| The Hawker Siddeley Group
started development of the 748 in 1959, carrying on
from initial research done by Avro in the previous year.
Avro had decided to move into civil aircraft following
the Government's shift away from military aircraft in
favour of missiles. In turn Avro was to be part of the
merger that formed the Hawker Siddeley Group in 1959,
along with Armstrong Whitworth, Blackburn, de Havilland,
Folland, Gloster, Hawker and others.
The design was for a twin turboprop short-medium range
commercial transport for 40 passengers. A rapid construction
phase saw the prototype G-APZV flown for the first time
on 24th June 1960.
The Series 1 production aircraft were powered by Rolls-Royce
Dart Mk 514 turboprops and entered service with Skyways
Coach Air at the end of 1961. The Series 2 quickly followed
in 1962 and with its higher weights and more powerful
engines it superseded the earlier model with Series
1 production ceasing.
Further developments were made on the Series 2 with
the addition of 2A and 2B variants with increased wing
span and options for a large cargo door in the fuselage.
The Series 2 and its later variants proved to be highly
successful and production was also licensed to Hindustan
Aeronautics in India who produced 89 aircraft, mostly
military variants of the 2B and designated as the HAL-748.
A major derivative of the 748 was the highly modified
Andover military transport developed for the RAF. Complete
with rear door and loading ramp, the Andover was also
equipped with 'kneeling' undercarriage to aid loading
and unloading.
 A
modernised Super 748 featuring a new flightdeck design,
better efficiency, quieter engines and updated internal
fittings came into production in 1984. By this time
Hawker Siddeley was a part of British Aerospace and
the aircraft was known as the BAe 748.
With BAe deciding to instead develop newer aircraft
options, 748 production stopped in 1988 with total aircraft
sales reaching 382. Many remain in service all around
the World.
(Article by David Maltby)
Hawker Siddeley 748 2A data
Accommodation: 3
Crew & 40-58 passengers
Engines: 2 Rolls-Royce Dart 532-2L turboprops
2,280ehp
Span: 98ft 6in
Length: 67ft
Gross weight: 44,495lb
Max payload: 11,512lb
Max cruise: 287mph at 10,000ft
Range: 690 miles with max payload
reference & data Civil
Airliner Recognition 1973
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