Hawker Siddeley HS 748 Avro 748 Series 1

Avro's late-1950s turn towards the civil market began with a far smaller aeroplane than the one that eventually flew. The original study was a twenty to thirty seat feeder type; talks with prospective customers pushed the figure up and settled the final layout, a low wing with four-abreast seating. The project was made public on 9 January 1959.

The first prototype left Woodford on 24 June 1960 and a second followed the next April. Flight testing quickly confirmed the quality the company cared about most, the ability to work from short and rough strips, delivered by a long high-lift wing, slotted flaps and sturdy landing gear hung under a low, dihedral wing. The first production machine flew late in the summer of 1961 and deliveries to launch customer Skyways Coach-Air began in April 1962.

Series 1 aircraft used a pair of Rolls-Royce Dart RDa.6 turboprops in Mk 514 form, with water-methanol injection to hold power at hot and high airfields. Pairing a proven engine with a deliberately plain airframe was a design choice rather than an economy: systems were meant to be inspected and repaired without ground equipment, for operators working far from a well-equipped base.

The run was short and heavily weighted towards export, concentrated on Aerolineas Argentinas. Its real value was as a bridgehead. It proved the concept in daily service and let the Series 2, with stronger engines and a higher take-off weight, enter production with the type's reputation already made. Before British output ended, India was assembling its own aircraft under licence.