Avro Shackleton

History of Avro Shackleton

The Avro Shackleton is derived from the Avro Lincoln bomber (the Lincoln itself was based on the Avro Lancaster), a four-engine aircraft that seemed too late for action in WWII. Shackleton had a similar (albeit entirely new) bomber airframe design and became the RAF's primary long-range patrol platform in the early days of the Cold War.

The aircraft served in a variety of other roles before its final retirement in 1990.

The

Shackleton was developed in response to a 1946 request for a new long-range maritime patrol aircraft used by RAF Coast Command. Avro products were originally called Lincoln ASRs. 3 and later known simply as the Type 696 Shackleton (named after the British explorer Ernest Shackleton).

The first flight took place on March 9, 1949.

Avro Shackleton shares some similarities with Lincoln in design. Both planes have a slender, straight-sided fuselage with the rear end extending beyond the tail. The rear wing is similar to the twin vertical rear wing of the Lincoln design.

The Shackleton was also fitted with a low-wing aircraft with two engines on one wing, each with two counter-rotating three-bladed propellers - the first British aircraft to feature such a four-engine . Power is provided by 4 x Rolls-Royce Griffon liquid-cooled inline engines. Griffins are known to require a lot of attention during their career in aircraft.

The armament of the Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) role consists of nose-mounted 2 x 20mm guns, while the internal bomb load may include torpedoes, mines and required bombs.

Initial MR. The 1 Shackleton production model entered service with the 120th Squadron in Scotland in April 1951. gentlemen. The 2 came late (with operational feedback bringing changes) and is known for its ventrally placed radome rather than the chin-mounted position of its predecessor. Also, MR.

2 Features reinforced landing gear, extended nose and tail sections, and redesigned empennage.

Mr. 3 came later with a whole bunch of changes due to operational feedback. The changes will include wingtip-mounted fuel tanks, a larger fuselage, a crew galley for long-haul flights, redesigned wings and tricycle landing gear.

The Future MR 3 will feature Armstrong Siddeley Viper turbojets in the outboard engine nacelles to increase takeoff power due to increased weight, denoted by the codename MR. 3 "Second Phase".

In addition to RAF use, Shackleton was supplied to the South African Air Force in eight (replacing their short Sunderland). Shackleton served the UK as an Airborne Early Warning (AEW) platform (known as AEW.2) until the UK purchased E-3 Sentinel units instead of Nimrod AEW models built around competing roles, replacing them in 1991. inevitably replaced.

Other roles Shackleton performed during this period were Search and Rescue (SAR) and Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA). The South African model remained in service until 1984.

Shackleton saw their first real action in the 1956 Suez Crisis, a joint British, Israeli and French attack on Egypt following Egypt's attempt to nationalize the Suez Canal. The total production of each model was: 77 Mk 1 series, 70 Mk 2 series and 34 Mk 3 series, with an additional 8 for the South African Air Force.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes