Above Ten Thousand
EN

Airliner · Civil · United Kingdom

Hawker Siddeley Trident

Manufacturer: Hawker Siddeley · Updated: August 5, 2026

Compare

January 9, 1962
First flight
1964
Introduced
In service
Status
117
Units built
British Airways Hawker Siddeley HS121 2E Trident; G-AFVH@LHR, April 1979Aero Icarus from Zürich, Switzerland (CC BY SA), vía commons
British European Airways Hawker Siddeley Trident G-ARPISwissair (CC BY SA), vía commons
Hawker Siddeley Trident 3 (G AWZK), Manchester Airport Runway Park - geograph org ukDavid Dixon (CC BY SA), vía commons
Hawker Siddeley Trident on the ground at Zurich-KlotenSwissair (CC BY SA), vía commons
Hawker Siddeley DH.121 - HS.121 Trident 2E ‘G-AVFHVISIT YOUR LOCAL AIR MUSEUM (HawkeyeUK) (CC BY SA), vía commons

The Hawker Siddeley Trident is a British short/medium-haul trijet airliner that first flew on 9 January 1962 and entered service with British European Airways on 1 April 1964. A total of 117 were built, and the last examples were retired in 1995.

Related events

Related sheets

Category

Airliner

History

The Trident was designed around the requirements of British European Airways, which wanted a fast jet for its short and medium-haul European network. The result was a T-tailed trijet with three Rolls-Royce Spey engines clustered at the rear, a configuration it would share with its great rival, the Boeing 727. The first flight took place on 9 January 1962, and BEA put the type into service on 1 April 1964, two months after the 727.

Its most lasting contribution was technological: the Trident pioneered automatic landing in commercial aviation, and in 1965 it became the first airliner to make a blind landing in revenue service, opening the way to operations in ever-lower weather minima. It was also the first airliner fitted with a quick access flight data recorder.

Tailored too closely to BEA's needs, the Trident had a limited commercial run: 117 were built before production ended in 1978, with China's CAAC the main export customer alongside the launch operator. The last examples stopped flying in 1995, marking the type's permanent retirement from service.

