The only foreign customer for the A.V. Roe & Company's Shackleton Mk.3 - the grand old lady of the sky, was the SAAF. Until it's retirement, Cape Town had always been the Shackleton's home. Although, built as a maritime reconnaissance aircraft, the local Cape Town newspaper - the Argus, best described the type as the St. Bernard of our skies. Many stricken seamen, refugees, etc. owe their lives to these workhorses. The aircraft also contributed considerably towards peace - being responsible for the safe-guarding of the shipping lanes around South Africa, during the Cold War. Today, South Africa has the only airworthy Shackleton Mk.3 in the world!

In 1946 the Royal Air Force realized that not one of the landplanes then in use for long range maritime reconnaissance, were actually designed for the role. The best aircraft for these flights were the Consolidated Liberator, but had to be returned to the US under the lend lease scheme. The only British aircraft that could attempt to fly these missions were versions of the Handley Page Halifax and Avro Lancaster. These aircraft simply had not enough volume to carry the equipment needed for maritime reconnaissance. In 1946 a production order was placed with Avro for a new model, the Shackleton, combining a wider fuselage with the older Avro Lincoln's wings and undercarriage. Develop time was quite long, finally in 1949 the prototype, known as the Avro 696 Shackleton GR-1, made its first flight. This aircraft with its distinctive WWII bomber look had four Griffon engines turning contra-rotating propellers and a short, fat fuselage with chin-mounted radar and dorsal turret. To ensure maximum reliability over open water, the engines were designed to operate at constant speed, driving the massive six blade contra-rotating propellers. The pilot feathered the props to regulate airspeed. Seven RAF squadrons were equipped with the Mk 1 and Mk 1A.

The Mk 2 - with its ventral radar installation, longer fuselage, twin 20 mm cannon and extended tail-cone - made its first flight in June 1952. At this time the SAAF was seeking replacements for its ageing Short Sunderland flying-boats - which No.35 Squadron was operating out of Congella sea-base near Durban. South Africa became part of the Shackleton story when four RAF Mk2s visited SA from May to June 1953. The aircraft was thoroughly evaluated and in January 1954 announced that eight were to be acquired for the SAAF -the only export order ever placed for this aircraft! Partly as a result of the SAAF order, the A.V. Roe factory (AVRO, later part of Hawker Siddeley and currently part of BAe) undertook some redesign of the aircraft, and the result was the Mk 3, which had a nose-wheel undercarriage due to the higher weight and to improve cross-wind landings; a stronger main undercarriage, with dual main wheels; permanent wingtip fuel tanks (due to the long range of the SA coast line); clear-vision cockpit canopy; and improved equipment and crew facilities. Interesting to note that scale aircraft modeling was part of the Shackleton story from the start - AVRO presented (what apears to be) 1/144 scale models of the aircraft to the SAAF.

In February 1957, a 41-man team from No. 35 Squadron was sent to the A.V. Roe factory at Woodford for an intensive training programme. Meanwhile the first of the redesigned Mk 3s had flown, and on 21 May 1957, No. 35 Squadron took delivery of the first two Mk 3 Shackletons, No. 1716 and No. 1717, at Woodford.This was some three months before any of this variant were taken into RAF service. Soon joined by a third, the SAAF Shacks took part in a combined British-American-Dutch exercise in the North Sea and then flew to their new home. The first two arrived at Waterkloof air base near Pretoria on 18 August 1957. The next day 1718 arrived as well, and together they flew to Cape Town.

A Shaky Start
Upon landing at Ysterplaat, the third aircraft's braking system (1718) failed and the aircraft came to a stop against a small building at the end of the runway. Damage was not very high, but the early years saw a number of belly landings - photos exist of 1718, 1721 and even 1722. This was until 1962, but the biggest tragedy struck on 18 August 1963, when no. 1718 crashed in the mountains near Rawsonville - in the worst weather imaginable. The entire crew of thirteen lost their lives. The aircraft was on its way to Port Elizabeth as part of the annual Capex exercises.

However, in true South African style, the men and women of 35 Squadron overcame the hardships through persistence - adopting new techniques, improving certain systems, better training and hard work. The Shackletons were land based and caused, no. 35 Squadron to move from Congella sea base to Cape Town. But, the existing air base at Ysterplaat was overcrowded and the runway found to be inadequate - a special section of the D.F. Malan civil airport was set aside as a Shackleton operational base - with Ysterplaat being used as a headquarters and maintenance facility. No. 35 Squadron has remained at D.F. Malan (now Cape Town International) to this day.

Newsmaker
The Shackletons featured in the news from day one - in mid-February 1958, while still awaiting for the last three aircraft, one Shackleton hit the headlines by setting what was then a local record: a non-stop 14,5-hour flight that took it from Waterkloof AFB, to Beit Bridge, then the Bechuanaland (now Botswana) border, Katima Mulilo in the Caprivi Strip, the Cunene River mouth on the South West African (now Namibia) northern border and then onto Cape Town. Total distance 4600km! About 10 days after this flight - 1721, 1722 and 1723 arrived, and the squadron became fully operational in its main task of patrolling the sea-route around southern Africa. Another much-publicized incident, was the search carried out by two of them on 30 October 1965 when a SAAF Buccaneer crashed into the Atlantic while being flown from Britain. Helped by a distress call a commercial airliner relayed to one of the searchers, 1722, the Shackletons were able to find the Buccaneer crew in their dinghy and pin-point their position so that a passing ship could pick them up.

