26:
240:, RAF, disappeared over the sea south west of the Irish coast. The main theory put forward and accepted in some circles is that the two aircraft crashed into each other after they launched within six minutes of each other, and were en route to the same area. Wreckage from one of the aircraft was found 11 years later, in a different location to their supposed accident point. At least one writer has commented on this being the worst of all the Shackleton losses.
268:
for the same patrol. Normally, the flights would have had a 30-minute separation in take-off times, however, some delays to the first flight, and an earlier expedited time for the second flight meant that they were only six minutes apart when leaving St Eval. However, hourly reporting showed that the navigators had made sure the aircraft had some distance between them; by 20:00, they were some 85 miles (137 km) apart.
267:
On 11 January 1955, Shackleton WG531, of No. 42 Sqn, took off from RAF St Eval at 10:14 for a 15-hour patrol around the area of the
Atlantic Ocean south west of Ireland known as Fastnet. At 10:20, Shackleton WL743 of the same squadron, took off from the same location to follow WG531 to the same area
311:
A memorial ceremony was held at St Eval on 31 January 1955. Later that day, wreaths were dropped in the ocean by another
Shackleton from No. 42 Squadron. In July 1966, a trawler working off the south west coast of Ireland, discovered No. 4 engine from WL743 in one of its nets. The trawler had been
271:
A ground radio controller tried to contact the pilot of the second aircraft at 20:58, with a barometer reading that he had requested, but received no reply. Initially, the loss of contact was not viewed too seriously as this was a common occurrence when the aircraft were operating at their normal
319:
Some years later, the commanding officer of the squadron was interviewed about the event, and he expressed doubt over the collision theory, stating that the mileage differences between the aircraft made it the "least probable" theory that he believed. Panel 93 of the Armed Forces
Memorial in the
302:
After a three-day search, which yielded no clues, and worsening weather, the search and rescue operation was called off. No bodies of the crewmen were found. A total of 235 hours had been logged in the searching aircraft which covered an estimated 20,000 square miles (52,000 km). A board of
259:, and its duty was to patrol to the south west of England, the southern part of the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The squadron was engaged on search and patrol duties for its assigned area, and upgraded to the Shackleton MR2 variant in June 1953.
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took to the ocean at 03:50 on the following day, and proceeded to the search area. The last contact placed one of the aircraft some 50 miles (80 km) south west of
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276:. Another Shackleton from St Eval was launched to try and contact the two aircraft via either radio or morse code. At least eight Shackletons from St Eval, two
303:
inquiry was instituted on 14 January 1955. John
Chartres described the loss of the two aircraft as "...the most catastrophic of all the Shackleton accidents."
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height above sea-level. When both aircraft were overdue to return, a search and rescue mission was launched, coordinated by the search and rescue centre at
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RAF squadrons : a comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912
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As this location was a known point for a piece of the aircraft, this has been taken for the geocoordinate location.
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611:"Crash of an Avro 696 Shackleton MR.2 into the Celtic Sea: 9 killed | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives"
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and Bull lighthouses, which was some 75 miles (121 km) north of the original search area.
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Growling over the oceans : the Avro
Shackleton, the men and the missions 1951-1991
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30:
Avro 696 Shackleton MR.2 WG533 - the type (but not the airframe) involved in the crash
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in 1952 with
Shackleton MR1 reconnaissance aircraft. The squadron was part of
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441:"ASN Aircraft accident Avro Shackleton MR.2 WL743 Fastnet Rock, Ireland"
94:
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288:, and several ships, both military and civilian took part.
1325:
Accidents and incidents involving Royal Air Force aircraft
523:, ed. (13 January 1955). "18 missing in two aircraft".
1335:
Aviation accidents and incidents in the
Atlantic Ocean
496:"Shackleton Aircraft (Loss) (Hansard, 30 March 1955)"
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561:, ed. (15 January 1955). "Aircraft search ended".
363:Encyclopaedia of modern Royal Air Force squadrons
587:, ed. (1 February 1955). "Wreaths for airmen".
390:(2 ed.). Shrewsbury: Airlife. p. 42.
324:commemorates the dead of the two Shackletons.
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230:1955 RAF Shackleton aircraft disappearance
24:
20:
365:. Wellingborough: Stephens. p. 116.
