 5.10.53. 204Sqn 1.1.54. CAPMF mods 3.2.54 to 18.2.54. Returned 204Sqn. 'Special fitment' 26.4.55 to 18.5.55. A&AEE gun trials 11.3.58 to 14.3.58. 38Sqn 27.4.58. Safi, Malta storage 18.12.59. Phase I and II mods 15.3.60 to 9.3.61. 38Sqn 15.3.61. Conversion to T.2 not completed. Cat. 5 components. Struck off charge 28.2.68.

WL737 First flight 17.11.52. 23MU 21.1.53. CS(A) 18.2.53. Return 23MU 1l.3.53. 220Sqn 24.3.53. Cat. 3 repairs on site 12.2.54 to 13.4.54. CAPMF mods 7.54. 42Sqn 25.4.55. Phase I mods 29.10.59 to 30.9.60. Return 42Sqn 10.10.60. Phase II mods 23.2.62 to 9.10.62. MoA glide path aerial trials 9.10.62 to 12.11.63. Phase 1lI mods 4.12.63. RAE Bedford high auw trials 10.65 to 12.65. A&AEE clearance new auw 5.1.66. Return Woodford 7.1.66. A&AEE Phase 1lI assessments 25.1.66 to 22.3.66. 21 OSqn 3.12.66. Cat. 3 repairs on si te 4.8.67 to 1.9.67. 205Sqn 1.870. Return UK, 32MU 7.10.71. NEA, Cat. 5 scrap 31.8.73. St Athan dump. WL738 First flight 25.11.52. 23MU 2.2.53. 240Sqn 31.3.53. CAPMF mods 18.2.54. Return 240Sqn. 204Sqn 11.8.54. Mods 2.5.55 to 18.5.55. 37Sqn 3.3.58. Cat. 3 damage 6.8.58. Temporary repair on site. Return UK 23.12.58. 49MU 1.59 to 3.59. Phase I mods 19.3.59 to 22.3.60. Return 37Sqn 14.4.60. Phase II mods 1.3.62 to 18.10.62. Return 37Sqn 31.10.62. MinTech. at A&AEE radio altimeter trials 17.3.67. Ballykelly Wing 27.4.67. Bitteswell mods 20.5.69. Return Ballykelly Wing 7.7.69. 204Sqn 10.70. 5MU major servicing 1.1.71. Return 204Sqn 24.5.71. 5MU 19.4.72. 8Sqn pilot training 8.3.74. Cat. 5 scrap, struck off charge 1410.77. Scrap cancelled, spares as 8567M. Gate guard Lossiemouth 5.4.78. Scra pped 1991.

180

WL741 First flight 18.12.52. 23MU 4.2.53. 224Sqn 20.5.53. CAPMF mods 1.3.54 to 11.3.54. Mods 25.5.55 to 13.6.55. Mods 21.7.56 to 13.8.56. Mods 25.2.57 to 15.4.57. Phase I mods 19.12.58 to 4.12.59. 42Sqn 7.12.59. Cat. 3 damage 9.7.60. 49MU repair 13.7.60 to 13.9.60. Return 42Sqn. 224Sqn 11.60. Phase II mods 12.61 to 7.62. 205Sqn 13.9.62. Phase III mods 29.8.66. 205Sqn 20.11.67. Return UK, 5MU storage 2.2.71. Conversion to AEW.2 4.72. 8Sqn 4.4.73, named P C Knapweed. 60MU mods 19.12.74. Return 8Sqn 13.1.75. Withdrawn from service 9.1.81. CTE Manston as 8692M 9.1.82. Burnt 6.82. WL742 First flight 23.12.52. 23MU 4.2.53. 206Sqn 12.353. Cat. 3 6.7.53. Repaired on site 7.7.53 to 16.9.53. 42Sqn 17.54. Mods 13.6.55 to 30.6.55. Cat. 3 damage 20.9.55. Repaired on site 22.9.55 to 2411.55. Return 42Sqn 2.1.56. Phase I mods 5.6.59 to 28.4.60. 224Sqn 3.5.60. Phase II mods 11.7.61 to 28.5.62. 203Sqn 30.5.62. Cat. 3 damage 5.12.62. Repaired on site 7.12.62 to 21.12.62. Cat. 3 damage 23.9.63. 60MU repairs 29.9.63 to 13.11.63. Further damage 29.11.65. 60MU repairs 7.12.65 to 13.12.65. 204Sqn 1.12.66. Bal-

Iykelly Wing 2.67. 27MU 21.4.67. NEA, sold for scrap 26.6.68. WL743 First flight 20.1.53. 23MU 4.2.53. 220Sqn 16.3.53. 42Sqn 1.7.54. Believed to have collided with WG531. Mi sing 11.155. WL744 First flight 15.1.53. 23MU 13.3.53. 120Sqn 21.4.53. CAPMF mods 24.3.54 to 5.5.54. 228Sqn 5.11.54. 'Special fitment' 7.7.55 to 21.7.55. 38MU storage 22.9.55. 23MU 7.12.56. 5MU 7.7.57. 23MU 10.9.57. 204Sqn 13.9.57. 42Sqn 22.8.58. 49MU. Phase I mods 23.1.59. 38MU Phase 1 mods completion 4.7.59. Phase II mods 12.12.60 to 31.1.62. 37Sqn 10.2.62. Cat. 3 damage 25.3.65. Repaired on site 29.3.65 to 6.4.65. Cat. 3 damage 18.1.66. Repaired on site 20.1.66 to 9.2.66. Cat. 5 20.10.66. Station Flight, struck off charge, Ballykelly dump 1.11.66. Scrapped. WL745 First flight 22.1.53. 23MU 11.353. 220Sqn 30.3.53. 42Sqn 1.7.54. Mods 6.9.55 to 22.9.55. Cat. 3 damage 20.6.56. Repaired on site 26.6.56 to 18.1 0.56. 120Sqn 5.11.56. Phase I mods 18.7.58 to 23.7.59. 204Sqn 23.7.59. Phase II mods 18.5.61 to 9.1.62. 205Sqn 24.4.62. Cat. 3 damage 24.1.63. Repaired 26.163 to 22.5.63. Cat. 3 damage 6.10.65. Temporary repair, return UK 25.10.65. Phase III mods 4.11.65 to 4.2.67. 204Sqn 4.2.67, Ballykelly Wing. Cat. 3 damage 1.6.67. Repaired on site 8.6.67 to 27.7.67. Woodford performance trials with AN.APS 20 radar 18.3.70 to 25.3.70. Woodford storage 25.3.70. MoA Air Fleet AEW trials 12.8.70. Conversion to AEW.2 A&AEE clearance trials 5.4.72 to 26.2.73. Bitteswell AEW production • standard 2.3.73. 8Sqn 17.9.73, named Sage. Withdrawn from service 6.81. RAF Fire Fighting School, Catterick as 8698M 13.7.81. Burnt 1983. WL746 First flight 28.1.53. 23MU 11.3.53. 269Sqn 8.4.53. Crashed into sea off Argyll, Scotland 11.12.53. Salvaged. Struck off charge, Cat. 5 scrap 12.12.53. WL74 7 First flight 5.2.53. 23MU 11.3.53. 269Sqn 3.4.53. 204Sqn 11.8.54. 42Sqn 11.6.58. Phase I mods 18.9.58 to 30.9.59. 210Sqn 30.9.59. Phase II mods 18.4.61 to 22.10.61 37Sqn 4.11.61. Phase III mods 8.5.64 to 19.66. 210Sqn 12.9.66. BalIykelly Wing 2.67. Cat. 3 damage 30.1.69. Repaired on site 6.2.69 to 30.3.69. 204Sqn

10.70. 5MU 17.12.70. Conversion to AEW.2 2.2.71. 5MU 8.2.72. 8Sqn, named Florence, 114.72. Bitteswell major refurbishing 20.9.7 . Return 8Sqn 9.11.79. Withdrawn from service 7.91. Sold Savvas Constantinides 3.7.91. Paphos Airport, Cyprus 19.7.91. WL748 First flight 6.2.53. 23MU 11.3.53. 240 qn 8.4.53. 204Sqn 9.8.54. Mods 2010.55 to 14.11.55. Return 204Sqn. 269Sqn 11.11.58. 210Sqn 1.12.58. 204 qn 10.10.59. Phase I mods 15.1.60 to 10.1.61. 210Sqn 11.1.61. Phase II mods 10.62 to 5.63. Return 21OSqn. Phase III mods 21.4.66. RRE Pershore infrared scanner trials 1967. 205Sqn 20.10.67. Ballykelly Wing 13.1.69. RRE removal infrared equipment 6.69. 204Sqn 10.70. Majunga Detachment Support Unit 22.3.71. Returned UK, 204Sqn 2.72. RAF Fire Fighting School, Catterick 8.5.72. Burnt. WL749 First flight 18.2.53. 23MU 30.3.53. 120Sqn 20.4.53. Cat. 5 damage 14.5.53. Scrap, components 14.5.53. WL750 First flight 23.2.53. 23MU 30.3.53. 269Sqn 17.4.53. CAPMF mods 1.54 to 2.54. 204Sqn 2.7.54. Mods 23.6.55 to 14.7.55. Autolycus installation 12.55. 120Sqn 1810.56. 269Sqn 30.10.58. 210Sqn 1.12.58. Phase I mods 12.5.59 to 13.4.60. 224Sqn 19.4.60. Phase II mods 19.9.61 to 21.6.62. 203Sqn 25.6.62. Cat. 3 damage 2.1.63. Repaired on site 30.1.63 to 29.3.63. Cat. 3 damage 30.12.64. 60MU repair. Return 203Sqn 15.2.65. 204Sqn 12.66. Conversion to T.2 11.1.67 to 27.3.68 MOTU 27.3.68. 5MU removal training equipment 24.8.70. Phase III mods, then 205Sqn 25.11.70. RAFFire Fighting School 15.10.71 cancelled. Central Training Establishment, Manston 11.71. WL751 First flight 5.3.53. 23MU 10.4.53. 224Sqn 15.53. CAPMF mods 10.2.54 to 2.3.54 and 29.8.55 to 20.9.55. South America tour 3.57 to 4.57. 49MU mods 30.7.57 to 10.9.57. Return 224Sqn 30.9.57. Phase I mods 28.1.59 to 13.1.60. 204Sqn 18.1.60 Phase II mods 30.6.61 to 29.3.62. 210Sqn 30.3.62. Cat. 3 damage 13.3.64. 23MU repair 16.3.64 to 24.3.64. Phase III mods 23.11.65 to 6.2.67. HSA stall warning system trials 8.2.67. Ballykelly Wing 25.5.67. Bitteswell mods 8.7.69 to 17.9.69. 5MU major overhaul 22.6.70. 204Sqn 18.11.70. Majunga Detachment Support Unit 31.3.71. Return 204Sqn 2.72. old Shack-

