In the late 1940s, as part of the United Kingdom's military response to the rapid expansion of the Soviet Navy and their ever-evolving submarines, the Royal Air Force called out for a new aircraft capable of long-range maritime patrol.
From the Avro manufacturer's drawing board, the Shackleton emerged as the request for proposal's winner.
Developed from the Avro Lincoln bomber, itself a development from the wartime Avro Lancaster, the Shackleton was an aircraft with years-proven technology.
Named after renowned polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, Avro's latest aircraft lived up to its namesake, as it patrolled all over the United Kingdom colonies for decades.
Performing a wide array of missions, including convoy escorting, supply dropping, photo-reconnaissance, communication relaying, ground-attack missions, short-term bombing operations, and more.
With a characteristic loud growling noise, the Avro Shackleton would become one of the world's most iconic Maritime Reconnaissance aircraft.
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Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, top-secret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between.
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