From the end of 1951, the bureau d’etudes headed by Pierre Satre at the SNCA du Sud-Est undertook a series of studies of potential lightweight mixed-power interceptor fighters under what was effectively the generic designation SE 212. These studies crystallized in the shape of a small, 60-degree delta powered by a SNECMA Atar 101F with an afterburning thrust of 3800kg and a 750kg SEPR 75 rocket motor. The primary armament was intended to consist of a single AA 20 or R 052 missile carried externally on the fuselage centreline, alternative armament being two 30mm DEFA cannon or 24 SNEB rockets of 68mm calibre. An official contract was placed for two prototypes, the first of which was flown on 20 April 1956 without the rocket motor fitted. The Atar 101F turbojet was subsequently replaced by an Atar 101G with an afterburning thrust of 4400kg, and the first flight during which the rocket motor was lit took place on 19 December 1956. The second prototype SE 212 was flown on 30 March 1957. During flight testing a speed of 1444km/h, or Mach=1.36, was attained at 12,300m without the rocket motor and 1667km/h, or Mach=1.57, was reached at 11,800m with the rocket motor lit. These speeds were achieved without armament fitted, and the test programme terminated in 1958.
Loaded weight: 6700 kg / 14771 lb Empty weight: 4575 kg / 10086 lb Wingspan: 7.44 m / 24 ft 5 in Length: 12.07 m / 40 ft 7 in Wing area: 29.60 sq.m / 318.61 sq ft Max. speed: 1667 km/h / 1036 mph
The Caravelle was the outcome of a specification issued in November 1951 by the French Secretariat General of Commercial and Civil Aviation for a 1600 to 2000km range airliner with a 6000 to 7000kg payload requirement at a speed of 620km/h. Six major French aircraft constructors submitted design proposals. The S.N.C.A. du Sud-Est responded with two projects: one a triple Atar-design with three rear mounted SNECMA Atar turbojets, designated the X120 and the other based on the use of two as yet undeveloped by-pass engines, designated the X210. This design then matured to feature two rear mounted Rolls-Royce Avon R.A.26 engines. In January 1953 the French government ordered two flying and two static prototypes of the twinjet.
In Toulouse, Sud Aviation was building the SE 210, destined to be known as the Caravelle, and the most successful of European civil aircraft of its generation. The prototype, F-WHHH, made its maiden flight on 27 May 1955, followed by the second prototype, F-WHHI, on 16 May 1956 and four more were ordered in July 1953. To speed construction the first Caravelles used DH Comet nose sections purchased from de Havilland. The Caravelle was the first jet to be built in France, and its design, with rear-mounted engines, was revolutionary. Originally it was intended to have three French-made SNECMA turbojets, but it was soon decided that two Rolls-Royce Avons would be more economical. On 3 February 1956, after extensive trials, Air France placed an order for 12, with an option for 12 more.
First production and two prototypes – 1958
The first production machine, the Sud-Aviation SE-210 Caravelle I F-WHRA, was flown on 18 May 1958, and the initial production series, the Caravelle I and IA with Rolls-Royce Avon 522 and 526 engines respectively, entered service with Air France and S.A.S. in mid-1959. The first series, Caravelle I, was delivered to Air France from 18 May1958, and after one year’s proving they inaugurated the company’s regular service Paris-Rome-Istanbul. Other airlines – SAS, VARIG, Air Algérie – soon followed Air France’s lead. These Caravelle I and IA have been converted to Caravelle III standards with the Rolls-Royce Avon RA.29 mk527’s, and a maiden flight on 11 February 1960.
The Caravelle proved a great success, despite the competition from American manufacturers, and the aircraft then went through a series of modified types. The first production Caravelle III, being the 24th Caravelle whose maiden flight took place on 30 December 1959, was provided with more powerful engines, Avon 527s, and had a greater capacity. The first operational aircraft went into service with Alitalia on 23 May 1960. This model offers standard accommodation for 64-80 passengers, and was supplanted in production by the Caravelle VI-N and VI-R with the Avon 531s and Avon 533Rs respectively. The first Caravelle VI-N flew on September 10, 1960, followed by the VI-R on February 6, 1961. The VIN had a heavier payload and longer range; the VIR, of which 20 were ordered by the American United Air Lines for the New York-Chicago service, had numerous other modifications.
Orders for the Caravelle totalled nearly 100 by the autumn of 1960.
On 4 September 1963 a Swissair Caravelle had brakes overheat from extensive taxiing ad parts of a tire and melted wheel rim were found on the runway. When retracted, the overheated landing gear ruptured hydraulic and fuel lines starting a hot fire in the wing. Losing control, it crashed shortly after take-off from Zurich, Switzerland, killing 80 persons on board.
The Caravelle 10B introduced more fuel efficient Pratt & Whitney JT8D turbofans, while the 11R was a convertible passenger/freighter based on the 10. The Caravelle IIR, which first flew in 1967, had a three foot fuselage extension, forward of the wing, incorporating a large cargo door in the left side of the fuselage, for mixed passenger freight, and Pratt and Whitney turbofan engines.
