Avro Shackleton MR3 in SAAF service (Part 2)
35 Squadron Emblem
(Shaya Amanzi - From the Zulu: "Hit the Water")
To replace the Short Sunderland, the SAAF ordered eight Avro Shackleton MR Mk3 in 1954, and delivery took place in 1957. The SAAF operated (1957 to 1984) a total of eight Avro Shackleton Mk.3's with tail numbers 1716-1723.
One Shackleton was lost on operations when it crashed in the Wemmershoek (Stettynsberg) range of mountains during poor weather conditions on 8th August 1963 with the loss of life of all 13 crew:
All aircraft were deployed by 35 Squadron at AFB Ysterplaat Cape Town , after initially flying out of Congela , close to Durban harbour.
The Shackleton served as a Maritime Patrol Aircraft with both the SAAF and RAF and was later replaced in the SAAF by the C-47TP and Nimrod in RAF service. The SAAF however used only the Mk.3 variant without the Viper upgrade.
Procuring the Shackleton was a major step up from the previous use of Sunderlands and Catalinas and according to Wiki , even Harvards and Spitfires were used! Shackletons were used extensively until 23 November 1984 when it was officially withdrawn from service.
Shackleton 1716 was re-furbished to flying condition for the SAAF Museum, but had the unfortunate experience to crash land in the Sahara desert near the border with Mauritania on 13 July 1994 whilst on a flight to Great Britain to take part in a number of air shows. It suffered a number of engine failures and was forced to land in the dark, without any loss of life to the 19 crew on board. (See separate post on this)
Another Shackleton 1722 has been re-conditioned to flying status and flies as part of the SAAF Historical Flight in Cape Town.
Armament consisted of two 20-mm cannon in the nose, plus up to 10,000lb (4 536kg) of weapons in the underfuselage bay.
From the book Avro Shackleton by Barry Jones:
The SAAF's Shackleton strength was reduced by one in August 1963. 1718 had previously suffered a hydraulic failure,resulting in a wheels-up landing at D. F. Malan on 9 November 1959, but the
required repairs were carried out in record time, in order to get the aircraft back into service. On 8 August 1963 the aircraft had been engaged in joint exercises with the RAF and was on a return flight to Cape
Town. In gusting winds and severe icing conditions down to 3,000ft (l,000m), 1718 struck high ground before crashing into the Wemmershoek mountain range outside the town of Worcester, some 60
mile (96km) east of its destination. The crash occurred about 25.8 km (16 miles from the nearest town, Worcester, in the Stettynskloof valley between Paarl and Stellenbosch.
All thirteen crew members were killed in the tragedy, that was hard to accept by the squadron for some time. The aircraft had made a total of 777 flying hours during the six years since its acceptance by the SAAF
On the other side of the coin, two years later 1722 took part in an impressive display of search and rescue. Eight Buccaneer S.50s were in loose formation on their delivery flight to the SAAF when one, SAAF No.419, had a flame-out in both engines at high altitude, about 500 miles (800km) south of the Canary Islands. The two crew members,Captains Jooste and de Kerk, ejected while Major A. M. Muller, who was leading the formation, relayed their position. 1722 was scrambled, and only a couple of hours into the mission picked up the 'blips' from the downed airmen's SARAH beacons.
Coloured flares were fired by both the Shackleton crew and the survivors in the Atlantic, to verify visual contact by all concerned.Another MRJ, 1721, was drafted into what was no longer a search, but a rescue
operation and two sets of Lindholme Gear were dropped to the Buccaneer crew.
The Dutch liner Randfontein was in the area and 1722 guided it to the rescue location, where a successful transfer from life raft to luxury was made. 1722, captained by Major Pat Conway, had flown nearly eighteen
hours on the AR mission, which had been undertaken as a text-book operation.
In 1971, the treacherous currents around the Cape of Good Hope claimed another victim