181

leton Aviation, Baginton 4.5.72. Sold scrap 1.75. WL752 First flight 7.3.53. 23MU 1.4.53. 120Sqn 23.4.53. Cat. 3 damage 16.3.54. Repaired on site 27MU working party 17.3.54 to 4.6.54. 224Sqn 27.8.54. Cat. 3 damage 1.10.54. Repaired on site 710.54 to 11.2.55. Mod 17.12.56 to 2.1.57. Return 224Sqn 25.2.57. South American tour 3.57 to 4.57. Phase I mods 9.6.59 to 19.5.60. 37Sqn 30.5.60. Phase II mods 21.3.62 to 11.12.62. RAF Handling Squadron, Manby 1.2.63. 23MU 14.5.63. 37Sqn 9.9.64. Cat. 3 damage 29.6.65. Repaired on site 8.7.56 to 23.7.56. Cat. 3 damage 15.11.56. Repaired on site 17.11.56 to 9.1.57. 27MU 9.9.67. NEA 13.9.67. Sold for scrap 7.10.68. WL753 First flight 16.3.53. 23MU 10.4.53. 224Sqn 12.5.53. CAPMF mods 9.3.54 to 4.4.54. Mods 410.54 to 10.2.55, 18.10.55 to 9.11.55 and 7.9.56 to 26.9.56. South American tour 3.57 to 4.57. Mods 8.11.57 to 6.12.57 and 28.3.58 to 15.58. Phase I mods 10.6.59 to 31.5.60. RAF Eastleigh tation Flight, Kenya, storage 30.6.60. 37Sqn 24.8.60. Return UK 2.12.61. Phase II mods 2.12.61 to 6.12.61 203Sqn 3.8.62. 204 qn 12.66. Ballykelly Wing 2.67. 27MU 24.5.67. NEA, broken up 25.5.67. Sold for scrap 12.3.69. WL754 First flight 18.3.53. 23MU 8.5.53. Overseas Ferry Unit, Benson 26.8.53. 137MU 1.9.53. 37Sqn 4.9.53. Cat. 3 damage 7.9.53. Repair 137MU 8.9.53. Return 37Sqn 14.12.53. CAPMF mods 11.3.54 to 31.3.54. 137MU major servicing 8.11.54. 38Sqn 27.1.55. Mods 10.2.55 to 24.3.55. Cat. 3 damage 14.11.55. 137MU repair 21.11.55. 37Sqn 13.10.56. Cat. 3 damage repaired 7.157 to 15.3.57. 38Sqn 25.6.57. 37Sqn 1.8.57. Phase I mods 22.10.59 to 15.9.60. 42Sqn 16.9.60. Cat. 3 damage 22.11.61. Repaired on site, then Phase II mods, completed 15.6.62. 42Sqn 18.6.62. Cat. 3 repair 6.1163 to 25.11.63. Phase 11 [ mods 25.2.66 to 30.4.67. 205Sqn 30.4.67. Bitteswell ADDsta11 warning trials 17.1.69. MinTech trials, Woodford 13.8.69 to 30.9.69. Ballykelly Wing 13.10.69. 204Sqn 10.70. 5MU storage 2.4.71. Conversion to AEW.2. 22.3.72. 5MU 18.10.72. 8Sqn named Paul, 29.1172. Withdrawn from service 1.81. Fi re practice, crash rescue, Valley as 8865M 22.1.81. Display 'Save the Shackleton' campaign.

WL755 First flight 30.3.53. 23MU 5.5.53. Overseas Ferry Unit, Benson 5.8.53. 137MU 27.8.53. 37Sqn 31.8.53. CAPMF mods 3.3.54 to 23.3.54. 137MU major servicing 1.5.54. Return 37Sqn 19.6.54. 49MU Autolycus in tallation 29.3.55 to 21.4.55. 137MU mods 20.2.56 to 15.3.56. 38Sqn 8.7.56. Phase I mods 12.12.57 to 10.2.59. Return 38sqn 6.3.59. Phase II mod 6.3.61 to 30.8.61. 224Sqn 4.9.61. Phase III mods 22.12.65 to 28.3.67. Cat. 3 damage 29.4.70. 60MU repairs 18.5.70 to 10.7.70. 204 qn 10.70. Majunga Detachment Support Unit 22.7.71. Rerum 204Sqn 2.72. RAF Fire chool, atterick 9.5.72. Burnt 12.77. WL756 First flight 1.4.53. 23MU 5.5.53. Over eas Ferry Unit, B non 28.7.5 . 37Sqn 5..53. APMF mod 1.2.54 to 19.2.54. Cat. 3 damage 7.5.54. 137MU repairs 7.5.54. 'Special fitment' 21.10.55 to 5.12.55. 38Sqn 16.12.55. 49MU mods 9.10.57 to 19.11.57. at. 3 damage 19.3.58. 103MU repairs 19.3.5 . Phase I mods, then HQ British Force Arabian Peninsula 30.4.59. 37Sqn 18.7.59. Phase Il mods 23.1.61 to 30.4.62. 205 qn 11.6.62. Phase III mods 30.10.66 to 20.10.67. Ballykelly Wing 26.10.67. Mods 29.10.69 to 10.12.69. 204 qn 10.70. 5MU 18.1.71. Conversion to AEW.2 2.4.71. 5MU 22.3.72. 8 qn 5.5.72. Lossiemouth 19.5.72. Return 8Sqn, named Mr Rusty, 21.6.72. Withdrawn from service 1.7.91. Crash rescue, St Mawgan 7.91. Burnt by 1998. WL757 First flight 10.4.53. 23MU 8.5.53. Overseas Ferry Unit, Benson 28.7.53. 37Sqn 5.8.53. CAPMF mods 19.2.54 to 3.3.54. Cat. 3 repair 137MU 20.5.54 to 3.6.54. Langar major service 18.9.54 to 6.11.54. 'pecial fitment' 22.6.55 to 11.7.55. 137MU mods 9.1.56 to 23.2.56. Return 37 qn 26.2.56. 137MU storage 8.7.57. 38Sqn 1957. Phase I mods 29.9.58 to 29.10.59. 210 qn 30.10.59. Phase II mod 27.3.61 to 5.12.61. 224Sqn 15.12.61. Phase III mods 30.3.66. 205Sqn 25.5.67. Return UK 12.12.70. 5MU storage 14.12.70. Conver ion to AEW.2 26.8.71. 5MU 3.7.72. Lossiemouth 25.8.72. 8Sqn, named Brian, 29.8.72. Withdrawn from service 7.91. Sold Savvas Constantinides 3.7.91. Paphos Airport, Cyprus 15.7.91.

WL758 First

flight 17.4.53. 23MU 18.5.53. 120Sqn 22.6.53. CAPMF mods 24.3.54 to 5.4.54. 224Sqn 8.9.54. 49MU mod 22.9.55 to 13.10.55 and 27.4.56 to

21.7.56. outh American tour 3.57 to 4.57. Pha e I mod 14.11.5 to 10.11.59. 3 qn 26.11.59. Phase II mods 2.5.60 to 15.12.60. Return 38 qn 12.60. Phase III mods 21.10.66 to 10.11.67. Ballykelly Wing 15.11.67. 204Sqn 10.70. RAF Fire School, Catterick 19.5.72. Burnt by 1975.

WL759 Fir t flight 24.4.53. 23MU storage 29.5.53. 37Sqn 2.9.53. CAPMF mods 30.3.54 to 15.4.54. Return 37MU 4.54. 137MU Cat. 3 repairs 19.5.54 to 14.6.54. Mods 6.7.55 to 19.7.55. Rerum 37Sqn 7.55. Cat. 3 damage 26.11.55. 137MU repairs. Rerum 37Sqn. 49MU 'special fitment' 6.57. 204Sqn 27.8.57. Phase 1 mods 27.8.58 to 24.2.59. 38Sqn 10.3.59. Phase Il mod 3.1.62 to 30.1.63. MoA loan, Mk 44 torpedo, intercom and new tail-wheel jack trials. A&AEE Mk 44 torpedo and marine marker.underwater sound signal trials 22.5.63. ASWDU 18.2.64. Cat. 3 damage 2 .6.66. Repaired on site. Return A WDU 21.7.66. 205Sqn 1.8.66. Struck off charge, at. 5 components 11.11.6 . Br ken up 1969. WL785 First flight 10.5.53. 23MU storage 29.5.53. 37 qn 2.9.53. CAPMF mods 1.54 to 2.54. Cat. 3 damage 16.9.54. 137MU repairs 21.9.54 to 9.2.55. Return 37 qn. Langar major service 7.4.55 to 19.7.55. Return 37Sqn 25.7.55. Mods 16.4.57 to 6.6.57. 3 qn 8.7.57. Phase I mods 10.4.58 to 4.6.59. 42Sqn 5.6.59. Phase Il mods 28.11.60 to 30.6.61. Rerum 42Sqn 5.7.61. Cat. 3 damage 18.12.63. Repaired on site 20.12.63 to .2.64. Return 42Sqn. MoA Air Fleet 7.4.65. A&AEE sanabuoy trials 12.4.65 to 27.5.65. Phase III mods 1.6.65 to 25.1.67. 204 qn 27.1.67. Ballykelly Wing 2.67. Bitteswell mods 3.4.68 to 30.5.68. 204Sqn 10.70. 32MU 5.4.71. entral Training Establishment, Manston 19.5.71. truck off charge, Cat. 5 component 30.6.71. WL786 First

flight 12.5.53. 23MU 12.6.53. 137MU 9.9.53 37Sqn 26.9.53. CAPMF mod 1.3.54 to 12.3.54. 137MU mod 23.8.54 to 7.10.54. Rerum 37 qn. 137MU 'special fitment' 26.5.55 to 16.6.55. Rerum 37Sqn. Phase I mods 11.3.58 to 19.3.59. 38Sqn 8.5.59. Phase Il mods 23.5.61 to 19.3.62. 205Sqn 21.4.62. Cat. 3 damage 16.3.65. Repaired on site. Return 205Sqn 21. .65. Phase Il mods 1. .66 to 23 ..67. Return 205 qn. Crashed Indian Ocean 5.11.67. Struck off charge, mi ing, 6.11.67.

182

WL787 First flight 18.5.53. 23MU torage 30.6.53. 137MU 18.9.53. 3 qn 19.9.53. CAPMF mods 6.2.54 to 2.3.54. Langar major service 24.5.54 to 23.7.54. Return 38Sqn. 49MU Autolycus installation 2.3.55 to 13.4.55. 49MU mods 13.3.56 to 23.4.56. Pha e I mod 12.2.57 to 19.8.57. 137MU, then 38Sqn 11.3.58. 37Sqn 19.9.58. Phase II mods 29.1.60 to 31.1.61. 210Sqn 6.2.61. 204Sqn 24.10.66. Conversion to T.2 14.12.66. MOTU 29.9.68. Cat. 3 damage 11.2.69. Repaired on ite. 5MU removal training equipment 2.6.70. Phase III mods, then St Mawgan Gulf Detachment 26.8.70. 210 qn 27.10.70. Cat. damage 14.12.70. Repaired on sit. Rerum 210Sqn 17.2.71. RAF Fire School, Catterick, cancelled 1.11.71. 8 qn crew training, named M" McHenry 1.1.72. Cat. 3 damage 25.1.73. Repaired on site. Return 8Sqn, named Dylan, 15.5.73. Withdrawn from service, fire fighting practice .1.74. Broken up and destroyed 3.74. WL788 Fir t flight 4.6.53. 23MU storage 8.7.53. 137MU 2.9.53. 37Sqn 11.9.53. CAPMF mods 26.3.54 to 7.5.54. 137MU and Langar mods 15.7.54 to 2.9.54. 49MU Autolycus installation 2.5.55 to 19.5.55. Return 37 qn 5.55. Cat. 3 damage 2.7.55. 13 7MU repairs 15.7.55 to 26.4.56. R turn 37 qn. 49MU mods 28.5.56 to 6.7.56. 38Sqn 8.7.57. 137MU mods 16.10.57 to 30.11.57. Return 38Sqn. Phase I mods 29.9.58 to 8.10.59. Return 38Sqn 24.10.59. Cat. 3 damage 10.8.60. 137MU repairs. Phase II mods 16.11.61 to 15.6.62. 42Sqn 20.6.62. 2 MU storage 29.11.62. 210Sqn 20.11.64. at. 3 damage 2.2.66. Repaired on site 3.66 to 10.66. 37Sqn 10.66. 27MU 12.9.67. EA, struck off charge, Cat. 5 scrap 12.9.67. Sold for crap 28.3.69.

