Hawker Siddeley Andover

HS 780 Andover
Andover C1
Role	Transport aircraft
Manufacturer	Hawker Siddeley
First flight	9 July 1965
Primary users	Royal Air Force Royal New Zealand Air Force 748 Air Services
Number built	37
Developed from	Hawker Siddeley HS 748

The Hawker Siddeley HS 780 Andover is a twin-engined turboprop military transport aircraft produced by Hawker Siddeley for the Royal Air Force developed from the Avro-designed HS 748 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 trials of the aircraft were partially carried out. The Andover had a kneeling landing gear to make ramp loading easier.

At the start of the 1960s the Royal Air Force issued a requirement for a medium tactical freighter and Avro started work on a military variant of the Dart-powered twin-engined Avro 748 airliner. Handley Page also proposed a variant of the Handley Page Herald to meet the same requirement and both types were tested by the Air Force in February 1962 at Martlesham Heath in Suffolk. A prototype Avro 748 Srs 2 was used for the trials.

The RAF decided to order a military variant of the 748, designated by Avro as the Avro 780; and the original Avro 748 prototype was modified with an upswept rear fuselage and rear loading ramp as the Avro 748MF to test the military configuration. It had more powerful Dart Mk 301s engines and a unique kneeling landing gear was fitted. In April 1963 the Royal Air Force ordered 31 aircraft and these were designated the Andover C.1 by the RAF. The 748MF first flew from Woodford Aerodrome on 21 December 1963. The aircraft had larger four-bladed propellers than the 748 which required a greater distance between the engines and the fuselage, although the wingtips were reduced by 18 inches to maintain the same wingspan as the 748. A dihedral tailplane was also fitted to keep it clear of the propeller slipstream.

...
Wikipedia