Shackleton Boys Volume 1: True Stories from the Home-Based ‘Kipper Fleet’ Squadrons

By Steve Bond

Essentially a development of the Avro Lancaster via the later Lincoln, the Avro Shackleton was the RAF’s first line of defence in the maritime role from 1951 for twenty years, thereafter continuing to serve as an airborne early warning aircraft for another twenty, until 1991. The ‘Old Grey Lady’, the ‘Growler’, ‘20,000 rivets in loose formation’, but mostly known simply as the ‘Shack’, it is viewed with great affection by those who flew and maintained it. In addition to its traditional sub-hunting role, it was also used extensively for search and rescue operations, and even as a conventional bomber in the Aden theatre. Operating around the world with squadrons based in the UK, the Mediterranean, Middle East and Far East, ‘Shacks’ were also used to support the blockade of oil supplies to Rhodesia during the UDI crisis in the ’60s and ’70s, and searching for gun-running boats during the Indonesian Confrontation. All of the Boys’ stories are from air and ground crew veterans themselves, and because there are so many vital and entertaining accounts, Steve Bond has divided his subject into two volumes. Consequently this volume will cover UK-based units flying from Ballykelly (including Aldergrove), Farnborough, Honington, Kinloss, Lossiemouth, St Eval and St Mawgan, plus many overseas detachments including Christmas Island and Majunga. To complement the detailed personal accounts and anecdotes are hundreds of original photographs and extensive appendices. A feast for any ‘Shack’ or military aviation aficionado. Volume Two (coming in 2019) will cover those units based overseas at Changi, Gan, Gibraltar, Khormaksar, Luqa (and Hal Far), and Sharjah, plus the South African Air Force operations from Ysterplaat/Malan.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Grub Street Publishing
• Release date: Sep 27, 2018
• ISBN: 9781911621775

Steve Bond

Dr Steve Bond is a life-long aviation professional and historian. He served in the Royal Air Force for twenty-two years as an aircraft propulsion technician, with tours on many different aircraft, and was part of the Eurofighter Typhoon project team in the MoD. A fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, he is also the author of many magazine articles and books including: Heroes All, Special Ops Liberators (with Richard Forder), Wimpy, Meteor Boys, and Javelin Boys for Grub Street.

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INTRODUCTION and

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To those of us who grew up in the 1950s and ’60s, the name of the Avro Shackleton will be familiar from television news reports. Whenever a trawler was in trouble in the North Sea, or a lone yachtsman was lost in the Western Approaches, the reporter would often say, A Shackleton of RAF Coastal Command has been sent out to join in the search.

The Shackleton was Britain’s first line of defence in the maritime reconnaissance (MR) and anti-submarine roles for more than 20 years, serving from 1951 to 1972, when the MR mantle passed to the Nimrod. But that was not the end for the Shackleton, as it continued to serve as an airborne early warning aircraft until 1991, prowling the northern seas, seeking out wandering Soviet long-range aircraft and directing RAF fighters to shepherd them away. In addition to its traditional MR and sub-hunting roles, it was also used extensively for air-sea rescue operations, as a conventional bomber in what was known as colonial policing, especially in the Aden theatre, and even as an ad hoc troop carrier during the 1956 Suez crisis. Operating around the world, with squadrons based in the UK, the Mediterranean, Middle East and Far East, ‘Shacks’ were also used to search for gun-running boats during the Indonesian Confrontation. They flew from Majunga in Madagascar in support of the Royal Navy’s blockade of oil supplies to Rhodesia, following that country’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in 1965, a task which continued until 1972. Other little-known aspects of its long service include its use for trials work in the UK and operational use by the South African Air Force (SAAF), the sole overseas operators of the type. The ‘Old Grey Lady’, the ‘Growler’, ‘20,000 rivets in loose formation’, but mostly known simply as the ‘Shack’, it is viewed with great affection by those who flew and maintained it. This is inspite of it being likened to an elephant – grey and wrinkly on the outside, brown and smelly on the inside!

Maritime reconnaissance had been an airborne task from the days of the Royal Flying Corps, and continued to grow in the inter-war period. During World War 2, a vital element in the battle to protect the Atlantic convoys from the German U-boats, was the long-range anti-submarine aircraft fleet in RAF’s Coastal Command – better known in the service as the ‘Kipper Fleet’ – which had been formed in 1936. From a fairly humble beginning, the exigencies of war saw aircraft developed at an ever-increasing pace, and the introduction of sophisticated equipment, such as air-to-surface vessel (ASV) radar to find and track enemy surface vessels and submarines. Having found a submarine, the challenge then was to sink it, and early in 1940, the first trials of airborne-dropped depth charges were carried out, these often proving to be a more effective weapon than the traditional torpedo in airborne attacks.

