Following the development of the Seagull mk 7, it was soon made clear that improvements could be made. A new sleeker fuselage could be used to utilize the powerful engines featured in the older designs, thus a new aircraft was made. The Seagull mk 8 was a transitional design with two prototypes made. One featured two compact jet engines instead of the original twin prop configuration which is found on the second prototype. The jet engines were shown to be powerful at the cost of heavy fuel consumption. The twin prop configuration was seen as superior as it performed well in conjunction to the new sleeker body type. The cannons were removed to lighten the craft and make it possible for speeds of up to 700kmh. The angles of the wings were increased to improve the turnrate and the handeling of the craft.