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Bill Shackleton and Tugan Aircraft Revived

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Part Six - Tugan Twinbird and Fresh Pastures

Although the prewar Tugan LJW.7 Gannet had failed to impress Bill Shackleton, Leo Turl had always believed in the basic layout of that aircraft. Turl saw potential for a thoroughly modern take on the Gannet theme and pressed Shackleton for such a design. Turl had also begun a side venture which made him the Australian representative for SNECMA Moteurs aero-engines from France. That dictated the selection of powerplants for the imagined 'Metal Gannet'.

As designed, the Tugan WSS.12 had little but engine arrangement in common with the prewar Gannet. The structure used as many WSS.11 Thornbill components as possible for reasons of economy. The rear fuselage was based on the unbuilt WSS.11R project with its hinged rear loading ramp. The centre fuselage and wings were pure Thornbill. Shackleton chose two 600 hp SNECMA Renault 12S inverted V-12 engines - the same powerplant chosen for the improved WSS.11S Super Thornbill. A new nosecone was created from a then-unknown material - Owens-Corning's glass fibre composite. This 'Fiberglas' was also be used for some other WSS.12 components as well.

Bottom Partially-completed prototype WSS.12 Twinbird transport. Note the high-mounted engines and the use of 'Fiberglas' for the nosecone and cowling intakes.

Construction of the WSS.12 Twinbird prototype, VH-WVD, was never completed. Tugan Aircraft found itself running short of funds. To avoid the receivers, it was decided to shelve the WSS.12 project temporarily. The Twinbird languished in the back of a hangar at Coode Island Aerodrome. In the meantime, Tugan Aircraft turned to repair work to keep the doors open. Both Leo Turl and Bill Shackleton turned more to outside sales projects. Turl focused on imported aero-engines [1] while Shackleton represented de Havilland Canada products for de Havilland Australia (an irony not lost on either party). With fences mended between Bill Shackleton and DHA, there was even discussion of testing the WSS.11 wing on a DHC-3 airframe for comparison purposes (although that is another story).

Tugan Aircraft itself struggled on until 1959 when the Victoria State Government decided that the entirety of Coode Island would be compulsorily acquired to accommodate future expansion of the Port of Melbourne. With business at a near stand-still, this was a God-send for Leo Turl and Bill Shackleton. With cash in hand, the former focused on Australian sales for his engine business - Turl Turbomeca (Australasia) Co. Ltd. The latter returned to England once more, forming an aircraft sales business - W.S. Shackleton (Aviation) Ltd. - with his son, Keith. Tugan Aircraft was no more ... but there was one more brief chapter.

The Pretenders - Turbo Tugan Transformation

In the late 1960s, the name Tugan popped up again in Australian aviation circles. A group in Brisbane had revealed plans to convert WSS.11 Thornbill airframes into economical turboprop freight transporters. On a shoestring budget, components of several Thornbills were collected. Some were combined to form a WSS.11T demonstration conversion prototype. The announced plan was to offer full conversions or DIY kits to Thornbill owners. It was intended to do business as Tugan Aviation Group plc.

Top Prototype for the WSS.11T Turbo Tugan turboprop conversion. This airframe combined components of at least two Tugans - TA-11-06 and TA-11-10 - before work could begin on installation work for the 550 shp United Technologies of Canada PT6A-6 turbine engine. Note the cabin extension immediately aft of the flight deck.

The prototype WSS.11T Turbo Tugan was completed in November 1968 and flown with the somewhat unfortunate registration of VH-WVD. Although the conversion performed well, there were simply not enough extant Thornbird airframes for a profitable conversion programme. Consideration was given to starting production of 'new-build' WSS.11Ts but the original Tugan Aircraft tooling was long gone. VH-WVD continued to fly under restricted 'experimental' status until early 1972 when the registration was withdrawn. Tugan Aviation Group plc had been wound up by the end of 1973 but the ultimate fate of the one-off turboprop conversion goes unrecorded.

(Fin)

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[1] Neither the SNECMA Renault 12S nor the SNECMA Régnier 4L piston engines generated much interest in Australasia. However, Turl's later connection with Turbomeca paid off with the 1958 appearance of the Astazou turbine engine.

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