Long-ranged maritime reconnaissance aircraft were a part of British wartime strategy since the First World War, in the form of flying boats. During the Second World War, the flying boats were increasingly replaced by land-based aircraft, such as the American Lend-Lease Flying Fortresses and Liberators. After the war, these aircraft were replaced by a purpose-built aircraft, the Avro Shackleton, which traced its ancestry through the Lincoln and Lancaster all the way back to the early Second World War bomber, the Manchester. The road from the Manchester to the Shackleton was a long one, and it is described comprehensively. The Shackleton itself went through two major changes - from the MR.1 to the MR.2, then from the MR.2 to the MR.3. Along with a detailed technical description of the Shackleton and its weaponry, photographs and accurate colour profiles accompany the text, to illustrate the Shackleton. This aircraft is compared and contrasted with its post-war piston-engined counterparts. Its former use with the United Kingdom and South Africa is also described. The current survivors, especially an MR.2 (WR963) in the United Kingdom and an AEW.2 (WL790) in the United States, are described in great detail.
Moore has been studying aircraft for over forty years and has had numerous books published on Soviet aviation, including the Il-2 Shturmovik, the Lavochkin fighters of the Second World War, and the Soviet Tu-2 medium bomber of the Second World War. His interest has not been limited to Soviet and Russian aviation, however, and he has always been interested in British aviation and has studied and modelled British aircraft for decades. One of his great interests has been British aircraft of the Second World War and post-war British piston-engined aircraft.
Acknowledgements; Glossary of Terms; Timeline; Preface; Introduction; Avro Predecessors; Specification Table: Avro Predecessors; Second World War British Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft; Specification Table: Coastal Command Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft of the Second World War; Post-War Coastal Command Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft; Development of the New British Post-War Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft; Phase Modifications; Centralised Maintenance; RAF Service (1951-1991); SAAF Service (1957-1984); The Shackleton in Detail; Specification Table: Shackleton Variants; Colour and Markings; A Flight in the 1950s; Growler Tales; Concluding Thoughts; Appendix I: Comparison with Other Post-War Multi-Piston-Engined Maritime Reconnaissance and ASW Aircraft; Appendix II: Specification Table: Comparable Post-War Aircraft; Appendix III: The Shackleton's Replacements; Appendix IV: Specification Table: The Shackleton's Replacements; Appendix V: The Shackleton in Plastic and Resin; Appendix VI: Survivors; Appendix VII: Shackleton Bases; Appendix VIII: Shackleton Squadrons; Appendix IX: Production Table; Appendix X: Individual Aircraft Histories; Appendix XI: Computer Game Appearances; Appendix XII: Network Resources; Bibliography; Index
