Hawker Siddeley HS 748 variant
Hawker Siddeley HS 748 Coastguarder
A maritime patrol and coastal surveillance version derived from the Series 2A, shown in 1977. It was optimised for surface surveillance and search and rescue, but attracted no orders and never entered series production.
History
The context
By the mid-1970s policing exclusive economic zones had become a new market for manufacturers: many countries needed to patrol wide stretches of sea without being able to afford four-engined anti-submarine aircraft. Hawker Siddeley answered with what it already had, adapting the Series 2A airframe to the mission.
The conversion
The Coastguarder flew in 1977 optimised for maritime patrol. Sources describe it as a coastal and surface surveillance version with an anti-submarine role as well, on an airframe that kept the airliner's wing and powerplant unchanged. Endurance rather than speed was the quality wanted, and there the 748 started with an advantage: modest fuel burn and generous tankage for its size.
No customers
The version found no buyer. Spanish Wikipedia dismisses it as a project that never got past the drawing board, while other sources treat it as a variant actually built and flown. The contradiction fits neatly if there was a single demonstrator: an aircraft that existed and flew but never led to a production run leaves different traces depending on which source you read.
Still to be documented
The available material records neither how many aircraft were converted, nor the demonstrator's registration, nor the radar fitted. That is a known gap in this entry rather than an omitted fact.