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Dewoitine D.520


Monoplane Fighter Aircraft


France | 1939



"The Dewoitine D.520 was arguably the best fighter available to the French at the time of the Battle of France concerning World War 2."

Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Dewoitine D.520 Monoplane Fighter Aircraft.
1 x Hispano-Suiza 12Y-45 12-cylinder V-type engine developing 930 horsepower.
Propulsion
336 mph
540 kph | 292 kts
Max Speed
36,089 ft
11,000 m | 7 miles
Service Ceiling
957 miles
1,540 km | 832 nm
Operational Range
Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Dewoitine D.520 Monoplane Fighter Aircraft.
1
(MANNED)
Crew
28.7 ft
8.76 m
O/A Length
33.5 ft
(10.20 m)
O/A Width
8.4 ft
(2.56 m)
O/A Height
4,612 lb
(2,092 kg)
Empty Weight
6,151 lb
(2,790 kg)
MTOW
Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Dewoitine D.520 Monoplane Fighter Aircraft .
STANDARD:
1 x 20mm HS 404 cannon in nose
4 x 7.5mm machine guns in wings
Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Dewoitine D.520 family line.
D520.1 - Prototype Model Designation; initial prototype fitted with Hispano-Suiza 12Y-21 inline engine; additional prototypes features slight modifications to various design elements including the canopy and wing; second prototype fitted with Hispano-Suiza 12Y-51 engine; third prototype fitted with Hispano-Suiza 12Y-31 engine of 890 horsepower.
D.520 - Main Series Designation; fitted with either Hispano-Suiza 12Y-45 or Hispano-Suiza 12Y-49 engines of 920 horsepower.
D.524 - Experimental Variant; fitted with Hispano-Suiza 12Y-89 engine of 1,200 horsepower.
Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 09/15/2021 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

The Dewoitine D.520 was a single seat piston-engine fighter designed and built for the French Air Force. Developed from lessons learned in their ill-fated D.513 design, Dewoitine produced a fighter of sleek design and acceptable capability, especially when compared to that of the German Luftwaffe - to which the D.520 squared off valiantly yet unsuccessfully in the Fall of France in 1940. Despite this, the D.520 was generally respected and use continued by the Vichy French Air Force and even in post-war France. The D.520 signified France's first successful and best "modern" fighter design of World War 2.

Design work on the D.520 began as early as 1936, with the first prototypes flying by 1938. Beyond some design modifications and differing engine types (all from the Hispano-Suiza line) the models varied little. From the D520.1 prototype, the base D.520 series was born and ordered up for production by 1939, with the system being fielded by 1940 - to which only some 36 had actually been delivered when the Germans invaded. The D.520 reportedly squared up well against its German counterparts though success in the defense of France was not to be. Some 114 enemy kills were made at a loss of 85 French D.520's before the eventual collapse of the aerial defense. The system stayed in production with the German-sided Vichy French Air Force and was still available in some numbers after the war.

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At its core, the D.520 was a basic straight-line fighter most noted for its sleek overall design and set-back cockpit of which was enclosed canopy. The position of the cockpit so far away from the nose undoubtedly took away from the pilots visibility forward and down but the added room in the nose made for an easier engine (which featured a variable-pitch propeller system) and armament installation. Armament consisted of a nose-mounted 20mm cannon and 4 x 7.5mm machine guns, with two machine guns per wing leading edge. Trailing edge flaps were also instituted into the wing design. A single vertical tail surface adorned the empennage and retractable landing gears rounded out the features.

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Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Dewoitine D.520. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 881 Units

Contractor(s): Dewoitine - France
National flag of Bulgaria National flag of France National flag of modern Germany National flag of Nazi Germany National flag of Italy National flag of the Kingdom of Italy National flag of Romania

[ Bulgaria; France (Free France / Vichy France); Nazi Germany; Kingdom of Italy; Romania ]
1 / 1
Image of the Dewoitine D.520
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Going Further...
The Dewoitine D.520 Monoplane Fighter Aircraft appears in the following collections:
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