A major milestone has been reached in the relocation of a giant RAF submarine-hunting aircraft.
The Avro Shackleton, which was used to track Soviet submarines from the 1950s to the early 1990s, has now been moved to the Yorkshire Air Museum (YAM) at Elvington.
The aircraft, known as Shackleton WR963, was previously based at Coventry Airport and maintained in ‘live running’ condition by volunteers, meaning it could run its four Griffon engines although it can no longer fly.
However, when the airport closed, the aircraft lost its home and its future was uncertain until a deal was struck to move it to YAM.
The aircraft was broken into sections and transported by road from Coventry to the museum near York (Image: KEIRAN WILKINSON)
The plan involved breaking the aircraft into sections and transporting it by road to the museum near York.
Three of the four engines arrived back in October, and now the remaining sections, including the fuselage, cockpit, wings, and the remaining engine, have arrived.
The work took place over the weekend of January 5 and 6, despite the adverse weather conditions of snow and ice.
The Avro Shackleton was used to track Soviet submarines in UK waters from the 1950s to the early 1990s (Image: KEIRAN WILKINSON)
Lorries shuttled back and forth between York and Coventry to transport the various parts of the Shackleton, nicknamed Ermintrude.
The next stage of the project will see work begin to reassemble the aircraft – a cousin of the iconic Lancaster bomber – with the ultimate aim of rebuilding it to ‘live’ condition, where the four Griffon engines will run – although the aircraft will never fly again.
This work is likely to take at least two years.
Jonathan Brewer, director of the Yorkshire Air Museum, said: “It’s great to see all the sections of the Shackleton finally arrive.
The next stage of the project is to reassemble the aircraft, which is likely to take at least two years (Image: KEIRAN WILKINSON) Recommended reading:
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“It’s taken a huge effort by the teams both at Coventry and here at Elvington to get to this point, particularly given the atrocious weather we had last week.
“They worked through freezing cold and soaking wet conditions to get huge chunks of the aircraft loaded, transported, and unloaded.
“Now the work can start on restoring this magnificent machine to its former glory, with members of the Coventry crew coming onboard at YAM to help reassemble it.”
The Shackleton will be a significant addition to the museum’s collection, which includes other historic aircraft such as the Halifax bomber and the Nimrod.