70 years of the French airliner SE 210 Caravelle

On May 27, the French airliner SE 210 Caravelle turned 70 years old. On that day in 1955, its first prototype took off in Toulouse. The aircraft was created by SNCASE, which two years later merged with another aircraft manufacturer, SNCASO, to form Sud Aviation.

"The Caravelle became the world's second mass-produced jet airliner and the first commercial aircraft with jet engines in the tail section of the fuselage. This innovative solution significantly reduced cabin noise and improved passenger comfort and had a significant impact on the further development of commercial aviation.

Serial production of the aircraft lasted until 1972, and a total of 282 copies were built in 9 main variants, accommodating from 80 to 140 passengers. The largest Caravelle 12 was equipped with two Pratt & Whitney JT8D turbojet engines with a thrust of 7.25 tons each. The liner had a length of 36.24 m, a wingspan of 34.3 m, a maximum takeoff weight of 58 tons, a maximum speed of 810 km/h, and a flight range of up to 3200 km.

The main customer of the Caravelle was Air France, which put it on regular flights in 1959. The new aircraft were actively used to transport passengers to Europe, the Middle East, and some North African countries. Almost all of them had first and economy class cabins.

Despite the fact that the Caravelle had problems typical of the first jetliners, including flight safety, it became very popular around the world. In addition to French operators, the aircraft were purchased by civil and military operators in more than fifty other countries, including: Argentina, Brazil, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, India, Mali, Morocco, Germany, the Philippines, Sweden, Turkey, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Caravel has been operating in Africa for the longest time. Gabon Express was the last airline to withdraw them from passenger transportation in 2001. Many of the Caravels that had served their time on passenger lines were converted into cargo planes. The Congolese company Waltair operated them in this capacity for the longest time, until August 2004.