Editing Avro Shackleton (section)

===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>