Hawker Siddeley Andover

The Hawker Siddeley HS780 Andover is a twin-engined turboprop military transport aircraft produced by Hawker Siddeley for the Royal Air Force developed from the Avro-designed HS748 airliner. The Andover was named after the Avro Andover, a Royal Air Force (RAF) biplane transport used for medical evacuation between the first and second world wars and RAF Andover, where some of its trials were carried out. The Andover had a kneeling landing gear to make ramp loading easier.

Variants

 * Avro 748MF: Prototype Avro 748 converted to military prototype which included an upswept rear fuselage and rear loading ramp and unique kneeling landing gear.
 * Andover C.1: First production series for RAF, 31 aircraft built.
 * Andover C.1(PR): Two C1 aircraft was converted for Photographic Reconnaissance duties.
 * Andover CC.2: Not a variant of the cargo/transport Andover but a VIP transport version of the HS 748.
 * Andover E.3/E.3A: Seven C.1 aircraft were converted for radio and airport nav aid calibration. Four aircraft were equipped with an inertial referenced flight inspection system (IRFIS) and were designated E3. The other three aircraft didn’t have this equipment installed, and were designated E3A.

Users

 * NATO
 * New Zealand
 * Royal New Zealand Air Force
 * United Kingdom
 * Royal Air Force