Breguet Deux - Ponts The Breguet 761 / 763 / 765 were a family of 1940s and 1950s French double - deck transport aircraft produced by Breguet . The aircraft were normally called the Deux - Ponts ( Double - Decker ) but it was not an official name . Design and development . Breguet began design work on the Breguet 761 two - deck airliner even before the end of the Second World War , in 1944 . It was decided that a medium range airliner with seating for over 100 passengers would be built . The design envisaged using readily available engines with the aim of ease of manufacture and an early first - flight date . The design was known as " Project 76 - 1 " . The aircraft was destined not to be the first French postwar design to fly , an honour which instead fell to the Sud - Est Languedoc , a civilianised Bloch MB161 . The prototype Br . 761 , F - WASK , first flew at Villacoublay on 15 February 1949 . The 761 featured a cantilever wing set at mid - height on the bulky fuselage . The retractable tricycle landing gear featured dual - wheel main units . The empennage , high on the rear fuselage had twin fins and rudders . The prototype was powered by four 1 , 580 hp ( 1180 kW ) SNECMA 14R - 24 radial engines . The prototype was followed by three Br . 761S pre - production aircraft powered by 2 , 020 hp ( 1506 kW ) Pratt & Whitney R - 2800 - B31 radial engines . These were fitted with 12 ft 1½in ( 3 . 70 m ) diameter Hamilton Standard propellors . The aircraft successfully completed their trials incident - free . Their first flights were in 1951 or 1952 . They also included a vestigial central fin . The French Government ordered 12 production aircraft , the Breguet 76 - 3 which were later redesignated Br . 763 . Six aircraft were to be operated by Air France and the other six by the Ministry of Transport . The 763 had more powerful engines , an larger wingspan , strengthened wings and three - crew flight deck ( earlier aircraft had four crew ) . The 763 first flew on 20 July 1951 and entered service with Air France during autumn 1952 . The Air France aircraft had accommodation for 59 passengers on the top deck , and 48 on the lower deck , although the aircraft was capable of carrying 135 passengers in a high - density layout . During 1964 Air France transferred six Br . 763s to the French Air Force . The air force also acquired the three pre - production Br . 761S aircraft and four new Br . 765 Sahara freighter aircraft with removable cargo doors . Projects to build versions powered with British engines ( for possible United Kingdom buyers ) did not come to fruition . The projects would have been the 766 ( with the Bristol Hercules radial engine ) , and the 767 with British turboprop engines . Operational history . Civil . The prototype Br . 761 entered service with Air Algérie in 1952 as a cargo aircraft . It was withdrawn early the next year . Silver City Airways leased a Br . 761 for three months in the summer of 1953 for use on the Hamburg - Berlin route . A total of 127 round trips carried of freight with up to three round trips being made in a day , each leg taking 52 minutes flight time . It was rumoured that Silver City would purchase three aircraft at £770 , 000 but this did not materialise into a sale . The Breguet Br . 763 " Provence " entered service with Air France on 10 March 1953 . The inaugural route was Lyon - Algiers . The type was used on European routes from Paris , mainly to the Mediterranean area , but occasionally to London . Domestic routes included Paris to Lyon , Marseille and Nice . Six aircraft were used in response to a serious incident at Salat , Algeria where French oil - rig engineers were in need of assistance . A total of 60 tonnes of heavy equipment and 200 personnel were moved to and from Algiers in four days . The introduction of the Sud Aviation Caravelle rendered the " Provence " obsolete as a passenger aircraft . The Caravelle was faster , more comfortable and had a greater range . In 1958 , Breguet borrowed F - BASQ from Air France for a sales tour to North and South America . This was the aircraft which had force - landed at Pont - Évêque in 1955 . The tour covered , and took in the cities of New York , Washington , D . C . and Miami in the United States , Bogotá in Colombia , Santiago in Chile , Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia in Brazil . The tour failed to generate any orders . In North America , the jet age had begun , whilst the aircraft had too great a capacity for operators in South America , despite being cheaper on a cost - per - seat to operate than a Douglas DC - 4 . The " Provence " was used on fewer and fewer passenger services , being replaced by the Caravelle and Vickers Viscount . Six aircraft were transferred to the Armée de l ' Air . Air France converted the six remaining Br . 763s into freighters with the name " Universale " . These remained in service on European freight services until the early 1970s . The final flight was on 31 March 1971 from Heathrow to Paris - Orly . A double - deck Routemaster bus was parked alongside the aircraft to mark the retirement of the Br . 763 from service . Military . In October 1955 an order for 30 Breguet Br . 765 " Sahara " aircraft for the Armée de l ' Air was announced . This order was cancelled by the end of the year , but construction on four aircraft was so far advanced that they were completed . These entered service with 64 " Escadre de Transport " . The French Air Force acquired the three pre - production Br . 761S aircraft , these and the six Sahara aircraft acquired from Air France provided the French Air Force with a valuable transport fleet for moving personnel and materials to the Pacific nuclear testing areas . The Sahara fleet was retired in 1972 . Internal Fittings . The Breguets serving with Air France had up to 107 seats and an elevator between the two floors . Accidents and incidents . The Breguet Deux - Ponts had an excellent safety record .