The remaining seven thundered out to sea, day after day - flying up and down the extremely long coastline of South Africa and Namibia - while going about their assigned tasks. The endless hours of patrol over open water - the search and observation - in the constant presence of the Griffon growl, must have placed a heavy toll on the crews. The main task of the Shackleton was long-range maritime reconnaissance, and the effective protection of the ships around Southern Africa. It is estimated that only a handful (if any) of the Russian warships, supply vessels and spying fish trawlers, that circled Africa's southern tip, escaped the Shackletons' prying eyes and ready cameras. The Shackletons contributed largely towards peace, by ensuring the safety of the shipping lanes around SA, during the Cold War. These lanes were of the up most importance to the West. Even in 1981 a Russian task force was effectively shadowed, until they left South African waters. The aircraft carried torpedoes, free-fall bombs and depth charges in the anti-shipping and submarine role. In March 1971 the damaged tanker Wafra - condemned to be sunk but still afloat in spite of the attempts of SAAF Buccaneers - was finally sinked with depth-charges dropped by a Shackleton. But, in all the years with the SAAF - the nose mounted twin 20mm cannons were never fired in anger. These cannons were originally fitted, due to a Royal Navy requirement in case submarines decided to fight it out on the surface.

The seas around South Africa been described as the 'Cape of storms' by early seamen. Therefore, the Shackletons were also birds of peace and carried out many air-sea rescues and other mercy missions. From the first day in SAAF service the Shackleton could carry a Saro Mk 3 airborne lifeboat under the bomb-bay when used in an air-sea rescue role. Three Saro boats were delivered and one was accidentally destroyed during a dropping trial, while the other two were presented to the SAAF Museum Swartkop and the SA National Museum of Military History. The Saro boats were replaced by Lindholme-type rescue gear and later by the modern day inflatable gear. Many seamen of yachts and large vessels owe their lives to these huge aircraft. In times of these rescues, South Africa ignored all political barriers and rescued many so called "enemies" of the then South Africa. Thousands of refugees of the 1975 phase of the Angolan War have reason to remember the trusty old `Shacks' as well. Many of them suffered extreme distress as they poured southwards into Namibia. Ill-equipped for the journey along the barren, terrible 'Skeleton Coast' (the name says it all), many of them might not have reached safety, had it not been for the Shackleton's keeping a regular eye on them, reporting their progress and, when necessary, dropping supplies. Hardly surprising - few people disagreed with the Cape Town newspaper, 'the Argus', which in 1978 described the Shackletons and the men who flew them as `the St Bernards of our skies'.

Not widely know, but the Shackletons were also used to deliver mail and other goods to SA Navy vessels out at sea. It must've been a great feeling to see the familiar shape on the horizon after weeks at sea. The mail bag was dropped with pin-point accuracy on the stern. On occasion the mail bag was even dropped on the bow and not a single one missed the target!

Retirement
The Mk 3s in RAF service were retired more than a decade before this became an issue with the SAAF's Mk 3s. This was largely due to a 1963/64 modification programme which added so much to the overall mass that a Bristol Siddeley Viper jet engine was installed in each outboard nacelle to improve take-off performance. This extra mass and the resultant stress shortened their flying lives so drastically that they were retired. Older converted Mk 2s linger on in the RAF in the airborne early-warning role, but were replaced by specially adapted BAe Nimrods.

The arms embargo against SA, forced the SAAF to keep the Shackleton's avionics and electronic equipment up to date, and the aircraft in pristine condition. The local industry has also helped to keep the `Shacks' flying. In the mid-1970s the SAAF embarked on an extensive refit and re-sparring project. Of all the requirements, the re-sparring was the most difficult; a task of this magnitude had never been tackled locally. The first Shackleton to be overhauled was 1716. It was entirely dismantled because the re-sparring had to be done overseas. When 1716 was completed it was 1717's turn, and great difficulties were experienced because relations between South Africa and Britain were particularly chilly at the time. Eventually it was decided that 1717's refit, including the re-sparring, would be carried out completely by the SAAF. This took the technical staff about a year, and they were plagued as much by technical problems as by what some felt to be British obstructionism. Certain vital replacement parts ordered from Britain did not arrive, or were sent in insufficient quantity. The SAAF responded by manufacturing what it could not obtain. In one instance, lacking an essential part which could neither be bought, nor made locally, the SAAF sent a technical party hiking into the almost inaccessible Steynskloof Mountains to cannibalize the remains of 1718. They found the part concerned in perfect shape, and it duly ended up serving again in 1717. The project was completed late in 1977, and on October 13 that year, was rolled out of the workshops and put on display for the media by her justifiably proud rejuvenators.

All the airframes reached more than 10 000 flying hours and retirement became inevitable. With the arms embargo, the SAAF could not acquire a replacement such as the Lockheed Orion, the BAe Nimrod or the Breguet Atlantic. Ironically, these aircraft if acquired, would've ensured the safety of the shipping lanes to the West! To save flying hours, some of the Shackletons' tasks were taken over by the shorter-range Piaggio Albatross aircraft of No. 27 Squadron. The SAAF was the last operator of the Shackleton and did what it could to squeeze the maximum life out of the airframes. In the end only three remained airworthy - in December 1984, they were all retired - No. 1716, 1721 and 1722 were handed over to the SAAF museum. In what was almost the last flight of a MK. 3, - two were flown to the SAAF Museum at Swartkop. (no. 1722 took again to the air almost eight years later! - currently the only airworthy Mk. 3 in the world and flying as part of the SAAF Museum.) Long range reconnaissance were taken over by specially adapted turbo-prop Dakotas (the so called Turbo Dak or TP Dak). These aircraft are called 'Dakletons' by the crews of 35 Squadron. However, the Shackleton left a gap in the operations of the SAAF, which to this day remain unfilled.....