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Dewoitine D.520

French flag France (1936-1953)
Fighter – 900 Built

A restored D.520 in GC I/3 camouflage. [le blog du lignard]
The Dewoitine D.520 was the most advanced French fighter aircraft of the World War II period to have been employed in large numbers during the Battle of France. It was superior to the Morane-Saulnier MS.406 and Bloch MB.152. Often considered the only French fighter able to challenge the dominance of the Luftwaffe’s Bf 109E, the D.520 garnered a strong reputation and popularity among the general public in France. Though this aspect of its history is typically overlooked, the Dewoitine would also see extensive service after the Battle of France, particularly in the air force of the Vichy Regime, but also with Germany’s Italian and Bulgarian allies.

Dewoitine: French Pioneer of Interwar Metal Monoplanes

The Constructions Aéronautiques Emile Dewoitine (Emile Dewoitine Aeronautical Manufacturing) society was founded in 1920 under the lead of the eponymous engineer. Dewoitine had previously been employed by Latecoere during the First World War, which gave him experience on the subject of military aviation.

Dewoitine’s company was located in South-Western France, in Toulouse – an ideal location for strategic industry, as it was about as far as one could be in France from what was still viewed as a potential future adversary in 1920, namely Germany.

Dewoitine’s main products quickly became monoplane fighters. Though other types of planes were also developed, it was with parasol wing monoplanes that Dewoitine met its initial success. While the company failed to procure major domestic orders, Dewoitine fighters such as the D.1, D.9, or D.25 were export successes, seeing service in a number of countries such as Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Turkey, Italy or Argentina. Dewoitine’s fighters were occasionally quite innovative – for example, the Dewoitine D.9 was an entirely metal parasol wing fighter, which was quite remarkable for a plane which first flew in 1924. While rejected by France, it was licence-produced by Italy as the Ansaldo AC.3, with 150 being manufactured for the Regia Aeronautica. Dewoitine also manufactured small numbers of D.9s for Belgium, Switzerland, Yugoslavia and Hungary.

Dewoitine’s D.9 metallic parasol monoplane fighter. [Aviafrance]
In large part due to none of its planes being adopted by France’s military, Dewoitine faced considerable woes in the late 1920s, being liquidated in January of 1927, before being re-founded the next year. The 1930s would prove more fruitful for Dewoitine. Most notably, the company won some sizeable contracts in the mid 1930s for its Dewoitine D.500, D.501 and D.510, which were low wing, or cantilever-wing, monoplanes, the latter two featuring, a 20 mm autocannon firing through the propeller hub. With more than 300 aircraft ordered for French service, and some limited export contacts, the Dewoitine cantilever wing monoplanes powered the company through the 1930s, and formed the bulk of France’s fighter force all the way up to 1938-1939.

A Dewoitine D.510 in flight. The D.500/501/510 fighters were a great achievement for, Dewoitine which helped cement the manufacturer’s credibility as a major French fighter manufacturer. [avion-légendaires]
Dewoitine first experimented with a cantilever-wing monoplane fighter with a retractable landing gear in the form of the D.513 fighter which first flew in January of 1936. It generally proved quite disappointing, suffering from instability, and was unable to reach the speed that was expected of it, while also suffering from cooling and landing gear problems, leading to the fighter quickly being discontinued.

The Birth of the “520”

In the French Air Force’s nomenclature, the role of single-seat fighters was classified “C1” (C for chasseur, the French equivalent of fighter, and 1 for single-seat). The air force department in charge of equipment procurement, the Service Technique Aéronautique (STAé – ENG : Aeronautical technical service), would regularly publish calls for aircraft manufacturers to design fighters to fill this role along with a series of required specifications. By late 1936, the last design request had been formulated more than two years prior, in March of 1934. The aircraft from this program, which was being considered for adoption, Morane-Saulnier’s MS.405 (which would become the MS.406), was still in the prototype phase, and had yet to receive orders for production.The MS.405 was already a fairly modern fighter, being a cantilever wing monoplane with a retractable landing gear. But Dewoitine believed that more advanced fighters using the same features could be developed. Anticipating a new design request for the C1 role, Dewoitine began development of a single-seat fighter in late 1936. It was not long before the STAé issued a new request. On the 12th of January 1937, aircraft manufacturers were asked to design a fighter able to reach a maximum speed of 520 km/h, climb to 8,000 meters in less than 15 minutes, land on a runway of 400 meters, and featuring a centerline Hispano-Suiza 20 mm HS.9 autocannon and two 7.5 mm MAC 34 machine-guns, equivalent to the armaments on the D.520 and MS. 405/406.

