TAP Air Portugal Sud Aviation Caravelle – CS-TCA

In 1955 - 70 years ago - the Caravelle by French manufacturer Sud Aviation took off on its maiden flight. It was one of the first jet-powered commercial aircraft for short and medium distances. The arrangement of the engines at the rear was new at the time - a concept that would later often be copied. Commemorating this anniversary, Herpa is offering a small series of Caravelle models as limited editions in the 1/500 scale. The series started off with a Caravelle in the colors of Finnair (item no. 538510). The second model in the small anniversary series is a twin-jet from Portugal. The jet age began at TAP in 1962 with the delivery of CS-TCA, the first of a total of six Caravelle aircraft with the airline. With the introduction of the new jets, TAP was able to significantly expand its network within Europe, adding among others new routes to Germany and Switzerland. The Caravelle offered considerable gain in time and comfort compared to the Douglas DC-3 and DC-4 used until then, some of which were former US Air Force war-time aircraft. The last Caravelle jets were ultimately retired only by 1975, 50 years ago.