Profiles and Logos
The Sud-Aviation SE210 Caravelle was a French designed and built jet airliner. It was the worlds first jet-powered airliner designed for built for short/medium routes. Develpment started in the 1950s by the French firm SNCASE in association with British de Havilland and Rolls-Royce companies who provided the designs and components, including the cockpit and engines. The Caravelle was to set the trend for short haul jets with clean wings and rear mounted engines.
The first aircraft (F-WHRA) was rolled out on 6th April 1958 and flew for the first time on 18th May. The second prototype was used by the manufacturer and Air France on proving flights between Paris and Algiers, starting on 1st March 1959. French certification was obtained on 2nd April 1959 and the aircraft was leased to SAS with the first commercial flight was undertaken on the 26th April on the Copenhagen-Beirut route. Air France started operations on 27th July on the route Paris-London route. The original Caravelle carried 80 passengers.
The Caravelle III was powered by the more powerful Avon Mk527 the first aircraft being the 17th off the production line and entered service in 1960.
The later aircraft, the Super Caravelle series, the 10B, 10R, 11R & 12 were powered by the P&W JT8D-7 and were longer at a maximum of 36.24m (118ft 11in).