BRITISH AEROSPACE "BAe-146"

1983’1993

Plane & Pilot

Wednesday, July 01, 2009 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By: Omar Filipović

Key Takeaways:

The HS-146, later known as the BAe-146, was a successful British airliner whose development began in 1973 with government subsidy but faced initial economic pressures before taking shape under British Aerospace.
The aircraft evolved through various models, including the stretched -200 and -300 versions, which featured increased cargo space and gross weight capacity.
The versatile BAe-146 served multiple roles, functioning as both a passenger and freight hauler, and was also operated in military versions by the Royal Air Force.

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One of Britain’s most successful airliners, the HS- 146 began in 1973 under the leadership of Hawker Siddeley under subsidy from the British government. Economic pressures made development slow, and was not until 1978, under the larger umbrella of British Aerospace, that the four-engine airliner really took shape. The version -200, a stretch of the prototype -100, featured more cargo space and allowed for the resulting increase in gross weights. Later a -300 model was certified, with even more such increases. The BAe-146s flew two roles, as both passenger and freight haulers. Military versions were also operated by the Royal Air Force.