Dassault Mercure

The Dassault Mercure is a twin-engined, narrow-body, jet-powered airliner developed and manufactured by Dassault Aviation, and by Dassault's account the first large-scale European cooperative civil aeronautics programme. It was proposed in 1967 as a French competitor to the Boeing 737 and was the company's first venture into commercial jet airliners, after years of building fighters and executive jets. The French civil aviation directorate had suggested a 140-seat short-haul design, and the programme went ahead with French government backing. The prototype flew on 28 May 1971 and the type entered service on 4 June 1974 with Air Inter. Its range was less than half that of the contemporary Boeing 737-200, which limited its usefulness, and the type sold very poorly: only 12 aircraft were built, between 1971 and 1975, and the last flight was in 1995.