In the early years of the war, the command relied on a variety of adapted bombers, including the Hampden, Wellington and Whitley, with the Wellington proving to be the most effective of these. These types were later joined and ultimately largely replaced by, American lend-lease types such as the Catalina, B-17 Fortress and B-24 Liberator, plus the home-grown Halifax; the principal British-built dedicated long-range patrol aircraft was the superb Sunderland flying-boat. With the war’s end, Coastal Command had more than proved its worth, having sunk no fewer than 212 U-boats and over half a million tons of shipping in 240,000 operational sorties. RAF casualties amounted to 5,866 crew members killed in action and 2,060 aircraft lost. A second major role for the command was search and rescue (SAR) of both downed aircrew and the survivors of shipping losses, with a combined total of well over 10,000 rescued.

Having thus securely established Coastal Command’s credentials, it was clear that a fleet replacement programme was required, not least because the many US types on lend-lease had to be quickly removed from service before the end of the lend-lease agreement on 2 September 1945. This left the Sunderland as the chief remaining type in Coastal’s depleted fleet, joined by Lancasters which were now surplus to Bomber Command’s needs, and modified for general reconnaissance (GR) and air-sea rescue (ASR) roles as the GR.3 and ASR.3 respectively, serving with 11 squadrons. A small number of Halifaxes also soldiered on for a few years with Coastal’s meteorological reconnaissance squadrons, but there was a clear need to develop a new, greatly improved maritime reconnaissance type to replace all of these. A key consideration was the anticipated emerging strength of the Soviet navy as the so-called Cold War began to emerge.

It was felt that a major derivation of the Avro Lincoln B.2 heavy bomber, then serving with Bomber Command, might fit the bill, and Specification R.5/46 was issued to Avro on 1 April 1947. This called for an aircraft with a range of 2,600 nautical miles at an altitude of 5,000 feet while carrying 4,000 lbs of bombs at a speed of not less than 170 knots. The weapons to be carried internally were to include combinations of: 250-lb bombs or Mk.11 depth charges, 500-lb and 1,000-lb bombs, eight marine markers and eight sonobuoys, and 12 8½-lb, 10-lb or 25-lb practice bombs. The specification also lists existing and future ‘Dealer’ weapons, assumed to be a reference to nuclear capability, which was to emerge post-entry into service. The aircraft was also to carry 20-mm cannons in nose and mid-upper turrets (the requirement for a tail turret was later dropped). The aircraft was to have a wide variety of navigation and radar equipment, including Gee Mk.2 ground-mapping radar, LORAN (long-range astro navigation), and Rebecca Mk.IV short-range radio navigation.

There would be a ten-man crew comprising: two pilots, two navigator/bomb aimers, a flight engineer, a wireless operator, a mid-upper turret air gunner and two rear look-outs. In service, this later settled into a standard crew of two pilots, two navigators (one tactical for the attack phases), a flight engineer and five signallers/air electronics operators who rotated around various roles in the crew. In the main, Shackleton crews were constituted, that is to say the same ten men stayed together throughout their operational tour, as far as possible, although that was not always the case in every squadron.

VW135 Shackleton third prototype, Woodford 1950. (Andrian Balch collection)

Under the leadership of chief designer Roy Chadwick, who had led the Lancaster, York and Lincoln design efforts, Avro responded with their Type 696 GR.1. This combined Lincoln wings, with a considerably larger fuselage to accommodate all the crew and extra equipment, powered by four Rolls-Royce Griffon 57 engines (later marks had the 57A, then the 58), each developing 2,435 horsepower (hp) with water-methanol injection, and driving 13-feet diameter six-bladed contra-rotating propellers to absorb the power. Roy Chadwick chose the name Shackleton for his new design, after the Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton. Chadwick’s wife’s grandmother Agnes Shackleton, was a distant relative of the explorer. Three prototypes were ordered, with the first, VW126, making its maiden flight from Woodford aerodrome near Manchester on 9 March 1949, piloted by Jimmy Orrell. Subsequently, 30 production GR.1s (quickly re-designated MR.1s) were ordered (one was later cancelled), to be followed by 48 MR.1As (47 built after cancellations and some variant changes during production are taken into account). These primarily differed by having interchangeable inner and outer Griffon 57A engines, because the Griffon 57s of the MR.1 had different air filter installations, requiring extra spare engine holdings.

