205 Sqn Shackletons at Changi early 1960's
 

I'm scanning aircraft photos I took at Changi in the early 60s and 205's Shackltons feature quite heavily.
Are there any aircrew from that time lurking here? I would like to produce an article for an aviation magazine and wonder if anyone has any stories to share.
I was a teenager then and my only contact with the sqn was a family friend, Arthur Greenacre, a flight engineer. I remember he was always deafened for days afterwards on returning from the Gan detachment.
I do remember that Arthur had been ground crew in WW2 and wangled himself on a mission.
Alas he was shot down and became a 'kriege'. On return, all his records were lost ...so he had suddenly become 'aircrew' from then on.

Here's some pics to jog memories.

http://www.davidtaylorsound.co.uk/sh...1962-S142A.jpg

205 Sqn line up on their 'eastern dispersal' in 1962.

http://www.davidtaylorsound.co.uk/sh...1961-S680B.jpg

MR1A's on the PSP side of the pan in 1961.

http://www.davidtaylorsound.co.uk/sh...ce1-S1103A.jpg

A 2C doing bombing practice at a target towed behind the Seletar Air sea Rescue launch 2755 in 1963.

Magnificent! Many thanks for sharing them - any more?

Very evocative, superb, more please!:cool:

By popular request then, here's few more.

This is an MR1A VP267 in late 1961.
http://www.davidtaylorsound.co.uk/sh...1961-S139A.jpg

The Mk 2C's were beginning to arrive, certainly by the start of 1962. They had to go off to be painted and slowly began to fill in the line of 205 Sqn aircraft over on the far side of the runway from where I lived.
Changi had an 02/20 North/South runway with the taxiway down the western side of the runway. On the northern end of the runway was a road that led around to 205 Sqns dispersal. Here is a shot of a Mk2c doing a very low run down or slightly to the side of the runway from that road.
http://www.davidtaylorsound.co.uk/sh...1962-S272B.jpg

It was quite a walk for me to go round to the Eastern dispersal but on one occasion I raced around after school (I was 14). A detachment of Aussie Neptunes turned up for a short stay and were based alongside their RAF 'maritime' collegues.
http://www.davidtaylorsound.co.uk/sh...i%20-S317A.jpg

I thought these guys were really fantastic. Well they had jet engines slung under their wings as well as great sounding prop engines!
My dad had been at Topcliffe a few years before, where Neptunes had been based, so I knew they weren't 'really modern aircraft' but they just seemed to have such style-with all those pointy radomes making them look like very serious anti-sub machines.
I wonder what the Brit crews thought of them.
Here's a closer shot of one
http://www.davidtaylorsound.co.uk/sh...angi-S185A.jpg

Many aircraft in the far East got 'tattoed' by the Aussie's and New Zealanders on visits and often 205s Shackletons wore kangaroos or kiwi's.
One of the Neptunes was painted with a 205 Sqn 'penguin' emblem, so I guess we got our own back sometimes.
I think I'll start another thread in a few days, as I've quite a few pics showing these adornments on a wide range of visiting planes.

David Taylor.

I found the decorated 11 sqn RAAF Neptune. The 205 sqn penguin here has the motif 'No Flap Nolly'. I wonder what the Neptune did to get the whale emblem?
http://www.davidtaylorsound.co.uk/sh...angi-S319B.jpg

David Taylor.

Great stuff David, I love the locals totally ignoring the low pass!!

Wonderful photos. Whilst I never saw any Shacks of the variants in the photos flying I can remember some being broken up on the dump at St Athan in the 70's.

It seems such a long time since the AEW2's of 8 sqn stopped flying. A great sight and sound never to be forgotten.

Great aircraft and great pictures, more please?:)

If you want more Shackletons here are a couple taken at Lajes Field in the Azores in December and January 1957/8. The 120 Squadron Mk 1 Shackleton with "Grapple" symbols on it's fins was on the way home from a Christmas Island detachment.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c3...onMk2Lajes.jpghttp://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c3...onMk1Lajes.jpg

Great stuff, brings back such memories. In your low pass photo the nearer of the two white buildings was the Target Towing Flight and the other was ARSF, where I worked as a very young JT air radar fitter.

When the confrontation with Indonesia started, the Telok Paku road in the picture was fenced off which stopped a very handy short cut through the trees to Changi village.

At one point I was transferred to 205's Sonar Buoy section. One of the perks was to take a van to the navy base to collect buoys that ships on exercise had recovered. We would call in at a tea garden on the way for a Tiger or two and arrive back at Changi in time to go home; another day in paradise!

Brakedwell-nice to see some colour shots.

Petereb- The Meteor Flight moved from Seletar in 1963 I remember.
Here's a pic of Shackleton 2 WG530 'G' on psp near the large maintenance hangar with the Meteors in the background, late 1963.
http://www.davidtaylorsound.co.uk/sh...ight-S437A.jpg

David Taylor

:eek:Returning from a 3-week detatchment at Norfolk Naval base about 1968, we stopped to refuel in Lajes, which has miles of gleaming white sun baked concrete. The airman replenishing the oil left the hose running to attend another job, and yes, forgot about it! Soon, our scruffy old Shack was sitting in an expanding lake of oil contrasting well with the gleaming apron and immaculate US aircraft. The Yank reaction was almost a nuc attack on the UK, just shows how little sense of humour they have!

That's pretty standard for a Shack, even without an unattended oiling rig. ;)


Some things stick in your mind. Quote from a Form 1022 I once actioned at Changi...
"Beam Lookout reported Stbd Inner was leaking more oil than usual."

Reminds me of the Beverley transitting Kano on an operation to fly the Paras from UK to Nairobi in 1958. The rear boom toilet had been snagged after the seat broke under the weight of a large Para Sergeant. The ground crew cleared the entry with: Toilet now serviceable - ground tested and found comfortable.

Here's the only interior picture I got of a Shackleton, the inside MR1A 'D', with the radio op on the left and flight engineer on the right. It was taken along with the second picture that I posted, of MR1A 'N', in mid 1961.

http://www.davidtaylorsound.co.uk/sh...B836-S766B.jpg

David Taylor.

I took this pic at Lossiemouth on the very day that these aircraft were auction off.

http://www.pbase.com/glenns/image/31580173.jpg

It must have been bl**dy noisy sitting there.

It was bloody noisy sitting anywhere. :{

This was bad enough for me. Same wing different engines!

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c3...RoyceDarts.jpg

brakedwell, is that a noddy?????????? (A/W Argosy)

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