Shackleton

Sitting under the nose of this WR985 Shackleton this morning was quite something. Impressive in it's own way but also a bit sad in that it's been left to rot on Long Marston Airfield now it's out of the museum. A shadow of it's former self!

Named after the polar explorer Ernest Shackleton, the first flight was in 1949. With the advent of the Cold War, the Shackleton was used for maritime patrols by the RAF, mainly for anti-submarine warfare and later adapted for early warning along with search and rescue duties.