Caravelle IIR
Then, in 1964, came the Super Caravelle12, a slightly stretched version powered by Pratt & Whitney JT8D-1 turbojets, which was flown in service for the first time by Finnair on 16 August 1964. It was stretched 3.21 m over the Caravelle 10 and could seat up to 128 single class passengers.
When production ended in 1973, a total of 282 SE-210 Caravelles were built, including 20 Caravelle I; 12 Caravelle 1A; 78 Caravelle 3 (including 31 upgraded from 1/1A); 53 Caravelle 6N; 56 Caravelle 6R; 20 Caravelle 10B1R; 22 Caravelle 10B3; 1 Caravelle 10R; 6 Caravelle 11R and 12 Caravelle 12.
Two Caravelles were purchased by the Swedish Air Force from SAS airline in 1971 (formerly SE-DAG and SE-DAI) and equipped with a long black ventral pod and the insignia of the Flygvapnet. The Caravelles actually served as flying spies for National Defence Research Institute with batteries of multi-track recorders installed in the cabin.
Swedish electronic reconnaissance Caravelle
Air France flew its last Caravelle service on 28 March 1981, from Amsterdam to Paris. The event came just short of 22 years after the Caravelle went into service, on 5 May 1959, and in all Air France purchased 46 Caravelles of various types, out of total production of 280. The fleet world-wide had logged about 7 million flight hours by the end of 1980, and according to Aerospatiale 174 examples are still in service.
Caravelle I Engines: 2 x 12,600 lb. (5,725 kg.) thrust Rolls Royce Avon turbojet Length 105 ft. (32.01 m) Wing span 112.5 ft. (34.30 m.) Weight empty 57,935 lb. (26,280 kg.) Max. accommodation: 99 Max cruise 525 m.p.h. (845 km.p.h.) Range 1,430 miles (2,300 km.) with max. payload
Caravelle IIR Engines: 2 x Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7B
Caravelle III Engines: 2 x RR Avon 527, 11,400 lb Wing span: 112 ft 6 in (34.3 m) Length: 105 ft 0 in (32.01 m) Height: 28 ft 7 in (8.72 m) Max TO wt: 101,413 lb (46,000 kg) Max level speed: 500 mph ( 805 kph)
Caravelle VIN Engines: 2 x RR Avon 531
Caravelle VIR
Super Caravelle Engines: 2 x Pratt & Whitney JT8D-1 turbojet
Caravelle 12 Engines: 2 x Pratt & Whitney JT8D-9, 64.5kN Max take-off weight: 58000 kg / 127869 lb Empty weight: 29500 kg / 65037 lb Wingspan: 34.29 m / 113 ft 6 in Length: 36.23 m / 119 ft 10 in Height: 9.02 m / 30 ft 7 in Wing area: 146.70 sq.m / 1579.06 sq ft Cruise speed: 825 km/h / 513 mph Ceiling: 7620 m / 25000 ft Range w/max.fuel: 11240 km / 6984 miles Range w/max.payload: 3465 km / 2153 miles Crew: 2 Passengers: 128-140
With the issue of a specification for a successor to the Potez 631 twin-engined fighter in service with the Armee del’Air, P-E Mercier and Jacques Lecarme of the Societe Nationale de Constructions Aeronautiques de Sud-Est (SNCASE) tendered the design of a highly innovative aircraft, the SE 100. Of mixed construction with a wooden wing and a duralumin-covered welded steel-tube fuselage, the SE 100 featured a retractable tricycle undercarriage with a steerable nosewheel and small outrigger wheels retracting into the bases of the endplate vertical tail surfaces. The main wheels fitted right aft, retracting into the tail rather than the wings or engine nacelles as was conventional.
Powered by two 1,030hp Gnome-Rhone 14N 14-cylinder radial engines, the first prototype SE 100 was flown on 29 March 1939 at Argenteuil. Various modifications, including provision of a retractable ventral fin, were introduced as a result of initial flight test, maximum speed being raised from 560km/h to 580km/h as a result. The proposed armament comprised a nose-mounted battery of four Hispano–Suiza HS.404 20mm cannon and a single aft-firing cannon on an electro-pneumatic mount. It was proposed that the crew would comprise two members for diurnal operations and three members for nocturnal missions, and a crawl tunnel was provided between the cockpits. A number of necessary changes were identified during the tests.
On 5 April 1940, during a landing approach, the pitch mechanism of the starboard propeller malfunctioned and the aircraft was destroyed. At this time, assembly of a second prototype had begun, this possessing slightly larger overall dimensions, dispensing with the crawl tunnel to increase fuselage fuel capacity and having an all-metal one-piece wing. Armament was also revised, the forward-firing battery being increased to six 20mm cannon, paired weapons of the same calibre being mounted in a dorsal turret and an additional 20mm cannon being mounted to fire through a ventral hatch.
