Four Engines Down...

‘Four Engines Down…..’

I served in the RAF from 1966 to 1988 as an Aircraft Engine Fitter. My last five years were spent at RAF Halton as an instructor, the RAF’s Technical College in lovely leafy Buckinghamshire. One of the aircraft I had worked on back in 1969-70 was the legendary Shackleton, a slightly updated post-war version of the Lancaster bomber, but fitted with four Rolls-Royce V12 ‘Griffon’ piston engines (big Merlins). Because the Mk3 was so heavy, it was also fitted with an additional pair of jet engines on the Mk3 Phase 3 models, behind the Griffons with their huge contra-rotating propellors. The Shackleton was a maritime aircraft that spent hours and hours searching the oceans for enemy submarines. I used to tell this story to my trainees at Royal Air Force, Halton, who were mostly youngsters heading out into the RAF as engine technicians and mechanics. My guess is that it is probably true but the authorities will never admit it, but then such stories make the best ones. This one includes a huge USA aircraft-carrier and is back in the late 1950s….

“ One fine early sunny morning at RAF St. Mawgan in Cornwall, in the late 1950's, a Shackleton aircrew wandered out to their steed for the day, a nice new Mk3 Phase 3, Avro Shackleton MR2, the one with tricycle undercarriage (the older ones had tail wheels). It sat waiting expectantly ready serviced, full of fuel and raring to go. The crew settled into their various stations in the fuselage and the massive piston engines were all started up one by one. Checks were carried out, chocks away and off it taxied to the runway. For the unwary, the Shackleton has four Rolls-Royce 'Griffon' piston engines with contra-rotating propellers but the Mk3 had two extra engines, to assist it into the air, as it was a lot heavier than the MR1 Mk2 (MR means Maritime Reconnaissance). These jet engines were Bristol-Siddeley ‘Viper’ jet engines, similar to those fitted to the Jet Provost jet-trainer. They differed in that they could run on Avgas (high octane petrol, the same fuel the four V12 Griffons used ) where normally a jet engine used Avtur or Avtag (a posh name for paraffin.) The hotter running Avgas shortened the jets running lives due to the hotter running of the turbines. They were mounted behind the normal outboard Griffon engines and contra-rotating propellers, in the outer nacelles, but were only used to get the heavy aircraft into the air during take-off. Jet engines burning Avgas tend to produce quite a bit of black smoke, they run ‘rich’ to help cool the turbines. To the uninitiated the Shackleton looks a lot like a WW2 Lancaster and is often mistaken for one by our American friends.

It was another routine search pattern ‘jolly’ over the Atlantic Ocean as part of a NATO exercise and a long boring one. A 'Shack' can fly up to 12 hours. The aircraft wended its way back and forth along a grid pattern, looking for a US submarine known to be in the area pretending to be a Russian one, as well as anything else of interest. Then one of the crew spotted a blip on the radar screen that was a ship on the horizon. So the pilot persuaded the 10,000 rivets flying in loose formation to turn and headed towards the blip. As they drew near to it, the fine outline of a huge, brand-new, United States of America Navy aircraft carrier loomed up on the horizon. Our intrepid aircrew being a little bored, decided to have a bit of fun.

The Shackleton was only some 500 feet above the waves as it flew towards the carrier, some ten miles ahead of it. The carrier crew saw the aircraft on their radar and now by eye, and tried to contact it by radio. Getting no reply they then sent out some signals by lamp. The Shackleton did not seem to be receiving any messages and did not respond. Perhaps its radio was broken they thought. Instead, it flew slowly round in a large arc till it faced the carrier following it into wind, the normal way any aircraft intending to 'land' does (flying ‘into wind’ helps to slow down the landing speed so an aircraft carrier will steam into wind). Many of the inquisitive carrier’s young, conscripted crew came up on deck to see this museum piece flying around, to them an ancient, four engined, WW2 British bomber. Now the crew on the carrier could see the Shackleton had its two outboard engines feathered (engine stopped, propellor blades facing forwards for least resistance) and they assumed this was the cause of its low height and slow speed and perhaps those engines were damaged. They did not know the Shack normally flew very slowly compared to a modern jet. To the carrier’s crew it seemed to have two ‘broken’ engines.

Still some miles away, the port-inner prop was seen to splutter to a stop and auto-feather. Some alarm now swept over the aircraft carrier’s crew as it was realised the huge British WW2 Bomber was on an approach to them and appeared to be intending to land on their deck and now only had one engine. Frantic arm waving, coloured flares were fired, whistles and lamp signals were everywhere; the carriers deck was full of parked, shiny brand-new ‘Phantom’ fighters with their wings folded up and ground crew running about in a panic. The Shack continued on its approach, now seemingly very, very low almost clipping the waves and only just keeping up a speed above a stall, on its one remaining engine. It looked to be struggling badly to stay in the air.

Then black smoke was seen to billow from the rear of the two outer-engines nacelles and a growling whine could be heard above the single struggling Griffon. It now seemed that this stricken bomber was now on fire. Now out and out panic set aboard the carrier...this stupid RAF pilot was about to try land a huge, four engined vintage bomber on their crowded deck, AND the thing was on fire. About half a mile out the last remaining engine was seen to cough and splutter to a stop, and then auto-feather its prop. This must be the end they all thought, it must be about to ditch, but no, an incredulous carrier crew watched the Shackleton unfailingly continue to fly on its approach towards them, with NO engines and black smoke pouring out behind it. By now three bulldozers normally used to remove crashed aircraft had been shoving perfectly serviceable, new Phantom Jet Fighters off the edge of the decks into the sea to make room for the bomber. If this maniac was going to land on them, at least they could provide a clear deck.

Now the unbelievable began, as they saw with their own eyes, a huge British World War Two bomber, on fire and flying towards them with NO engines that was actually beginning to CLIMB. As it approached the threshold of the deck, it had climbed 200 feet above the sea. The now cleared deck that had been expecting a very nasty landing was passing underneath the Shack. All eyes were on it, as first one, then two, then three and then the fourth Griffon engine were started up again and roared into life. By the time this WW2 Bomber had flown a couple of thousand feet ahead the carrier, it was climbing away strongly on all six of its engines. Off over the horizon it went and the poor Captain of a USA carrier had a lot of explaining to do about the loss of so many new Phantom jet fighters.”

You can bet that was 'covered up' very quickly. There is no record we know of, of what happened to the Shackleton's crew. Out there, somewhere in the mid-Atlantic, lying on the bottom are lots of new, one owner, Phantom jet fighters.

Neil Cairns.