As the Dewoitine fighter project was still very early in development when the specifications were issued, its design took them into account. The requested maximum speed, 520 km/h, ended up being the project’s number designation.

Another major event happened in March of 1937, when Dewoitine’s Constructions aéronautiques Emile Dewoitine was nationalized by the French state. This was part of a massive nationalization plan that concerned all aspects of France’s defense industry, which was being run by the socialist-leaning popular front government in power since May 1936. Though this meant Dewoitine’s company was now state property, Emile Dewoitine was not displaced in his function as main engineer and leader of the company. The company, however, took a new name – Société Nationale des Constructions Aéronautiques du Midi (SNCAM – ENG: National Society of Aeronautical Constructions of the Midi -‘Midi being the area allotted to the company near Toulouse).

Though Dewoitine was still in full control of his company, all of the reorganization that took place in 1937 meant that work on the D.520 was mostly postponed or paused, resuming only in 1938. On the 3rd of April 1938, SNCAM obtained a contract for the construction of a prototype. Production of the first D.520 began and the prototype, D.520-01, would take off for the first time on the 2nd of October 1938.

Design of the Dewoitine fighter

The first D.520 prototype in flight. [joseph bibert fichiers]
The fighter aircraft designed by Dewoitine and his team was a low, cantilever-wing monoplane fighter that used an Hispano-Suiza 12Y in-line engine. The plane used riveted duralumin construction, both in structure and skinning.

The D.520’s wings used a one-piece, reinforced single-spar structure. Two MAC 34 7.5 mm machine-guns with gun cameras were installed towards the front, closer to the fuselage, while further inboard in the wings, a 120 liter fuel tank was located. To the rear were the flaps, which were also the only part of the aircraft covered with fabric instead of duralumin. Without the flaps, the wings had a surface of 13 square meters. The flaps had a surface area of 1 square meter, and each wing had a surface area of 14 square meters in total. When counting the wing root, where the fuselage and wings meet, the surface area was 16 square meters. On the first prototype, there was no radiator in the fuselage, and instead a radiator was installed under each wing.

The D.520-01 prototype used a Hispano-Suiza 12Y-31 V12 890 hp engine, without the cannon installed, though later prototypes, followed by production models would use more powerful versions of the Hispano-Suiza 12Y engine with provision for a 20 mm gun firing through the propeller hub. Between the engine and pilot, a 396 liter fuel tank was located (though typically it would only be filled for ferrying, and not combat operations). With a total fuel capacity of 636 litres, the D.520 had high endurance, with a ferrying range of up to 1,500 km in good weather.

The landing gear of the D.520 opened outwards. The definitive production model of the D.520 had a length of 8.6 meters, a wingspan of 10.2 meters, and a height of 3.435 meters.

Prototype Testing

The first prototype, D.520-01, was in some ways more of a demonstrator than a true prototype. From the start, the prototype had a number of differences from the standard models. The model of Hispano-Suiza 12Y that was used, the 12Y-21, did not have a provision for a propeller-hub-firing cannon, and with 890 hp, was less powerful than what was later installed. The wing machine-guns were not mounted either. During its first flight, the prototype failed to reach the desired speed of 520 km/h, not exceeding 480, and several issues were found. The two wing radiators caused too much drag, and a fuselage-mounted radiator was chosen instead. The tail’s control surfaces were found to be too small, and were enlarged. New exhaust pipes were also installed. The 12Y-21 engine was replaced by a 12Y-29, which produced 910 hp. Lastly, a variable pitch propeller was also installed.

