Dewoitine D.520
| D.520 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| A Dewoitine D.520 preserved at the French Air and Space Museum | |
| Role | Fighter aircraft |
| Manufacturer | SNCAM / SNCASE |
| First flight | 2 October 1938 |
| Introduction | January 1940 |
| Retired | 1953 |
| Primary users |
French Air Force Luftwaffe Regia Aeronautica Bulgarian Air Force |
| Number built | ≈900 |
The Dewoitine D.520 was a French fighter aircraft that entered service in early 1940, shortly after the beginning of World War II. Unlike the Morane-Saulnier M.S.406, which was at that time the most numerous fighter in the French Air Force, the Dewoitine D.520 came close to being a match for the latest German types, such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109. It was slower than the Bf 109E but superior in manoeuvrability. Because of a delayed production cycle, only a small number were available for combat against the Luftwaffe.
The D.520 was designed in response to a 1936 requirement from the French Air Force for a fast, modern fighter with a good climbing speed and an armament centred on a 20 mm cannon. At the time the most powerful V 12 liquid-cooled engine available in France was the Hispano-Suiza 12Y, which was less powerful, but lighter than contemporary engines such as the Rolls-Royce Merlin and Daimler-Benz DB 601. Other fighters were designed to meet the specifications but none of them entered service, or entered service in small numbers, too late to play a significant role during the Battle of France.
In response to a specification for a new fighter promulgated by the French Air Ministry on 15 June 1936, work on the D.520 started in September of that year, at the private design firm led by Émile Dewoitine. The specifications called for a maximum speed of 500 km/h (310 mph) at 4,000 m (13,000 ft), the ability to climb to 8,000 m (26,000 ft) in less than fifteen minutes, with takeoff and landing runs not exceeding 400 m (1,300 ft). The armament was to be two 7.5 mm (.295 in) machine guns and one 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.9 cannon, or two HS.9 cannon. Dewoitine had been disappointed with the performance of his last design, the Dewoitine D.513, which was rejected by the French Air Force in favour of the Morane-Saulnier M.S.406, and decided to respond to the specifications with a design using the latest construction techniques and the most powerful available engine, the new 660 kW (890 hp) Hispano-Suiza 12Y-21 liquid-cooled engine. The first design was rejected by the French Air Ministry, which, after being impressed by the British Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire, then uprated the specifications to include a maximum speed requirement of 500 km/h (310 mph). In response, Dewoitine renamed the further development, the "D.520".
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