1330:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1955
1188:1953 Mediterranean Sea mid-air collision
861:MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash
661:"The Shackleton Association - Register"
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333:
409:
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232:occurred on 11 January 1955, when two
781:RAF Shackleton aircraft disappearance
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488:
7:
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464:
1203:1956 Scottish Airlines air disaster
14:
1164:1948 Northwood mid-air collision
757:Aviation accidents and incidents
639:. London: I. Allan. p. 86.
418:. London: I. Allan. p. 85.
715:Images of the memorial service
1:
1340:January 1955 events in Europe
1198:1955 Shackleton disappearance
720:Memorial to one of the pilots
591:. No. 53154. p. 6.
565:. No. 53140. p. 3.
527:. No. 53138. p. 4.
913:Altensteig mid-air collision
893:American Airlines Flight 476
831:American Airlines Flight 711
791:Cincinnati mid-air collision
386:Jefford, C. G. (2001).
190:No. 42 Sqn, Royal Air Force
1366:
1320:1955 in the United Kingdom
1315:1950s missing person cases
1193:1953 Skyways disappearance
933:United Airlines Flight 629
923:United Airlines Flight 409
693:. London: Souvenir Press.
1178:1950 Llandow air disaster
942:
772:
44:11 January 1955
23:
1128:Accidents and incidents
361:Ashworth, Chris (1989).
635:Chartres, John (1985).
414:Chartres, John (1985).
278:Sunderland flying boats
1213:1959 Air Charter crash
689:Lake, Deborah (2010).
1266:Notable people/groups
665:www.thegrowler.org.uk
93:, southwest coast of
16:Aircraft loss in 1955
1141:1945 Avro York crash
1044:Airliners/transports
851:Pan Am Flight 845/26
312:working between the
1218:1990 Scotland crash
951:► 1956
945:1954 ◄
903:Aeroflot Flight 214
445:aviation-safety.net
77: /
1350:People lost at sea
1208:1958 Dan-Air crash
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841:Hawaii R6D-1 crash
801:Aeroflot Flight 31
322:National Arboretum
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811:Sabena Flight 503
615:www.baaa-acro.com
500:api.parliament.uk
292:Launceston Castle
282:RAF Pembroke Dock
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81:51.678°N 10.426°W
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297:Fastnet Rock
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195:Registration
139:Registration
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1051:Lancastrian
253:RAF St Eval
206:RAF St Eval
152:RAF St Eval
84: /
1309:Categories
1240:In fiction
1228:Shackleton
1171:Star Ariel
1157:Star Tiger
1061:Lincolnian
1035:Shackleton
1009:Manchester
646:0711015139
425:0711015139
372:1852600136
348:References
249:No. 42 sqn
244:Background
234:Shackleton
219:Fatalities
166:Fatalities
128:No. 42 Sqn
72:10°25′34″W
69:51°40′41″N
48:1955-01-11
1252:Operators
1148:Star Dust
1014:Lancaster
994:Lancaster
597:0140-0460
589:The Times
571:0140-0460
563:The Times
546:Lake 2010
533:0140-0460
525:The Times
480:Lake 2010
465:Lake 2010
307:Aftermath
290:HMS
1150:accident
263:Incident
187:Operator
124:Operator
36:Accident
1287:Related
1223:Lincoln
1019:Lincoln
1002:Bombers
761: (
759:in 1955
683:Sources
670:3 April
620:3 April
505:9 April
450:9 April
314:Skellig
95:Ireland
46: (
1245:Ashton
1122:Topics
1081:Ashton
1071:Trader
1028:Patrol
909:Aug 11
879:Jul 27
867:Apr 11
847:Mar 26
837:Mar 22
827:Mar 20
817:Feb 19
807:Feb 13
797:Jan 13
787:Jan 12
777:Jan 11
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1169:1949
1155:1948
1146:1947
1134:PA278
1132:1945
1112:PA474
1098:FM213
1066:Tudor
929:Nov 1
919:Oct 6
899:Aug 6
889:Aug 4
857:Apr 4
328:Notes
280:from
198:WL743
143:WG531
1233:York
1056:York
991:Avro
763:1955
695:ISBN
672:2022
641:ISBN
622:2022
593:ISSN
567:ISSN
529:ISSN
507:2022
452:2022
420:ISBN
392:ISBN
367:ISBN
284:and
228:The
211:Crew
179:Type
158:Crew
114:Type
56:Site
41:Date
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
