Avro Shackleton
| Avro 696 Shackleton | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Maritime patrol |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
March 1949 |
| Production time: |
1951-1958 |
| Number of pieces: |
185 |
The Avro 696 Shackleton was a four-engine maritime patrol aircraft (Engl. Maritime Patrol Aircraft , MPA) from British production, named after the polar explorer Ernest Shackleton . It was based on the Avro Lincoln , was in service from 1951 to 1991 and replaced by British Aerospace Nimrod .
The retraining unit at RAF Kinloss received its first copies in February 1951 and in 1954 the Shackleton was used in eight RAF squadrons, one of them in Gibraltar .
The only export customer was South Africa , which used the machines from 1957 to 1984.
variants
- Type 696: three prototypes (including rear armament, which was omitted in the series)
- MR Mk.1: First production version, 29 units built, Rolls-Royce Griffon 57 engines in the outer nacelles, Griffon 57A engines in the inner nacelles
- MR Mk.1A: all four nacelles equipped with Griffon 57A engines, 47 units built
- MR Mk.2: modified bow (radar now built into the fuselage behind the wings), lengthened tail cone, 70 pieces built
- MR Mk.3: built-in nose wheel landing gear, wing ends with additional tanks, 34 pieces built
- MR Mk.4: planned version with Napier Nomad engines, was not realized
- T Mk.2: Training version of the variant MR Mk.2, 10 pieces MR Mk.2 were converted for this
- T Mk.4: Retrofitting of 17 MR Mk.1A units with additional radar operator positions for training
- AEW Mk.2: Conversion of 12 MR Mk.2 to early warning aircraft
Military users
Stationing locations
South Africa
The only place where Shackletons were stationed in South Africa was:
- AFB Ysterplaat ( Cape Town ), from January 1957 to November 1984, Shackleton MR.3 ( 35th Squadron )
United Kingdom
The vast majority of units were on RAF stations in south-west England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
- RAF Aldergrove , April 1952 to April 1959, Shackleton MR.1 / 1A / 2/3 ( 120th , 240th Squadron )
- RAF Ballykelly , January 1954 to April 1971, Shackleton MR.1A / 2 / 2C / 3 ( 203rd , 204th, 210th , 240th , 269th Squadron )
- RAE Bedford , Shackleton T.4 ( Royal Aircraft Establishment )
- RAF Lossiemouth , 1973 to 1991, Shackleton AEW.2 ( 8th Squadron )
- RAF Kinloss , September 1951 to 1981, Shackleton MR.2 / 3 / AEW.2 ( 120th , 206th , 220th , 8th Squadron )
- RAF St Eval , June 1952 to April 1959, Shackleton MR.1 / 2 ( 42nd , 206th , 228th Squadron )
- RAF St Mawgan , September 1951 to September 1971, Shackleton MR.2 / 3 ( 42nd and 206th Squadron )
In addition, Shackletons were stationed in a number of British overseas territories.
- RAF Gibraltar , August 1951 to October 1966, Shackleton MR.1 / 2 ( 224th , 269th Squadron )
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- RAF Khormaksar , August 1957 to September 1967, Shackleton MR.2 ( 37th Squadron )
- RAF Luqa , August 1953 to October 1965, early 1969 to October 1971, Shackleton MR.2 / 3 ( 37th , 201st Squadron )
- RAF Hal Far , October 1965 to March 1967, Shackleton MR.2 ( 38th Squadron )
- RAF Changi , May 1958 to October 1971, Shackleton MR.1A / 2C ( 205th Squadron )
Trucial States (now United Arab Emirates )
- RAF Sharjah , November 1970 to November 1971, Shackleton MR.2 ( 210th Squadron )
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 10 |
| length | 26.61 m |
| span | 36.58 m |
| height | 5.33 m |
| Wing area | 132 m² |
| Empty mass | 23,340 kg |
| Takeoff mass | 39,040 kg |
| Top speed | 480 km / h |
| Engines | four 12-cylinder V-engines Rolls-Royce Griffon 57 with 1960 HP / 1460 kW each |
Armament
- In the bow integrated gun: 2 x 20 mm automatic cannon . Hispano-Suiza V Mk with 300 rounds of ammunition movably mounted in the bow
- Explosive ordnance up to 4,536 kg in a central internal weapon bay
-
Torpedoes :
- 3 × General Electric Mk.44 (324 mm torpedo)
- Unguided bombs:
- 2 × nuclear depth charges Mk.101 "Lulu"
- 9 × Mk.54 (160 kg underwater sea mine)
- 2 × Mk.57 sea mine (tactical 520 kT nuclear depth bomb based on the B57 Mod.2 atom bomb)
- 9 × BMk.82 BDU-45 water bomb
See also
literature
- Aviation classic. 1/09, Verlag Motor Presse Stuttgart GmbH
- Avro Shackleton - RAF naval scout (The Airplane Stars) . In: AERO - the illustrated compilation of aviation, issue 145, pp. 4045–4052
- Heiko Thiesler: The Guardian of the Seas. In: Flieger Revue , No. 9/2019, pp. 50–53