With production at Woodford underway, the first delivery to the RAF was on 28 September 1950 when MR.1 VP256 arrived at Manby, Lincolnshire, for the RAF Handling Squadron to prepare the Pilot’s Notes. Then on 30 March 1951, MR.1 VP260 was collected from the factory by Sqn Ldr E W Deacon and flown to Kinloss, Moray to begin re-equipping 120 Squadron, which was ready for service with the new type the following month. Next to re-equip that summer was 224 Squadron in Gibraltar, where the Shackletons replaced the RAF’s last Halifaxes. Other units which subsequently operated the MR.1 and MR.1A, included the Air-Sea Warfare Development Unit (ASWDU), 203, 204, 205, 206, 210, 220, 240 and 269 Squadrons, plus 236 Operational Conversion Unit (OCU). The last of the mark in service left 205 Squadron in Singapore on 7 December 1962 for scrapping, but a good number saw further service after conversion to T.4 trainers, of which more later.

Even while the Shackleton force was starting to build, the RAF received 52 Lockheed Neptunes as an interim measure in order to speed up the modernisation of the MR fleet. They first entered service in January 1952, going to four squadrons, but by March 1957 they had all been replaced.

In the light of early Shackleton flight testing and other operational considerations, the original specification had been re-issued on 3 July 1950 as R.5/46/2 for the production of a modified MR.2 variant. This amended the nose guns to be movable and forward firing rather than in a turret, and deleted the mid-upper turret requirement completely. It also changed the location of the ASV radar scanner from the nose to a retractable ‘dustbin’ under the rear fuselage to permit an all-round scan. These changes were incorporated in the original first prototype, which flew in the new configuration on 19 July 1951, and this was followed by an in-production MR.1A, WB833, which was rebuilt to the new MR.2 configuration and first flown on 17 June 1952.

The third and final MR.1A production contract was then amended so that the last ten aircraft became the first production MR.2s, and these were followed by a further 59, making this the most prolific variant by a considerable margin. Initial deliveries were made to 42 Squadron at St. Eval in Cornwall, when WG555 and WG556 arrived at the station on 12 January 1953. Other squadrons taking the MR.2 were: 37, 38, 120, 203, 204, 205, 206, 210, 220, 224, 228, 240 and 269, In fact, the only Shackleton squadron never to fly the MR.2 was 201 at St. Mawgan and later Kinloss which, during its 12 years on type, only operated the Mk.3. The last operational use of the MR.2 was with 204 Squadron at Honington, Suffolk, which hung on to them for an extra year to cover the Majunga detachment, until disbanding in May 1972. However, that same year, the newly formed 8 Squadron at Kinloss acquired a couple as crew trainers to support their Airborne Early Warning (AEW) fleet, discussed separately.

This is an appropriate point at which to outline the first two major modification packages that came along during the Shack’s long service, in an effort to keep its systems and to a degree its performance, as up to date as possible. A Phase I mods programme was instigated in 1957, with implementation across the fleet planned to start the following year, seeing aircraft returning to Avro at Woodford and Langar, Nottinghamshire, plus the RAF’s 49 Maintenance Unit (MU) at Colerne, Wiltshire. The Phase I package included ASV 21 radar to replace the original ASV 13, and ‘Blue Silk’ doppler radar-navigation equipment. However, it was already apparent that the fatigue life of the airframe was only going to be around 3,600 flying hours, at which point, extensive wing spar modification would become necessary, and in 1959, the majority of aircraft being modified under Phase I were found to be suffering from wing centre-section fatigue. A new fatigue life limitation of 2,150 flying hours was imposed, and all Shackletons which had flown more than 2,100 hours were grounded. An immediate spar refurbishment programme was instigated which restored fatigue life to at least 5,000 hours.

WL796, Shackleton MR.2 with airborne lifeboat, Farnborough September 1953. (Adrian Balch collection)

Despite its number, Phase II modification actually started before Phase I aircraft began returning to service. This phase introduced new radar and radio equipment including a ‘Green Salad’ VHF homer, ‘Violet Picture’ HF homer, UHF R/T system, and a sonobuoy homer (Mk.1C sonobuoys in place of the Mk.1 system were also included). Lastly, there was the ‘Orange Harvest’ electronic radar warning receiver, which made aircraft with Phase II mods easy to identify by its large ‘spark plug’ antenna on the upper fuselage. A rather more mundane change was the fitting of long tail-pipe engine exhausts to replace the ejector types, which had a tendency to break off and thus increase the fire risk.

