Aviation Photography - Shackleton WR963

Shackleton WR963 - The Move North
Shackleton Aviation Group
Coventry - Bagington airport
November 2023 to January 2025

From their website: "The Shackleton Aviation Group was formed around core members of the old Shackleton Preservation Trust which owned WR963 after its sale by Air Atlantique. Their aim remains; "The preservation, maintenance and operation of Avro Shackleton WR963 in taxying condition with the intent to return it to flight."

The preservation of WR963 is a very noble cause for this heritage aircraft. Whether WR963 will eventually be ready for flight or perhaps this is beyond their reach is debateable, especially without a wealthy benefactor. What can be said is they have a very dedicated team of volunteers who work very hard to keep this wonderful aircraft in good engine running order. The routine engine run in January 2023, was its last at Coventry. This is after the Group has decided that their long term future would be more secure at a new home at the Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington. The move was planned right down to include the final miles down narrow roads and bridges close to Elvington airfield by six low loaders carrying the dismantled aircraft.

WR963 first flew in March 1953 and eventually operated with 224 Squadron in Gibraltar. It was converted from MR.2 standard to AEW.2 and entered service in the Airborne Early Warning (AEW) role in July 1972 with 8 Squadron at RAF Lossiemouth till its retirement from service in March 1989. It was purchased from the Ministry of Defence in 1991 and moved to Coventry.

What follows are images of Richard Woods team dismantling Avro Shackleton AEW.2 (WR963 'B-M') for its move to Elvington.

November 2023:
Panels and some of the propellers have now been removed. There is a lot more that needs to be done before the low-loaders arrive in readiness for its move to Elvington.

December 2023:
The Rolls-Royce Griffon engines were removed and lowered on to an engine stand using a Foden S106 6x6 Recovery vehicle was fitted with a lifting beam, owned and operated by Mark and James Worrall. The two ton Griffon engine is held in place with four bushes, tapered pins and bolts which have to be removed once the Foden has taken the weight.
Richard Woods has many contacts in the aviation field who generously offer help advice and equipment. The engine stands came from Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre at East Kirkby and the lifting beam from the Royal Navy Historic Flight. The 35 year old Foden was one of 333 delivered to the British Army between 1986 and 2002.

Left to right: Shackleton T.4 nose (VP293) named "Zebedee" loaded on a trailer ready for the drive to Yorkshire.

January 2024:
Another weekend with Avro Shackleton team, this time to detach the remaining two engines on the port wing. The starboard stabliser which had been reluctant to seperate was also removed. The Rolls-Royce Griffon engines were removed and lowered on to an engine stand using a Foden S106 6x6 Recovery vehicle fitted with a lifting beam. Still a lot of work to be done by the team.

February 2024:
This weekend with the Avro Shackleton team with the engines removed are now disconnecting wires and piping. This is in readiness to removing the bolts for the wings and fuselage. Internally, some of the cabin systems also need to be removed to gain access to some of the fuselage bolts.

July 2024:
Team Leader Richard Woods with Dave Baylis and their crew of volunteers are another stage further to dismantling their Shackleton WR963 ready for its move to Elvington. The four Griffon engines were carried to the adjacent temporary storage area ready for the low loaders, hopefully in a few weeks time.

Today it was the wings that were to be removed, held by four pins which have held the wings on tightly secured for decades. They had to be knocked out while the Foden crane took the weight. It was not sure what the wings would do in the slight breeze once the last pin was removed. With cries of "Brace Yourself Rodney" [Only Fools and Horses] the port wing fell free and with the careful planning combined with slight adjustment of tensions the actual moment was not as dramatic as some may have thought. The wing swung a little as it was lowered onto tyres, drama free. The starboard wing was more of a problem, a pin would not release and the wing was still in place at the end of the day.
The port horizontal stabiliser also was tackled, but it stubbornly refused to yield.

A sad sight, with all the hanging wires (all documented) and the wheels removed.

August 2024:
Not too much progress with attention going to the wiring this weekend.

WR963 has been resting on its belly for quite some weeks now, three of the engines and other small sections have travelled north to Elvington.
Over the next three days the rest of the aircraft was to be moved.

January 3-5, 2025:
The Shackleton's move was finally completed to its new, safe and secure home, the Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington, Yorkshire. The dismantling of the former 1950s Royal Air Force long-range maritime patrol aircraft had started in November 2023.
The final push, managed by Richard Woods, took three long and exhausting days, one sunny, one overcast and one snowy. Each day involved a crane, notably the former British Army Foden and two flatbed trucks shuttling daily back and forth between Coventry and Elvington. The final Griffon engine, four propellors and the Shackleton, split into manageable pieces were all hauled onto their road transport, guided by Shackleton volunteers and secured using straps, pallets and Dakota tyres for the journey north.
The Shackleton’s move took longer than originally planned for all sorts of logistical reasons, the process starting more than two years ago, which unfortunately necessitated extensions to the ground rent lease at Coventry Airport with further expense. This and the large haulage costs has all been funded by donations. The project will still require additional donations if the Shackleton is to be restored back to engine-running order and display.

The last fixing points for the lifting straps are being fitted so that the cockpit section can be lifted and moved.

Richard Woods is supervising the loading of the last Griffon engine and three of the four propellors, which is all this flatbed truck can load.

The nose has been detached with a minimum of wiring cut so that it can be lifted clear, ready for its move tomorrow.
Supervising the lift is Richard Woods, Mark Worrall (Foden) and Graham Buckle (Yorkshire Air Museum).

Detached next is the centre section containing the main spar and wing roots. Each section was designed to e detached easily for transport from the factory. The early wiring was all fitted with connectors to allow seperation without wiring cutting. However when WR963 was converted from MR.2 (Maritime Reconnaisance) to AEW.2 (Airborne Early Warning) standard in 1971, the additional wiring was not fitted with connectors across the fuselage joints and now had to be cut. James Worrall is on the Foden taking the strain.

The centre section is supported with new manufactured posts to support the structure. Winched aboard and strapped down to the flatbed truck. Owner/Driver Reece Benjamin of World Transport greatly supported the project by charging the bare minimum for the move and assisting greatly with the lifting and loading of each aircraft section. Andrew Thorpe is guiding Reece off the grass.

The rear fuselage was the longest section weighing four tons it was easily lifted by the mighty Foden. L & KR Thorpe Transport's flatbed truck had to be extended to cover its length. Yorkshire Air Museum provided a support vehicle to escort the two truck convoy up the M69 and M1 and on to Elvington. They arrived in the dark just before the Police approved transport permit expired for the day.