Avro Shackleton

Maritime patrol aircraft introduced in 1951

Overview

Avro United Kingdom 1951–1958

The Avro Shackleton was built by Avro as a British long-range maritime patrol aircraft that saw service with the Royal Air Force and the South African Air Force. It was a development of the four-engine heavy bomber Avro Lincoln. The aircraft first flew in March 1949, was introduced in April 1951, and was retired in 1991. It was produced until 1958 with a total number of 185 aircraft built.

Specifications

Units
Engine
4 × Rolls-Royce Griffon 57
Engine type
Piston
Power
4 × 1,960 hp · 1,462 kW
Avionics
—
Wing tips
No winglets
Seats
10
Crew
—
Cabin width
—
Cabin height
—
Cabin length
—
Exterior length
87 ft 4 in  ·  26.62 m
Tail height
23 ft 4 in  ·  7.10 m
Fuselage diameter
7 ft 7 in  ·  2.30 m
Wing span
121 ft 5 in  ·  37.00 m
Baggage volume
—
Gross weight
—
Empty weight
—
Max takeoff weight
86,000 lb  ·  39,000 kg
Max landing weight
—
Max payload
15,000 lb  ·  6,800 kg
Fuel capacity
5,100 gal · 19,400 L · 13,900 kg (AvGas)
Max cruise speed
262 kt  ·  302 mph  ·  485 km/h
Maximum speed
—
Cruise speed
—
Approach speed
80 kt  ·  92 mph  ·  148 km/h
Range
3,661 nm  ·  4,210 mi  ·  6,780 km
Fuel burn
—
Ceiling
20,200 ft  ·  6,200 m
Rate of climb
900 ft/min  ·  5 m/s
Takeoff distance
3,750 ft  ·  1,140 m
Landing distance
—
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Avro Shackleton AEW.4

Operational Context

The Shackleton can accommodate up to ten crew members on board. It has an external length of 26.62 meters, an external height of 5.3 meters, and a fuselage diameter of 2.3 meters. It has a tail height of 7.1 meters and a wheelbase of 13.3 meters. The wingspan is 37 meters and the wing area is 132 square meters. It has an empty weight of 23,315 kg, a maximum takeoff weight of 39,009 kg, a fuel tank capacity of 5,114 US gal. The maximum payload is 6,800 kg.

The aircraft is powered by four Rolls-Royce Griffon 57 V-12 liquid-cooled piston engines. It has two intake and two exhaust valves per cylinder with sodium-cooled exhaust valve stems actuated through an overhead camshaft, a two-speed two-stage centrifugal-type supercharger that boosts pressure automatically linked to the throttle, a triple-choke updraught pressure-injection carburetor with automatic mixture control, a dry-sump with one pressure pump and two scavenge pumps, a pressurized cooling system, and a left-handed tractor reduction gear.

It has a water-methanol injection on take-off and produces a maximum thrust of 1,960 hp each. It also drives six-bladed contra-rotating fully feathering constant-speed DH propellers with a 4.06-meter diameter. The Shackleton has a maximum speed of 260 knots. It has a travel range of 1,950 nautical miles and an endurance of fourteen hours and thirty-six minutes. It can fly up to 20,200 feet and can climb at a rate of 900 feet per minute. The takeoff distance is 1,143 meters.

The Avro Shackelton could be armed with two 20 mm Hispano Mark V cannon located in the nose and up to 4,536 kg of bombs, torpedoes, mines, or conventional or nuclear depth charges such as the Mk 101 Lulu. The aircraft was also fitted with avionics such as ASV radar, sonobuoys, Magnetic Anomaly Detector (MAD), and submarine detection equipment.