The last new production variant of the Shackleton was the radically re-designed MR.3, Specification R.5/46/3 being issued on 5 July 1953 to cover development of the MR.2 to produce the new variant. The increasing equipment weight in the earlier marks was such that the range and patrol time requirements could not be met, and a second driver for the redesign was to offer an improved version to the SAAF, who were considering ordering Shackletons. It was calculated that an extra 800 gallons of fuel (for a total of 4,316 gallons), would give an extra four hours on patrol 1,000 miles from base. To achieve this, new outer wings were required, with the addition of tip-tanks, which required strengthening of the wing joints and spar booms; the opportunity was also taken to install a tricycle undercarriage, all of which meant a considerable increase in weight, but one which would still allow the desired increase in duration. In the interests of time, the nose undercarriage chosen was the same as that fitted to the Armstrong Whitworth Argosy transport aircraft, then under design – this was to prove to be something of an Achilles’ heel in service.

WR974 Shackleton MR.3 Phase III A&AEE Boscombe Down, Luqa 18 March 1968. (Adrian Balch collection)

Operational Requirement (OR) 320, required the new variant to have a fatigue life of 10,000 hours. Other changes included: structural provision for flight refuelling (which was never used), a revised tactical station, and a new galley. In addition to the ASV, sonobuoy system and ‘Orange Harvest’ equipment, it was also to include a magnetic anomaly detector (MAD), and ‘Autolycus’ (named after the son of the Greek god Hermes). This was a sniffer for detecting the exhaust fumes from the diesel engines of submerged and ‘snorting’ submarines.

The first MR.3 WR970 made its maiden flight from Woodford on 2 September 1955, and just two days later it appeared at the Farnborough air show. Early flight testing produced skin buckling over the new outer-wing panels, which had to be re-skinned with thicker material. This same aircraft was lost in a crash during stall-warning tests on 7 December 1956, after it entered a spin during a turn with the bomb doors open and the ASV radome fully lowered in the attack position. Although the pilot was able to recover from the spin, the engines failed to respond, and the aircraft hit high ground near the village of Foolow in Derbyshire, with the loss of all four crew members.

Following the arrival of WR971 at Boscombe Down on 14 December 1956 for release to service tests, the first aircraft was delivered to the RAF on 30 August 1957, when WR976 arrived at St. Mawgan, Cornwall, for 220 Squadron. In fact, the SAAF had started receiving aircraft from their order for eight examples, just ahead of the RAF, their first pair arriving in Cape Town to join 35 Squadron on 18 August 1957. Other RAF squadrons which operated the MR.3 were: 42, 120, 201, 203, and 206. In addition to the SAAF batch, 34 MR.3s were produced, with the last one XF730, being delivered in June 1959 to close Shackleton production after 191 of all marks had been built.

By 1958, the Shackleton force had reached its peak, with around 100 aircraft in no fewer than 15 active squadrons plus a training unit, with those which were home-based operating from Aldergrove and Ballykelly in Northern Ireland, Kinloss Moray, St. Eval and St. Mawgan in Cornwall. Overseas stations were Changi Singapore, Khormaksar Aden, Luqa Malta, and North Front Gibraltar. Shackletons were ranging far and wide on detachments and exercises, and were a familiar sight at such places as Bodø in Norway, Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, Muharraq in Bahrain, Masirah Island in Oman, Nairobi in Kenya, Nicosia in Cyprus, and Sharjah in the Persian Gulf. There were frequent visits to the United States to exercise with their US Navy counterparts, and Eastabout or Westabout round the world trips were well practised.

With the expectation that the Shackleton had no replacement in the near future, a final major mods package, Phase III, came along in 1963. This was essentially a modernisation of the cabin, with a new heating system and a revised tactical station for the second navigator and the air electronics operators (AEO); MR.2 cabins being brought up to the same standard as the MR.3. The aircraft were rewired to permit the carriage of nuclear weapons and Griffon 58 engines were fitted, which had strengthened gearboxes to house more powerful generators to cope with the increased electrical demand. A strengthened undercarriage was necessary to cope with the extra weight, the maximum take-off weight having risen from 86,000 lbs on the MR.2 and 100,000 lbs on the MR.3, to 95,500 and 104,000 respectively. Due to this much higher weight of the MR.3 Phase III, there were concerns about the already marginal take-off performance in the event of an engine failure. Initial thoughts centred on fitting Spectre rocket packs under each wing, but the solution finally approved was to install a Bristol Siddeley Viper 203 turbojet in an extension of each outboard engine nacelle, providing 2,500 lbs of thrust each, and modified to run on the same AVGAS (aviation gasoline) fuel as the Griffons. A retractable air intake door was fitted, and all the engine controls were fitted on the flight engineer’s desk under a transparent lid. The Viper installation pushed up the total aircraft weight yet again, to 108,000 lbs.

