Hawker Siddeley HS748

The Hawker Siddeley HS748 is a medium-sized turboprop airliner originally designed by the British firm Avro in the late 1950s as a replacement for the aging DC-3s then in widespread service as feederliners. Avro concentrated on performance, notably for STOL operations, and found a dedicated market. 380 aircraft were built by Hawker Siddeley. A larger, stretched development of the HS748, the BAe ATP, attempted to compete with the de Havilland Canada Dash-8 but saw a limited production run.

Variants

 * 748 Series 1: The original Avro 748 twin-engined short / medium-range airliner, powered by two Rolls-Royce Dart RDa 7 Mk.514 turboprop engines. 24 were built.
 * 748 Series 2: The Series 2 entered production in 1961 with a higher take-off weight and Mk.531 engines. 111 were built.
 * 748 Series 2A: The more powerful Series 2A followed in 1967, with a further increase in take-off weight and Mk.532/Mk.534 engines. 157 built, making the 748 one of the more successful British airliners and the 2A the most popular variant.
 * 748 Series 2B: The main production model after Hawker-Siddeley was absorbed by British Aerospace, the 2B featured a 4-foot increase in wingspan over previous models, a further increase in weights, Mk.536 engines, a modernized cabin, and several systems improvements. 28 built.
 * Super 748: Basically the same as the 2B but fitted with hush kits on the engines. 8 Built.
 * Hawker Siddeley HS780 Andover: Modified version of the 748 design for the Royal Air Force. Fitted with kneeling undercarriage, raised tail unit and rear loading ramp.
 * Coastguarder: Maritime patrol version.
 * 748 Andover: Military passenger transport versions of the 748.
 * HAL-748: Licence production by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited at Bangalore India. Indian aircraft were later modified for a variety of roles including a trials aircraft for an Airborne Early Warning version fitted with a large radome, known as the Airborne Surveillance Platform (ASP). A total of 89 HAL 748's were built.
 * HAL 748 Series 2M: Production for the Indian Air Force (the last 20 built) were Series 2M aircraft with a large freight door.

Users

 * Argentina
 * Argentine Air Force
 * Australia
 * Royal Australian Air Force
 * Royal Australian Navy
 * Belgium
 * Belgian Air Component
 * Benin
 * Benin Air Force
 * Brazil
 * Brazilian Air Force
 * Brunei
 * Royal Brunei Air Force
 * Burkina Faso
 * Burkina Faso Air Force
 * Cameroon
 * Cameroon Air Force
 * Colombia
 * Colombian Air Force
 * Ecuador
 * Ecuadorian Air Force
 * India
 * Indian Air Force
 * Republic of Korea
 * Republic of Korea Air Force
 * Madagascar
 * Malagasy Air Force
 * Sri Lanka
 * Sri Lankan Air Force
 * Tanzania
 * Tanzanian Air Force Command
 * Thailand
 * Royal Thai Air Force
 * United Kingdom
 * Royal Air Force
 * Venezuela
 * Venezuelan Air Force
 * Venezuelan Navy
 * Zambia
 * Zambian Air Force

Related Development

 * Hawker Siddeley Andover
 * British Aerospace ATP

Comparable Aircraft

 * Convair CV-240
 * Fokker F27 Friendship
 * Fairchild F-27
 * Grumman Gulfstream I
 * Handley Page Dart Herald
 * NAMC YS-11
 * Saab 340