Dewoitine D.520

With the Allies

In December 1942, as French forces formerly under Vichy sided with the Allies, there were 153 D.520s left in French hands in North Africa.

They flew a few patrols during the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], but were considered obsolete, and their radio sets were incompatible
with Allied equipment.

From early 1943 on, they were relegated to training duties at the fighter school in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], and progressively replaced by [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in combat units.

During the liberation of France, a few D.520s abandoned by the Germans were used by ad hoc units in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] against the isolated German pockets of resistance on the Western coast.

Foreign users

As German forces [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], they captured 246 D.520s; additionally, a batch of 62 was completed under German occupation.

The captured Dewoitines were to be delivered to the Axis Balkan Front, although some were used by the Luftwaffe for training purposes while 60 were transferred to Italy and 96, or 120, to Vozdushni Voiski, the Bulgarian Air Force, for use in combat.

But D.520s reached Bulgaria only in August 1943, as the Bulgarian fighter pilots were still training on the type at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] with JG 107.

The following month, the first 48 Dewoitines were taken over in a ceremony on [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] airfield.

Two months later, on 24 November, the D.520s were used in combat, when 17 out of the 60 B-24s of 15th USAAF arrived in the Bulgarian sky to bomb the capital, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Twenty four Dewoitines took off from Vrashdebna base (along with 16 Bf 109G-2s from [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]) and attacked the bombers and the 35 escorting P-38s.

The Bulgarian pilots claimed four American aircraft for the loss of one fighter, three more aircraft had to force land.

American bombers attacked Sofia again, on 10 December 1943. That day, 31 B-24 Liberators escorted by P-38s,
were intercepted by six Dewoitines of II/6th Fighter regiment from Vrashdebna and 16 D.520s of I/6th Fighter regiment from Karlov (along with 17 Bf 109G-2s).

The Americans claimed 11 D.520s for the loss on only one P-38.

Later records showed only one Dewoitine was lost during that air battle.

The Vozdushni Voiski D.520s were again up in force, to face the massive Allied air raid of 30 March 1944.

To intercept the 450 bombers (B-17s, B-24s and Handley Page Halifaxs) escorted by 150 P-38s, the Bulgarians scrambled 28 Dewoitines from I./6th at Karlovo, six D.520s from II/6th at Vrashdebna (together with 39 Bf 109G-6s and even Avia 135s).

At least ten Allied aircraft (eight bombers and two P-38s) where shot down, while Vozdushni Voiski lost five fighters and three pilots.

Two more Bulgarian aircraft had to force land.

During the last Allied raid on Sofia, on 17 April, the II./6th fighter scrambled seven Dewoitines (plus 16 Bf 109s) against 350 B-17s and B-24s escorted by 100 P-51 Mustangs.

Bulgarians pilots, that up to that time had encountered only P-38s, mistook the P-51s for their own Bf 109 and before they realized their mistake, seven Bf 109G-6s had been shot down.

That day the Vozdushni Voiski suffered the heaviest losses since the beginning of the war: nine fighters shot down and three that had to crash land.

Six pilots lost their lives. By 28 September 1944, twenty days after Bulgaria joined the Allies, Dewoitines still equipped a Orlyak (Group) of 6th Fighter regiment: I Group had a total of 17 D.520s, five in repair and 12 operational, for its three Jato (Squadrons).

Numerous sources have mentioned use of the D.520 by the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], but no evidence has ever been provided.

One source claims the so-called Romanian Dewoitines were, in fact, in transit to Bulgaria and only flew over Romania in order to get to their final destination.

This seems the most reliable explanation, viewed against the numbers of Dewoitines actually available.

About 60 D.520s were acquired by [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Italian pilots appreciated the aircraft's capabilities and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] cannon, at least by 1940–1941 standards.

The first three D.520s were assigned to 2° Stormo based at the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]-Caselle airfield, where they were used for the defence of Torino's industrial area.

Other D.520s were captured in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

At the beginning of 1943, the Italian ace [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] ferried D.520s taken as [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] to Italy to be used for defence.
"I have collected several dozen Dewoitines from various French airfields and the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] factory", he recalled later.

"At the time, when we were still flying the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], it was a good, if not very good, machine.

Compared to the Macchi 200, it was superior only in one point: its armament of the Hispano-Suiza HS 404 20 mm cannon.".