UK bases

The initial aircraft to have the jets fitted was WR973, flying with them for the first time on 29 February 1965. The first aircraft to re-enter squadron service after modification was WR980 delivered to 206 Squadron in March 1966. Thereafter, 28 of the MR.3 fleet were thus modified by Avro at Langar or Woodford. Apart from WR970, the exceptions were WR972, WR974, XF705 and XF708 which spent much of their time on trials work, WR986 unmodified for some unknown reason, and XF704 and XF710 which were written off in accidents.

When first released for service, the Vipers were restricted to a maximum of five minutes running, and after a heavy-weight take-off, the Griffons had to be kept at maximum continuous power for very long periods until the weight came down as fuel was burnt off. For about the last year of MR.3 operations, these restrictions were lifted, and the Vipers could be used at up to full power when airborne.

Before closing the Shackleton development story, mention must be made of the planned ‘MR.4’ version. A draft operational requirement was issued in 1952, calling for a new MR aircraft with a duration of up to 16 hours, a rate of climb of 1,000 feet per minute, a service ceiling of 25,000 feet with a full weapon load, and the ability to operate off a 3,600-feet runway. Avro offered their Type 719, to be powered by the extraordinary Napier Nomad engine. This was a monster; a 12-cylinder two-stroke diesel engine, delivering 3,125 hp, with the exhaust gases driving a gas turbine to assist the main engine in turning the propellers. The proposal got as far as having Nomads installed in the outboard positions on the second prototype Shackleton VW131 at Napier’s, Luton, but it did not fly before the whole idea was cancelled in April 1955, there being no enthusiasm for it.

In 1953, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) had shown some interest in a developed version of the Shackleton, and Avro responded with another ‘MR.4’ fitted with Wright Cyclone R3350-85 turbo-compound engines, which were an RCAF requirement. This too, failed to progress any further as the Canadians opted for the Canadair Argus instead (itself essentially a development of the Bristol Britannia).

There were however, two further Shackleton variants that did proceed, both being adaptations of MR aircraft for the training role at the Maritime Operational Training Unit (MOTU) at Kinloss, later St. Mawgan. The first of these was the T.4 trainer, which was an MR.1/1A with interior modifications which included additional radar and radio positions for pupils. There were 15 conversions, of which all but one were MR.1As, and they served on MOTU from 10 July 1957 (WB819 being the first to arrive), until the last one was flown away for disposal on 12 July 1968. By this time, the writing was well and truly on the wall for the Shackleton force, with the arrival of the first of the Nimrod replacements just a year away.

Operating locations

Up until this time, the Shackleton fleet had been under the overall control of Coastal Command headquarters at Northwood in Middlesex, with the northern and southern areas coming under 18 Group at Pitreavie Castle, Fife and 19 Group at Mount Batten, Plymouth, respectively. (Overseas units came under the own local area commands, which will be outlined in Volume 2.) As part of a major streamlining of the RAF, which saw many of the old command structure disappear, Costal Command was disbanded on 28 November 1969, and was absorbed into the new Strike Command as 18 (Maritime) Group, still using Northwood and Pitreavie Castle.

Despite the coming of the Nimrod, there was still work for the few remaining Shackleton squadrons to do, so crew training needed to continue. As the T.4s became ‘longer in the tooth’, and more difficult to support, they were replaced on MOTU by ten T.2 conversions of surplus MR.2s, these also with additional radar positions for pupils. The first T.2 to enter service was WL739 on 3 January 1968. In 1970, with the reduction in the requirement to train Shackleton crews, most were converted back to MR.2 standard to see out their days with the remaining squadrons. However, two were retained when MOTU was renamed 236 OCU to train Nimrod crews, finally being withdrawn on 20 November 1970.

The last squadrons in the RAF to fly the Shackleton in its traditional role were 120 Squadron at Kinloss who stopped flying them in February 1971, 42 Squadron at St. Mawgan, who gave up their last examples in September the same year, and last of all, 203 Squadron at Luqa who hung on until the December. That was not quite the end though, as 204 Squadron had moved from Ballykelly to Honington in April 1971, specifically to provide the Majunga detachment, until that ended in May 1972.

