Editing Avro Shackleton (section)

==Operational history==
===Royal Air Force===
[[File:ShackletonAEW2 8Sqn RAF 1982.jpeg|thumb|8 Sqn RAF flew the Shackleton AEW 2 from 1973 to 1991. This example was pictured on 26 June 1982]]
On 30 March 1951, the first Shackleton was delivered to [[No. 120 Squadron RAF]]; by the end of 1952 seven squadrons were operating the type,<ref name="jeff 70-72">Jefford et al. 2005, pp. 70–72.</ref> which soon came to be nicknamed ''The Growler'' on account of the engine noise from the four Rolls-Royce Griffon engines.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lake |first1=Deborah |title=Growling over the oceans : the Avro Shackleton, the men and the missions 1951-1991 |date=2010 |publisher=Souvenir Press |location=London |isbn=9780285638761 |pages=16–17}}</ref> The first operational deployment of the Shackleton occurred in 1955 as a troop-transport for [[British Army]] movements to [[Cyprus]]. Less than a year later, the type's first combat deployment took place during the [[Suez Crisis]], codenamed [[Operation Musketeer (1956)|Operation Musketeer]].<ref name="Jones 121-12">Jones 2002, pp. 121–122.</ref> [[File:Shackleton flying in formation near Masirah.png|thumb|left|RAF Shackleton of 224 Squadron flying in formation during the 1954–1959 [[Jebel Akhdar War]] in Oman]] In 1957, British RAF Shackletons participated heavily during the [[Jebel Akhdar War]] in [[Oman]] to expand the territory of the Sultanate, which was a ''de facto'' British colony,<ref name=OBRA>{{cite web|url=https://www.qdl.qa/en/close-relationship-britain-and-oman-1750|title=A Close Relationship: Britain and Oman Since 1750|author=Dr Francis Owtram|date=11 December 2014|publisher=QDL}}</ref><ref name=GR/><ref name=QoO>{{Cite web|url=https://undocs.org/Home/Loader?FinalSymbol=A%2FRES%2F2302(XXII)&Language=E&DeviceType=Desktop&LangRequested=True|title=A/RES/2302(XXII)|website=Undocs.org|access-date=19 April 2022}}</ref> in order to gain access to oil wells in the interior of the country. The RAF made 1,635 raids, dropping 1,094 tons of bombs and firing 900 rockets at the interior of Oman between July and December 1958, targeting insurgents, mountain top villages, water channels and crops in a war that nevertheless remained low profile.<ref name=GR>{{Cite news|url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/sep/08/britains-secret-wars-oman|title=Britain's secret wars &#124; Ian Cobain|date=8 September 2016|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=19 April 2022}}</ref><ref name=OmansInsurgencies>{{cite book|last=Peterson|first=J. E.|title=Oman's Insurgencies: The Sultanate's Struggle for Supremacy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wkUhBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT43|year=2013|publisher=Saqi|isbn=978-0-86356-702-5|page=43}}</ref><ref name=BA>{{Cite web|url=http://markcurtis.info/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/pro.Oman-1957-9.-Declassified.pdf|title=British National Archives: ''Oman 1957-9''|website=Markcurtis.info|access-date=19 April 2022}}</ref>

During the 1960s, the typical Shackleton crew comprised two pilots, two navigators, a flight engineer, an air electronics officer, and four air electronics operators.<ref name="jeff 78">Jefford et al. 2005, p. 78.</ref> During this period, equipment upgrades had become routine in order to keep pace with ever more capable submarines. Problems with airframe fatigue were identified, leading to several programmes to strengthen the aircraft and thus extend its viable service life. In 1966, [[nuclear depth charge]]s were introduced to the Shackleton's arsenal with the aim of countering the Soviets' development of deep-diving submarines.<ref>Jefford et al. 2005, pp. 70–72, 74–77.</ref>

Maritime reconnaissance was a large element of the Shackleton's service, this mission being to identify and monitor naval and merchant shipping, and to demonstrate sovereignty. During the [[Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation]] in the 1960s, Shackletons monitored the seas for vessels involved in [[arms smuggling]]. Similar operations were conducted in [[Cyprus]], and Shackletons operating from bases in [[Madagascar]] co-operated with [[Royal Navy]] vessels to enforce a [[United Nations]]-mandated oil blockade of [[Rhodesia]].<ref name="jeff 82-83">Jefford et al. 2005, pp. 82–83.</ref>

[[File:31 Shackleton mail drop Aug1970.jpg|thumb|left|RAF Shackleton performing a mail drop in July 1970 for Royal Navy ships on the "[[Beira Patrol]]", blockading Beira to prevent [[Rhodesia]]n oil imports]]
The Shackleton would often be used to perform [[search and rescue]] missions, one crew and aircraft being kept on standby somewhere in the UK for this role. The Shackleton also replaced the Avro Lincoln in the colonial policing mission, aircraft often being stationed in the [[Aden Protectorate]] and [[Oman]] to carry out various support missions, including convoy escorting, supply dropping, photo reconnaissance, communication relaying, and ground-attack missions. The Shackleton was also employed in several short-term bombing operations.<ref name = "Jones 49">Jones 2002, p. 49.</ref> Other roles included weather reconnaissance and transport duties, in the latter role each Shackleton carrying freight panniers in the bomb bay or up to 16 fully equipped soldiers.<ref name="jeff 83-87">Jefford et al. 2005, pp. 83–87.</ref>