Variants

Trident 1CTrident 2ETrident 3BSuper Trident 3BTrident 1ATrident 1ETrident 1F
First flightJanuary 9, 1962July 27, 1967December 11, 1969————
Aircraft typeShort/medium-haul airlinerShort/medium-haul airlinerShort/medium-haul airlinerShort/medium-haul airlinerShort/medium-haul airliner (unbuilt project)Short/medium-haul airlinerShort/medium-haul airliner (unbuilt project)
Powerplant3 × Rolls-Royce Spey RB.163-1 Mk 505-5 turbofans of 46.3 kN (10,410 lbf) each: two in side pods on the rear fuselage and the third buried in the tail, fed by an S-duct intake at the fin root.3 × Rolls-Royce Spey RB.163-25 Mk 512-5W turbofans of 53.2 kN (11,960 lbf) each, water-injected for take-off; two sit in rear-fuselage side pods and the third is buried in the tail, fed through an S-duct below the rudder.3 × Rolls-Royce Spey RB.163-25 Mk 512-5W turbofans of 53.2 kN (11,960 lbf) each, plus a fourth auxiliary engine in the tail: a Rolls-Royce RB162-86 turbojet of 23.4 kN (5,250 lbf) fed by its own intake behind a pair of movable doors, adding 15 per cent more take-off thrust for only 5 per cent more weight and lit only when needed.3 × Rolls-Royce Spey RB.163-25 Mk 512-5W turbofans of 53.2 kN (11,960 lbf) each, plus the Rolls-Royce RB162-86 take-off booster turbojet of 23.4 kN (5,250 lbf), as on the 3B.3 × Rolls-Royce Spey 510 turbofans of 47.6 kN (10,700 lbf) each, an uprated Spey 505 proposed for this variant.3 × Rolls-Royce Spey RB.163-25 Mk 511-5 turbofans of 50.7 kN (11,400 lbf) each, uprated for hot-and-high airfield performance.3 × Rolls-Royce Spey 511 turbofans of 50.7 kN (11,400 lbf) each, the same engines as the Trident 1E.
Powerplant3 × Rolls-Royce Spey RB.163-1 Mk 505-53 × Rolls-Royce Spey RB.163-25 Mk 512-5W3 × Rolls-Royce Spey RB.163-25 Mk 512-5W + Rolls-Royce RB162-86 booster3 × Rolls-Royce Spey RB.163-25 Mk 512-5W + Rolls-Royce RB162-86 booster3 × Rolls-Royce Spey 5103 × Rolls-Royce Spey RB.163-25 Mk 511-53 × Rolls-Royce Spey 511
Thrust per engine46.3 kN53.2 kN53.2 kN53.2 kN47.6 kN50.7 kN50.7 kN
Length35 m35 m40 m40 m—35 m—
Wingspan27.4 m29.9 m29.9 m29.9 m—29 m—
Height8.2 m8.2 m8.6 m8.6 m—8.2 m—
Wing area126 m²136 m²136 m²136 m²—132 m²—
Empty weight30,300 kg33,200 kg37,600 kg——31,800 kg—
MTOW52,163 kg64,637 kg68,039 kg—54,431 kg58,060 kg59,874 kg
Top speed—974 km/h972 km/h————
Max speed altitude—7,620 m—————
Cruise speed937 km/h959 km/h917 km/h917 km/h—937 km/h—
Cruise altitude9,144 m9,145 m9,144 m9,144 m—9,144 m—
Service ceiling10,668 m10,668 m10,668 m10,668 m—10,668 m—
Initial climb rate——15 m/s————
Range3,260 km4,350 km3,593 km3,380 km2,897 km3,540 km—
Combat radius0 km0 km0 km0 km0 km0 km0 km
Range conditionsUp to 3,260 km (1,760 nautical miles) with full tanks and 1,870 km (1,010 nautical miles) at maximum payload: the small wing BEA insisted on left the 1C short of range against the Boeing 727.Up to 4,350 km (2,350 nautical miles), and about 3,965 km with a typical payload, thanks to the Küchemann wingtips that stretched the span and to 26,250 litres of fuel. Economical cruise is 959 km/h at 9,145 m and maximum cruise 974 km/h at 7,620 m.3,593 km (1,940 nautical miles): the extra weight and the stretch cut range compared with the 2E, which shares the same wing and main engines.An extra fin tank and higher operating weights give 3,380 km (1,825 nautical miles) at maximum payload, 25 per cent more than the 3B.The enlarged wing and centre-section tank raised gross weight to 54,431 kg and projected range to 2,897 km (1,800 miles), still short of what American Airlines wanted; it chose the Boeing 727 instead.3,540 km (1,910 nautical miles), thanks to the larger wing and increased fuel capacity over the 1C.Intended to give BEA more range than the 1E; the changes piled up until the project was renamed Trident 2E, and no 1F was ever built.
ArmamentNoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNone
Max weapons load0 kg0 kg0 kg0 kg0 kg0 kg0 kg
Payload—21,156 kg—————
Cargo capacityFirst production version, built for BEA only: 96 to 109 seats depending on layout, with baggage and freight in underfloor holds.Same cabin as the 1E: 115 seats in the typical BEA layout and up to 149 six abreast, with a maximum payload of 21,156 kg carried in underfloor holds.The 5 m fuselage stretch makes room for up to 180 seats, the highest capacity in the Trident family.Up to 180 seats, as on the 3B; the only two built went to China's CAAC, the last operator of the Trident.Project offered to American Airlines with the Trident 1C cabin, a larger wing and more fuel; none was ever built.Export version with extended wing chord and leading-edge slats: 103 seats in the usual layout and up to 149 six abreast.1964 project with the fuselage stretched by 2.8 m and up to 128 seats in the original five-abreast layout; BEA planned ten with options on fourteen more.
Crew3333333
Passengers109149180180—149128
Units built24502620150

Images

AllOur imagesElsewhere
British Airways Hawker Siddeley HS121 2E Trident; G-AFVH@LHR, April 1979Aero Icarus from Zürich, Switzerland (CC BY SA), vía commons
British European Airways Hawker Siddeley Trident G-ARPISwissair (CC BY SA), vía commons
Hawker Siddeley Trident on the ground at Zurich-KlotenSwissair (CC BY SA), vía commons
Hawker Siddeley DH.121 - HS.121 Trident 2E ‘G-AVFHVISIT YOUR LOCAL AIR MUSEUM (HawkeyeUK) (CC BY SA), vía commons
Hawker Siddeley Trident 3 (G AWZK), Manchester Airport Runway Park - geograph org ukDavid Dixon (CC BY SA), vía commons

Elsewhere

Videos

All languagesEspañolEnglish
  • Hawker Siddeley Trident: el auge y caída del poderoso trimotorSkyShips en EspañolMarch 1, 2023 · 21:30 · EspañolWatch on YouTube