Lots of time gets spent reminiscing over the DC-9 and the 727.  Both were the first examples of a short to medium range jetliner for the United States and even the British BAC-111 and Hawker Siddley Trident get remembered for some good.  But the first real twin engined, short to medium range jet was actually the French Sud Aviation Caravelle.

 

The prototype was first rolled out in 1955 and just one year after the Boeing 367-80 prototype that was later evolved into the Boeing 707.   The first Caravelle was powered by a Rolls-Royce Avon jet on either side of the fuselage at the rear.  Because of the rear engine placement, the horizontal stabilizer was moved half way up the tail in what might best be described as a semi-T-tail. 

 

One other little known fact about the Caravelle is that it had the same nose section as the DeHaviland Comet and Sud paid a royalty to DeHaviland for each one.  Somehow that nose looked just a bit more sporty on the Caravelle.

 

The Caravelle was also the first aircraft to have spoilers and thrust reversers which allowed Sud to do away with the parachute braking they employed on the first 4 iterations of the aircraft.  It was expensive and time consuming to repack parachutes for the aircraft but necessary given the rather short runways at some of Europe’s airports.

 

United Airlines was the only U.S. based airline to buy the Caravelle.  They favored the Caravelle VI-R (R for reverse) that now sported jet engines capable of over 12,000 lbs of thrust.  It was used on New York City to Chicago routes and some were actually outfitted as men’s only flights that operated more as flying lounges than commuter aircraft.

 

The first Caravelles carried a maximum of 80 passengers for a maximum stage length of about 1000 nautical miles.  The first stretch offered passenger capacity of about 95 and the second had a maximum of 105 passengers.  The last models were capable of 140 passengers in an all economy (for the time) configuration. 

 

Not only did the Caravelle parallel the DC-9 in capacity in various guises (the original DC-9-10 carried about the same number of passengers, was about the same length and used engines of similar thrust from Pratt & Whitney), it was also very nearly built by the Douglas Aircraft Company.  Douglas did spend some time marketing the Caravelle in the United States but later chose to develop their own DC-9 based largely on the configuration(s) they marketed for Sud Aviation and their Caravelle.

 

The Caravelle was purchased by GE and engined with the infamous GE CJ-805 engines that were also used on the Convair 880 and which were responsible for great gasping clouds of smoke on take-off.   This made an order by TWA possible for 20 aircraft since TWA also had ordered the Convair.  An order that was later canceled due to financial problems.  When TWA was capable of making another order, the DC-9 was available and the Convair had already begun to fall into disrepute.

 

The final models were powered by the Pratt & Whitney JT8D engines  rated at more than 14,000 lbs of thrust.  The same engines that would power both the DC-9 and Boeing 727 for production runs that would last decades.

 

The last Caravelle, the Super Caravelle 12 saw only 12 examples built for the charter market but were seen flying in Europe as late as 1996.  Ultimately they fell out of favor with the institution of Stage III noise regulations. 

 

With speeds in excess of 525mph, passenger capabilities that matched anything offered in the United States and engines that are still known today for reliability and power, it is remarkably surprising that only 282 examples were built and that the only US Airline to use them was United Airlines.  It was an aircraft that matched its competitors in every way.

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