A view of D.520-01 in flight. [Guerre et Histoire – Sciences et vie]
The first D.520 prototype undertook a second flight on the 11th of January 1939. This second attempt was much more successful, and showed great promise. It possessed good dive capabilities, with the prototype reaching more than 800 km/h in a dive, and reached 525 km/h in level flight, exceeding the 520 km/h required of the specifications.

A formidable view of the second D.520 prototype in flight over fields, France, 1939. [WW2aircrafts.net]
The second prototype of the D.520, D.520-02, had its first flight on the 28th of January, 1939. This prototype was much closer to the production model. It was fully armed, including the 20 mm propeller mounted autocannon, and had incorporated all the changes the D.520-01 had undertaken, as well as some new ones: a new landing gear and larger empennage. On the 5th of May, the third prototype, D.520-03, took to the air for the first time. This example featured the 12Y-31 engine, with full armament.

With successful trials of the second prototype, a production order for the D.520 was first placed on the 7th of April 1939, with 200 fighters ordered. The successful trials of the third prototype led to an additional order, initially for 600 aircraft, though reduced to 510 in June. In September, France entered into conflict with Germany, which saw widespread industrial mobilization and orders for new equipment. The total number of D.520s on order rose to 1,280 and through most of 1939, production was being set up at SNCAM’s facilities at Toulouse. Orders continued to accumulate, with 2,250 aircraft on order in April of 1940, including 120 for the navy.

In the meantime, testing continued on the D.520 prototypes. On the 11th of January 1940, D.520-02 was flown by pilot Leopold Galy in diving trials. During a dive from an altitude of 8,000 meters, the aircraft reached a speed of over 900 km/h – Leopard Galy indicated that the instruments showed the speed that the aircraft reached as 920 km/h.

Production Model: Features and Performance

Plans of the Dewoitine D.520 production model. [joseph bibert fichiers]
The first D.520s from the production run took to the air in November of 1939. A number of additional features had been added to Dewoitine’s fighter. The newer Hispano-Suiza 12Y-45 engine was chosen, as this model produced 935 hp and featured a much improved Szydlowski-Planiol supercharger, providing the Dewoitine with better high-altitude performance.

The armament of the production model consisted of a Hispano-Suiza HS.404 20 mm autocannon firing through the propeller hub (the prototypes used the earlier HS.9). The HS-404 had a rate of fire of 700 rpm, with a drum magazine holding only 60 rounds, the D.520 could expend its 20 mm ammunition in 9 seconds of continuous fire. The MAC 34 machine-guns were provided with more ammunition. Chambered for the 7.5×54 mm French cartridge adopted in 1929, the MAC 34 machine-guns had 675 rounds each. With a rate of fire of 1,200 rounds per minute, the MAC 34 would expend their ammunition in a little over half a minute. These machine-guns were electrically heated to avoid ice jamming the gun action at high altitudes.

The mounting of the MAC 34 machine-guns in the D.520’s wings. [L’Armement des avions de chasse français]
Empty, the D.520 had a weight of 2,050 kg. The aircraft had a structural weight of 892 kg, the engine block empty 517 kg, additional engine accessories 373 kg, empty fuel tanks 56.4 kg, and additional equipment 252 kg. 650 kg would be added on average to get the plane into operation: 337 kg of fuel (the aircraft’s fuel tanks had a capacity of 636 litres), 226 kg including the guns and their ammunition, and an average of 87 kg for the pilot and his equipment. The weight of the plane in operation would therefore be 2,740 kg. With a wing surface of 16 square meters, this meant the D.520 had a quite high wing load of 195 kg/cm2. The D.520 used a three-bladed Ratier variable pitch propeller, with a diameter of 3 meters.

The plane had an automatic fire extinguishing system controlled from the cockpit. As for fuel capacity, the plane featured a 396 liter self-sealing fuel tank located between the cockpit and the engine. Each wing featured a 120 liter fuel tank. The D.520’s fuel capacity of 636 liters was fairly considerable by 1940, and would give it a better range than most one-engined fighters used in Western Europe, with a ferry range of about 1,500 km.