WL789 First

flight 10.6.53. 38MU 15.7.53. MAD tail boom in tallation 7.53 to 8.53. CAPMF mod 10.9.53. A WDU MAD trials 30.9.53. CAPMF mod 10.9.54. Cat. 3 damage 14.9.55. Repaired on site. Return ASWDU 1 .11.55. Mods 13.1.56 to 7.2.56 and 7.3.58 to MAD boom removal 9.4.58. 49MU Phase I mods 8.12.58. 224 qn 13.4.59. Phase II mods 29.11.60 to 31.1.62. Rerum 224Sqn 2.2.62. 38Sqn 18.10.66. 205 qn 23.1.67. Return UK, 27MU 24.8.67. NEA, Cat. 5 scrap, broken up 12.68. Sold for scrap 28.3.69.

WL790 Fir t flight 23.6.53. 38MU torage 7.8.53. 240 qn 6.10.53.

at. 3 damage

31.3.54. Repaired on site. 204 qn 9.8.54. 49MU Autolycus installation 1 .5.55 to 7.6.55. Return 204Sqn 10.7.55. at. 3 damage 9.8.57. Repaired on site, Aston Down 23.8.57 to 30.1.58. Return 204 qn 10.2.58. Cat. 3 damage 31.7.58. Repaired on ite 27.8.58 to 6.11.58. 269Sqn 11.11.58. 210 qn 1.12.5 . 49MU Phase I mods 7.1.59 to 16.4.59. Return 2l0Sqn 12.5.59. Phase Il mods 10.1.61 to 28.5 .62. 205Sqn 21.6.62. Phase III mod 10.66 to 8.67. Return 205Sqn. Cat. 3 repair 21.3.68 to 16.5.68. 5MU storage 4.1.71. Conversion to AEW.2 30.9.71. 5MU 3.8.72. 8Sqn, named Mr McHenry (later renamed Zebedee), 23.9.72. Bitteswell re-sparring 1980. Return 8 qn 28.7.81. Withdrawn from ervice 1.7.91. Air Atlantique, Baginton torage 10.7.91. old Shackleton Preservation Trust to Polar Aviation Museum, Minnesota, delivered as N790WL 7.9.94.

WL791 First flight 16.6.52. 23MU storage 18..53. 38Sqn 22.12.53. 137M storage 1.3.54. 37Sqn 17.11.54. 49MU Autolycus installation 14.6.55 to 7.7.55. Return 37Sqn. 38Sqn 8.7.57. Phase I mods 14.2.5 to 14.4.58. Return 38Sqn. 137MU storage 22.12.59. Phase II mods 25.1.60 to 16.2.61. Cat. 3 damage 20.3.62. Repair d on ite 22.3.62 to 16.4.62. Cat. 3 damage 22.6.66. Repaired on site 27.6.66 to 26.7.66. Ballykelly Wing 13.2.67. 27MU 23.5.67. EA, Cat. 5 scrap 23.5.67. Broken up 12.68. old scrap 28.3.69.

WL792 First flight 1.7.53. 3 MU 20.8.53. 204Sqn 5.1.54. 49MU Autolycus in tallation 14.3.55 to 6.4.55. Return 204Sqn. 38MU storage 30.9.55. 5MU 22.1.57. 224Sqn 30.3.57. Mods 29.5.57 to 27.6.57. Rerum 224Sqn. Cra h during air display, • Gibraltar 14.9.57. Cat. 5 components 11.11.57.

WL793 First flight 15.7.53. 23MU 4.9.53. 3 Sqn 1 .12.53. 137MU mods 21.5.54 to 8.6.54. R turn 38 qn. Fuselag damage 10.5.55. Repairs 18.5.55 to 10.6.55. 137MU major service 2.12.55 to 16.2.56. Mods 14.11.57 to 23.12.57. Pha e I mods 10.4.5 to 20.7.59.204 qn 21.7.59. Phase II mods 28.4.61 to 21.2.62. 2l0Sqn 28.2.62. at. 3 damage, repaired on sit 10.6.64 to 19.6.64. Return 2l0Sqn. Phase III mods 25.11.64 to 31.12.66. 210 qn 1.67. Ballykelly Wing 2.67. Cat. 3 damage 25.8.67. Repaired on site 5.9.67 to 22.9.67. Bitte well mods 7.2.68 t03.4.68. 5MU storage and major overhaul 2.4.71. Conver ion

to AEW.2 5.6.72. 5MU 12.1.73. 8Sqn, named Erminrrude, 23.3.73. MoA Air FI et.A&AEE 16.8.73. Return 8 qn 29.. 73. Bitteswell re- parring 28.4.77. R rum 8 qn 29..78. Withdrawn from service 19 1. Battle Damage Repair Fleet, Lossiemouth a 8675M, but dumped 7. 1. crapped 7.82.

WL794 First flight 7.8.53. 23MU 8.9.53. 38Sqn 4.1.54. Cra hed into Mediterranean off Gozo 12.2.54. Cat. 5 missing 12.2.54. WL795 First flight 17.8.53. 23MU storage 8.9.53. CAPMF mods 30.10.53. 204Sqn 6.1.54. at. 3 damage 13.3.54. Repairs 1 .3.54 to 13.9.54. Return 204 qn.49MU Autolycus installation 22.2.55 to 22.3.55. 269Sqn 11.11.5 . 21 OSqn 1.12.58. 204 qn 23.11.59. Phase I and II mods 15.12.59 to 6.12.60. 38Sqn 20.12.60. Pha e III mods 21.6.66 to 13.7.67. 205Sqn 1.8.67. 5MU storage and overhaul 2.2.71. Conver ion to AEW.2 4.2.72. 5MU 5.9.72. 8 qn, named Rosalie, 20.10.72. Withdrawn from service 1981. Fire practice and crash rescue, St Mawgan, as 8753M 24.11.81. Cancelled, stored St Mawgan, th n refurbished for display 3. 9 to 4.89. WL796 First flight 23.8.53. SBAC Display 5.9.53 to 11.9.53. 23MU 6.10.53. 3 Sqn 13.1.54. Mods and major servicing 12.7.55 to 17.10.55. Return 38 qn 24.10.55. 37Sqn .7.57. Cat. 4 damage 2.11.57. Repair on site 3.11.57 to 10.6.58. Return 37 qn 22.8.58. Phase I and II mods 31.7.59 to 22.5.61. 204Sqn 25.5.61. Cat. 3 damage 24.6.63. Repair on site 26.6.63 to 6..63. Return 204 qn .8.63. at. 3 damage 8.7.64. 71MU repairs 15.7.64 to 5.8.64. at. 3 repairs on site 18.1.65 to 25.1.65 and 19.10.65 to 17.11.65. 205 qn 13.10.66. 27MU 11.10.67. EA 1.11.67. old for scrap 7.10.68.

WL797 First flight 15.9.53. 23MU 6.10.53. 38Sqn 1.12.53. 137MU mods and major service 15.2.55 to 19.4.55. 37Sqn 19.4.55. 49MU Autolycus installation 27.4.55. Return 37 qn 10.5.55. 38 qn 26.7.55. Cat. 3 damage 21.11.55. 137MU repairs, then 27MU torage 7.8.57. 23MU 16.5.58. RAF North Front, Gibraltar 19.12.5 . 224Sqn 31.12.58. 49MU Phase I mods 6.4.59 to 4.11.59.204 qn 5.11.59. at. 3 damage 13.9.60. Repaired on site 29.9.60 to 23.1.61. 210Sqn 23.1.61. Phase II mods 20.5.63 to 19.2.64. 42Sqn 21.2.64.

183

37Sqn 22.4.64. Cat. 3 damage 2.2.67. Repaired on site 9.2.67 to 7.3.67. 27MU 12.9.67. EA 12.9.67. Cat. 5 sold for scrap 7.10.68.

WL798 First flight 17.9.53. 23MU 9.10.53. 38 qn 18.12.53. Cat. 3 damage 29.7.54. 137MU repairs 1.1 1.54 to 22.11.54. Return 38Sqn. 49MU Autolycus installation 8.6.55. 137MU storage 19.12.55. Mods 4.1.56 to 28.3.56. 38Sqn 4.4.56. 'pecial fitment' 19.12.57 to 17.2.58. at. 3 damage 11.3.58. 13 7MU repairs. R turn 38Sqn 10.4.5 . Phase I mods 10.58 to 4.59. Return 38 qn 4.59. Phase Il mods 18.5.60 to 28.4.61. Return 38Sqn 20.5.61. Phase III mods 3.67 to 5.68. 205 qn 16.9.68. Return UK, Ballykelly Wing 7.7.70. 2SoTI, Cosford as 8114M 4.12.70. Lossiemouth spares for 8 qn. WL799 First flight 18.9.53. 23MU storage 19.10.53. 3 Sqn 8.1.54. 49MU Autolycus installation 15.4.55 to 5.5.55. Langar, special mods 10.55 to 12.55. Destroyed hangar fire Langar 22.12.55. WL800 First flight 1.l0.53. 23MU 3.11.53. 137MU 9.2.54. 38 qn 4.3.54. 49MU Autolycus installation 12.2.55 to 26.2.55. Langar, mods and major service 10.7.56 to 31.10.56. Return 38Sqn 7.11.56. 37Sqn 1.8.57. Phase I mod 23.7.58 to 8.9.59. 42 qn 9.9.59. 224 qn 24.10.60. Phase II mods 11.7.61 to 13.2.62. ASWDU trial 16.2.62. 203Sqn 15.5.62. at. 3 damag 14.8.63. 23MU repairs 16.8.63 to 23.8.63. Cat. 3 damage 3.6.64. 23MU repairs, th n return 203Sqn 12.6.64. Phase II 1 mod 12.1.66. 204Sqn, then Ballykelly Wing 3.67. Bitteswell mods 17.9.69 to 7.11.69. Return BallykelIy Wing 7.11.69. 5MU major service 1.10.70. 204Sqn 3.2.71. Majunga Detachment Support Unit 29.3.71. Return 204Sqn, then RAF Fire Fighting School, atterick 19.5.72. truck off charge 19.5.72. Burnt. WL801 First flight 10.10.53. 23MU storage 10.11.53. 137MU 4.2.54. 38Sqn 15.2.54. 49MU Autolycus installation 24.1.55 to 8.3.55. Rerum 38Sqn. Langar mods and major service 2.3.56 to 14.5.56. Return 38Sqn. 37Sqn 8.7.57. Cat. 3 damage 26.11.57. Repaired on sit. 37 qn 28.2.58. Phase I mods 19.3.58 to 27.5.59. 38 qn 17.6.59. Phase II mod 25.6.61 to 21.2.62. 42 qn 26.2.62. Phase III mods 28.4.64 to

2 .7.66. A WDU 1.8.66. 5MU storage 5.5.70.8 qn crew training 15.8.74. Withdrawn from service 6.79. A rospace Mu eum, Co ford. Scrapped 1991.

