Sud SE-210 Caravelle on static display

The SE 210 Caravelle was the first short/medium-range jet airliner, produced by the French Sud Aviation firm starting in 1955 (when it was still known as SNCASE). It is generally considered to be one of the first successful jet airliner designs, as the earlier De Havilland Comet had suffered a series of in-flight breakups that led to it being withdrawn from service for a period, and the Avro Jetliner was cancelled. The Caravelle would go on to be one of the most successful jetliners for a number of years, sold throughout Europe and even a run of 20 in the United States. The Caravelle is historically important as the aircraft that established the aft-mounted, clean-wing design that was closely followed by the Douglas DC-9, BAC 1-11, Boeing 727, Tupolev Tu-134 and Tu-154, Ilyushin Il-62, Hawker Siddeley Trident, Fokker 28/70/100, Vickers VC-10, and the forthcoming ACAC ARJ21.