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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 1375.PDF
Above, the Shackleton-Lee Murray S.M.I of •:;_. kigm, A,.. V,. ^. Shackleton. 527FLIGHT, 21 Sept.1956 137 NOT OUT 'Bill" Shackleton s Unique Record of Aircraft Types Sold: Celebrating a Quarter-century NO FEWER than 137 different types of aircraft have passedthrough the hands of W. S. Shackleton, Ltd., since theformation of the original company (Shackleton and Lee Murray) just twenty-five years ago. The total number of aircraftsold abroad during this period is over 1,500. Among recent sales are 54 de Havilland Chipmunks for Australia—an appropriatetransaction, for it was in Australia that the company's story began. A news item under the heading "Airisms from the Four Winds"in Flight of May 29, 1931, read: "His many friends will be glad to learn that Mr. W. S. Shackletonis shortly returning to England from Australia, whither he went some years ago on account of indifferent health. Mr. Shackleton, who willperhaps be best remembered as the designer of the little A.N.E.C. mono- plane, and later the Beardmore "Wee Bee," has now wholly regainedhis health, and on his return to the "Old Country" he will, in con- junction with Mr. Lee Murray, who is generally regarded as one of thesoundest pilots in Australia, establish a business as consulting engineer, chiefly in connection with advising on the suitability and purchase ofaircraft from England by Australian, New Zealand, and New Guinea operating companies or private individuals. Mr. Shackleton has beenchief designer and engineer to the Larkin Aircraft Supply Company. Shackleton and Murray have between them a very thorough practicalknowledge of Australian conditions, and they should be very successful in attaining their ideal of developing a reliable and unbiased liaisonbetween aeronautical interests at home and in the Southern Hemisphere. . . . Mr. Shackleton and his family are travelling home by boat, whileMr. Lee Murray is flying his Desoutter monoplane across Canada and the United States to study conditions there . . ." Shackleton and Murray started business at 175 Piccadilly,London, in September of that year. The partnership could not have begun at a more difficult time, for there was then a periodof worldwide depression. For the first two years the final balance- sheet figures were in red but, in the third year (on a basis ofno salary or expenses to the two principals), a profit of 19s 7|d was recorded—and was ploughed back. The first aircraft to be sold by the company was a D.H. MetalMoth, which went to Dick Allen, an airline pilot, of Melbourne. Allen flew the machine out to Melbourne from the U.K. follow-ing long-range modifications by Shackleton and Murray. In 1932 the two partners decided to design a small two-seateraircraft utilizing a pusher propeller and powered by a 60 h.p. Hirth engine. A venture quite outside the firm's normal com-mercial activities, this project bore the designation Shackleton- Lee Murray S.M.I, and was based largely on the ideas formulatedby Murray after riving the Curtiss Junior, a similar type, in the U.S.A. The S.M.I first flew early in 1933. At about this time Lee Murray joined the de Havilland organiza-tion, and worked in turn for the D.H. companies in Canada, England and Australia. He now lives in retirement in Tasmania. Shackleton was now on his own but, in 1934, the economictide began to turn and the first big orders came in from New Guinea. Four Ford Trimotor 4-ATs and 5-ATs, together withbig stocks of engines and spares, were shipped out from the United Kingdom to Lae. The four Fords continued in service,amassing over 50,000 flying hours, until the Japanese invasion of New Guinea. Business continued to prosper and, early in 1935, a limitedcompany was formed with W. S. Shackleton and J. H. C. Beard as directors. Soon afterwards Mr. Shackleton visited the U.S.A.to purchase further airframe and engine spares. Among the more interesting aircraft supplied by Shackletonbefore the war were a large number of ambulance versions of the Fox Moth for the Australian Flying Doctor Service and, in 1934,a Fairey Fox flown by Ray Parer and Geoffrey Hemsworth in the 1934 MacRobertson Race. Another was the special AirspeedEnvoy fitted with Wolseley