D.520

D.520

V.G.33C-1

VB.10C-1

D.520

V.G.33C-1

VB.10C-1

France

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
3.0	3.0	2.3

Class:

Fighter

Research:5 600

Purchase:22 000

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This page is about the French fighter D.520. For the version in the British tree, see D.520 (Great Britain).

Description

The D.520 is a rank II French fighter with a battle rating of 3.0 (AB/RB) and 2.3 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.73 "Vive la France".

General info

Flight performance

Due to the D.520's mediocre handling, each scenario must be exploited to the best for the maximum efficiency from the plane. However, maintaining a high speed with the aircraft is essential to do well in common dog-fighting tactics such as Boom & Zoom and Turn & Burn.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 5,000 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	529	515	11200	21.1	21.9	7.1	7.1	300
Upgraded	571	550		19.0	20.0	13.6	10.0

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
0	320	400	340	280	~12	~8

Survivability and armour

• 38 mm Bulletproof glass in front of pilot.
• 8 mm Steel plate behind pilot.
• 3 mm Steel box behind pilot's head.

Armaments

Offensive armament

The D.520 is armed with:

• 1 x 20 mm Hispano 404 cannon, nose-mounted (60 rpg)
• 4 x 7.5 mm MAC 1934 machine guns, wing-mounted (675 rpg = 2,700 total)

Usage in battles

The main purpose of the D.520 is the role of an interceptor/fighter. It has no bomb-capacity and thus stands limited to aerial combat. In this respect there are a few things to consider, first and foremost that this is a fighter that does not do great away from a squad. It has mediocre flight characteristics as far as speed, climb and turn is concerned. It is however quite well armoured to compensate for such, meaning that it will stay air-worthy where other aircraft would crash, and instead stands a fighter which is effective in engagements where it has support to rely on. Without such support, it is a very situational plane which can engage certain enemies depending on advantage in altitude, speed, or sometimes even a turning radius. It has a respectable armament of one powerful Hispano 20 mm cannon with a very limited ammunition load (60 rounds), and four 7.5 mm guns with a good deal of ammunition which makes it competitive in realistic battles. Its strong airframe is able to withstand significant wind resistance making it potent in a longer dive. Despite its limited attributes it handles fairly comfortably and thus can be a real asset to a pilot which employs situational awareness combined with an in depth understanding of the enemy aircraft he will choose to either engage or avoid. It has a potent incendiary tracer round for its machine guns and the Hispano makes it pack a fairly significant punch despite its limited cannon ammunition. The D.520 is best considered a heavier single-seat fighter aircraft which can out-endure other enemy squads due to its armour, but not out-turn, out-run, out-gun many other types of aircraft on its own rank.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Separate	Not controllable 1 gear	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Offensive 7 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe	New 7 mm MGs
III	Wings repair	Engine		Offensive 20 mm
IV		Engine injection	Cover	New 20 mm cannons

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Powerful 20mm cannon
• Good fighter armament
• Plenty of ammo for the machine-guns
• Very incendiary ammunition for its tracer ammunition.
• Fairly good armour

Cons:

• Very little ammo for the 20mm cannon (60 rounds)
• Relatively poor rate of climb
• Very situational aircraft.
• Takes a lot of machine gun rounds to shoot down a enemy plane when you run out of cannon ammo.

History

The Dewoitine D.520 was one of the most successful French fighters of the Second World War.

Designed from 1936 by Émile Dewoitine from his own funds, in response to a call for tenders from the French Air Force seeking an aircraft to succeed the Dewoitine D.510, and capable of reaching 520 km/h. The project would be carried out by SNCAM, a new company resulting from the nationalisation of the Dewoitine workshops. Three prototypes were built: the first, which flew for the first time on October 2, 1938, equipped with a Hispano-Suiza 12Y21 engine producing 890 hp, was not able to exceed 480 km/h. Ot was then upgraded with a 12Y29 engine and equipped with a variable-pitch propeller, and managed to reach a speed of 825 km/h in a dive.

The other two prototypes were developed during 1939, equipped with their armaments, and in March, 200 copies were ordered, followed by 600, subsequently reduced to an additional 510 in June. In September, at the start of the conflict, total orders rose to 1,280 and in April 1940 to 2,250.

The series D.520, the first variant of which was produced in November 1939, was equipped with a Hispano-Suiza 12Y45 engine of 935 horsepower and armed with four 7.5 mm machine guns in the wings, supplied with 675 rounds, and a 20 mm cannon with 60 shots firing through the propeller hub. It began equipping the French Air Force from January 1940, but was not fully operational until the end of May. At the Armistice, 437 copies were produced and 351 delivered.

In April 1941, production resumed to equip the Air Force of the Vichy Regime which ordered 550 copies. Although a little slower than the Messerschmitt Bf109, it was more manoeuvrable and was one of the only aircraft able to supplant it at the start of the war. However, built in too small a number and arriving too late in the various flight groups to be equipped, it was not enough to reverse the course of history.

The Dewoitine D.520 is credited with 147 victories in aerial combat against the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica, for 54 planes shot down. Some planes were produced and bought by the French Vichy State to oppose the Allied landings in North Africa and the occupation of Lebanon and Madagascar.

Some aircraft captured by the German army during the 1942 invasion of the south zone were used as training aircraft by the Luftwaffe and other Axis powers. They were also sold in large numbers to the Bulgarian force, about 150 planes which fought against the American planes. In 1944, the D.520s taken over from the occupying armies equipped the 1st FFI Hunting Group, under the command of Marcel Doret, to carry out missions in the Bordeaux region and the Royan pocket.

At the end of the war, the remaining aircraft were used for the training of French pilots until 1953. A total of 775 copies were produced.

Media

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See also

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• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

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