In the late 1960s, French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation made a huge bet. The company designed its first commercial airliner, the Mercure 100, to do one thing fantastically well; fly short routes more efficiently than any other airliner. With ambitions to take on rival giants like Boeing and Douglas, Dassault invested huge sums into developing an airliner with unprecedented short-range performance. Anticipating demand for hundreds of aircraft, the company even built several factories across France.