Contract No. 6/ACFT6408/CB6(a) dated 8 February 195/ , coveringfony MR.2s, built as nineteen MR.2s, serial numbers WR95/ to WR969, and twenty-one MR.3s. WR951 Fir t flight 20.10.53. 38MU 20.11.53. 204Sqn 4.1.54. CAPMF mods 7.54.228 qn 7.54. Cat. 3 damage. Repair 18.9.54 to 12.10.54. Return 228Sqn 14.10.54. 42Sqn 2.1.55. 49MU Autolycus installation 22.8.55 to 6.9.55. Phase 1 mods 26.9.58 to 15.12.59. 204Sqn 16.12.59. Phase II mod 10.3.61 to 10.10.61. 224 qn 13.10.61. 204Sqn 7.10.66. Ballykelly Wing 2.67. Phase III and T.2 conver ion 5.4.67, but cancelled. truck off charge, Cat. 5 component 28.2.68. WR952 Fir t flight 27.10.53. 38MU 27.11.53. 206 qn 10.2.54. 42Sqn 1.7.54. 49MU Autolycus installation 30.6.55 t 14.7.55. Mods 26.4.66 to 4.6.56. Cat. 3 damage 29.9.56. Repaired on site 9.10.56 to 2.1 1.56. Pha e I mod 31.3.58 to 5.5.59. Return 42 qn 5.5.59. Phase II mod 19.1.61 to 31.8.61. Return 42 qn 6.9.61. 205Sqn 10.12.65. 204Sqn 1.11.71. Return UK, St Athan 10.1. 72. EA 10.1. 72. Cat. 5 scrap 26.9.73. Broken up. WR953 First flight 6.11.53. 38MU storage 31.12.53. 228 qn 16.2.55. South American tour 11.55. 'Special fitment' 4.57 to 5.57. Cat. 3 damage 13.7.57. Repaired on ite 16.7.57 to 26.9.57. 224Sqn 2.10.57. 49MU 'special fitment' 11.11.57. Return 224Sqn 17.12.57. Mod 1.5.58 to 31.12.58. Return 224 qn, then British Force Arabian Peninsula 1.7.59. Return 224 qn 6.8.59. 49MU, Phase I mods 11.4.60 to 21.10.60. 42 qn 21.10.60. Langar, permanent oxygen ytem trials 12.6.61 to 21.10.61. Stayed for Phase II mod, completed 4.63. 224 qn 9.4.63. Mods, electrical and torp do-battery warning systems 21.10.63. 42Sqn 19.2.64. 205 qn 19.4.66. at. 3 damage 12.10.66. Repaired on site (Gan). Return UK, 27MU 10.11.67. NEA 10.11.67. Fire Fighting Training, Kinloss 20.11.67. Struck off charge, Cat. 5 scrap 1968. WR954 Fir t flight 19.11.53. 23MU storage 14.1.54. 37Sqn 1.4.54. 49MU Autoly-

cus installation 24.3.55 to 19.4.55. Return 37 qn. 137MU mods 20.4.56 to 29.5.56. R turn 37Sqn. Langar, major service 24.9.56 to 14.2.57. Return 37Sqn 23.2.57. 38Sqn 8.7.57. 'Special fitment' 24.7.58 to 1.10.58. Phase 1 mods 12.6.59 to 22.6.60. 210Sqn 24.6.60. 37 qn 3.2.61. Phase II mods 24.10.6 I to 26.6.62. 205Sqn 25.7.62. Phase III mods 11.4.66 to 14.6.67. Return 205Sqn. Return UK, t Athan 17.9.71. EA 21.9.71. Struck off charge, Cat. 5 scrap 9.5.73. WR955 Fir t flight 27.11.53. 38MU storage 12.1.54. 120 qn 8.4.54. 224Sqn 1.9.54. Mods 7.7.55 to 23.7.55 and 1.3.56 to 20.3.56. 120Sqn 21.11.56. 210 qn 11.2.59. 204Sqn 30.10.59. Phase I mods 27.11.59 to 14.11.60. 42 qn 16.11.60. Phase II mods 1962. Return 42 qn. Pha e III mods 1.66 to 4.67. Ballykelly Wing, then 204 qn 10.70. A&AEE landing performance trial re AEW.2 30.3.71 to 4.5.71. Fire fighting training, Brize orton 7.6.71. Struck off charge, at. 5 scrap. WR956 First flight 10.12.53. 23MU 17.2.54. CAPMF mods 27.4.54. 228Sqn 6.7.54. at. 3 damage 2.11.54. Repair on ite 5.11.54 to 23.3.55. Return 228 qn. 49MU Autolycu installation 26.4.55 to 25.5.55. South American tour 10.55 to 11.55.120 qn 9.10.56.269 qn 27.10.58. 210 qn 1.12.58. Phase I and II mod 9.5.60 to 31.3.61. 38Sqn 13.4.61. Phase 1Il mods 12.11.66 to 12.1.68. Ballykelly Wing. Crash-landing Ballykelly 1.4.68. Struck off charge, Cat. 5 scrap 1.4.68. BalIykelly dump. WR957 First flight 21.12.53. 38MU storage 3.3.54. CAPMF mods 17.5.54. 228 qn 6.7.54. 49MU Autolycus installation 6.4.55. Return 228 qn 27.4.55. South American tour 10.55 to 11.55. Cat. 3 damage repaired 3.5.56 to 16.5.66. Phase I mod 1 .2.59 to 20.1.60. 204Sqn 20.1.60. Cat. 4 damage 19.4.61. Repaired on site 24.4.61 to 30.6.61. Return 204Sqn 3.7.61. 224Sqn 13.7.61. 203Sqn date unknown. 204Sqn 6.12.66. 27MU 23 ..67. NEA, Cat. 5 scrap 23.5.67. Sold 26.6.68. WR958 First flight 8.1.54. 23MU storage 17.2.54. CAPMF mods 26.5.54. 228Sqn 8.7.54. 49MU Autolycu in tallation 18.4.55 to 6.5.55. Return 228Sqn. 42 qn 21.1.58. Phase I mods 7.10.59 to 28.10.60. Return 42Sqn 4.11.60. Phase II mods 12.61 to 11.62. Return 42Sqn. Cat. 3 dam-

784

age 6.12.62. 71MU repair 7.12.62 to 20.12.62. Cat. 3 damage 2.4.64. Repaired on site 6.4.64 to 21.5.64. Ballykelly Wing 7.2.67. 27MU 30.3.67. NEA 23.5.67. Cat. 5 crap, sold 3.9.68. WR959 First flight 20.1.54. 38MU storage 3.3.54. CAPMF mod 1.6.54. 228Sqn .7.54. 49MU Autolycus in tallation 8.3.55 to 6.4.55. Return 22 qn. outh American tour 10.55 to 11.55. 42Sqn 19.2.59. Phase I mods 8.9.59 to 28.7.60. 37 qn 7.10.60. ASF East! igh, Kenya, major service 26.4.61 to 15.7.61. Phase Il mods 8.11.62 to 9.10.63. 203Sqn 14.10.63. 23MU storage 12.12.63. 42Sqn 19.1.65. 203Sqn 21.3.66. 205Sqn 28.6.66. truck off charge, Cat. 5 components 3.9.68. Broken up Changi. WR960 First flight 5.2.54. 23MU 8.3.54. CAPMF mod 24.6.54. 228 qn 22.7.54. 49MU Autolycu installation 1.6.55 to 17.6.55. Return 228Sqn. 49MU mods 5.2.57 to 12.3.57. 42Sqn 9.3.59. Phase I mods 8.9.59 to 3.7.60. 49MU mods 4.8.60 t09.12.60. 210Sqn 19.12.60. Phase II mods 28.3.62 to 30.1.63. MoA Air Fleet. A&AEE Phase III armament trials 15.12.65. Langar service 16.6.67. 205Sqn 2.2.68. Return UK 8.11.70. 5MU storage 9.11.70. Conver ion to AEW.2 27.5.71. 5MU 5.72. 8Sqn, named Dougal, 8.6.72. Bitte well re-sparring 17.3.78. Return 8Sqn 12.3.79. Withdrawn from ervice 11.82. Cosford as 8772M. Greater Manchester Museum of cience and Industry 27.1.83. WR961 Fir t flight 12.2.54. 38MU storage 9.3.54. CAPMF mods 16.6.54. 228Sqn 6.7.54. 49MU Autolycus installation 12.5.55. Return 228Sqn 1.6.55. Cat. 3 damage 28.9.5 . Repaired on site 28.11.58 to 22.12.58. 224 qn 6.1.59. 204Sqn 29.4.59.37 qn 8.2.60. Phase I and Il mods 19.5.60 to 18.5.61. 38Sqn 31.5.61. Phase III mods 30.9.66. Ballykelly Wing 30.9.67. Bitteswell mods 31.5.68 to 27.6.68. Return Ballykelly. Bitteswell mods 7.11.69. 204Sqn 10.70. Majunga Detachment Support Unit31.3.71. Return UK, 5MU storage 19.4.72. EA 23.9.77. at. 5, old for crap 1.2.78. WR962 First flight 2.3.54. 23MU 7.4.54. 228Sqn 7.7.54. 49MU Autolycus installation 12.8.55 to 30.8.55. Return 228 qn. 220Sqn 6.3.57. at. 1 damage 24.4.57. Cat. 2 damage 10.9.57. Cat. 3 damage 23.4.58. R paired on site 28.4.58 to