That left the SAAF’s 35 Squadron to continue flying MR Shackletons in its traditional role until they were finally phased out in November 1984. They were ‘replaced’ by even older and far less capable Dakotas, known rather tongue-in-cheek as ‘Dackletons’.

There was however, one very significant recall to duty for the old grey lady. The decision to scrap the Royal Navy’s two remaining aircraft carriers, HMS Eagle and HMS Ark Royal, which were finally decommissioned in 1972 and 1978 respectively, meant that the UK was without the airborne early warning capability, which had been provided by the carriers’ 849 Squadron Gannets. The one suitable platform capable of carrying the radar and its operators, and available in sufficient numbers was the Shackleton MR.2, with many being withdrawn with the run-down of the Coastal fleet. Fitted with the same AN/APS 20 radar as the Gannets, housed in the forward end of a shortened bomb-bay, and re-designated the AEW.2, 12 conversions were ordered. It fell to WL745 to make the first flight in the new configuration at Woodford on 30 September 1971.

Accordingly, on 1 January 1972, 8 Squadron was reformed at Kinloss to operate them. Initially, they had two standard MR.2s to perform crew-training duties, with the first AEW.2 arriving on 11 April. The squadron soon moved to Lossiemouth, and operated primarily over the northern seas, up to Iceland and beyond, watching for Soviet aircraft coming around the North Cape and elsewhere and testing the UK’s air defences. Always intended as an interim measure, the debacle that was the planned Nimrod AEW.3 replacement, which was years overdue and was eventually cancelled in 1986, led to the Shackletons having to soldier on. It was not until the arrival of the E-3 Sentry that the Shackleton could finally stand down, this taking place in June 1991, and bringing to an end 40 glorious years of RAF service.

Discussions with many Shackleton pilots showed a distinct preference for the MR.2 over all the other variants. The MR.1/1A/T.4 were all found to be a handful to taxi without running out of brake pressure, and to land without bouncing! While the Mk.3 had a nosewheel undercarriage, which was much preferred to the tail-dragger configuration of the earlier variants, most crews considered it to be very overweight – almost dangerously so under certain circumstances.

WL793 Shackleton AEW.2 8 Squadron, Lossiemouth. (Richard Andrews)

For everyone, the key thing they remember was the perpetual noise from the mighty Griffons. Many a survivor from those days suffers from ‘Griffon ear’, and later soundproofing seemed to have little effect on the noise levels. Remarkably, even when the aircraft was entering the twilight era of its long service, reliability did not seem to have been an area of concern, most former crew considered it to be pretty reliable right to the end. That is not to say that it was without problems; engines stand out as the principal guilty party when things did start to go wrong. For example, there were a number of accidents and close calls due to propeller overspeed, which could lead to an engine fire or propeller blade shedding. In the last days of the MR.3, its weight began to play havoc with its wing structure, and two aircrew have described hearing a spar crack while they were in the air!

The ever-loyal ground crew have deservedly garnered a good deal of praise. Working in extremes of weather from Singapore’s humidity, through Aden’s blistering heat, to the bitter cold and wind of a Scottish winter, they soldiered on to ensure the aircraft were available when needed. One change that affected the ground crew deeply, was that from being a squadron member, with all its embedded camaraderie, to the system of centralised servicing, where overnight they became just one in a pool of engineers working on any aircraft, regardless of its operating unit. Many aircrew members have said they too had concerns at the time about the effect on unit morale.

The affection for the Shack, the squadron environment and the uniqueness of the Kipper Fleet, shines out of so many of the stories within these pages. Crews worked long, hard hours in a very noisy and challenging environment. They were often flying in extremes of weather and having to cope with technical issues with the aeroplane. Pride in a job well done came to the fore, especially during a successful search and rescue operation. However, they also knew how to relieve the tension, or the boredom, of very long duration flights (15 hours or more were quite common), through humour. Yes, they were always quick to see the funny side of life, but as many have said ‘Work always came first’. This was also an important balance against the trauma of the loss of an aircraft and its crew; over its 40 years of service, 25 aircraft and 156 aircrew were lost (see Appendix 3).

Just 14 Shackletons remain, with one in the United States, two abandoned and only just surviving in Cyprus, three in South Africa, and the remainder in England. None are currently flying, although there are long-term plans to restore the example kept at Coventry airport to airworthiness. Three of the survivors are maintained in ground-running condition, so at least it is still possible to hear one ‘growl’!

