The French aerospace industry started working on jet transport concepts about as soon as office space was restored and designers came back to work at the end of World War II, jumping past the various large turboprop projects as it was felt that a unique, first-to-market product would be the best opportunity to achieve large-scale production.
After a competitive design process and multiple rounds of government reviews, a rear-mounted twin jet “T-tail” configuration, using the Rolls Royce Avon turbojet and licensed cabin / flight deck layouts from the DeHavilland Comet, was approved for launch in fall 1952. The first prototype airframe was completed in April 1955 and the second in May 1956. These aircraft undertook flight testing not just in France but around the world as they were demonstrated for airline clients.
In June 1957 the second prototype made a sales call to Northwest at Minneapolis, and we have photos donated by Joel Gabrielson and taken by a cousin of his who worked for NWA maintenance at the time, to illustrate the visit.
The Caravelle’s 80-seat configuration and roughly 1,000 mile range were comparable to the brand-new Lockheed Electra II turboprops NWA already had on order – Northwest had not even received its DC-8 jetliners yet and the company was understandably reluctant to bring yet another entirely new technological platform into its fleet. The Caravelle would also have been challenging to operate over the Rocky Mountains as it needed a longer runway at higher altitudes, and the shorter stage lengths on the “hopscotch” route through Montana would have been uneconomic with a pure-jet.
Later stretched variants of the Caravelle would seat 90 passengers and use the venerable Pratt & Whitney JT8D engine – which would have checked NWA’s commonality box, but by that point the company had selected the Boeing 727-100 for its short-haul needs, replacing the Electras.
Caravelles would be no stranger to Minneapolis/St. Paul, however, operated by United – and when that carrier parked its fleet when the Boeing 737 replaced it, many frames were stored at MSP until they were sold or parted out.
If you use these photos, please credit the Northwest Airlines History Center – please also contact us to let us know how you’re using them and if we can be of further help!
