| HS 780 Andover | |
|---|---|
 Andover C.1 operated byEmpire Test Pilots' School, this example being seen in 1995. | |
| General information | |
| Type | Transport aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Hawker Siddeley |
| Status | Retired |
| Primary users | Royal Air Force |
| Number built | 37 |
| History | |
| First flight | 21 December 1963 |
| Retired | 1998 (RNZAF) early 2000s (RAF) 2015 (Commercial) |
| Developed from | Hawker Siddeley HS 748 |
TheHawker Siddeley HS 780 Andover is a twin-enginedturboprop military transport aircraft produced byHawker Siddeley for theRoyal Air Force (RAF), developed from theAvro-designedHS 748 airliner. The Andover was named after theAvro Andover, a biplane transport used by the RAF for medical evacuation between the first and second world wars; andRAF Andover, where some of its trials were carried out. The Andover had a kneeling landing gear to make ramp loading easier.
At the start of the 1960s theRoyal Air Force (RAF) issued a requirement for a medium tactical freighter. Avro started work on a military variant of theRolls-Royce Dart-powered twin-enginedAvro 748 airliner.Handley Page also proposed a variant of theHandley Page Herald. Both types were tested by the RAF in February 1962 atMartlesham 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 withthe service designationAndover C.1. The 748MF first flew fromWoodford 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. Adihedral 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 theAeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment at Boscombe Down. Following a release to service in May 1966, the fifth production aircraft was delivered toNo. 46 Squadron RAF atRAF Abingdon in June 1966. Subsequent RAF types are theAndover CC.2VIP transport andAndover E.3 electronic calibration aircraft.
The Andover C.1 was flown for the first time on 9 July 1965 and the first four examples were flown toRAF 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 laterRAF Thorney Island,No. 52 Squadron RAF atRAF Seletar (Far East) andNo. 84 Squadron RAF atRAF Sharjah (Middle East).[1]
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 atRAF Khormaksar. The squadron had these for six months before being disbanded; the aircraft went to 32 Squadron atRAF Northolt, the "Metropolitan Communications Squadron". The aircraft were with 32 Squadron for over 18 years, including some time spent on detachment atRAF Bruggen (Germany).[1]
Three of the RAF Andovers continued to fly into the second decade of the 21st century, a C.1 with theEmpire Test Pilots' School and one C.1 with the Heavy Aircraft Test Squadron of the Joint Test and Evaluation Group. The remaining aircraft was a modified C.1 converted for photo-reconnaissance, theAndover C.1(PR), serial numberXS596; the UK-named aircraft under theTreaty on Open Skies; all three were based at RAF Boscombe Down.
TheRoyal New Zealand Air Force operated ten aircraft from 1976, acquired from the RAF while still relatively new. These saw service withUN missions to Somalia and on the Iran-Iraq border and in disaster-relief work in the Pacific. The type was retired from service in 1998. The main difficulty with the Andover's service in New Zealand was its limited range—1,000 nmi (1,900 km) of Pacific Ocean separates New Zealand from its nearest neighbours. New Zealand's Andovers were purchased to replace theBristol Freighter which had even shorter range.
In 1996,Zaire's presidentMobutu Sese Seko hired Western European mercenaries (mostly French and Belgian), in an attempt of stopping aRwandan-led advance in theFirst Congo War.[2] These mercenaries (part of theWhite Legion) relied on a single Andover to ferry men and supplies between their bases (they also used aPilatus Turbo Porter, but it crashed shortly after arriving in Zaire). DespiteKabila's rebels attempts to shoot it down, the White Legion's Andover is presumed to have survived the war, being last seen in an airfield atKisangani in March 1997.[3][4]
Both former RAF and RNZAF[7] 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:[8]
As of July 2013 only one Andover remained in commercial service, operated by Kenyan company Wilken Aviation.[9] 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.[10]
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The following aircraft are on public display:
Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1966–67[11]
General characteristics
Performance
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
