August 2007 sees the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the Avro Shackleton MR.3 WR977 - one of the post Second World War planes that played a leading role over the next 20 years. The WR977 was the longest serving plane in the RAF and served in conflict zones during the Rhodesia crisis and was also one of a pair of Shackleton's sent to find Sir Francis Chichester at the end of his round the world yacht race in 1967. Join the partySince 1977 the plane has been housed at Newark Air Museum. To celebrate its half century a Shackleton weekend has been arranged for Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 August, 2007.  | | Interior of Shackleton (pic by Howard Heeley) |
The plane will be open for people to take a look inside but the big hope is that as many people as possible with links to the Shackleton will be able to attend. One of the organisers of the event is Howard Heeley. He says: "There are still stories coming out [about this plane] to this day and we're keen to capture that information and ensure it's retained for future generations to understand and appreciate." Importance of the ShackletonThe Shackleton was a scaled up version of the Avro Lancaster, famous for the Dambusters operation during the Second World War. At a time of unease during the 1960s the Shackleton had an important role to play. "There was a major government exercise testing how prepared we were for a nuclear war," says Howard. "We know this aircraft flew in four or five years of exercises. They could run for three to four weeks so they played a significant part in the Cold War." Get in touchIf you worked for the Shackleton air or ground crew and want to attend the reunion... | 
