Periscope Pin-Up

Hand-painted Shackleton vent-panel

This is a lower vent panel from the engine cowling of an Avro Shackleton, the long-range maritime patrol aircraft used by the RAF and the South African Air Force from the late 1940s. The aircraft was a direct descendent of the legendary Lancaster bomber, and was a stalwart of the Cold War through the 1950s and 60s. Its key role was in anti-submarine warfare, countering the threat from the ever-growing Soviet Navy. With this in mind, Carl conceived the idea of the ‘Periscope Girl’ as a suitable piece of tongue-in-cheek nose-art for our Shackleton panel. The plane’s crew would have been delighted, as will viewers of this eye-popping artwork.