Aircrafttotal Encyclopedia


General information
Type	Maritime patrol aircraft
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	Avro
Primary users	Royal Air Force South African Air Force
Number built	185
History
Manufactured	1951–1958
Introduction date	April 1951
First flight	9 March 1949
Retired	1991
Developed from	Avro Lincoln

The Shackleton was developed during the late 1940s as part of Britain's military response to the rapid expansion of the Soviet Navy, in particular its submarine force. Produced as the primary type equipping RAF Coastal Command, the Type 696, as it was initially designated, incorporated major elements of the Lincoln, as well as the Avro Tudor passenger aircraft, and was furnished with extensive electronics suites in order to perform the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) mission along with a much-improved crew environment to accommodate the long mission times involved in patrol work. Being known for a short time as the Lincoln ASR.3, it was decided that the Type 696 would be named Shackleton in service, after the polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton

Design and development

The Avro Shackleton is a British long-range maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) which was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the South African Air Force (SAAF). It was developed by Avro from the Avro Lincoln bomber, which itself had been a development of the famous wartime Avro Lancaster bomber.

Design

The Shackleton was a purpose-built aircraft for the maritime patrol role; however, the legacy of Avro's preceding aircraft is present in many aspects of the overall design. The centre section of the Shackleton's wing originates from the Lincoln, while the outer wing and undercarriage were sourced from the Tudor outer wings; at one stage during development, the tailplane had closely resembled the Lincoln's, but was enlarged and changed soon after. An entirely new fuselage was adopted, being wider and deeper to provide a large space in which to accommodate the crew, their equipment, and a large bomb bay Later variants of the Shackleton were substantially redesigned, adopting a new nosewheel undercarriage, redesigned wings and centre-section, and a larger fuel capacity for more range

Avro International Aerospace

Avro Int. Aerospace
Avro Shackleton MR3 Introduction date
First flight 9 March 1949

General Info

Crew: 10 Length: 87 ft 4 in (26.62 m) Wingspan: 120 ft (37 m) Height: 17 ft 6 in (5.33 m) Wing area: 1,421 sq ft (132.0 m²)

Powerplant

Empty weight: 51,400 lb (23,315 kg) Max takeoff weight: 86,000 lb (39,009 kg) Powerplant: 4 × Rolls-Royce Griffon 57 V-12 liquid-cooled piston engines, 1,960 hp (1,460 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: (480 km/h) Range: (2,240 mi, 3,610 km) Endurance: 14 hours 36 minutes Service ceiling: 20,200 ft (6,200 m))

Related development

Guns: 2 × 20 mm Hispano Mark V cannon in the nose Bombs: 10,000 lb (4,536 kg) of bombs, torpedoes, mines, or conventional or nuclear depth charges, such as the Mk 101 Lulu

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Links to Youtube & Others

Often, the Shackleton would be called in to perform search and rescue operations in the treacherous waters around the Cape. In March 1971, Shackletons successfully intervened in the SS Wafra oil spill, deliberately sinking the stricken oil tanker with depth charges in order to prevent an ecological disaster. The only operational loss incurred was 1718 K, which crashed into the Wemmershoek mountains at night time on 8 August 1963 with the loss of all thirteen crew.

Avro Int.
Avro Shackleton MR3

On 30 March 1951, the first Shackleton was delivered to No. 120 Squadron RAF; by the end of 1952 seven squadrons were operating the type.

Youtube Link

The Type 719 Shackleton IV, later known as the MR 4, was a projected variant intended to meet a Canadian requirement for a long-range patrol aircraft.

Avro International Aerospace.
Avro Shackleton MR3
Nickname "Growler"
Introduction date April 1951
First flight 9 March 1949

Avro Int. Aerospace
Avro Shackleton MR3