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| The Shackleton was a maritime reconnaissance aircraft with a stressed skin fuselage and Avro Tudor and Lincoln components. Armament comprised four 20mm cannon, two machine-guns, depth charges and/or bombs, and it carried a nose-mounted ASV scanner. Shackleton MR.I entered service with No 120 Squadron and other Coastal Command squadrons from 1951; and the production run of 77 aircraft included MR.lA with wider outer nacelles.
The first of 69 MR.2, each with a streamlined nose and a 360°-scan radar under the rear fuselage, came into use in the UK and Malta in 1952. Thirty-four MR.3 with tricycle undercarriages, auxiliary Viper 203 turbojet engines, improved cockpit canopies, dorsal turrets deleted and wing tip-tanks (giving a 24-hour endurance) were issued in 1957. Eight were delivered to the South African Air Force. In 1971 No 8 Squadron, RAF, re-formed at Kinloss with MR.3 converted to AEW.2 with large ventral radomes for early warning duty; 11 remained operational in 1979 with 7 MR.3 serving in South Africa
| CREW | 10 |
| ENGINE | 4 x 4 x Rolls-Royce "Griffon 67", 1800kW |
| WEIGHTS |
| Take-off weight | 45400 kg | 100090 lb |
| DIMENSIONS |
| Wingspan | 36.8 m | 121 ft 9 in |
| Length | 26.6 m | 87 ft 3 in |
| Height | 5.3 m | 17 ft 5 in |
| Wing area | 132.4 m2 | 1425.14 sq ft |
| PERFORMANCE |
| Max. speed | 485 km/h | 301 mph |
| Cruise speed | 375 km/h | 233 mph |
| Range w/max.fuel | 6000 km | 3728 miles |
| ARMAMENT | 2 x 20mm cannons, bombs |
| Colin Urry, e-mail, 15.05.2008 20:40 Spent two happy years on them reply | | G.F.Robinson, e-mail, 14.05.2008 12:00 An Ex B /E I searved at Changi from April 62 to October 65 being Corporal Tech for most of that time. We had Mk2's from factory refits. In those days ASF did every thing up to and including major servicing. They served on 205 squadron (formally naval 5.Servicability rates were high and we never lost one. Some of these were later converted to AEW standard and served with 8 squadron until retiring from sercice. reply | | C J Inward, e-mail, 23.04.2008 20:16 8 squadron was formed with Mk2 A /C converted to the AEW role. The remaining Mk3 A /C were unsuitable for conversion as the main spars had all reached their stress life limit, and they were all scrapped. reply | | Christopher Dean, e-mail, 15.11.2007 12:05 May I correct a small error: the AEW Mk2 was converted from the MR2 and not the MR3 as stated above. The Mk3 had fatigue problems caused by the wingtip vipers and the tricycle undercarriage did not facilitate the nose rotordame (the Mk2 was a taildragger. (I speak as one who is now high tone deaf from flying one in the 1980s). No 8 Sqn also kept a T4 tail dragger for piloy training in the early 70s, but this had been converted to the Lossiemouth gateguard by the time I arrived in 1980. reply |
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