brakedwell
I seem to remember a Shackleton taking off from Montijo Air Base and flying under the 25th April Bridge in Lisbon during the mid fifties, causing the proverbial to well and truly hit the fan
Could you be thinking of the late, great Mike Bondesio, who (allegedly) went under the bridge in his 3-engined Shack (2 x Griffs and 1 Viper), 'cos he couldn't get over it, for which feat of airmanship he was awarded the AFC. (must look out for the citation in the Gazette)
"..fast footwork to avoid" in the following account (from avroshackleton.com) may be something of a euphemism.
Whatever actually happened, I gather for some time afterwards it was known locally as the "Ponto Bondesio".
Over the years several crews were to be grateful for these little screamers but none more so than the late Mike Bondesio (who died of a heart attack at the controls of a SAAF Shack in 1983). He managed to limp his crippled MkIII of 203 Squadron into Lisbon on 2 Griffons and one Viper - having to do some fast footwork to avoid the brand new Salazar Bridge. For his extreme professionalism he was awarded the AFC.
Edited to add: Found the citation - which also suggests he didn't go under it (not what I've heard!)
Whitehall, London S.W .I.
20th February 1968.
The QUEEN has been graciously pleased to approve the following award:
Air Force Cross
Flight Lieutenant Michael Albert Bondesio (4230897), Royal Air Force.
Flight Lieutenant Bondesio was captain of a Shackleton aircraft flying from Gibraltar to Ballykelly. The aircraft carried a crew of ten and nine passengers. At 0953 hours at one thousand feet above the sea and almost 90 nautical miles north-west of Lisbon, a fault developed in the propeller of number one engine. The engine was shut down but the propeller would not feather and continued to windmill slowly. Fuel was jettisoned and a diversion to Lisbon initiated. At 1010 hours when still about 45 nautical miles from Lisbon, number four engine developed a severe oil leak which demanded that this second engine be shut down. During the feathering process full power on the two remaining sound engines did not prevent the aircraft losing height to five hundred feet. Flight Lieutenant Bondesio now faced a very serious situation. He prepared his crew and passengers for ditching and declared a full emergency to Lisbon control. To keep the aircraft out of the sea the port auxiliary jet engine, normally used only to augment take-off power, was started and run at full power. The use of this engine prohibited further jettisoning of fuel and the aircraft power to weight ratio remained critical. Flight Lieutenant Bondesio was unable to start the starboard jet engine because the leaking oil from the adjacent number four engine presented a severe fire risk. With two piston engines and one jet engine all running in excess of accepted operational limits it was possible to hold height at five hundred feet at about 150 knots in straight and level flight. Nothing more than a shallow turn could be made without loss of height and speed. Flight Lieutenant Bondesio nursed the aircraft in this con- figuration to the entrance to Lisbon harbour where the visibility dropped to one and a half miles in smoke haze. At such a low altitude the airfield approach instruments in the aircraft were unhelpful and no ground radar assistance was available. Following the coastline towards Lisbon airport, Flight Lieutenant Bondesio was suddenly confronted with the towers and span of the Salazar bridge which links the north and south banks of the estuary. Unable to clear the bridge the aircraft was gently edged seawards again in an unsuccessful attempt to gain height. At this point the crew of a civil aircraft flying locally became aware of the Shackleton's predicament and closed the crippled aircraft in an attempt to shepherd it into Lisbon airport. Crossing the coast the Shackleton encountered some thermal uplift enabling enough height to be gained for the aircraft to clear the outskirts of the city. At about two miles the runway came into view roughly aligned with the aircraft track. The aircraft landed safely at 1036 hours. Throughout this very serious emergency Flight Lieutenant Bondesio showed great coolness and presence of mind. For twenty-six minutes, under great strain, he fought to keep his heavy and unmanoeuvrable aircraft out of the sea. By his superb airmanship and by his courage and determination, he brought nineteen lives safely through a very perilous predicament and prevented the loss of a valuable operational aircraft. He displayed the greatest qualities of leadership and captaincy and his exemplary handling of a very dangerous situation was in accordance with the finest traditions of the Royal Air Force.