The response to my appeals for contact with Shackleton ‘Boys’ was overwhelming, with well over a hundred coming forward with their memories. It became clear at an early stage in my research, that in order to ensure that as many of their great stories as possible – be they routine, humorous (lots of that in the Kipper Fleet!) or tragic – reached a wider audience, two volumes were essential. Therefore, this volume covers all the units based in the United Kingdom, including those at Aldergrove, Ballykelly, Farnborough, Honington, Kinloss, Lossiemouth, St. Eval and St. Mawgan. It also includes those overseas exercises, flag-waving trips and detachments that were covered by home squadrons, including the major tasks on Christmas Island and Majunga. Volume 2, planned for publication in 2019, will cover the squadrons based overseas at, or deployed to, Changi, Gan, Gibraltar, Hal Far, Khormaksar, Labuan, Luqa and Sharjah, plus many other small detachments or simply visits. This volume will also cover the SAAF operations from Ysterplaat/Malan.

All this has only been possible with the help of the following Shackleton Boys and their families, who have so enthusiastically allowed me into their homes, endured many lengthy telephone calls, answered interminable questions and granted access to their precious logbooks and private photograph collections.

Sqn Ldr Wally Allaway, Bob Allen, Richard Ansley, Lionel Ashbury, Sgt Alec Audley, Master Aircrew Bob Barrett, Flt Sgt Peter Bellchambers, Captain Hartog Blok, Sgt James Box, Sgt Ken Brereton, Flt Lt Roy Brocklebank, Air Cdr Jack Broughton OBE, Sqn Ldr Laurence Bruce, Sqn Ldr Peter Bruce, the late Sqn Ldr Colin Butler, Flt Lt John Campbell, Flt Sgt Jim Cargill, Sqn Ldr Ray Carran, Cpl Geoff Clift, Flt Lt Martin Coales, Sqn Ldr Andy Collins, Sqn Ldr Tony Cunnane, J/T John Cooper, Master AEO Nev Cooper, Chf Tech David Curnock, Sqn Ldr Ray Curtis, Chris Cussen, Chief Tech Chris Dance, LAC Alan Davidson, SAC Trevor Dobson, Sqn Ldr Gordon Dodds, Sgt George Dorrington, Flt Lt Derrick Downs, Sqn Ldr Mike Dyson, J/T Cliff Edwards, Sgt Malcolm Elliott, Wg Cdr Jerry Evans, Sqn Ldr Mike Evans, Flt Lt Raymond Evans, Flt Lt Nev Feist, Mike Fisher, John Fraser, Sgt John Gibbings, Flt Lt Guy Gibbons, Flt Sgt Mike Griffiths, Capt Japie Horn, Brian Howett, Flt Lt Bill Hustwayte, Wg Cdr Keith Jarvis, SAC Paul Jessau, Sgt Ian Jones, Peter Kain, SAC Clive Kilgour, Bill Killick, Sqn Ldr Rob Knotts, Gp Capt Derek Larkin, Flt Lt Brian Latham, Sqn Ldr Dave Lawrence, John Lennard, Flt Lt Bob Lyall, J/T John May, Dave McCandless, Sqn Ldr Mike McKenna, Sqn Ldr Alan Mills, Peter Mills, Flt Lt Peter Morris, Gp Capt Mike Norris, Flt Lt David Phillips, Sqn Ldr Colin Pomeroy, Gerry Pond, Sqn Ldr Mike Rankin, SAC Brian Ray, Fg Off Alan Reed, SAC Gerry Reynolds, SAC Ken Rochester, Sqn Ldr Rod Saar, Sqn Ldr ‘Red’ Sankey, Sqn Ldr Peter Sedgwick, J/T Ned Smale, Sqn Ldr Tony Smart, John Smith, Sgt Mick Speake, Tim Stevens, LAC Bill Tarran, Air Cdr Bill Tyack, Nick Von Berg, Flt Lt Jim Ward, SAC Roger Ward, Vic Warren-King, W/O Alastair Watson, Gp Capt Andy Wight-Boycott, Sqn Ldr Nigel Whitling, Sgt Rex Wickins, Vic Wise, Sgt Stanley Wood. Gentlemen, I thank and salute you all.

In addition, I must also say a big thank you to the Shackleton Association, who have willingly allowed me access to their archives and encouraged their membership to support my efforts, not least Bill Hercus, who edits the superb The Growler magazine, plus Bryn Lewis, and Phil Styles. The many others who have helped along the way are listed below; if I have forgotten anybody please accept my humble apologies.

