ith engines and propellers at R 266 109.45. The Rolls-Royce Griffon Mk 57A piston engines, like the airframe, were all classified as having sustained Category IIIa (write-off damage with no salvageable content). Engine numbers were 64411, 64412, 64416 and 64445.
This was the only Shackleton to be written off in 27 years of SAAF service from 1957 to 1984.
The Group Commander remarked that the ultimate load factor was 4 G. This figure suggests that the airframe was considerably stronger than the BOI was made to believe when they made their investigation. This information was, however, not available to the Board at the time.
The only flight crew member of the 13 that perished on board to have received any honours or awards was WO2 (Warrant Officer Class 2) Scully, recipient of the Africa Star with Clasp and the Union Medal (No. 285).
Individual Aircraft History:
1716 / J - c/n1526, first flight 29th March 1957, accepted at the Woodford Airfield by 35 Sqdn on the 16th May 1957, ferried to RAF St Mawgan for SAAF air-crew work-up exercises on the 21st May 1957, Departed for South Africa on the 13th August 1957, arrived Waterkloof on the 18th August 1957, Progressively modified up to Phase III standard. Wing re-sparring took place in South Africa, from March 1973 to April 1976. The aircraft took part in the retirement ceremony flypast at DF Malan airport, Cape Town, on the 23rd November 1984.
She was ferried from Cape Town to the SAAF Museum Swartkops on the 4th December 1984, with Capt Louis van Wyk as aircraft Captain. Restored to airworthy status in 1994, for planned attendance at a series of airshows in the UK. 1716 departed Cape Town International RW01 on the 8th July 1994, for the United Kingdom, routing via Libreville, Gabon, - Abidjan, Ivory Coast, - Lisbon, Portugal for intended entry into the UK via Brize Norton. Crashed 13th July 1994, in the Western Sahara Desert (22.38N, 03.14W) en-route to the UK.
Shackleton 1720 - painted as 1717 - which was on static display in front of the NCO's mess at
Ysterplaat AFB in Cape Town for many years, was sadly broken up on 12th March 2013.
Speculation has it that it was due to corrosion - it had been considered a safety hazard
1717 / O - c/n1527, first flight on the 6th May 1957, accepted at the Woodford Airfield by 35 Sqdn on the 16th May 1957, ferried to RAF St Mawgan for SAAF air-crew work-up exercises on the 21st May 1957, Departed for South Africa on the 13th August 1957, arrived Waterkloof on the 18th August 1957, from where 1716, 1717, & 1718 departed to Cape Town. The a/c was progressively modified up to Phase III standard. Wing re-sparring was done from September 1975 to October 1977. The aircraft was withdrawn from service & placed in storage at AFB Ysterplaat. During October 1987, she was dismantled & transported by sea to Durban, & then via road to the Midmar Dam, for static display at the Natal Parks Board transport museum. Financially the Natal Parks Board were unable to keep funding the museum, and all the exhibits were disposed of. With the subsequent closure of the Midlands Historic Village, where the aircraft was displayed, she was bought on auction by Mr Desai, a private businessman from Stanger in Kwazulu Natal. As of 2006, the airframe had been cut up for scrap, with only the engines remaining, potentially being sold to the UK.
1718 / K - c/n1528, first flight on the 13th May 1957, accepted at the Woodford Airfield by 35 Sqdn on the 16th May 1957, ferried to RAF St Mawgan for SAAF air-crew work-up exercises, Departed for South Africa on the 13th August 1957, and arrived Waterkloof on the 19th August 1957, from where 1716, 1717, & 1718 departed to Cape Town. The a/c had a wheels-up landing at DF Malan airport on the 9th November 1959, and was repaired during 1959-1960. She crashed in the Wemmershook mountains during poor weather, on the 8th August 1963. The aircraft was taking part in a CAPEX exercise, when severe icing caused loss of control, and the aircraft crashed inverted into a mountain valley, killing all 13 onboard. The crew were: Capt Thomas Howard Sive