17.6.58. 228 qn 18.6.58. (A) 6.2.59. A&AEE armament and Lindholme gear r lease trials 25.2.59. 204 qn 12.6.59. British Forces Arabian Pen in ula 27.7.59. 37Sqn 29.7.59. Phase 1Il mods 24.9.60 to 28.2.62. Return 37Sqn 19.3.62. Cat. 3 damage 27.7.66. Repaired Muharraq 2.8.66 to 24.8.66. 27MU 9.9.67. NEA 13.4.68. Cat. 5 scrap, sold 28.3.69 . WR963 First flight 18.3.54. Retained Woodford, larger oil cooler. A&AEE tropical cooling trials 14.4.54. Khartoum 21.4.54. Trial abandoned 20.5.54. Return A&AEE 1.6.54. Woodford, manufacturer's trial 9.6.54. 38MU storage 16.11.54. 49MU Autolycus installation 13.6.55 to 30.6.55. Return 38MU storage. 38Sqn 15.3.56. 49MU 'special fitment' 26.9.57. Cat. 3 repairs 18.10.57 to 2.12.57. Return 38Sqn. 37 qn 31.3 .59. Pha e I and II mods 23.7.59 to 3.3.61. 204 qn 8.3.61. Cat. 3 damage 19..63. 23MU repairs 22..63 to 29.8.63. Return 204 qn 3.9.63. Conversion to T.2 10.2.67. MOTU 23.5.68. Cat. 3 damage 9.10.69. 71MU repairs 23.10.69 to 17.1.70. 32MU 29.7.70. NEA 27.11.70. Cat. 5 scrap, old 15.11.71. WR965 Fir t flight 7.4.54. 23MU storage 13.5.54. 37Sqn 5.11.54. 49MU Autolycu installation 9.7.53 to 23.7.53. Return 37Sqn. Langar major ervice 13.6.55. Return 37 qn 4.11.56. 38 qn 8.7.57. 49MU ' pecial fitment' 5.6.5 to 23.7.58. Pha e I mods 23.5.59 to 31.3 .60. 224Sqn 6.4.60. Phase II mods 28.8.61 to 29.3.62. A&AEE redesigned flam float launching system trials 29.3.62 to 5.4.62. 203Sqn 9.4.62. at. 3 damage 9.6.64. 23MU repairs 12.6.64 to 23.6.64. Return 203 qn. Cat. 3 damage 12.8.65. 60MU repairs • 20.8.65 to 21.9.65. Return 203Sqn 22.9.65. Phase III mod 17.3.66 to 22.5.67. 205Sqn 24.5.67. Ballykelly Wing 2.12.68. Bitteswell, new tadplan de-icing panels 18.12.68. Flow rate trials 24.3.69 to 9.5.69. Return Ballykelly Wing 15.5.69. 204Sqn 10.70. 5MU 2.4.71. Conversion to AEW.2 28.4.72. 5MU 28.11.72. 8Sqn, named Dill, 31.1.73. Later renamed Rosalie. Bitte well re-sparring 1.9.76 to 19.10.77. Return 8 qn 21.1 O. 77. Crashed Outer Hebrides 30.4.90. Struck off charge 30.4.90. WR966 First flight 2 .4.54. 38MU storage 19.5.54. Ballykelly 24.1.55. 49MU Autolycus installation, then ]ASS Flight 18.3.55. 220Sqn 6.3.57. 228Sqn 22.7.57. 37Sqn 20.7.58. Phase I and II mods

30.7.59 to 7.5.61. 204Sqn 7.5.61. Cat. 3 damage 13.4.64. 23MU repairs 14.4.64 to 29.4.64.210 qn 12.66. Converion to T.2 26.1.67. MOTU 30.4.68. Mod 18.7.69 to 29.9.69. Return MOTU. at. 3 damage 24.6.70. Repaired on site. Return MOTU (now renamed 2360CU) 2.10.70. 5MU removal training equipment and Phase III mods 20.11.70 to 1 .1.71. 204 qn 1.11.71. Return UK, 32MU 10.1.72. EA, Cat. 5 crap 22.6.73. WR967 First flight 17.5.54. 23MU storage 16.6.54. ]AS Flight 6.1.55. 49MU Autolycus installation 24.3.55 to 21.4.55. Return ]ASS Flight 22.4.55. Cat. 3 damage 7.2.56. Repaired on site 9.2.56 to 29.6.56. 42Sqn 2.3.57. Cat. 3 damage 8.5.57. Repaired on site 10.5.57 to 27.6.57. Return 42Sqn 1.7.57. 49MU Phase I mod 3.3.59 to 11.6.59. Return 42Sqn 9.7.59. Phase II mods 7.10.60 to 2.7.61. 38 qn 4.7.61. 205 qn (loan) 20.12.65. lZeturn 38Sqn ZZ.6.66. Conversion to T.2 22.3.67. Ballykelly Wing 5.9.68. Bitteswell mods 21.11.68. Return Ballykelly Wing 6.1.69. MOTU 28.4.69. Cat. 3 damage 19.5.69. 7lMU repairs 22.5.69 to 31.7.69. Return MOTU. Cat. 3 damage 24.3.70. 71MU repairs. Return MOTU 29.4.70. 5MU 10.7.70. 210Sqn 6.11.70. Return UK 23.11.71. RAF Fire Fighting School po ting cancelled. 8 qn, crew training, named Zebedee, 1.1.72. Cat. 3 damage 7.9.72. Wings removed, fuselage converted AEW training simulator. 8 qn as 8398M 14.8.75, named Dodo. Scrapped 1991. WR968 First flight 17.6.54. 38MU storage 5.7.54. 224Sqn 11.10.54. CCMC Autolycu installation 10.5.55. Return 224Sqn 25.5.55. Cat. 3 damage 3.7.56. 278MU repairs 5.7.56 to 17.10.56. 120Sqn 2.11.56. Cat. 3 damage U.57. Repaired Port Lyautey 20.3.57 to 8..57. Return 120Sqn 16.8.57. 23MU 29..57 as Cat. 3. Repaired 17.9.57 to 29.11.57. Return 120Sqn 9.12.57. 49MU Phase I mods 23.7.58 to 23.1.59. C(A) loan, IFF Mk 10 requirements trials 27.1.59. A&AEE IFF Mk 10 clearance trials 20.2.59. 224Sqn 25.3.59. 37 qn (temporary allocation) 1.7 .59. Return 224 qn 6.8.59. 49MU.Langar Phase II mod 25.4.60 to 31.1.61. ra h-landing Ballykelly, burnt out 20.10.61. truck off charge, Cat. 5 scrap 20.10.61. WR969 First flight 10.5.54. SBAC Display 6.9.54 to 12.9.54. 23MU storage

785

24.9.54.]A Flight 3.12.54. 49MU Autolycus installation 24.1.55 to 8.3.55. 220Sqn 6.3.57. 228 qn 7.10.57. 224 qn 12.12.58. 49MU Phase 1 mods 25.2.59 to 9.9.59. 210Sqn 23.9.59. Phase II mods unknown to 31.5.61. 204Sqn 5.6.61. Cat. 3 damage 25.4.64. Repaired on site 28.5.64 to 5.6.64.224 qn 23.5.66. 3 Sqn 27.9.66. Converted to T.2 14.2.67 to 28.6.68. MOTU 28.6.68. Cat. 3 damage 11.2.69. Repaired 3.69. Mods 14.4.69 to 23.5.69. Return MOTU. 5MU removal training equipment, then Phase III mods, before 205Sqn 10.11.70. Return UK, t Athan 10.9.71. NEA 17.9.71. Struck off charge, Cat. 5 scrap 22.7.74.

Shackleton MR.3 omract o. 6/ACFT640B/CB6(a) dated 8 February /95/ continuation, covering twenty-one aircraft, serial numbers WR970 to WR990.

WR970 First flight 2.9.55. BAC Display 5.9.55 to 11.9.55. C(A), manufacturer's trials Woodford. A&AEE handling trials 7.9.56. MaS charge 8.9.56. at cleared for service. Return Woodford, stall warning trials 28.11.56. Crashed Foolow, Derbyshire 7.12.56. Struck off charge, scrap 28.11.57. WR971 First flight 28.5.56. Manufacturer's trials 29.5.56 to 12.12.56. C(A), A&AEE armam nt trials 14.12.56. Development trials, then return Woodford for production standard 12.5.58. Production standard trials 14.6.58 to 17.10.58. Pha e I mods. 120Sqn 7.10.60. Phase II mod 4.62 to 5.62. Return 120Sqn 22.5.62. Phase III mod 9.63 to 4.65. 201Sqn 4.65. Langar, Viper installation 11.66 to 6.67. Kinloss Wing 23.6.67. Bitteswell mods 6.8.68 to 7.10.68. Return Kinloss. 60MU 7.69. Bitteswell mods 25.11.69 to 5.1.70. 32MU 21.12.70. No.2 SoIT, a 119M. Sold, fuselage only, Welle ley Aviation, Narborough 1988. WR972 First flight 6.11.56. (A). A& AEE radar, radio, navigation and photographic trial 28.12.56 to 24.5.57. Return Woodford 24.5.57. Autolycu , various systems trials, then A&AEE official release 29.7.58. Return manufacturer, radio mod trial 11.2.59. Purchased MoA for RAE 13.3.59. A&AEE sonobuoy, mixed bomb load clearance 23.3.60. Langar, aerial vibra-

HACKLETON PRODUCTIO

tion trial 15.12.60. A&AEE radio, Orange Harvest ECM, onobuoy trial 31.1.61. RAE towing, parachute drag trials 13.4.61. Struck off charge, Cat. 5 scrap 31.l.73. Fire fighting.rescue training, Famborough.

203Sqn. Bitteswell mods 1.70 to 3.70. Retum 203Sqn 26.3.70. Kinloss Wing 6.4.70. No.2 SoTT, as 8117M 11.12.70. old Peter Vallance Collection, Charlwood, 1988.

WR973 First flight 18.l.57. Manufacturer's Mk 10 autopilot trial. MoS Air Fleet 1.2.57. A&AEE testing 22.2.57 to 28.2.57, then autopilot trials 10.7.57. 49MU service 2.10.57. Woodford, performance, ventilation and vibration trials cancelled. Allocated Armstrong Whitworth fuel sy tem trials 24.12.57, arriving Baginton 3.2.58. Return Woodford, removal trials quipment 3.3.59. Phase I mods, then 203 qn 25.2.60. 49MU Phase II mods 7.60 to 9.60. 23MU 9.60. 203Sqn unknown. 206 qn 29.1.62. Phase III mod and Viper in tallation 7.63. MoA Viper flight trials 29.l.65. A&AEE performance trials 19.5.65. Return Woodford 9.6.65. A&AEE service, hot-weath r trials USA 28.7.65. Return Woodford 30.9.65. Langar, removal trial equipment 31.12.65. MoD{Air) 28.1.66. 206Sqn 25.5.66. Kinloss Wing 2.67. Bitteswell mods 3.68 to 5.68, 12.69 to 2.70 and 10.70 to 11.70. 42Sqn 11.12.70. Fire fighting practice, Thomey Island 14.6.71. truck off charge, Cat. 5 scrap 6.71.

WR975 Fir t flight 26.6.57. RAF Handling Squadron 7.57. Emergency landing, Exeter, due to fuel leak, 29.7.57. Return Woodford 8.57. Sale tour Portugal .57. Return RAF Handling quadron 8.57. 23MU 14.10.57. 220Sqn 11.57. Cat. 3 damage 5.5.5 . Repaired on site 5.58 to 2.59. 201 qn 3.59. 49MU Phase I mods 8.59. 203Sqn 11.59. 49MU Pha ell mods 1960 to 1961. Return 203 qn. 201Sqn 8.62. Phase III mods 3.63 to 1.65. 206Sqn 1.65. 120Sqn 3.66. Langar, Viper installation 1.67. Kinlos Wing 7.67. Bitteswell mod 5.69. Return Kinloss Wing 6.69. 32MU 24.8.70. Struck off charge, Cat. 5 scrap 1.1 O. 71.

