The Bréguet 763 'Deux-Ponts' – The First Double Decker

By Rob Russell

We have all seen, heard, read, and some of us have flown in aircraft with two decks. The most famous being the B747 – undeniably the Queen of the skies, followed by the Airbus A380, a majestic proper double-decker and then the mighty Lockheed Galaxy C5, a proper multi-purpose beast, if ever there was one.

But how many of you have heard of the Breguet 763 “Deux-Ponts”?

The first purpose-built two-deck aircraft to be certified for passenger transport, it was developed in France by Louis-Charles Breguet, who began working on the concept in 1944, before the end of World War II. Trials started a few years later and after a faultless test period, construction of the first commercial aircraft started, with the first aircraft entering service in 1951. The aircraft proved helpful in serving the French Air Force and as a transport plane.

The 763 also established an impeccable safety reputation for its time, without a passenger or crew injury or fatality. The aircraft derived its name, Deux-Ponts, from its double-decker cabin design with four engines and two cabin floors. The first of its kind. At one point, it was the largest airliner in the world. It was originally configured to carry around 107 passengers, accommodating 59 on the upper deck and 48 on the lower deck.

The Deux-Ponts had a cantilever wing at mid-height on the fuselage and was fitted with retractable tricycle landing gear with dual-wheel central units. The flight deck was designed for a crew of four: two pilots, one flight engineer on the left, and one navigator on the right behind the pilots. The navigator had a table and radio gear next to him. If there were only three crew members, the second pilot could move back to the navigator's spot by folding up the table. The large windows allowed the crew to look out to check on the engines easily.

Bréguet highlighted the aircraft's versatility. The designers of this multi-role aircraft had hoped it would find a role in the rapidly increasing and popular air transport world. It could carry, in various layouts and options, 59 passengers on the upper deck, 22 in the front lower cabin, and 20 in the rear lower cabin, or be arranged with 32 sleeping berths. When the aircraft was stationary, crew and passengers could use an elevator to move between the two floors. That was unique and not even the modern jets have a passenger elevator; also, some did come with small elevators to move beverages and food between the floors.

The intention was to design it to carry either passengers, or cargo or even a combination of the two – cargo on the lower floor and passengers upstairs. This concept was successfully used by Lockheed in the design of their massive C5 Galaxy.

In 1951, the French government ordered 12 Bréguet 763s. Six units were given to Air France, helping boost the country's airline industry, and the French Ministry of Aviation used the other six for military transport. The aircraft proved to be very safe, with no serious incidents.

Air France and the Bréguet 763

The Bréguet 763's versatile design features made it famous among passengers and Air France from a business standpoint, and it operated the aircraft from 1953 until 1971. The propliner served medium-range destinations and flew primarily between Paris and Algiers. On occasion, the Deux-Ponts were also used on cross-channel flights to London and domestic routes within France from Paris to the regions. It was a truly multi-purpose aircraft and it was not uncommon to see passengers carried upstairs, cars or livestock or flowers being carried on the lower deck.

In 1958, in hopes of improving sales, Bréguet leased back a 763 unit from Air France and took it on a tour within North and Latin America. The aircraft covered an impressive 25,000 miles, stopping in New York, Washington, DC, and Miami in the United States before flying down to Bogotá in Colombia, Santiago in Chile, and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. However, the introduction of the jet-powered Caravelle made the 763 obsolete. In the tradition of many aircraft, they were withdrawn from carrying passengers, converted to freighters, where they proved very successful, or given to the Military to use. Some aircraft were transferred to the French Air Force.

The Deux-Ponts in the French Air Force

The French Air Ministry were very much involved in the design and development of the 763. In 1951, the contract was signed for 6 of the aircraft. The aircraft was to have a 2,000km range and the ability to carry bulky cargo. Louis-Charles Bréguet saw the ‘double-decker’ configuration as quite versatile.

The 765 Sahara was an upgraded version of the 763, with accommodation for 146 fully equipped troops, 85 stretchers and medical attendants or freight (including military vehicles loaded through the large rear-opening ramp). Fifteen were ordered for the French Air Force in 1956, powered by Pratt & Whitney R-2800 GB-16 or CB-17 engines. The first flew on 6 September 1958.

The French Air Force was very happy with the aircraft and it proved popular with the crews that flew it and all who used it. However, it was to have a limited role as bigger and better and more modern turboprop military transports were being developed. Modern technology, newer aircraft and better economics saw the demise of the aircraft and their last flight was undertaken in 1971. It was in that year that Dassault bought out and took over the company that Louis-Charles had started. Along with the buyout came the many plans that Breguet had been working on and these were soon developed into aircraft by Dassault.

The aircraft was replaced by the Nord Noratlas transport, which in turn was replaced by the C160 Transall, a Combined German and French-built aircraft, some of which were acquired by the SAAF and had an amazing record in the SAAF.

A true double-decker, vastly underrated, it never won any prizes for its looks, but it was to prove that double-deckers and multi-purpose aircraft had a role to play in aviation, both civil and military.

General characteristics

• Crew: 3 or 4

• Capacity: 107 passengers in a pure passenger configuration

• Length: 28.94 m (94 ft 11 in)

• Wingspan: 42.96 m (140 ft 11 in)

• Height: 9.56 m (31 ft 4 in)

• Wing area: 185.4 m2 (1,996 sq ft)

• Empty weight: 32,535 kg (71,727 lb)

• Max takeoff weight: 50,000 kg (110,231 lb)

• Fuel capacity: 15,300 L (4,042 US gal; 3,366 imp gal)

• Powerplant: 4 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800-CA18 eighteen-cylinder radial engines, 1,800 kW (2,400 hp) each

• Propellers: 3-bladed Hamilton-Standard, 4.25 m (13 ft 11 in) diameter constant-speed propellers

Performance

• Cruise speed:  210 kn) at 3,000 m (10,000 ft) (max cruise) 336 km/h (209 mph; 181 kn) at 3,000 m (9,800 ft) (econ. cruise)

• Range: 2,290 km (1,420 mi, 1,240 nmi)

• Rate of climb: 5.8 m/s (1,140 ft/min) at sea level

• Time to altitude: 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 13 minutes

• Take-off distance to 15 m (49 ft): 1,260 m (4,134 ft)

• Landing distance from 15 m (49 ft): 980 m (3,215 ft)