24 The Aircraft of British Aerospace and BAE SYSTEMS 1977 - 2017
T
he prototype 748, G-APZV had
made its maiden flight on 24
June 1960 and was joined by
the second prototype G-ARAY
on 10 April 1961. In July 1961 ‘RAY was
upgraded to a 748 Series 2 when it was
fitted with higher-powered Dart 531s
which enabled it to fly at higher weights
and at higher altitudes - which
translated into either greater payload
and/or longer range.The licence-built Indian 748s
In July 1959 the Indian Government
signed a contract with Hawker Siddeley
for a licence to manufacture the 748 for
the Indian Air Force. This was the biggest
export order ever placed for a British
aircraft still on the drawing board.
Hindustan Aeronautics would
manufacture the 748s in a newly-built
factory at Kanpur.
The first Indian 748, BH572 flew on 1
November 1961. The first four aircraft
which were Series 1s were assembled
from parts made in Britain but as
production developed in India, a greater
and greater proportion of the aircraft
(Series 2s) was made there. The final 20
aircraft benefitted from the large freightThe 748 and its
successor – the ATP
door. Both the Indian Air Force and Indian
Airways Corporation were recipients of
the aircraft and 89 were licence-built in
India between 1961 and 1984.The 748 in service
The 748 first airline services were with
Aerolineas Argentinas in April 1962 and
the airline’s order was soon increased by
three to twelve in all. One of the reasons
that the Argentine airline had purchased
the 748 was because they needed an
aircraft that offered airliner comfort but
operated from undeveloped, rough
airstrips as there were plenty of these on
their network. The 748s flown by
Aerolineas Argentinas were later joined
by many others in South America and on
the other side of the world. The 748 sold
well in Africa too, where there were
eventually 21 operators.
The 748 made headway in the very
competitive market conditions in Europe
earning orders from BKS, Austrian Airways
and Channel Airways, Autair, British
Airways and the UK’s Dan-Air which had a
large fleet. Canada proved a market too
and 748s are still currently in use in there
with Air North, Wasaya, Air Creebec and
Air Inuit. The last UK airline to fly the 748was Emerald but in 2006 it ceased trading.
Bismillah in Bangladesh, still flies three
748s.Military and executive roles
In the early 1960s Hawker Siddeley won
the contract to replace the RAF’s
remaining Vickers Valettas, Beverleys and
Hastings fleets. This led to a very
substantial redesign of the 748 with a
widened wing, new raised rear fuselage
and tail to permit rear loading and
air-dropping, strengthened freight floor
and increased gross weight. It also had
increased power from its Dart RDa12s,
and a unique ‘kneeling’ undercarriage to
facilitate the loading and unloading of
freight.
Named the Andover, 31 were
delivered to Transport Command at
Abingdon commencing in July 1966.
However within less than ten years the
type fell victim to defence cuts. Ten were
sold to the RNZAF as a Bristol 170
replacement but they were withdrawn
from use in 1984. A number were
prematurely scrapped while nine were
converted at Woodford to become
Andover E3s for radio and airport
navigation aid calibration. Others were The two 748
Series 1 prototypes,
G-APZV and G-ARAY
(nearest) together
on the occasion of
‘RAY’s first flight on
10 April 1961. In
July 1961 ‘RAY was
upgraded to a 748
Series 2 when it was
fitted with
higher-powered
Dart 531s.
(Avro Heritage)