An historic RAF submarine-hunting aircraft has arrived at Yorkshire Air Museum.
The Shackleton WR963 had previously been based at Coventry Airport. However when the airport closed its future was uncertain – until a deal was struck to move it to the Yorkshire Air Museum in Elvington.
The aircraft was broken into sections so it could be transported by road to the museum, with three of the four engines arriving back in October.
Now, the remaining sections have arrived – including the fuselage, cockpit, wings and the remaining engine.
The Avro Shackleton – a cousin of the iconic Lancaster bomber – was used to track Soviet submarines in UK waters, as well as aiding in search and rescue operations, from the 1950s to the early 1960s.
The final move took place last weekend (5 and 6 January), despite the severe snow and ice conditions across the country.
Yorkshire Air Museum director, Jonathan Brewer, said: “It’s great to see all the sections of the Shackleton finally arrive. It’s taken a huge effort by the teams both at Coventry and here at Elvington to get to this point, particularly given the atrocious weather we had last week.
“They worked through freezing cold and soaking wet conditions to get huge chunks of the aircraft loaded, transported and unloaded.”
All the various parts of the Shackleton, nicknamed Ermintrude, are now on the ground at the Yorkshire Air Museum.
The next stage of the project will see work begin to reassemble the aircraft, with the ultimate aim of rebuilding it to ‘live’ condition, where the four Griffon engines will run, although the aircraft will never fly again.
The work is likely to take at least two years.
For more information about Yorkshire Air Museum and to book your visit, head to their website here.