Shack on skis, under ice ASW

[sandiego89]

Shackelton MR 3, ski equipped.

By the mid-1960's there was increasing worry that Soviet submarines, especially the latest ballistic and cruise missile types, would use ice fields to hide from NATO surface and aviation assets.  It was proposed that certain ASW aircraft could be equipped with skis and use dipping sonar to locate, track, and if required engage subs operating under the ice. 

Nine Shackleton MR 3's were equipped with skis, a type 194 dipping sonar from the Wessex helicopter, a chain hoist system in the weapons bay to vertically deploy Mark 30 homing torpedoes, and an auger and gear to cut holes in the ice for sonar and weapons employment.   Trials were openly messaged to the Soviets, including a hyped "They can't hide here" segment on BBC, but the concept was fraught with challenges, especially in finding smooth enough ice flows to land on, but several pings heard on subs coming out of Murmansk gave the Nothern Fleet much consternation.   

The Kit:  1/72 Frog Shackelton MR 3, 1967 boxing.   (Remember extra credit is given for Frog kits...right?)      





           

[Wardukw]

Dave ill have to consult with the colleague about the extra credit   
As for the kut itself...super cool 😎 😀

[kerick]

Sounds like quite a project! I'll be watching.

[Old Wombat]

I love that the "Air-Sea Rescue Shackleton" is shown blowing up a U-boat!  

[Rick Lowe]

I love that the "Air-Sea Rescue Shackleton" is shown blowing up a U-boat!  

Ensures they'll have people survivors to rescue... 

[loupgarou]

Dave ill have to consult with the colleague about the extra credit   
As for the kut itself...super cool 😎 😀

Of course, builds based on Novo reissues of Frog kits will earn DOUBLE credits. 

[Weaver]

I love that the "Air-Sea Rescue Shackleton" is shown blowing up a U-boat!  

It's as good as the early Airfix Buccaneer cover showing one flying across the deck of a carrier while a flak-damaged one is landing and a Zero is going down in flames in the background.

[Joe C-P]

I love that the "Air-Sea Rescue Shackleton" is shown blowing up a U-boat!  

It's as good as the early Airfix Buccaneer cover showing one flying across the deck of a carrier while a flak-damaged one is landing and a Zero is going down in flames in the background.

Plus the landing director is standing in the middle of the wooden flight deck.   I love that image, it's one of the finest to ever have been produced.

A Shackleton on skis - this makes me wonder what was the heaviest plane ever to successfully operate on skis on ice?

[PR19_Kit]

It's as good as the early Airfix Buccaneer cover showing one flying across the deck of a carrier while a flak-damaged one is landing and a Zero is going down in flames in the background.

And not only has he missed all the wires, he's not got the hook down anyway!

[Weaver]

A Shackleton on skis - this makes me wonder what was the heaviest plane ever to successfully operate on skis on ice?

Don't know about the heaviest, but C-130s have done it for decades, and they're WAY heavier than a Shackleton. Don't know exactly what weights they've taken off at from ice, but since the C-130's empty weight is 75,800lb, it's MTOW is 155,000lb and a Shack's MTOW is only 86,000lb, it's very hard to believe they haven't routinely done it at over 100,000lb. 

[Wardukw]

We know that the C-17 Globemaster lands on ice very regularly and that weights far more than an ol C-130 but i never seen skis on em so I'll go with the Charlie aswell at this point .
I do know that ya can't leave a C-17 in the same spot for to long as it's so heavy it's starts to slowly sink 

[Rheged]

Airbus  A340-300 and Boeing 787-9 airliners  have landed at  'Wolf's Fang" an upscale adventure camp for tourists west of Queen Maud Land.   Other large airplanes that have reached  Antarctic ice runways include the Ilyushin Il-76, Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules, Lockheed P-3 Orion, Boeing 757/767 and Airbus A319.

I don't know the exact landing weights, but these are substantial airframes.

[PR19_Kit]

Sure, but they landed on their normal wheels. Joe C-P was asking about the heaviest plane to land on the ice using skis.

[sandiego89]

C-5's have also landed on the ice runway at McMurdo, but I think the C-130 is the largest ski equipped aircraft (happy to be corrected)

https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Galaxy_Antarctica.jpg

[Rheged]

Sure, but they landed on their normal wheels. Joe C-P was asking about the heaviest plane to land on the ice using skis.

Sorry!  Typical me, didn't read the question properly.