WR974 First flight 1.5.57. C{A) loan 31.5.57. A&AEE tropical and winter trials 5.7.57. Armament in tropical conditions trial, Idris 7.57 to 8.57. 49MU winter trials equipment 27.8.57. R turn A&AEE 20.9.57. CEPE, Canada 8.10.57. Cat. 3 damage 19.11.57. Repaired Canada, th n trials continued. Return A&AEE. 49MU Phase I mods 16.4.58. 23MU 27.8.58. 203Sqn 25.9.58. Cat. 3 damage, Dartmouth, ova Scotia 18.8.59. Repaired, Fairey Aviation of Canada 11.59 to 6.60. Retum 203 qn. Langar, Phase II mods, then MoA Air Fleet Phase III trial in tallation. Cat. 1 damage 20.4.64. A&AEE navigation, radio trials 7.9.64. Return Langar 3.3.65. A&AEE tropical trials Phase III equipment and Griffon 58 oil cooler mods 21.6.65. Return Langar 10.9.65. A&AEEstand-by bomb-bay heating, sonobuoy homer and photographic flash unit acceptance trials 23.3.66. A WDU 20.6.66. Bitteswell mods 7.66. MinTech loan, sonobuoy trials 17.2.67. RAE radio trial 12.5.67. A&AEE armam nt trials 12.7.67. ASWDU trials 8.2.68. Phase 1II mods 5.4.68 to 27.8.6 . 203Sqn 9.68. 42Sqn (loan) 9.68 to 1.69. Return

WR976 First flight 19.7.57. 23MU 9.8.57. 220Sqn 30.8.57. Cat. 3 damage 2.5.58. Repaired on site 5.58 to 12.58. 20lSqn 12.58. 49MU Phase I mods 4.59 to 9.59. 206Sqn 10.59. Phase II mods 1960, then return 206Sqn. Langar, propeller strain-gauge trials 13.5.63 to 30.8.63. Phase III mod .63 to 4.65.201 qn 4.65. Langar, Viper installation 4.66 to 10.66. Return 201 qn. Kinlos Wing 2.67. Crashed into sea off Lands End 19.11.67. truck off charge, Cat. 5 missing 19.11.67. WR977 First flight 31.8.57. SBAC Display (static) 2.9.57 to 9.9.57. 23MU 14.9.57. 220Sqn 10.57. 201 qn 1.10.58. Phase I mods 5.59 to 11.59. 206Sqn 11.59. Phase II mods l.62 to 4.63. 201Sqn 4.63. Langar, Phase III mods and Viper installation 7.65 to 4.66. 42Sqn 5.66. Bitteswell mods 5.68. 203Sqn 7.68. 206 qn (loan) 7.69. 42 qn (loan) .69. Return 203Sqn 8.70. Allocation fire fighting practice, Thomey Island cancelled, Finningley Mu eum a 186M 8.11.71. Newark Air Museum 1.5.77. WR978 First flight 9.57. 23MU 4.11.57. 220Sqn 11.57. 201Sqn 1.10.58. 49MU at. 3 r pair and Pha e I mods 5.59. 206 qn 10.59. Pha e II mod 4.62 to 6.63. Return 206 qn 6.63. Phase III mods 12.64 to 11.65. 42 qn 11.65. Woodford, Viper installation 7.66 to 11.66. Return 42Sqn. Kinloss Wing (loan) 7.69 to 9.69. RAF Fire Fighting School, Catterick 29.11. 70. Struck off charge, Cat. 5 scrap.

786

WR979 First flight 1.1 1.57. 23MU 15.11.57. 220Sqn 12.57. 201Sqn 1.10.58. Phase I mod 4.59 to 9.59. Return 201Sqn. Langar, Cat. 4 repair and Phase II mod 1.61 to 1.63. 206 qn 1.63. Phase III mods 11.64 to 9.65. 120Sqn 10.65. Kinloss Wing 2.67. Langar, Viper in tallation 10.68 to 12.6 . Return Kinlo sWing. 32MU storage 30.7.70. Struck off charge, Cat. 5 crap 1.10.71. Broken up St Athan. WR980 First flight 13.11.57. 23MU 26.11.5 7. 220 qn 1.58. 20 ISqn 1.1 0.58. Phase I mods 3.59 to 12.59. 206Sqn 12.59. Phase II mods 11.61 to 3.63. Return 206Sqn. 201 qn 3.64. 120Sqn 5.65. Langar, Phase III mod and Viper installation 6.65 to 3.66. 206 qn 3.66. Kinloss Wing 2.67. Bitteswell mods 8.69 to 9.69. Return Kinloss Wing. 5MU 3.4.70. RAF Fire Fighting School, Catterick 26.11.70. truck off charge, Cat. 5 crap. WR981 First flight 12.57. 23MU 24.12.57.206 qn 1.58. Cat. 3 repair 5.59. 49MU Phase I mods 11.59 to 1.60. 120Sqn 2.60. 49MU Phase II mods 5.61 to 9.61. 203Sqn 9.61. 23MU Cat. 3 r pairs 10.61 to 11.61. Return 203Sqn. 23MU Cat. 3 damage repairs 1.62 to .62. Return 203Sqn. 20lSqn 6.62. Phase III mods 1.64 to 7.65. 120Sqn 7.65. 201 qn 5.66. Viper installation 9.66. Kinloss Wing 2.67. Bitteswell mod 10.68 to 11.68, 6.69 to 8.69 and 6.70 to 8.70. 32MU storage 27.11.70 Topcliffe as 8120M 17.12.70. Cat. 5 GI.

11.59. Return 206Sqn. Phas II mods 1.60 to 2.60. Return 206Sqn. Cat. 3 damage 2.63. Repaired on site 2.63 to 5.63. Return 206Sqn. Phase III mods 11.64 to 10.65. 120Sqn 10.65. Kinloss Wing 2.67. Viper installation 4.67 to 6.67. Bitteswell mod 6.68 to 8.68. Return Kinlo sWing. 5MU 9.3.70. at. 5 scrap, broken up 1970, with parts to 39MU. WR984 First flight 6.3.58. 23MU 4.4.5 . 206 qn 4.58. Cat. 3 damage 6.59. Repaired on ite 6.59. 49MU Pha e I mods 11.59 to 2.60. 203Sqn 16.2.60. 49MU Pha e II mods 10.60 to 12.60. Return 203Sqn. 201Sqn 7.62. Phase III mods 3.64 to 8.65. 120Sqn 8.65. Viper installation 8.66 to 12.66. Return 120 qn. Kinlos Wing 2.67. 42 qn 11.67. Bitte well mods 2.68 to 5.68 and 6.69 to 9.69. Topcliffe as 8115M 9.11.70. Cat. 5 GI 7.71. WR985 First flight 4.58. 23MU 23.4.58. 206Sqn 6.5 . A&AEE Maritime Tactical Position Indicator clearance trials 3.4.59 to 22.5.59. Return 206Sqn 29.5.59. 49MU Phase I mods 10.59 to 12.59. 203Sqn 12.59. Cat. 3 damage repaired on ite .61, then 49MU Pha e II mods. 206 qn 2.62. Phase III mods 6.63 to 2.65. Return 206 qn. Cat. 3 damage 13.9.65. 60MU repairs 10.65 to 11.65. R turn 206 qn. 120 qn 5.66. Viper installation 6.66 to 10.66. 20 ISqn 10.66. Kinloss Wing 2.67. Bitteswell mods LO.68 to 12.68. 0.2 SoTT, Cosford as 103M 25.9.70. old Jet Aviation Pre ervation Group, Long Marston 1988. WR986 First flight 4.58. 23MU 13.5.58. 206Sqn 6.58. Pha e I mods LO.59 to 12.59. 203Sqn 12.59. 49MU mods 7.60 and Cat. 3 repairs 5.61. 201 qn 10.61. Phase II mods 7.62 to 9.63. 120 qn 9.63. Phase 1II mods 10.65 to 9.66. 203Sqn 9.66. Bitteswell mods 7.69 to 1l.69. Cat. 5 scrap, due to rat infe tation 1.9.7l. Broken up 132MU.

WR982 First flight 2.58. 23MU 4.3.58. 206Sqn 3.5 . MoA, Woodford ngine fading research 4.5 to 6.59.206 qn 13.6.59. 49MU Phase I mods 11.59 to 1.60. 203 qn 1.60. Phase II and Phase III trial mods 11.61 to 1.62. MoA Air Fleet 1.62. A&AEE C{A) Phase III armament, auxiliary fuel tank j tti on and vibration trials 14.4.64 to 20.5.65. Langar, refurbishment 25.5.65 to 12.11.65. 120 qn 11.65. Viper in tallation 3.66 to 7.66. 201Sqn 7.66. Kinloss Wing 2.67. 60MU radar altimeter installation 3.67 to 5.67. MinTech 4.8.67. A&AEE Viper water methanol take-off and radar altimeter clearance trials 7.8.67 to 28.11.67. Return Kinloss Wing. Withdrawn from service 9.70. No.2 oTT, Co ford a 8106M 6.10.70. old . Martin, Lutterworth 198 .

WR987 Fir t flight 5.58. 23MU 28.5.58. 220Sqn 6.58. 20lSqn 1.10.58. 120Sqn 2.11.58. 49MU Phase I mod 6.60 to 7.61. Return 120 qn. Phase II m ds 2.62 to 4.62. Return 120 qn. Phase III mods and Viper installation 9.65 to 12.66. 203 qn 12.66. Bitteswell mod 5.68 to 8.68 and 10.69 to 12.69. 5MU torag 12.1.72. Fire practice, Honington 17.6.72. truck off charge, Cat. 5 scrap.

WR983 First flight 3.58. 23MU 17.3.58. 206Sqn 4.58. 49MU Phase I mods 6.59 to

WR988 First flight 5.58. 23MU 9.6.58. 120 qn 7.58. Mod and repair 10.59 to

6.60. R turn 120 qn. 49MU Phase I mod .60 to 8.61. 203 qn 8.61. Phase II mods 7.62 to 10.62. 201 qn 10.62. Phase 1II mods and Viper installation 6.65 to 6.66. 203 qn 6.66. Mods 1.69 to 7.69. 42Sqn (short loan) 1970. 5MU storage 1.72. Fire fighting practi e, Macrihani h and struck off charge, at. 5 scrap 25.4.72. WR989 First flight 6.5 . 23MU 3.7.58. 120 qn 8.58. Cat. 3 damage, repaired 11.59 to 1.60. 49M U Phase I mod 6.60 to 8.61. Return 120Sqn. Phase II mod 10.61 to 12.61. Return 120Sqn. Phase III mods 12.63 to 6.65. 201Sqn 6.65. 120Sqn 11.66. Viper installation 12.66 to 4.67. Kinloss Wing 4.67. 60MU radar altimeter installation 5.67. MinTech (loan), A&AEE Viper high-humidity and low-temperature flight trials 8.4.68 to 3.7.68. Return Kinlo Wing. Bitteswell mods 8.68 to 10.68 and .69 to 10.69. 203Sqn 3.70. Bitteswell mods 1.71 to 2.71. Return 203Sqn. 5MU storage 12.1.72. Fire fighting practice Leeming, struck off charge, Cat. 5 scrap 14.7.72. WR990 First flight 7.58. 23MU 18.7.58. 120Sqn 9.58. 49MU Phase I mods 3.60 to 4.61. Return 120 qn. Cat. 3 repairs 1.62 to 2.62. 49MU Phase II mods 10.62 to 1.63. Retum 120 qn. Pha e III mods 11.63 to 4.65. 20ISqn5.65. Viperinstallation 4.66 to 9.66. Kinloss Wing 2.67. 60MU radar altimeter trial 10.6 . Return Kinloss Wing. Newton as 8107M, Cat. 5 GI17.10.70. Contract No. 6/ACFT6408/ B6(a) Existing contract amended in September 1953 to cover seventeen additional MR.3s. Only thir-

teen built, serial numbers XF700 to XF7 I I and XF730. (XF73 I to XF734 cancelled before construction.) XF700 First flight 9.7.58. 23MU 18.8.5 . 120Sqn 9.58. 49MU repairs and Phase I mods 4.60 to 4.61. Return 120Sqn. Phase II mods 10.61 to 7.62. R turn 120Sqn. Phase III mods 8.63 to 3.65. 206Sqn 3.65. 201Sqn 5.66. Viper installation 12.66 to 4.67. Kinloss Wing 4.67. Bitteswell mods 5.68 to 6.68. 203Sqn 1.69. Fire fighting training, ico ia, struck off charge, Cat. 5 scrap 26.10.71. Spares to 103MU, then scrapped 1.72. XF701 First flight 8.58. SBA Di play (static) 1.9.58 to 7.9.58. 23MU 17.9.58. 120Sqn 9.58. Repairs and Phase I mods