Aries III engines and owned by Sir William Morris, now Lord Nuffield, which was sent to Australiato found the nucleus of the large fleet now operated by Ansett Airways. During this pre-war period, the firm handled most types of British light aircraft. Names which have their own nostalgia cometo mind, such as the de Havilland Moths—Puss, Leopard, Hornet, Fox, and Minor; the Miles types—Hawk, Falcon, Merlin, WhitneyStraight, Monarch; the Percival Gull, Vega Gull, Mew Gull and Q.6 (Shackletons sold the first three of these to be built). Othersinclude the B.A. Swallow, Eagle and Double Eagle; Comper Swift; Avro Avian, Cadet, Tutor and Commodore; BlackburnBluebird and B.2 trainer; Parnall Elf and Heck; Wesdand Widgeon; Short Scion; G.A. Monospar and Cygnet; Tipsy;Wicko; Redwing; Heston Phoenix; Mosscraft; and the Taylorcrafts. During the 1939-45 war Mr. Shackleton worked in the Direc-torate of Scientific Research at the Ministry of Aircraft Produc- tion, in connection with the development of troop- and cargo-carrying gliders. On completion of this work he was engaged by the Indian Tata company as consultant for their repair andmaintenance depots throughout India. In spite of the war the firm's aircraft sales continued, albeiton a very different basis. Early in 1940 instructions were received from Guinea Airways, Ltd., to purchase two new Lockheed 14aircraft which had just been acquired by Aer Lingus. These were flown out to Australia in circumstances which, the company states,"if written-up would make a detective thriller read like a child's book of verse." These aircraft were intended for thestrategic run from Adelaide to Darwin; one of these machines, still flying, had recently logged some 25,000 hours. Another war-time order was the shipment of 32 Tiger Moths to India in connection with the Empire Air Training Scheme. After the war, S/L. Beard rejoined the firm, and Mr. Shackle-ton made a five-months tour of all the major aircraft companies in Canada and the United States, with a view to studying civilaircraft development. The firm quickly got into its stride again and many pre-war and wartime aircraft were sold in Europe andexported to all parts of the world. The main types involved were Tiger Moths, Proctors, Magisters, Piper Cubs, Consuls, Oxfords,Rapides, Fairchilds, Beechcraft, Ansons, Dakotas, and Lodestars. In 1948 Beard resigned his directorship to settle in Australia withhis family. As production of new British types began, Shackle- ton's sales switched to Autocrats, Auster 5s, Geminis, Messengers,Aerovans, Avro XIXs, Doves, Herons, Princes, Marathons, Vikings, Wayfarers and the many new Auster civil types. Alsoincluded were a number of Short Solent flying boats and a double- deck Bermuda for Australia. On Mr. Shackleton's staff at the present time are his son, KeithShackleton (director, sales manager and demonstration pilot), who is also well known as a dinghy sailor, ornithologist, artist andauthor; Mr. Frank Dismore, D.F.C. (director, general manager and demonstration pilot), previously with the Royal Aero Club;Mr. D. E. Hayward (shipping and despatch) who handles the shipping and despatch department and supervises most ordersfor engines, spares and equipment; and Mr. T. S. Irving, the company secretary. It is indeed a varied and interesting record that the companyhas to look back on over the past 25 years. It is worth recalling that Shackletons provided the first office accommodation for Mr.Louis Armandias when he came over from France to found the British Messier organization. Hessell Tiltman and MarcusLangley were also provided with desks and drawing boards when they started in partnership to found the Tiltman Langley com-pany; and, similarly, Capt. R. J. Ashley and his staff made their start with W. S. Shackleton, Ltd., when they founded the originalSkyways, Ltd. The most recent type of aircraft to be sold—the 137th type—is the Auster Alpine delivered to the air patrol of the Automobile Association. Having over the past twenty-five years sent air-craft to almost every conceivable pan of the world, from Iceland to Madagascar and from the Canary Islands to Fiji, the founderof the company now looks forward to selling second-hand Douglas D.C.8s and Boeing 707s in the 1960s.
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