Shackleton Griffon Engines Arrive at the Yorkshire Air Museum

PRESS RELEASE

The first pieces of an enormous aviation jigsaw puzzle have arrived at the Yorkshire Air Museum, in the form of Griffon engines for an iconic submarine-hunting aircraft. Avro Shackleton WR963 is being transferred from its current home at Coventry airport to the museum at Elvington near York, as the Coventry site is due to close. The aircraft doesn’t fly but its engines do run. The Griffon was the last piston engine produced by Rolls Royce and was the last piston engine in front line RAF service, retiring in 1991. Notably an ex-Shackleton Griffon was the powerplant in the world airspeed record holding RB-51 Mustang “Red Baron.” Technically, it is a 37 litre V12, named after the Griffon Vulture bird of prey.

The Shackleton, a four-engined relative of the famous Lancaster bomber, is too large to move in one go, so it’s having to be dismantled, and the parts despatched north in stages. The first components to arrive at Elvington are three of the four massive Rolls Royce Griffon engines, each producing two and a half thousand horsepower (by comparison a typical family car produces around one hundred). They were delivered on the back of a lorry on October 22.

The engines alone are so large that all four would not fit on the articulated lorry, one will travel up later. The rest of the Shackleton will arrive at the Yorkshire Air Museum in stages over coming weeks, until all the parts are on site before Christmas. Work will then begin to put the pieces back together and this is expected to last into 2026. The goal is to have all four engines up and running again, to be able to run at the Museum in front of the public.

Rich Woods from the Shackleton Aviation Group, which has been caring for WR963 at Coventry said: “After a year of hard work, fighting bad weather and corrosion from 30 years of being sat on an exposed area of Coventry Airport, my team and I are delighted that WR963 is now beginning her move north into well-deserved preservation. It’s sad to see the Griffons depart, but comforting to know they’ll run again at YAM, and in such good company.”

Jerry Ibbotson, Yorkshire Air Museum Communications Manager said: “This is a very exciting day. This is an enormous, highly complex jigsaw puzzle and the Griffons are the first of many parts. The Coventry crew have done an amazing job taking the Shackleton apart and they will continue to have a huge role in putting it back together. For now, we’re overjoyed at seeing the engines arrive and can’t wait for the next deliveries to make their way to Elvington. This is an iconic aircraft that patrolled the skies above British waters, searching for Soviet vessels above and below the surface, as well as playing a vital role in search and rescue operations. To have her here is a real joy.”

Emma Quedzuweit

Emma Quedzuweit is a historial researcher and graduate school student originally from California, but travels extensively for work and study. She is the former Assitant Editor at AOPA Pilot magazine and currently freelance writes along with personal projects invovled in the search for missing in action aviators from World War I and II. She is a Private Pilot with Single Engine Land and Sea ratings and tailwheel endorsement and is part-owner of a 1946 Piper J-3 Cub. Her favorite aviation experience was earning a checkout in a Fairchild PT-19.

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