To meet an Air Ministry ruling, the capacity was reduced to 12 passengers and the fuel tanks were moved from the engine nacelles to above the top wing. The engines were changed from the Napier Lion to the less powerful but more economical Rolls-Royce Eagle IX. In 1921 the Air Ministry ordered three aircraft, built as the W.8b, for use by Handley Page Transport, and later by Imperial Airways, on services to Paris and Brussels."The Handley Page W.8 B." Flight, 19 January 1922, "The Handley Page W.8B.", Flight, 27 April 1922, Another aircraft was delivered to SABENA in 1924 and three more were license built by SABCA in Belgium.