787

4.60 to 6.61. MoA (loan) C{A) various trials, then A&AEE acceptance trials 18.5.62 to 22.6.62. Phase II mods 6.62. A&AEE mod retrial 28.8.62 to 31.8.62. 206Sqn 31.8.62. 201Sqn 2.65. Phase 1II mods and Viper installation 5.65 to 4.66. 206Sqn 4.66. Kinloss Wing 2.67. A&AEE detachment during 1968. Bitteswell mod 1.69 to 4.69. 42Sqn 6.70. Bitte well mods 10.70 to 11.70. Central Training Establishment, Manston 13.8.71. truck off charge, Cat. 5 crap 13 .8. 71. XF702 Fir t flight 9.58. 23MU 26.9.58. 203 qn 11.58. 49MU Phase I mods 1.60 to 3.60. 120Sqn 3.60. 49MU Phas II mods 8.61 to 11.61. 206Sqn 11.61. Phase III mods 1.63 to 8.64. MoA (loan), RAE Safety Study Group review during 8.64. A&AEE GM7 compass trials 15.1.65 to 1.2.65. Return 206Sqn 2.65. 120 qn 6.66. Viper installation 11.66 to 3.67. Kinlo s Wing 3.67. Crashed Creag Bhan, Inverness 21.12.67. truck off charge 21.12.67. XF703 First flight 9.58. 23MU 8.10.58. 203 qn 1.59. 49MU Phase I mods 1.60 to 4.60. 120 qn 5.60. 203Sqn 5.61. Phase II mods 11.61 to 4.62. 206Sqn 4.62. Phase 1II mods 3.63 to 12.64. Return 206Sqn. HSA (loan) 1.65 to 2.65. 20lSqn 3.66. Kinloss Wing 2.67. Viper installation 4.67 to 9.67. Return Kinlo Wing. A&AEE ATN-71 and TR-40A radio altimeters in tallation and flight testing 2.8.68 to 13.8.6 . Return Kinloss Wing. Mods 8.69 to 10.69 and 12.69 to 4.70. 42Sqn 6.70. Bitt well mods 2.70 to 8.70. Return 42Sqn. Henlow, for RAF Museum 23.9.71. XF704 Fir t flight LO.58. 203Sqn 12.5 . 23MU mods and storage 6.59. Return 203Sqn 9.59. 49MU Phase I mods 2.60 to 5.60. 120Sqn 6.60. 49MU Phase II mods 8.61 to 11.61. 203 qn 11.61. 20 I qn 6.62. Cat. 3 damage repaired 8.62 to 10.62. Return 201 qn. Phase III mods 3.65 to 4.66. 206Sqn 4.66. Kinloss Wing 2.67. Bitteswell Ferranti stall-warning system (ADD) installation 1.2.68 to 14.3.69. Woodford ADD flight trials 14.3.69. A&AEE ADD cI arance trials 12.6.69 to 31.7.69. Return Kinlos Wing 27.8.69. 42 qn3.70.Bitteswellmod 9.70 to 10.70. Wi thdrawn from ervice 20.8.71. Central Training Establishment, Manston 8.71. truck off charge, Cat. 5 scrap 8.71. XF706 First flight 12.58. 203Sqn 12.5.59. 49MU Phase I mods 12.59 to 3.60. 120Sqn

SHACKLETON PRODUCTION

3.60. 49MU Phase II mods 8.61 to 10.61. 203Sqn 10.61. 23MU mods 3.62. 201Sqn 8.62. Phase III mods 11.64 to 12.65. 42Sqn 12.65. Viper installation 9.66 to 1.67. Bitteswell mods 11.68 to 1.69. Kinloss Wing (loan) 7.69 to 9.69. Return 42Sqn. Withdrawn from service 2.70. In tructional Airframe Number 8089M allocated, but not is ued. Fire fighting practice, t Mawgan 3.70. Burnt.

Woodford handling trials, then St Mawgan, take-off perfonnance trials 5.9.64 to 28.4.65. A&AEE handling techniques 28.4.65 to 9.6.65. Phase III mods 9.6.65 to 6.12.65. 42Sqn 22.3.66. Viper installation 6.67 to 9.68. Kinloss Wing 9.68. 42 qn 2.70. Bitteswell mods 12.70 to 2.71. Return 42Sqn. Withdrawn from service 6.71. Fire fighting practice, Abingdon 7.6.71. Struck off charge, Cat. 5 scrap 6.71.

XF707 First flight 1.59. A&AEE cooling of A V21 radar assessment 2.59. Phase I mods, then 201Sqn 2.59. Cat. 3 repairs 3.60 to 5.60. Phase II mods and repairs 4.62 to 6.63. 206Sqn 7.63. Phase III mods 2.65 to 12.65. 42Sqn 1.66. Viper installation 5.67 to 1.68. Return 42Sqn 1.68. Withdrawn from service 28.4.71. Fi re fighting practice, Benson 28.4.71. Struck off charge, Cat. 5 scrap.

XF730 First flight 5.59. Phase I mods, then 206Sqn 6.59. Cat. 3 repair 7.60 to 8.60. 201 qn 12.61. Phase II mods and repairs 9.62 to 12.63. 120Sqn 12.63. Phase 1II mods and Viper installation, then A&AEE trials 6.65 to 6.66. 42Sqn 6.66. Bitteswell mods 8.68 to 9.68,5.69 to 7.69 and 9.70 to 10.70. Withdrawn from service 24.6.71. Fire fighting practice, Kinloss 6.71. Struck off charge, Cat. 5 scrap 6.71.

XF708 First flight 1.59. Phase I mods, then 201Sqn 1.3.59. Phase II mods 5.62 to 8.63. 120Sqn 8.63. Phase III mods and various mod trials, all completed 6.2.67. 203 qn 2.67. 5MU torage 1.72. Imperial War Museum, Duxford 23.8.72. XF709 First flight 3.59. Phase I mods, then 201Sqn 4.59. Phase II mods 7.62 to 10.63. 120Sqn 10.63. Pha e III mods and Viper installation 10.65 to 7.66. 203Sqn 8.66. HSA new tailplane de-icing system trials 5.3.69 to 6.5.69. Kinloss Wing 5.69. Bitteswell mods 10.69 to 11.69. 32MU 30.7.70. NEA 30.7.70. Struck off charge, Cat. 5 scrap 1.10.71. XF710 First flight3.59. Phase I mods, then 201Sqn 4.59. Cat. 3 repair 1.60. Phase II mods 8.62 to 11.63. 120Sqn 11.63. Crashlanded Culloden Moor, Inverness 10.1.64. Struck off charge, Cat. 5 scrap 1.64. XF711 First flight 4.59. Phase I mods, then 20lSqn 5.59. Cat. 3 repair 12.59. SBAC Display, take-off for 22-hour patrol, returning next day, throughout week 5.9.60 to 11.9.60. Phase II mods 12.61 to 1.62. MoA Air Fleet (loan) new Phase III trials, then Woodford for rebuild 11.1.62. A&AEE tropical trials, Idris 17.7.64 to 5.9.64. Return

Contract No. 6/A FT.III06/CB6(a) dated July 1954, covering thirteen MR.3s, serial numbers XG912 to XG924, was cancelled on 14 February 1956. Contract No. BI/8129 dated March 1954, covering eight M R.3s for the South African Government, serial numbers 1716 to 1723. 1716 First flight 29.3.57. Accepted 35Sqn SAAF 16.5.57. St Mawgan work-up 21.5.57. Left for Cape Town 13.8.57. Arrived 18.8.57. Phase mods incorporated over years. Wing re-sparring 3.73 to 4.76. SAAF Museum, Swartkop 4.12.84. Airworthy 1994. Crashed Sahara Desert, en route to UK, 13.7.94. 1717 First flight 6.5.57. Accepted 35Sqn SAAF 16.5.57. St Mawgan work-up 21.5.57. Left for Cape Town 13.8.57. Arrived 18.8.57. Phase mods incorporated over years. Wing re-sparring 9.75 to 10.77. Withdrawn from service, Ysterplaat AFB storage. Natal Parks Board Museum 10.87. Sold private businessman, Stanger, Kwazulu, Natal. 1718 First flight 13.5.57. Accepted 35Sqn SAAF 16.5.57. St Mawgan work-up. Left for Cape Town 13.8.57. Arrived 18.8.57.

188

Wheels-up landing D. F Malan Airport 9.11.59. Repaired 59.60. Crashed Wemmershook Mountains 8.8.63. 1719 First flight 6.9.57. Accepted 35Sqn SAAF 1.58. Left for Cape Town 8.2.58. Arrived 13.2.58. Return d UK, training with Coastal Command 25.2.63. Return South Africa 1.4.63. Phase mods incorprated over years. Withdrawn from service 24.4.78. Ysterplaat AFB storage. Stellenbosch airfield display outside clubhouse. Cape Town Waterfront complex 1991. Later scrapped. 1720 First flight 26.9.57. Accepted 35Sqn SAAF 1.58. Left for Cape Town 8.2.58. Arrived 13.3.58. Damaged D. F. Malan Airport 18.9.61. Repaired on site. Phase mods incorporated over years. Withdrawn from ervice 10.3. 3. Ysterplaat AFB Warrant Officer's Club, 1719's markings. Correct markings later restored. 1721 First flight 12.12.57. Accepted 35Sqn SAAF 30.1.58. St Eval 13.2.58. Left for Cape Town 14.2.58. Arrived 26.2.58. Wheels-up landing Ysterplaat AFB 10.9.62. Repaired. Phase mods incorporated over years. Retirement flight D. F Malan Airport 23.11.84. SAAF Museum Swartkop 12.84. 1722 First flight 7.2.58. Accepted 35Sqn SAAF 10.2.58. Left for Cape Town 14.2.58. Arrived 26.2.58. Nose-wheel collapse Langebaanweg 7.6.60. Repaired. Phase mods incorporated over years. Return UK, JASS course 28.6.64. Returned South Africa 30.7.64. Retirement flight D. F Malan Airport 23.11.84. 35 qn retains aircraft in flying condition for SAAF Museum.

APPENDIX III

Shackleton Conservation The Shackleton has not fared very well, so far as conservation is concerned, mainly due to the attentions of the scrap merchants and official arsonists. Only one guaranteed flying example is left in the world. The following aircraft, or parts of them, have been confirmed at the time of writing.