Richard Andrews, Alec Audley, Adrian Balch, Nick Byatt 8 Squadron Association, Colin Cooke, Les Davies, the late Colin Fair, John Hughes, the late Geoff Mann, Pat Martin, Dr Ray Neve who once again valiantly joined me in ploughing through many hours of recorded interviews to transcribe them, Jeff Peck, John Rodger, Robbie Shaw, Joe Tarrant, Paul Warrener 201 Squadron historian, and Stephen Wolf. I must also express my gratitude to John Davies and all his team at Grub Street for their continued support and encouragement. Finally, but my no means least, my thanks and love go to my darling wife Heather, who has been a huge support throughout the many months of this project, giving me endless ideas and advice, sense-reading and proofreading my draft manuscripts.

As always, I have endeavoured wherever possible to correctly credit the origins of all the photographs and other material I have used. It has to be said that in the Internet age, the true origins and source of some material is not always possible to identify with certainty. Therefore, if I have inadvertently omitted anyone, please accept my apologies and grateful thanks.

NB: The words in italic script are mine, intended to give context to those of the Boys.

Dr Steve Bond

March 2018

CHAPTER ONE

‘TEACH THE HUNTER OF THE SEA’

‘Teagaisg sealgair na fairge’

¹

FORMING THE CREWS

The ten-man Shackleton crew included two pilots, two navigators (one being the tactical navigator), five air signallers (which later became air electronics operators), and an air engineer, later called a flight engineer. In the early days air gunnery training was also required for air signallers. For both experienced airmen, and those who had just completed their trade training, this wide variety of skills required pulling together to form a cohesive crew, before arriving on an operational squadron. It was felt that a new unit was required to teach these skills before the crews were sent to a type-specific OCU.

Initial impressions of aircrew commencing their Shackleton training, were of it being a relic from an earlier time. It was uncomfortable, smelly, and especially in the case of the MR.1/T.4, a major challenge to handle on the ground. However, eventually, most found that they enjoyed flying and operating the aeroplane, except of course for the other initial and lasting impression – the noise!

The School of Maritime Reconnaissance – ‘Scientia Dirigit’ (literally ‘knowledge directive’)

On 1 May 1951, just two months after the first Shackleton delivery to the RAF, a new training unit for Coastal Command crews was formed within 19 Group at St. Mawgan. The School of Maritime Reconnaissance (SMR) came into being to provide a centralised training course in all aspects of air-sea warfare for new crews coming into the command, and ultimately destined for any aircraft type in the fleet. The SMR was equipped with the last of the RAF’s operational Lancasters.

On completion of the SMR course, graduates progressed to the appropriate OCU for whichever type they had been chosen to crew operationally; 235 OCU at Calshot with Sunderlands, 236 OCU at Kinloss with Neptunes and Shackletons, or Transport Command’s 242 OCU at Dishforth, which also covered the small Coastal Command requirement for Hastings Met.1 crews destined for meteorological reconnaissance on 202 Squadron.

Lancaster GR.3 RE164 SMR St. Mawgan 1953. (Bill Hustwayte)

Cyril ‘Red’ Sankey – pilot

I joined the SMR in June 1954. We had an assemblage of lectures about anything connected to the sea. Lectures about navigating over the sea, dropping depth charges into the sea, dropping smoke floats and sonobuoys into the sea, estimating the surface wind from the white caps in the sea, etc. We flew in the marvellous Lancaster, essentially to learn to navigate – over the sea?! However, I was regularly relieved of my navigator duties and allowed to fly the Lancaster – great! I totalled about 60 hours on it.

Ray Curtis – signaller/AEO

"In December 1954, I was posted to Coastal Command. The air gunner’s branch was disbanded around this time, so you also did a two-month air-gunner’s course at the Coastal Command Gunnery School at Leconfield on Lincolns, before going to the School of Maritime Reconnaissance at St. Mawgan.

At St. Mawgan we learnt about sonics, radar, aircraft and ship recognition, coding, meteorology and SAR procedures – carrying out the flying phase on Lancasters (98 hours). It was a three-month course, which led to a posting on to either the Sunderland, the Neptune or the Shackleton.

* * *

236 OCU – ‘TO HUNT AND TO KILL’

Formed at Kinloss on 31 July 1947, 236 OCU trained general-reconnaissance crews. Initially equipped with 20 Lancasters and some Beaufighters, Neptunes later joined the unit. By 15 October 1951, 11 Shackletons were on strength (eventually including both MR.1s and MR.2s) and