×
Aircraft / Aviation Vehicles & Artillery Infantry Arms Warships & Submarines Military Pay Chart (2023) Military Ranks
Advertisements
HOME
AIRCRAFT / AVIATION
MODERN AIR FORCES
COUNTRIES
MANUFACTURERS
COMPARE
BY CONFLICT
BY TYPE
BY DECADE
WORLD WAR 2
Aviation / Aerospace

Dewoitine D.520


Monoplane Fighter Aircraft [ 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.



Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 09/15/2021 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

GO TO SPECIFICATIONS [+]
Advertisements
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.©MilitaryFactory.com
Advertisements
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.©MilitaryFactory.com
Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.
Advertisements

Specifications



Service Year
1939

Origin
France national flag graphic
France

Status
RETIRED
Not in Service.
Crew
1

Production
881
UNITS


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
(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)
Air-to-Air Combat, Fighter
General ability to actively engage other aircraft of similar form and function, typically through guns, missiles, and/or aerial rockets.


Length
28.7 ft
(8.76 m)
Width/Span
33.5 ft
(10.20 m)
Height
8.4 ft
(2.56 m)
Empty Wgt
4,612 lb
(2,092 kg)
MTOW
6,151 lb
(2,790 kg)
Wgt Diff
+1,539 lb
(+698 kg)
(Showcased structural values pertain to the base Dewoitine D.520 production variant)
Installed: 1 x Hispano-Suiza 12Y-45 12-cylinder V-type engine developing 930 horsepower.
Max Speed
336 mph
(540 kph | 292 kts)
Ceiling
36,089 ft
(11,000 m | 7 mi)
Range
957 mi
(1,540 km | 2,852 nm)


♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)
Sub
Trans
Super
Hyper
HiHyper
ReEntry
RANGES (MPH) Subsonic: <614mph | Transonic: 614-921 | Supersonic: 921-3836 | Hypersonic: 3836-7673 | Hi-Hypersonic: 7673-19180 | Reentry: >19030


(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the base Dewoitine D.520 production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)
STANDARD:
1 x 20mm HS 404 cannon in nose
4 x 7.5mm machine guns in wings


Supported Types


Graphical image of an aircraft medium machine gun
Graphical image of an aircraft automatic cannon


(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)
Hardpoint Mountings: 0


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.


Military lapel ribbon for Operation Allied Force
Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War
Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Britain
Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Midway
Military lapel ribbon for the Berlin Airlift
Military lapel ribbon for the Chaco War
Military lapel ribbon for the Cold War
Military lapel ribbon for the Cuban Missile Crisis
Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War
Military lapel ribbon for the French-Indochina War
Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight
Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War
Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars
Military lapel ribbon for the Iran-Iraq War
Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War
Military lapel ribbon for the 1982 Lebanon War
Military lapel ribbon for the Malayan Emergency
Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the attack on Pearl Harbor
Military lapel ribbon for the Six Day War
Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War
Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War
Military lapel ribbon for the Suez Crisis
Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War
Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War
Military lapel ribbon for Warsaw Pact of the Cold War-era
Military lapel ribbon for the WASP (WW2)
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2
Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War
Military lapel ribbon for experimental x-plane aircraft


Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective aerial campaigns / operations / aviation periods.

Images Gallery



1 / 1
Image of the Dewoitine D.520
Image copyright www.MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.


Advertisements




Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies


2023 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons.

View day-by-day actions of the American Civil War with CivilWarTimeline.net. View day-by-day actions of World War II with SecondWorldWarHistory.com.


©2023 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2023 (20yrs)