The aircraft proved to be around 100 km/h faster than the Potez 631, the French Air Force’s current twin-engined fighter, and production was authorized. The Citroen factory in the suburbs of Paris began tooling-up to assemble 300 SE 100s for deliveries to commence at the end of 1940, but the German occupation of Paris prevented final assembly of the second prototype. Proposed variants included the SE 101 and 102 with 1,200hp Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp and 1,050hp G-R14N-2/3 engines respectively.
SE 100 (first prototype) Max take-off weight: 7500 kg / 16535 lb Empty weight: 5520 kg / 12170 lb Wingspan: 15.70 m / 52 ft 6 in Length: 11.80 m / 39 ft 9 in Height: 4.28 m / 14 ft 1 in Wing area: 33.06 sq.m / 355.85 sq ft Max. speed: 580 km/h / 360 mph Cruise speed: 500 km/h / 311 mph Range: 1300 km / 808 miles
The first post-War Dutch-built helicopter the Sobeh-l, was developed into the Sobeh H-2. Its all-metal, all-bonded rotor had automatic stability and transfers automatically into auto-rotative pitch in case of engine failure. The rotor was turned initially by a separate 1 hp bicycle engine.
Snow Aviation International Inc was founded 1990 to develop twin-turboprop commercial SA-204C STOL passenger/cargo transport and military SA-21 OAT derivative.
When the nationalisation of the French aircraft industry resulted in the creation of the Société Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques du Centre (SNCAC) from the merger of Farman Aviation Works and Hanriot in 1936, the new company inherited Farman’s experience in high-altitude research, and this research continued.
SNCAC continued work on high-altitude aircraft, proposing two pressurised bombers in 1938. The first, the NC.140, was a four-engined bomber using the wings of the Farman F.223.3 but was quickly abandoned in favour of the smaller, twin-engined NC.150. The NC.150 was a mid-winged monoplane with a retractable tailwheel undercarriage which was designed to make maximum use of non-strategic materials such as wood. The wings were of mixed construction, with a metal centre-section, and wood outer wings that had metal spars, wooden ribs and plywood skinning. Similarly, the fuselage had wooden forward and aft fuselage section connecting to the metal centre section, while the twin tail was of wooden construction with plywood skinning. It was to be powered by two Hispano-Suiza 12Y V12 engines, with power being maintained at high altitudes by using a single three-stage supercharger driven by a separate Hispano-Suiza 12X engine mounted in the fuselage.
SNCAC began work on two prototypes as a private venture in 1938. These two prototypes were not to be fitted with cabin pressurisation, although this was planned for a third prototype. The French Air Ministry placed an order for the two prototypes on 24 April 1939, with the second aircraft to carry full armament.
The first prototype, designated NC.150.01, made its maiden flight from Toussus-le-Noble on 11 May 1939. Following the tests, the aircraft received numerous improvements: modifications of compressors, addition of a glass nose, and modified rudders.
Meanwhile, the French Air Ministry had become worried about possible delays to the Lioré et Olivier LeO 45 and Amiot 354 twin-engined bombers which were planned to re-equip the medium bomber squadrons of the Armée de l’Air caused by shortages of light alloys, and after successful testing in early 1940, ordered a change of plans. Pressurisation was to be abandoned, and the unusual central supercharger with its dedicated engine (known as the “bi-tri” concept) was to be replaced by individually supercharged engines.
The NC150 was transferred to the CEMA (Test Center of the Air Materials) at the beginning of 1940, while the construction of the second prototype, equipped this time, of its armament. The events called into question the project and it was asked the SNCAC to abandon the pressurized bi-tri formula in favour of more conventional formulas using Hispano-Suiza 12Y compressor or Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp engines respectively NC152 and NC153.
Two production versions were planned, the NC.152, powered by Hispano-Suiza engines, and the NC.153, with imported American radial engines. Although testing was promising, and orders were planned for a modified version as a back-up for the Lioré et Olivier LeO 45 and Amiot 354 bombers, the surrender of France in June 1940 ended development with only the single example being built, both the second and third prototypes being abandoned before completion. The first prototype, NC150-01, disappeared after its evacuation on Bordeaux-Mérignac, the second one was never finished, and the third, NC151-01, which was to be the final prototype equipped with pressurization, never came into being.
NC.150 Powerplant: 2 × Hispano-Suiza 12Y 32/33, 720 kW (960 hp) each Powerplant: 1 × Hispano-Suiza 12Xirs liquid-cooled V12 engine driving NC-C2 supercharger, 510 kW (690 hp) Wingspan: 21.882 m (71 ft 9.5 in) Wing area: 61.10 sq.m (657.7 sq ft) Length: 17.60 m (57 ft 9 in) Height: 4.19 m (13 ft 9 in) Empty weight: 7,733 kg (17,048 lb) Gross weight: 10,077 kg (22,216 lb) Maximum speed: 600 km/h; 324 kn (373 mph) at 8,000 m (26,250 ft) Cruise speed: 510 km/h; 275 kn (317 mph) at 8,000 m (26,250 ft) (long-range cruise) Range: 2,200 km; 1,188 nmi (1,367 mi) Service ceiling: 11,380 m (37,350 ft) Time to altitude: 19 min 7 s to 8,000 m (26,250 ft) Crew: Four
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