General info for D.520

• Country Britain
• Vehicle role Fighter
• Rank 2

• Battle rating in
  • arcade battles 3
  • realistic battles 2.7
  • simulator battles 2.3

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Wiki info about D.520

Official War Thunder wiki

The Dewoitine D.520 was a French single-seat, all-metal, monoplane fighter which first entered service in 1940. In 1936 the French Armee de l’Air stated a requirement for a cannon armed fighter capable of speeds of 500 km/h. Emile Dewoitine began work on a design to meet this criteria and a prototype D.520-01 conducted its first test flight on October 2nd 1938. After some initial teething problems, the first production run was started in October 1939. In April 1940 the first D.520s were declared operational in Groupe de Chasse 1/3, a Groupe which already included a good number of combat experienced pilots. The Dewoitine D.520 was powered by a liquid-cooled Hispano-Suiza HS12Y-45 engine, rated at 920 hp. Its armament comprised of one Hispano-Suiza HS404 20mm cannon with 60 rounds and four belt-fed MAC 1934 M39 7.5mm machine guns in the wings with 675 rounds each. The outbreak of war had made any further refinement of the aircraft impossible, and as a result production commenced with minimal delays, leaving no time for proposed improvements to be implemented. Instead, upgrades would be made during production, as time allowed. The production model had a redesigned carburettor air intake and a modified cooling system for the engine. Later D.520s featured jet exhaust pipes. The production model was sometimes referred to as the D.520S ("serial") or the D.520C1 ("chausser 1," or single-seat fighter). The Dewoitine D.520 flew its first operational sorties in May 1940 and the majority of its victories (18 confirmed kills) were achieved by one of the leading French aces, Adjudant-Chief (then Sous-Lieutenant) Pierre Le Gloan from GC III/6. Production of the D.520 was halted when France surrendered in the summer of 1940 and then restarted under German occupation in April of 1941. From September 1942, the D.520 was the main fighter of Vichy France; the puppet French government who now collaborated with Nazi Germany. From April 1941 onward D.520s took part in clashes with British forces in Lebanon and Syria. In November of 1942, some D.520s joined la France Libre and fought for the Allies in North Africa. The D.520 also served with the Luftwaffe, and the Germans supplied the fighters to their allies in Italy, Bulgaria, and Romania. The Dewoitine D.520 is considered by many to be the best French fighter of World War II. Its initial competition included the Spitfire and the Messerschmitt 109, although its handling characteristics and performance were inferior to both. One senior British test pilot described it as underpowered, ‘a nasty little brute’ to fly and markedly inferior to both the Spitfire and Hurricane. D.520 fighters were mass manufactured intermittently until June 1944 and in all 610 were produced. The last D.520s, used as trainers, were retired by the Armee de l’Air in September 1953.