The D.520 could reach a maximum speed of about 535 km/h at the altitude of peak engine performance, which was 6,750 m, and with the engine running at 2,400 rpm. Cruising speed at the same altitude was of 400 km/h with the engine running at 2,000 rpm. The stall speed was 125 km/h.

The rate of climb was 12 meters per second for the first 1,000 meters of flight. 4,000 meters could be reached in a little under 6 minutes, and thanks to its supercharger, the D.520 retained a good climb rate at high altitude. It reached 6,000 meters in 9 minutes and 8,000 meters in a little under 14 minutes. The D.520 would typically be capable of reaching those altitudes before the Bf 109E. The ceiling of the Dewoitine fighter was 11,000 meters.

Though the first examples of the D.520 were completed in November of 1939, some changes were still made, notably, the engine block was lengthened by 16 cm, meaning the first examples produced had to be retrofitted. The D.520 would only commence delivery to the air force in January of 1940, and by May, only a single fighter group had been equipped, though several would receive the new type as production was hastened during the Battle of France.

The aircraft were painted in the standard French air force camouflage scheme of brown, green, and gray color during their manufacturing process. The rudder section was painted in the colors of the French flag. The type of the aircraft (Dewoitine D.520) as well as the aircraft’s production number were indicated in black letters over this French flag-colored tail. French roundels were featured on the wings and on the central fuselage. The underside was typically painted in the same metallic gray color as parts of the fuselage and wings. The propeller hubs and propeller were painted in black.

Two completed D.520s outside of Dewoitine’s factory, 1940. [Archives Départementales de la Haute-Garonne, Airbus collection]
D.520s that have just been delivered to the air force, aligned before they are tested, 1940. [Archives Départementales de la Haute-Garonne, Airbus collections]
The D.520 assembly lines at Saint-Martin du Touch in February of 1940 [sam40.fr]

Future Production Models as Planned in 1940

Improved versions of the D.520 were quickly scheduled for production, and it was planned that these improved models would quickly be introduced to the production lines in the summer of 1940, if everything went well.

The D.521 was an experimental aircraft which mated the D.520 fuselage with the British Merlin III engine. Only one prototype was built, and it was not meant for serial production. The D.522, 523, 524 and 525, however, were D.520s powered by more powerful versions of the Hispano-Suiza 12Y engine.

The D.522 actually went back to the old Hispano-Suiza 12Y-31 860 hp engine block, which was significantly less powerful than the 12Y-45 on paper. It would, however, be fitted with a new Hispano-Suiza supercharger, larger in size than the Szydlowski-Planiol and providing better high-altitude performance. The planned production run for the D.522 was of 75 aircraft, from the 526th to the 600th Dewoitine fuselages, which would likely have meant the production run would have commenced in July of 1940. The D.522 would then have been succeeded by the D.523.

The D.523 used the 12Y-51 model of the 12Y engine, but retained the Szydlowski-Planiol supercharger. This new model of the 12Y produced up to 1,000 hp at optimal altitude. One D.523 prototype was produced (using the 45th D.520 fuselage), and underwent trials from the 9th to the 14th of May 1940. It was able to reach a maximum speed of 570 km/h at the optimal altitude, and climbed faster than the D.520 by a significant margin. This would have made this model a powerful rival to German Bf 109E and F fighters.

Though the D.525 was nominally the last, it was to be produced between the 523 and 524, and was more closely related to the 523 than the 524 was. The D.525 merely combined the 12Y-51 engine from the D.523 and the Hispano-Suiza supercharger from the D.522. Just 30 were to be produced, fuselages 751 to 780.

Finally, the D.524 was to be the last direct derivative of the D.520 scheduled for production by 1940. Its main improvement over previous models was to be the Hispano-Suiza 12Z engine – the most refined model of Hispano-Suiza’s 12Y engine yet, it was to produce 1,300 hp. While very promising in concept, the D.524 was yet to reach the prototype stage by the Invasion of France. While D.520 variants using the 12Z would come to be built at prototype stage later, the D.524 was canceled with the fall of France. It was expected to reach a maximum speed of around 616 km/h at 7,000 m, and climb to 8,000 m in 8’20’’.

