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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 0953.PDF
FLIGHT, 18 May 1950 Though not the most elegant of Service aircraft, the Shack- leton is nothi ng if not busi ness- like m appearance and, as this ..flight photograph will confirm, has a certain rugged grandeur. SHACKLE TON The New Avro General Reconnaissance Aircraft for Coastal Command : A Key Type In Our Anti-Submarine Force : Crew Comfort : Rolls-Royce Griffon Engines T'O anyone per-turbed by thestate of Home and Commonwealth defences one of the most significant and re- assuring events in the aeronautical calendar will b% the delivery, now-imminent, of the first Avro Shackletons to R.A.F. Coastal Com- mand. The functions and characteristics of the Shackleton, and considerations under- lying its design, have been widely misunder- stood (even, on occasions, blatantly misrepresented), and it seems desirable to preface our description with some general observations on background and functions. First, it is necessary to take stock of the equipment which the Shackleton is intended to replace. Two types of air- craft—the Sunderland flying boat and the Lancaster land- plane—are primarily concerned, types which, by virtue of their legendary qualities of dependability and tracta- bility, have achieved an unsurpassed reputation. But modern warfare brooks no sentiment. Operational efficiency is the uncompromising demand, and those who fly the Coastal Sunderlands and Lancasters are only too well aware that replacements are already overdue. The threat of the schnorkel-equipped submarine mounts daily, Sir Ernest Shackleton. 1874—1922. and while America has wisely apportioned large sums (which she alone could afford) to the re-arming of her anti-submarine squadrons, we ourselves have been frus- trated in implementing our plans in this direction. Now, at last, a blurred and gloomy picture begins to clear. Not only are the first Shackletons about to be delivered to the Service, but orders for a new type of carrier-borne machine, likewise designed to hunt and destroy the deep- breathing submarine, are considered imminent. Up to the present, however, no type of flying boat to succeed the Sunderland has been announced. That this class of air- craft should be totally abandoned is as improbable* as it would be unfortunate; nevertheless, it is evident that in the period immediately ahead the shore-based anti- submarine squadrons of Coastal Command will be armed principally with the Shackleton. In deliberating on the special qualities demanded of a long-range, land-based, anti-submarine aircraft, and in assessing the Shackleton in this respect, we are stringently governed by considerations of security: nevertheless, such an appraisal is worth-while. Among operational requirements, range at medium and low altitudes is cardinal, and though no figures may be adduced for the Shackleton, it may be remarked that the crews of Coastal Lancasters already take sorties of 12 and 14 hours in their stride. The roominess of the Shackleton, and the attention paid to crew comfort, are indicative of the protracted flights intended. As there is no purpose in flying over great areas of sea if the means of locating a target are deficient, provision must be made for the very newest and most elaborate radar equipment, and (a most important consideration) for the
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