The Couzinet 70 "Arc-en-Ciel" (Rainbow)

The Couzinet 70 "Arc-en-Ciel" (Rainbow) was a iconic three-engine French mailplane designed by René Couzinet in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Famously piloted by legendary aviator Jean Mermoz, the aircraft completed historic transatlantic postal flights in 1933 connecting France, West Africa, and South America, establishing routine transoceanic airmail service along the West African coastal corridor.

Issued in 1966 as part of Mauritania's airmail history series (REPUBLIQUE ISLAMIQUE DE MAURITANIE / الجمهورية الإسلامية الموريتانية), this 150F airmail stamp (POSTE AERIENNE / COUZINET "ARC-EN-CIEL") illustrates the sleek trimotor monoplane banking over the West African coastline and Atlantic ocean.