Shackleton MR.3/Phase 3 Mods

All I can say is that it had Phase 3 and Viper work carried out at the same time and over a long period, as it researched individual mods. It got back to 203 sqn in Feb 1967.
From the bits of paper I have got it is possible to see an order of when aircraft were dispatched and received from mods work, but it isn’t a reliable way of saying exactly which order the aircraft received Vipers. Only the individual logbooks and manufacturers records would say precisely.
It would be interesting to know if there is still surviving Avro / HSA paperwork that records this work.

As an aside, does anyone know if Duxford holds logbooks etc for their individual aircraft, and are they kept in one library?

To go off at a slight tangent does anyone know where Duxford’s Shack fits into the list of Viper fits?

I was going to mention this myself and forgot about it! You are correct, XF704 went to 201 Sqn from Phase 3 mods in May 1965, and no Vipers were ftted before its very unfortunate crash in December.
‘702 had returend to sqn use after Phase 3 work in Feb 1965, and had its Viper fit completed by March 1967, it crashed in Inverness-shire on the 21 December 1967, a particularly awful date.
‘705 had a more enjoyable career, having a combined Phase 3 and Viper fit, seeing full service with KMW and 42 sqn, before going to Manstons fire dump in August 1971.

Thanks for that Gents,

Apart from helping to unravel a slightly confusing issue, I assume therefore that XF704 had not gone to have Vipers fitted before its tragic accident in 12/65.

Pagen, Don’t worry about the age thing 😀

I generally thought that would stump most of the younger generation on the forum. As for the most recent Shackleton book to come out its got nothing for XF702 and XF705s history is given under 704 while it states that there was no info available for 705!!

Oh Dear…

Cheers

Tim

ASV-21 was around but the phase three got the updated version of it, It was meant to close to the spec of the Nimrod MR.1s ASV-21D.
Forgot to mention the Griffon update, as Peter mentioned, and cooling with the larger radiators was an issue for a while.
You possibly have the log books Peter, but the history I have of WR974 shows it had its full phase 3 work completed by Aug ’68, it was so late because it was employed on trials work for various phase 3 componants with ASWDU, Farnborough and Boscombe before this time. However this record does show it had other work completed at Bitteswel that ended in March 70, that was fairly common across the Shackleton fleet though.

The introduction of ASV21 occurred much earlier and was not a part of Phase III. It was introduced at late Phase1/11 approximately 1959 onwards. Phase III meant a complete airframe rebuild plus the changes included new nav and compass system, an additional position in the tactical compartment (2nd Sonics) The ability to carry the American nuclear DC plus a host of other minor avionics changes. (all the switches became grey and not black) And most importantly improved soundproofing, oh, and a nice creamy decor inside. Still b****y noisy though!
The Viper fit was a separate “upgrade” which eventually got rolled into the Phase III modifications, this is why it is often believed, incorrectly, to be part of the Phase III. These changes also meant that the engine generators had to be enlarged to provide the electrical power, this in turn meant uprated gearboxes etc, this configuration gave the Griffon its MK58 designation. Incidentally, Gatwick Aviation Museum have the last MKIII to undergo Phase III conversion, WR974, this was completed in March 1970.

Phase three did not include the viper installation, as is commonly thought.
this last major upgrade which was initiated in mid ’63, consisted of fitting the up to date ASV-21 radar, improved sonics suite and many other improvement mods. Although booster jet mods were envisaged due to the increased AUW none of the necesary parts were fitted at this stage.
Vipers, reprofiled nacelles, and associated mods were a seperate and generally later fitment.
Typically the aircraft would arrive on unit from Langar updated as phase 3s, do about 8-11 months service and were sent away again to Langar or Woodford for Viper fit, this work typically took 7 months to complete.
There were acceptions, including Newarks WR977, which had phase 3 and Viper mods carried out at the same time. WR973 was the first Viper equiped Shack, first flying on 29 Jan 65, the last was 42 sqns XF707 arriving in Jan ’68.

Hoping Im not an older member!;)