by Henk Hugo » Mon Dec 15, 2003 1:28 pm
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.
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Your absolutely right....when you sit in a spit...you strap it on.