Italian pilots liked the 20 mm gun, the modern cockpit, the excellent radio set and the easy recovery from a spin but they also complained about the weak undercarriage and the small ammunition drum capability; the ammunition was not available in quantities (the HS.404 wasn't compatible with Breda and Scotti 20 mm guns, so everything depended on
France's depots).

Some D.520s were delivered to 22rd Gruppo (359a Squadriglia), led by Major Vittorio Minguzzi.

At that time, B-24s frequently bombed Naples, so an effective interceptor was badly needed, and D.520s were all that were available in early 1943.

The 359a pilots used Dewoitines with some success, On 21 May 1943, Regia Aereonautica and the Luftwaffe agreed to exchange 39 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], captured by Italians at the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] factory in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] ([Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]), with a stock of 30 D.520s. Subsequently, in spring-summer 1943, the Dewoitines were used by 161° Gruppo Autonomo, based in southern Italy with 163a Squadriglia in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], 162a Squadriglia in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and 164a Squadriglia in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

On 31 July 1943, Regia Aeronautica had still 47 Dewoitines in service. After the armistice of 8 September 1943, three D.520s, previously in service with 24° Gruppo, were used by the air force of [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] for training.

Postwar service

After the war, the D.520s that remained in France were used as trainers.

One example was field-modified as a two-seater in late 1945.

In March 1946, after further experiments, the Armée de l'air ordered a further batch of 20 D.520s to be converted; however, only 13 of these D.520 DC conversions were completed.

The last flight of an operational D.520 was made on 3 September 1953 with EPAA (Esquadrille de Presentation de
l'Armée de l'Air).

Initially this unit had flown Yak-3s, formally of the[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] fighter squadron; these were later replaced with seven D.520s, three of them being two-seaters.

Variants


D.520

• Main production version, sometimes designated D.520 S (for série – production) or D.520 C1 (for chasseur – fighter, single-seat).
  

Direct derivatives

In 1940, SNCAM had several projects to fit the D.520 airframe with more powerful engines. These developments were halted by the June armistice.

D.521

• engine replaced by a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], one example built, project cancelled.
  

D.522

• engine replaced by a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], project abandoned after the armistice (22 June 1940).
  

D.523

• engine replaced by slightly different sub-variants of the 820 kW (1,100 hp) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], with Szydlowski-Planiol [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]. D.523 Prototype was completing pre-production trials in June 1940.
  

D.524

• Version powered by [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] engine. One prototype built, never flew.
  

D.525

• development version of the D.523
  

D.530

• planned version with a 1,044 kW (1,400 hp) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] or a 1,342 kW (1,800 hp) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].
  

Un D 520 DC

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Post-armistice developments


Several projects were initiated after the June 1940 armistice. They all were terminated with the German occupation of Southern France in November 1942.

D.520 amélioré

• Single production D.520 experimentally fitted with minor improvements so as to improve top speed with unchanged engine.
  

D.520 Z

• D.520 airframe with 12Z engine and minor improvements. One example built. Development resumed after the war (as SE.520Z), but eventually cancelled in 1949.
  

M.520 T

• Different airframe loosely based on the D.520. None built.
  

D.520 Z

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D.520 Z

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D.520 Z

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Bibliography

• Angelucci, Enzo and Paolo Matricardi. World Aircraft: World War II, Volume I (Sampson Low Guides). Maidenhead, UK: Sampson Low, 1978. [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].
  
• L'aviazione encyclopedia (The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft). London: Aerospace Publishing /De Agostini, 1986.
  
• Avions Militaires 1919-1939 – Profiles et Histoire. Paris: Connaissance de l’Histoire Hachette, 1979.
  
• Bączkowski, W. Dewoitine D.520 (in Polish). Warsaw, Poland: Books International, 1998.
  
• Belcarz, Bartłomiej. Dewoitine D 520. Sandomierz, Poland/Redbourn, UK: Mushroom Model Publications, 2005. [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].
  
• Breffort, Dominique and André Jouineau. French Aircraft from 1939 to 1942, Volume 2: From Dewoitine to Potez. Paris: Histoire & Collections, 2005. [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].
  
• Brindley, John F. French Fighters of World War Two, Volume One. Windsor, UK: Hylton Lacy Publishers Ltd., 1971. [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].
  
• Brown, Russell. Desert Warriors: Australian P-40 Pilots at War in the Middle East and North Africa, 1941–1943. Maryborough, Australia: Banner Books, 1983. [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].