Sud Aviation Caravelle
Illustrative image; it may differ from the actual aircraft.The Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle is a rear-engine narrow-body jet airliner produced by French Sud Aviation. It was developed by SNCASE in the early 1950s, and made its maiden flight on May 27, 1955. It included some de Havilland designs and components developed for the de Havilland Comet, the first jet airliner. SNCASE merged into the larger Sud Aviation conglomerate before the aircraft entered revenue service on April 26, 1959, with Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS); 282 were built until production ended in 1972.
Specifications
Figures for the Caravelle III variant, the most representative of the family
The type first flew in 1955 (71 years ago) · About 282 units built · Production ended in 1972
Figures for the type, not for this particular aircraft: each variant and each configuration changes something. They are shown in both systems used in aviation.
The story of the type
Development
Origins
On 12 October 1951, the Comité du matériel civil (civil aircraft committee) published a specification for a medium-range aircraft, which was later sent to the aviation industry by the Direction technique et industrielle. This called for an aircraft capable of carrying 55 to 65 passengers and 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) of cargo on routes up to 2,000 km (1,100 nmi; 1,200 mi) with a cruising speed of about 600 km/h (320 kn; 370 mph). The type and number of engines were not specified. Since 1946, various design studies for aircraft in this category had already been underway at several of the leading French aircraft manufacturing organisations, and had resulted in some ambitious concepts being mooted. None of these firms possessed the financial power to independently embark on the substantial development work involved, let alone to establish a manufacturing line for the construction of such aircraft.
The response to the specification from the French industry was strong, it has been claimed that every major manufacturer submitted at least one proposal; a total of 20 different designs were ultimately received. The majority of these proposals were powered by all-turbojet engine arrangements, although Breguet had entered a number of designs that were powered by both turbojet and turboprop engines; among these was one for a Snecma Atar-powered tri-jet to be developed in association with the SNCA du Nord and a turboprop type; all of the different designs were designated as Br. 978. Hurel-Dubois had entered several turboprop designs based on a narrow fuselage and shoulder-mounted wing, similar to many regional propliners. Proposals from SNCASO included the S.O.60 with two Rolls-Royce Avon RA.7 engines, outfitted with two smaller Turbomeca Marborés as auxiliaries. SNCASE had also returned a number of designs from the X-200 to X-210, all of these being purely jet-powered.
On 28 March 1952, after studying the various entries, the Comité du Matériel Civil announced that it had produced a short list of three entrants: the four-engined Avon/Marbore SNCASO S.0.60, the twin-Avon Hurel-Dubois project, and the three-engined Avon SNCASE X-210. At this point, British engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce had already begun to offer a new version of the Avon that was to be capable of developing 9,000 lbf (40 kN) of thrust, which would render the auxiliary engines of the S.O.60 and the third engine featured on the X-210 unnecessary. The Committee issued a request for SNCASE to re-submit its X-210 proposal as a twin-Avon design. In doing so, SNCASE decided to not remove the remaining engines from their rear-mounted position; most designs had placed the engines underneath the wing, where they could be mounted on the spar for lower overall weight, but it was felt that these weight savings were not worth the effort. This turned out to be a benefit to the design, as the cabin noise was greatly reduced as a result. In July 1952, the revised X-210 design with twin Avons was re-submitted to the Secretariat General for Civil and Commercial Aviation (SGACC).
Selection
Two months later, SNCASE received official notification that its design had been accepted. On 6 July 1953, the SGACC placed a formal order for the construction of a pair of prototypes along with a pair of static airframes for fatigue testing. SNCASE's design licensed several fuselage features from British aircraft company de Havilland, the two companies already having had dealings in respect to several earlier designs. The nose area and cockpit layout were taken directly from the de Havilland Comet jet airliner, while the rest of the airliner was locally designed. A distinctive design feature was the cabin windows in the shape of a curved triangle, which were smaller than conventional windows but gave the same field of view downwards.
On 21 April 1955, the first prototype of the Caravelle (F-WHHH), launched by Madame de Gaulle, was rolled out. On 27 May 1955, the first prototype conducted its maiden flight, powered by a pair of British Rolls-Royce RA-26 Avon Mk.522, capable of providing 4,536 kgf (44,480 N; 10,000 lbf) of unitary thrust. For the maiden flight, which had a total duration of 41 minutes, the crew consisted of Pierre Nadot (Captain), André Moynot (First Officer), Jean Avril (mechanic), André Préneron (radio operator) and Roger Beteille.
Almost one year later, on 6 May 1956, the second prototype made its first flight. The first prototype had been fitted with a cargo door located on the lower left side of the fuselage, but this door was removed in the second prototype in favour of an all-seating arrangement. By October 1956, both prototypes had accumulated in excess of 1,000 flight hours. By the end of 1956, the two aircraft had visited various locations across Europe and North Africa; and trials were already underway for French carrier Air France. During 1957, the second prototype accumulated roughly 2,500 flight hours across various flights conducted throughout North America and South America.
