My dad in the co-pilots seat with the late Mike Bondisio in the left hand seat. Mike had a heart attack and died at the wheel of a Shackleton while on patrol. My dad is also seen in the closing shot of the men walking back to the 35sq building after the flight. He is wearing a blue flying jacket
My late grandfather Brig. William Gillham was flight engineer on the Shacks. I remember as a kid him telling us stories of his exploits during WWII flying for the crown.... Was awesome groing up knowing your hero.
Thank you so much Leon Steyn for posting this footage, which includes an interview with my dad. So proud of the work he and his team did. He was actually awarded a medal by the Queen for landing safely and saving 19 lives, when an RAF Shackleton he was piloting in the 60s experienced severe engine trouble off Malta/Portugal. :)
Thanks guys really enjoyed seeing her again. I remember once as a small boy there must have been a huge storm over Cape Town and 3 'Shacks' had to land at PE - great excitement.at hearing those Merlin's roaring as they took off to go back to base.
The SAAF leadership was adamant to operate four-engined aircraft on long range maritime patrol. In fact by the early 1970s the C-130 was used for long range missions to Marion Island, instead of the Shackleton. The procurement of Atlantiques would have made sense during that short window of opportunity to obtain French equipment before 1977. This train of thought was still in place around 1994 when an opportunity arose to obtain second-hand Atlantiques. Missed opportunities I think.
We tried as much as we could to get replacement aircraft. We had many false alarms that crew were going overseas to train, but to no avail. Very sad state of affairs for us maritime crews. We were the best trained that you could get, and even gave the "Yanks" a fright when they rounded the Cape under radio silence, as their task force was on their way to rescue the US Hostages trapped in Teheran.
My dad in the co-pilots seat with the late Mike Bondisio in the left hand seat. Mike had a heart attack and died at the wheel of a Shackleton while on patrol. My dad is also seen in the closing shot of the men walking back to the 35sq building after the flight. He is wearing a blue flying jacket
My late grandfather Brig. William Gillham was flight engineer on the Shacks. I remember as a kid him telling us stories of his exploits during WWII flying for the crown.... Was awesome groing up knowing your hero.
Thank you so much Leon Steyn for posting this footage, which includes an interview with my dad. So proud of the work he and his team did. He was actually awarded a medal by the Queen for landing safely and saving 19 lives, when an RAF Shackleton he was piloting in the 60s experienced severe engine trouble off Malta/Portugal. :)
I so remember them every evening going on patrol.
Youngfield 1970😁
The most beautiful sight and sound doing mail drops whilst serving on S.A. Naval frigates!
Thanks guys really enjoyed seeing her again. I remember once as a small boy there must have been a huge storm over Cape Town and 3 'Shacks' had to land at PE - great excitement.at hearing those Merlin's roaring as they took off to go back to base.
Except the engines weren't merlins
These were the later Griffin engine hence the twin props
The mk9 spitfires had the griffin's first
wow way to go!
It's a fine Bomber
I wonder why the SAAF didn't try to get Atlantics from France before 77?
The SAAF leadership was adamant to operate four-engined aircraft on long range maritime patrol. In fact by the early 1970s the C-130 was used for long range missions to Marion Island, instead of the Shackleton. The procurement of Atlantiques would have made sense during that short window of opportunity to obtain French equipment before 1977. This train of thought was still in place around 1994 when an opportunity arose to obtain second-hand Atlantiques. Missed opportunities I think.
We tried as much as we could to get replacement aircraft. We had many false alarms that crew were going overseas to train, but to no avail. Very sad state of affairs for us maritime crews. We were the best trained that you could get, and even gave the "Yanks" a fright when they rounded the Cape under radio silence, as their task force was on their way to rescue the US Hostages trapped in Teheran.
Very poor sound