The Avro Shackleton was a British long-range maritime patrol aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and the South African Air Force.
It served in the South African Air Force from 1957 to 1984. The aircraft is named after the polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton.
It was originally used primarily in the anti-submarine warfare and maritime patrol aircraft roles, and was subsequently adapted for airborne early warning, search and rescue.
The aircraft is powered by the slow-revving Rolls-Royce Griffons engines with 13 ft. (4 m)-diameter contra-rotating propellers, which created a distinctive engine noise and added high-tone deafness to the hazards of the pilots. The Griffons were necessary because of the greater weight and drag of the new aircraft they provided great fuel efficiency for the long periods in the denser air at low altitudes that the Shackleton was intended for when hunting submarines – known as "loitering" – possibly several hours at around 500 feet or lower.
The is still one airworthy (SAAF 1722 based at AFB Ysterplaat) but not flying due to a lack of qualified crew members.
SAAF missions were mostly patrols of the sea lanes around the Cape of Good Hope, but some occasionally ranged as far as Antarctica. Most flew around 10,000 hours, with the only operational loss being 1718/"K", which crashed in the Wemmershoek mountain range in poor weather on 8 August 1963 with the loss of all 13 crew.
Although the joke has been applied to several aircraft, the Shackleton has been described as "a hundred thousand rivets flying in close formation."
Here are a few photos of the one on display at the Air Force Museum in Pretoria. …
I love things that fly…..
The Photographic Journey of bulldog. 