Variant
Trident 3B
Trident 3B is a retired member of the Hawker Siddeley Trident family, known for the stretched final branch created to answer the family’s seat-count limits.
Range 2,100 nm · Entry 1971
Hawker SiddeleyAirlinerRetired
Hawker Siddeley Trident family
The Trident story, from first flight to lasting reputation
The British trijet built around short-field performance, autopilot sophistication, and airline requirements that later grew beyond it.
Hawker Siddeley Trident family is a retired airliner built by Hawker Siddeley. It first flew in 1962, entered service in 1964, and went on to shape airline fleets, passenger journeys, and aviation memory.
First flight
1962
Service entry
1964
Seating band
101 to 180
Hawker Siddeley Trident family is a retired airliner by Hawker Siddeley, first flown in 1962 and introduced in 1964, with typical seating for 101 to 180 and range up to 2,400 nautical miles.
Its history runs through the airlines that flew it, the routes it opened, the cabin experience it offered, and the variants that changed the family's role over time.
Range band
2,400 nm
Notable operators
BEA · CAAC · British Airways
Source stack
- Manufacturer heritage material
- type certificate and planning data
- museum and preservation references
Variants
Representative variants
Specifications
Current public facts
- Manufacturer
- Hawker Siddeley
- Program history
- Class
- Airliner
- Aircraft category
- First flight
- 1962-01-09
- Program history
- Service entry
- 1964-04-01
- Operator records
- Current status
- Retired
- Fleet references
- Typical seating
- 101 to 180
- Operator and cabin references
- Range band
- Up to 2,400 nm
- Program literature
- Cruise speed
- 520 kt
- Planning data
Archive moments
Human context
The Trident remains an enthusiast’s airliner: technically fascinating, visually compact for a trijet, and forever part of British and Chinese jet-age memory.
Passenger memory matters here because airport routine, cabin atmosphere, and route geography are part of the aircraft story rather than side notes.
Timeline
Program milestones
- 1962
First flight
The Trident begins flight testing and establishes the public shape of the family.
- 1964
Service entry
The family enters passenger or executive service and begins building its operating footprint.
- Today
Archive afterlife
Surviving aircraft, photographs, documents, and first-hand memories keep the program visible long after regular passenger service.
Related news
Editorial context
No editorial dispatches are attached to this family yet. The aircraft record is live, and newsroom or archive coverage can be layered onto it later without changing the URL.
Forum threads
Community memory
Forum referenceTrident
Trident lounge: operators, cabins, routes, and memories
Use this as the standing thread for Hawker Siddeley Trident family operator history, route logic, cabin details, and first-hand memory.
Forum referenceTrident
Trident historic operators and preservation
Best memories, route eras, preserved examples, and documentation leads for the Hawker Siddeley Trident family.