Shackleton MR.2 WL798 Private collection, Elgin, Scotland

Shackleton MR.3

Cyprus (both AEW.2s)

WR971 Wellesley Aviation, Narborough, Norfolk (fuselage only) WR974 Peter Vallance Collection, Charlewood, Surrey WR977 Newark Air Mu eum, Winthorpe Show Ground, Newark, Nottinghamshire WR985 Jet Aviation Preservation Group, Long Marston, Warwick hire XF708 Imperial War Museum, Duxford, Cambridgeshire

WL74 7 Paphos International Airport WL757 Paphos International Airport

(front fuselage only)

Shackleton AEW.2 WL756 Last heard of on dump at RAF St Mawgan, Cornwall WL795 RAF t Mawgan, Cornwall WR960 Museum of Science and Industry, Greater Manchester WR963 Air Atlantique Historic Flight, Baginton, Warwickshire

WR963 AEW.2 shares the sunshine with Dakotas at Baginton.

Shackleton T.4 VP293 Avro Heritage Society, Woodford Airfield, Manchester (fronc fuselage only) WG511 Cornwall Aero Park, Helston, Cornwall (front fuselage only) A small number of Shackletons still exist outside the UK, with South Africa being the principal country of conservation (their preserved Shackle tons represent 62.5 per cent of the total number that they received). The following aircraft have been confirmed at the time of writing:

1723 First flight 10.2.58. Accepted 35Sqn SAAF 4.2.58. Left for Cape Town 14.2.58. Hydraulic failure, divert Ysterplaat AFB, ran off runway 26.2.58. Repaired. Phase mods incorporated over years. Withdrawn from service 22.11.77. Ysterplaat AFB storage. Sold Vic de Villiers, mounted on roof 'Vic's Viking' garage, Johannesburg.

189

South Africa (all MR.3s) 1717 Private collector, Stanga, Kwazulu, Natal 1720 Ysterplaat Air Force base 1721 SAAF Museum, Swartkop 1722 No. 35 Squadron, SAAF, on behalf of SAAF Museum, Swartkop 1723 'Vic's Viking' garage, Johannesburg

United States of America (AEW.2) WL790 Polar Aviation Museum, Anoka County Airport, Blaine, Minnesota (N790WL)

J

Joint Anti- ubmarine School (JA 9, 174

Index Airborne Early Warning (AEW) radar 135-8,141,142 Airborne Lifeboat 72, 73 Airborne Warning And Control System (AWACS) 141, 146 Aircraft & Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) 40,41,51,60,69-71,82,97,105,151 Air Sea Warfare Development Unit (A WDU) 48,57,77-9, 91, 174 Aldergrove 46,58,62,70,77,81,101,161,172,173 AN/AP -20 radar 138,139,150 Armstrong Siddeley Viper 102-4, 107 A V radar 17,18,20,21,32,34,57,60,67,74,86,102,136 A.V. Roe & o. Ltd (Avro) Anson 10, II, 14,21 Ashton 29,36 LalKa ter 15,26.27,31,43,46,54,73,87 LalKa trian 25, 27, 2 ,30, 58 Lincoln 2 ,29,31, 133, 134 Manchester 23, 26 Tudor 25, 28-30 Type 534 Baby 6, 24 York 25-7 Avro Shackleton: AEW.2 106,134, 141, 145-53, 155-60, 167, 170, 189 MR.I 41,43-7,49,52,53,56,57,59,65-9,88,89,106, 119,130,131,162,165-7,170-2,174-6 MR.IA 47-52,54-8,60,62,65,66,70,71,74,77, 87, 88, 127,130-2,164,165,170-2,174,177,179 MR.2 6,7,42,49,55,57,5 ,67-93, 102, 106, 113, 119, 120, lZZ-8, 130-2,148-50,161,163,170-4,177,179, 180, 1 4, 189 MR.3 61,93-108,119,132,169-72,174, I 4,185,187-9 MR.3 (SAAF) 110-12, 114-16, 118, 132, 188, 189 MR.4 project 134 MR.5 project 134 Prototypes 30,31.34,35.37-43,67,134.175 T2 82, 92, 170, 174 T4 58,60.62-6,84,85. 103, 106, 129, 133, 170, 189 BAe Nimrod 107, 135, 140-2, 144-7, 170-2 Baginton 152 Baker, Johnny 37,38 Ballykelly 48,49,52,56,77.81,89,91, 102, 108, 123, 124, 128,129, 131, 161, 156,167, 170, 171,173,174

Beira Patrol IZZ, 123 Bitte well 60, 62, 98, 150, 152, 156

Blue Danube 129 Boeing E-3 (NATO) 140,141,144,146,155 Boeing Sentry 141, 146,147, 149, 159 Borneo Confrontation 128 Catterick, Fire School at 150, 152 Central Servicing Development Establishment (CSDE) 56 Chadwick, Roy 6, 7, 10, 11,23,24,34, 155 Christmas Island 129 hurchill, Winston 9,15,18,21,135 Consolidated Catalina 16,17,20,21,46, 127 onsol ida ted Liberator 16, 18, 2 I, 46, 151 o ford. Aerospace Museum 152 Curtiss H.4 8, 9 De Havilland Comet 142 Douglas DC- 141 Douglas kyraider 138, 150 Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) 70,81,99, 103 Exercise Encompass I Z1, 1ZZ Fairey Gannet 138, 139, 149, 150, 152 Far East Air Force (FEAF) 77,89,92, 127, 128, 171 Felixstowe F2 8, 9 Fleet Air Arm (FAA) 9 Focke Wulf Fw 200 135

) 48,49,56.65.77,82,

Khormaksar 77-9,84,91, 1ZZ-5, 161,170 Kinloss 49,50,57,60,105- , 149,151,163.168,170-2 Langar 43,46,58,60,62,70,82, 4, 5,97 Leigh Light 18,48 Lindholme Gear 73,74,82,99,111,114,131 Lockheed Hudson 10, 14, 17, 19,20 Lockheed N ptune ZZ Lockheed Type 14 9, 10 Lo iem uth 58,147,152, 156,157,170 Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD) 78-80 Majunga Detachment Support Unit 49 Maritime Op rational Training Unit (MOTU) 55, 56, 58, 60-2, 82, 85, 174 Middle East Air Force (MEAF) 78 Mini try of Aircraft Production (MAP) 26 Ministry of Aviation (MoA) Air Fleet 151 apier omad 133, 134 orth Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) 49,141,142, 144, 146, 156 Operation:

Buffalo 129 hallenger 1ZZ Globetrotter 132 Grapple 49,52,77, 129, 130 Hawk Moth 128 Hurricane 129 Mizar 123 Mosaic 130 Musketeer 12 I, 1ZZ • Orange Harvest radar 78,86, 102 Orrell, Jimmy 34,36,40

GEC Marconi/Avionic 142, 145,146 General Aircraft Hamilcar 136, 137 Gibraltar 7,46,76,79, 7, 127, 130, 159, 172 Glow WOlin rocket flare 111, 113 Greater Manche ter Museum of cience & Industry 152 Green Satin radar 102 Green Silk radar 102 Heinkel He 115 15 HzS radar 17 Hucknall 40, 54 Institute of Aviation Medicine (lAM) 93,95

190

Radar Research Establi hment (RRE) 69, 70, 143 RAF Bomber Command 9, 17 RAFCoastalCommand 9,11,15.17,1 ,21,ZZ,41,43.46, 62,71,73,77,81,85,89,163 RAF Handling quadron 46,59,70,99 RAF Maintenance Units (MUs): 5MU 107, 150, 152, 160, 174 12MU 174 23MU 46,62,70,81,99, 174 27MU 81,82,127,174 32MU 92, 152, 174 38MU 46, 55, 78, 82, 174

DEX

49MU 60,77,79,81, 101, 103, 130, 174 60M 174 71MU 174 103MU 174 137MU 77, 174 390MU 174 RAF Operational Conversion nit (2360CU) 4 ,54,57,5 , 61,159,170 RAF quadrons: Sqn 58,85,125,126,147, 149-56,158,160,163,164, 167, 170 37 Sqn 77,78,82,83, 9, 119, 1ZZ, 123, 125-7, 161, 170 38Sqn 74,79,81-3,85,91,119,120,123,170 42 Sqn 52,61,77,84,89,98,110,120,121, 123-5, 127, 131,170 120 Sqn 46,50,65,66,77,89, 100-2, 105,107, 163, 170 201 qn 61,102,106,107,171 203 Sqn 22,80,91,101,105,107,128,171 204 Sqn 11,49,77,81,82, 9,91,92,110, 1ZZ, 123, 128-32,14 ,166, 171 205 qn 55,77,81-3,92,123, 1Z4, 127, 128,131,14 ,16 , 171 206 qn 51,55,71,75,77, 1,89,100-2,105,106-, 1ZZ, 132,165-7,171 210 Sqn ZZ,77, 2,87, 9,91,101,106,123,125,127,12 , 131.132,150,161,167,171 ZZO qn 10,50,61,77,82, 7,89,99,106, 162, 163, 166, 171 ZZ4 Sqn 10,46,49,51,52,57,71,76,77,79,80,82.87, 89,90,127,131.171,173 ZZ8 Sqn 71,82,89,92, 1ZZ, 163, 171 240 qn 26,49,50,65,66,77,89,101,129,130,132,162, 173 269 Sqn 46,49,53,55,65,66,77,89,129, 130,162,165, 171 RN Squadrons: 849 qn 138, 152 892 Sqn 153 Rolls-Royce engines: Griffon 7,27,30,33,41,43,54,58,86,92,95,98, 103, 105, 108, 114, 116, 130-4, 156, 161 Merlin 26 Vulture 25 Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) 17,23,41,63,65,70,71. 73,10 Sahara desert crash 116-18 aunders Roe London 11, 12, 14 Search & Rescue Automatic Homing (SARAH) 43, 114 Shackleton, Sir Ernest 6, 7 hort Singapore 11,13,14

191

JI' II DEX

Short Sunderland 11, l3-15, 20, 93,107,109,110, 11L ociety of British Aircraft Constructors (SBAC) 38, 56, 74, 94,96,99, 142, 144 outh African Air Force (SAAF) L09-L6, LI8 specifications: 42/46 37 B.I/35 20 B.12/36 23 G.18/35 10 GR.17/45 138 P13/26 23 R.5/46 30, 3L, 4 ,67,119 R.24/ L 11 St Eval 55,81,82,89, 124, 166, 170, 172--4 t Mawgan 48,54,57,61,78,79,82,84,85,98,122,123, 152, 166, 171, 173

upermarineStranraer 11,12, L4 TA ticaL Air Navigation (TACA ) 70 TeLecommunications Research Establishment (TRE) 135-7 Thor ICBM 172, 174 Trenchard, Sir Hugh Montague 9 Tupolev Tu-20 Bear 153, 154 Vickers-Armstrongs Vildebeest 14, 15 Vickers-Armsrrongs Warwick 19-22,32 Vickers-Armsrrongs Wellington 18, 19, 21, l35, 135 Waddington 147, 160 Westland Sea King 139, L71 Woodford 27,37,40,41,58,60,67,69,70,85,94,95,97, 102,104,133,151,160

192