In 1956, the type received its first order from Air France; it was followed by Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) in 1957.
Variants
Similar to the original prototypes; first flew on 14 May 1958. This variant was powered by two Rolls-Royce RA-29 Avon Mk.522 with 4,763 kgf (46,710 N; 10,500 lbf) of unitary thrust and a capacity of 80 passengers. French certification was obtained on 2 April 1959, and U.S. certification was obtained six days later. The first revenue flight took place that year with Air France on the Paris-Rome-Athens–Istanbul route. Air France Caravelle registration F-BHRB "Lorraine" was introduced in the Paris-London route on 27 July 1959.
Sales: 20 were sold; to Air France (10), SAS (6), Air Algérie (2) and VARIG (2). One of the VARIG aircraft was leased by Sud to Air Vietnam and Middle East Airlines before delivery to Royal Air Maroc. In Australia, Trans Australia Airlines had planned to re-equip with the Caravelle but as Ansett felt this was too advanced at that stage for its own needs, under Australia's Two Airlines Policy both airlines were required to purchase the Ansett preference (the less-advanced turbo-prop Lockheed L-188 Electra).
This variant had the same external configuration as variant I but with more powerful engines, the Rolls-Royce Avon RA-29/1 Mk.526 giving improved capabilities. The first flight took place on 11 February 1960. Caravelle I and IA aircraft were later converted to the III variant.
Sales: 12 built. Deliveries were to Air France, SAS, Air Algérie, Finnair, and Royal Air Maroc.
Later improvements to the Avon led to the Caravelle III. It first flew on 30 December 1959, entering service with Alitalia in April 1960. The Caravelle III was powered by Rolls-Royce Avon RA-29/3 Mk.527 and RA-29/3 Mk.527B engines, both with 5,170 kgf (50,700 N; 11,400 lbf) of unitary thrust.
Sales: The Series III was the best-selling Caravelle with 78 built. All but one of the 32 Series Is built were upgraded to Series III standard. Air Inter used 16 of this type for its domestic routes. Major deliveries were to Air France, as well as aircraft for Swissair, Alitalia, SAS, and Royal Air Maroc.
N standing for "normal". A version with more powerful Avon RA-29/6 Mk 531 and RA 29/6 Mk 531B engines producing 5,535 kgf (54,280 N; 12,200 lbf) of unitary thrust. The capabilities were improved and the weights increased; the actual payload was reduced. The Caravelle VI-N first flew on 10 September 1960, beginning service with Belgian airline Sabena in January 1961. Five of the 78 Series IIIs were upgraded to Series VI-N.
Sales: 53 built. Deliveries to Saeta, Corse Air, Europe A.S., Minerve, Indian Airlines and Yugoslav Airlines.
First Caravelle with thrust reversers. The cockpit windows were made larger with redesigned layout and more powerful brakes were introduced. It first flew on 6 February 1961, obtaining U.S. certification on 5 June that same year. It began service with United Airlines on 14 July. The VI-R was powered by Avon Ra-29 Mk. 533R and Mk 535R (R, for Reverse) engines with a unitary thrust of 5,715 kgf (56,050 N; 12,600 lbf).
Sales: 56 built, 20 for United Airlines. Other series VI customers included Indian Airlines (9), Panair do Brasil (4), Cruzeiro do Sul, Iberia Líneas Aéreas De España (4), LAN Chile (3), Aerolíneas Argentinas (3) and TAP Portugal (3). This model was also used by Filipinas Orient Airways [1], Aerocesar, Airborne Express and SA Nacionales.
This was a Series III (c/n 042) that was purchased by General Electric, ferried to the United States as Santa Marian 9 and equipped with General Electric CJ805 aft-fan engines, becoming, in effect, the engine test-bed for the Caravelle 10A. Flight tests with the new engines began on 29 December 1960 and a second aircraft was planned to be converted, but this aircraft became the sole Caravelle 10A.
Based on the Series VII, but intended for the U.S. market, the 10A was 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) longer than the Series VI, with the windows located 200 mm (7.9 in) higher on the fuselage. The sole prototype was powered by two 71.62 kN (16,100 lbf) General Electric CJ-805-23C aft-fan engines and flew for the first time on 31 August 1962.
Overview and history adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) · technical figures from the manufacturer’s published specifications and standard aviation references
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This page was last updated on October 11, 2026
APA
Vuelopedia. (2026, October 11). Sud Aviation Caravelle. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/model/se210
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“Sud Aviation Caravelle.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 11 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/model/se210. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.
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Vuelopedia. “Sud Aviation Caravelle.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 11, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/model/se210.
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BibTeX
@misc{vuelopedia_en_model_se210,
author = {{Vuelopedia}},
title = {{Sud Aviation Caravelle}},
publisher = {Fundación Poderia},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-11},
url = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/model/se210},
howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/model/se210}},
urldate = {2026-10-16},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/model/se210 |title=Sud Aviation Caravelle |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-11 |access-date=2026-10-16 |language=en}}