Hawker Siddeley Andover

The Hawker Siddeley HS 780 Andover is a twin-engined turboprop military transport aircraft produced by Hawker Siddeley for the Royal Air Force (RAF), developed from the Avro-designed HS 748 airliner. The Andover was named after the Avro Andover, a biplane transport used by the RAF 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.

Design and development

At the start of the 1960s the Royal Air Force (RAF) issued a requirement for a medium tactical freighter. Avro started work on a military variant of the Rolls-Royce Dart-powered twin-engined Avro 748 airliner. Handley Page also proposed a variant of the Handley Page Herald. Both types were tested by the RAF 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 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 version. It had more powerful Dart Mk 301s engines and a unique kneeling landing gear. In April 1963, the RAF ordered 31 aircraft with the service designation Andover C.1. 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.

The first production Andover C.1 flew from Woodford on 9 July 1965 and the first four aircraft were used for trials and tests with Hawker Siddeley and the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment at Boscombe Down. Following a release to service in May 1966, the fifth production aircraft was delivered to No. 46 Squadron RAF at RAF Abingdon in June 1966. Subsequent RAF types are the Andover CC.2 VIP transport and Andover E.3 electronic calibration aircraft.

Operational history

thumb|right|Andover C.1 of 46 Squadron RAF in 1971

thumb|right|Andover CC.2 of 60 Squadron RAF in 1987

The Andover C.1 was flown for the first time on 9 July 1965 and the first four examples were flown to RAF Boscombe Down for acceptance trials that year. The full contract of 31 aircraft were delivered to squadrons in Transport Command. These were No. 46 Squadron RAF at RAF Abingdon and later RAF Thorney Island, No. 52 Squadron RAF at RAF Seletar (Far East) and No. 84 Squadron RAF at RAF Sharjah (Middle East).

There was a follow-on order placed with Hawker Siddeley for six aircraft as the CC.2, a version of the standard HS 748, and these went initially to 21 Squadron at RAF Khormaksar. The squadron had these for six months before being disbanded; the aircraft went to 32 Squadron at RAF Northolt, the "Metropolitan Communications Squadron". The aircraft were with 32 Squadron for over 18 years, including some time spent on detachment at RAF Bruggen (Germany). aircraft were later sold to civil operators, mainly in Africa. As of July 2010 a total of six ex-military Andovers remained in commercial service, operated by:

;Democratic Republic of the Congo

Air Kasai (1)
Air Transport Office (1)
International Trans Air Business (2)
Waltair (1)

;Kenya

748 Air Services (2)

As of July 2013 only one Andover remained in commercial service, operated by Kenyan company Wilken Aviation. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair in a non-fatal accident at Malakal Airport in South Sudan on 10 November 2015, leaving no aircraft of the type in commercial service.

Accidents and incidents

In March 2003, a 748 Air Services Hawker Siddeley Andover, registration 3C-KKB, was damaged beyond repair when it crash landed at Rumbek Airport, in what was then Sudan but is now South Sudan, following an engine failure.
On November 10, 2015, the last remaining Hawker Siddeley Andover operated by Kenyan company Wilken Aviation was damaged beyond repair in a non-fatal accident at Malakal Airport in South Sudan, leaving no aircraft of the type in commercial service.

Aircraft on display

thumb|The Andover E.3A on display at Royal Air Force Museum Midlands in 2014

The following aircraft are on public display:

New Zealand

Andover C.1 serial NZ7621, a former Royal Air Force aircraft sold to the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1977, is on display at the Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum in Christchurch.

United Kingdom

Andover E.3A serial XS639, a former navigation aid calibration Andover, is exhibited in the Royal Air Force Museum Midlands, located at RAF Cosford in Shropshire.

Specifications (Andover C.1)

References

"Andover C.1: Multi-purpose rear-loader now in service". Flight International, 31 August 1967, Volume 92, No. 3051. pp. 333–338.
JEFFORD, RAF Squadrons 2nd edition, 2001
March, Peter R. "The Adapable Andover". Aircraft Illustrated, September 1972, Vol. 5, no. 9. pp. 346–350.
Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1966–67. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1966.
"World Airliner Census". Flight International, Volume 184, Number 5403, 13–19 August 2013, pp. 40–58.

External links

RAF Museum Andover page
Various RAF Andover photos, including the unique and still-serving Andover C1 (PR)
RNZAF Museum Andover page
New Zealand Military Aircraft Serial Numbers Hawker Siddeley HS.748MF Andover C.1