de Havilland Caravel

[McColm]

The de Havilland Comet lead the way in jet airliners during the early 1950s. However due to metal fatigue, the Americans took over with the DC-9 , Boeing 707 and Convair 880.
Across the channel the French had launched the Sud Aviation  Se 10 Caravelle narrow-body with aft-mounted engines. There were sales in Europe and the USA markets, civil and military buyers.

In Whiffland de Havilland held talks with Sud Aviation and agreed that the Caravelle fuselage be built over in France. Then " shipped over" to Britain to be assembled with the de Havilland  Comet : cockpit, wings and tail to keep production going until the Mk4 came on line.
De Havilland called the new airliner the Caravel, and replaced the Ghost engines with Avons and trials with Conways. With the increased fuselage from 96ft to 108ft and a further stretch to 118 for the Mk2.

Customers had a choice the de Havilland Caravel with four jet engines or the Sud Aviation Se 10 with two jet engines.
Most airlines chose a mixture of the two which lead to military sales.
A bomber version was built to replace the Valiant. This had a deeper weapons bay as the internal floor was used. A crew of seven housed in the forward section of the fuselage, along with a flushing toilet, galley,and rest area. A tanker and surveillance versions built on stretched fuselage known as the Mk7, 9 and 11.
An alternative to the de Havilland Nimrod with the new  Rolls-Royce Spey engines won orders with India, Canada Australia. The Royal Air Force chose an AEW & C using the new Grumman E-2 radome mounted above the fuselage and the Royal Flight bought three V.I.P. conversions.

The kits
As far as my research shows, Mach2 do a 1/72 kit. Reviews are mixed but the glazing and cockpit glazing need sorting out. There's a BAe Nimrod replacement glazing set amongst the other resin conversion sets for the Airfix model.
Plenty of 1/144; Airfix, MisterCraft, Cybermodels,Welsh Models and TwoSix Silk. F-rsin do replacement engines.
Heller and Revell 1/100
Heller 1/200.

As for the de Havilland Comet there's a batch of recent releases in 1/144. Anigrand do the 1/144 Nimrod range and Airfix the 1/72 BAe Nimrod.
AlleyCat do a range of 1/72 correction kits for the Airfix model.
There are alternative resin kits for the AEW & C as well.

[McColm]

There's vacform and metal kits/models available as well.

[kitbasher]

The Caravelle nose was an adaptation of the Comet nose IIRC.

The Comet nose was flight tested on an Airspeed Horsa glider.

So a Horsa/Caravelle mash up anyone?

[PR19_Kit]

The de Havilland Comet lead the way in jet airliners during the early 1950s. However due to metal fatigue, the Americans took over with the DC-9 , Boeing 707 and Convair 880.

DC8, the DC9 came some time later.

[McColm]

Thanks, Kit.