The Friends of the South African Air Force Museum
Shackleton Society
A SAAF Shackleton doing coastal reconnaissance.
South Africa is the sole export customer of the Avro Shackleton. They acquired eight and they served with 35 squadron in the South African Air Force for more than a quarter century. The British may call her the 'Old Grey Lady', but most people in South Africa like to call her the 'St. Bernard of the skies.'
Eight Shackletons were ordered, of which very few remain. Shackleton 1722/P, South Africa's only flying Shackleton is based at Cape Town International Airport. Unfortunately this specimen has very few flying hours left. Shackleton 1721/N, currently standing at Swartkop AFB, is open for tours on Saturdays. Shackleton 1718/K, crashed into the Steynskloof mountains near Cape Town and was never recovered. The last of these Shackletons, 1716/J crashed in the Sahara Desert, near the Mauritanian border, and is also considered unrecoverable due to mines.
This page is dedicated to Shackleton 1721/N and the full restoration of this piece of history.
June 1999 a group of the Friends of the Air Force Museum decided to restore this aircraft to be the centre-piece of the Swartkop Museum. Almost fully complete, it lacks only a few items to make it a show-piece. Harder work and a large amount of parts is required to make this aircraft fly. The cost of the restoration is estimated at R3 million (£300'000). The hardest bump in the road to overcome is to find engines, as most of them are not that good anymore.
We therefore plead to you for any assistance, be it financially, location of parts or even technical knowledge. If you can be of assistance, please contact me at [email protected] or alternatively, you can fax or phone me at +27 12 660-0241. Ask for Danie Heath.
Please feel free to roam through this page and be mesmerized with the beauty of the Shack.
Performance Specifications of the Avro Shackleton M.R.3
Location of other Avro Shackletons
Links to other aviation related pages.
With Compliments Roo Consultants