Entering service with the RAF in 1951, the Shackleton was used primarily in the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) roles; it also became used as a search and rescue (SAR) platform and for performing several other secondary roles such as being a troop-transport.
Использовался с 1951 по 1990 год как противолодочный самолёт (anti-submarine warfare, ASW), морской патрульный самолёт (maritime patrol aircraft, MPA), самолёт дальнего обнаружения (airborne early warning, AEW), поисково-спасательный самолёт (search and rescue, SAR) и в других ролях.