In 1969, a jet-powered replacement patrol aircraft, the [[Hawker Siddeley Nimrod]], began to enter RAF service, which was to spell the end for the Shackleton in most roles. While radically different in external appearance, the initial version of the Nimrod shared many sensor systems and onboard equipment with the Shackleton.<ref>Jefford et al. 2005, pp. 75, 89.</ref>
[[File:APS-20 Radar.jpg|thumb|AN/APS-20 radar scanner]]
The intention to retire the Shackleton was thwarted by the need to provide AEW coverage in the North Sea and northern Atlantic following the withdrawal of the [[Fleet Air Arm]]'s [[Fairey Gannet AEW|Fairey Gannet]] aircraft used in the AEW role in the 1970s. As an interim replacement, the existing [[AN/APS-20]] radar from the Gannets was installed in modified Shackleton MR 2s, redesignated '''AEW 2''', from 1972. These were operated by [[No. 8 Squadron RAF|No. 8 Sqn]], based at [[RAF Lossiemouth]]. All 12 AEW aircraft were given names from ''[[The Magic Roundabout]]'' and ''[[The Herbs]]'' TV series.<ref name="World Aircraft Information Files"/> The intended replacement, the [[British Aerospace Nimrod AEW3]], suffered considerable development difficulties which culminated in it being cancelled in favour of an off-the-shelf purchase of the [[Boeing E-3 Sentry]], finally allowing the last Shackletons to be retired in 1991.<ref name="Tyack 87">Tyack 2005, p. 87.</ref>

===South African Air Force===
[[File:1982-10 Shackleton 1717 c.jpg|thumb|''SAAF 1717 0'' on patrol, October 1982]]
During the Second World War, the importance of securing the sea routes around the [[Cape of Good Hope]] had been made apparent, with over a hundred vessels being sunk in South African waters by enemy vessels between 1942 and 1945.<ref name="Shackleton SAAF">[http://saafmuseum.org.za/the-shackelton-in-the-saaf/ "The Shackleton in the SAAF."] ''saafmuseum.org.za'', 23 February 2011.</ref> Postwar, the [[South African Air Force]] sought a large and capable platform to perform the maritime patrol role. After evaluating four RAF MR 2s in 1953, an order was placed for eight Shackletons as a replacement for the SAAF's aging [[Short Sunderland]] maritime patrol aircraft. Modifications were required to match South African conditions and requirements, such as the ability to operate over the [[Indian Ocean]]. The resulting aircraft was designated the Shackleton MR 3.<ref name="jeff 76"/><ref>[http://www.shackletonproject.co.za/saaf.html "Shackletons in the SAAF – Birth of a Legend."] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080524071008/http://www.shackletonproject.co.za/saaf.html |date=24 May 2008 }} ''The Shackleton project''. Retrieved: 10 July 2008.</ref>

[[File:Shackleton1.jpg|thumb|Avro Shackleton Mk 3 at Ysterplaat AFB in South Africa, serial 1722, a.k.a. Pelican 22. Taken 27 May 2017 at engine run-up. No longer flying but considered mostly airworthy.]]

On 18 August 1957, the first two Shackletons were delivered to [[Cape Town International Airport|D.F. Malan Airport]], [[Cape Town]]. Two more followed on 13 October 1957 and the remainder arrived in February 1958. Delivered to the same basic standard as the RAF's MR 3s, they were assigned single letter codes between "J" and "Q" and operated by [[35 Squadron SAAF]]. The type typically patrolled the sea lanes around the Cape of Good Hope, often monitoring Soviet vessels transiting between the Indian and Atlantic oceans. The Shackleton was briefly used in low-level overland patrols along the [[Southern Rhodesia]]n border, but these duties ended following concerns of the disturbance of wildlife.<ref name="Shackleton SAAF"/><ref name="Jones 111-114">Jones 2002, pp. 111–114.</ref>

[[File:In memory of the Shakleton 1718 crew, South Africa 1963.jpg|thumb|Commemorating crew of Shakleton MR.3 1718 (1963 in South Africa)]]
The Shackleton would often be called upon to perform search and rescue operations in the treacherous waters around the Cape. In March 1971, Shackletons successfully intervened in the [[SS Wafra oil spill]], deliberately sinking the stricken oil tanker with depth charges in order to prevent an ecological disaster.<ref name="Jones 114-115">Jones 2002, pp. 114–115.</ref> The only operational loss incurred was 1718 K, which crashed into the Wemmershoek mountains at night time on 8 August 1963 with the loss of all thirteen crew.<ref name="Shackleton SAAF"/>

South Africa's policy of [[apartheid]] led to an [[embargo]] imposed by the [[United Nations]], which made acquiring components for the Shackleton fleet increasingly difficult, the aircraft's serviceability suffering as a result.<ref name="Shackleton SAAF"/> The fleet had been modified to Phase III standards prior to the implementation of the arms embargo, albeit without the auxiliary Viper engine.<ref name="Jones 114-115"/> Two of the aircraft were re-sparred, 1716 J in the United Kingdom and 1717 O in South Africa by the SAAF, but the lack of engine spares and tyres, together with airframe fatigue, took a gradual toll. By November 1984, the fatigue lives of all but the two re-sparred aircraft had expired and the fleet was retired into storage.<ref name="World Aircraft Information Files"/> Although the joke has been applied to several aircraft, the Shackleton was often described as "a hundred thousand rivets flying in close formation."<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20100503065503/http://www.airstrike.co.za/?p=107 "The Avro Shackelton and The SAAF Museum."]}} ''SAAF Museum,'' 21 February 2010. Retrieved: 16 January 2012.</ref><ref name = "Jones 7">Jones 2002, p. 7.</ref>