By the armistice of June 1940, which put a temporary end to the D.520’s production run, about 440 aircraft had been manufactured, of which closer to 350 had been accepted by the French Air Force. This meant that no further D.520-derived models would see production, and plans to produce them were indefinitely shelved and never revisited.

A rear view of the HD 780 prototype, which featured a significantly redesigned wing as well as the necessary provisions to enable the land-based monoplane into a floatplane fighter. The HD 780 never flew and, as such, its performance data is not known. An estimate placed its maximum speed at around 440 km/h. [war thunder forums]
A floatplane fighter version of the D.520, the HD 780, had also been designed, with one prototype being produced. It incorporated many differences, such as folding, gull-shaped wings, a larger engine block, and two large floats. The prototype was completed in March of 1940, but remained inside its factory and would never take flight.

Into GC I/3

While the first serial-production D.520 had been delivered in November of 1939, these aircraft would later have to be revised and were by no means ready for service.

Dewoitine D.520 n°12 of GC I/3 in early 1940. The plane was flown by French pilot Commandant Thibaudet. [ww2fighters.e-monsite.com]
The D.520 would start effectively entering service during the first months of 1940, with the first squadron, GC I/3, being entirely outfitted with the type in the months of April and early May 1940. There, the D.520 replaced the Morane-Saulnier MS.406. Although another monoplane fighter with a retractable landing gear, the Morane was a plane which had noticeably lower performance in comparison to the Hawker Hurricane or Bloch MB.152, let alone the “triad” of modern fighters available by 1940, which would consist of the Spitfire Mk.I, the Bf 109E and the D.520.

As such, by the start of the campaign, the French Air Force had one squadron fully outfitted with the new fighter type. This fact, however, was tempered to a considerable extent. As mentioned previously, the fighters had only just been delivered to the squadron by the time fighting began in May of 1940. In other words, there had been little to no time for the pilots to accommodate with the newer fighter and become properly accustomed to it – which would prove a larger issue than anticipated, as the D.520 would prove a quite complicated and technical plane to pilot. Many of the pilots which flew the D.520 into combat during the Battle of France – perhaps even more so in the squadrons which would receive the plane during the campaign, would engage in combat during some of their first ten or even five flights of the D.520. Under these circumstances, one could hardly expect good performance with the pilots under such duress.

As hostilities began on the 12th of May, GC I/3 quickly moved into position at the airfield at Wez-Thuisy, in the Marne region of North-East France. From this point, the squadron would be engaged for the rest of the campaign all the way until the 17th of June, when it would retreat to the other side of the Mediterranean to avoid the capture of its planes.

The typical missions of the squadron were defensive, as simply put, the French Armée de l’Air struggled to impose any form of threat against the Luftwaffe. A large number of reasons for this can be attributed to this defensive role of the French air force. One could easily identify the comparative lack of modern fighters in comparison to a Luftwaffe that now universally operated the Bf 109E, a lack of coordination between the French air and ground forces, and many other limiting factors. As such, the D.520 would typically be used to try and intercept flights of German bombers, typically Heinkel He 111s or Dornier Do 17s, as these harassed French logistical centers and cities. In this role, the D.520 would enjoy some successes. It was faster at straight and level flight, and a better climber than previous French fighters, which was quite significant as the German bombers were moderately fast aircraft. The Morane Saulnier MS.406, notably, always struggled to catch the fast German bombers, while the D.520 could do so with relative ease.

Four pilots of the 2nd flight of GC I/3 in front of D.520 n°73 in 1940. [ww2fighters.e-monsite.com]
An MS.406 of GC III/6 before the squadron converted to the D.520. The older Morane monoplane was already fairly lacking by its introduction in the late 1930s, outperformed by the Hawker Hurricane or early variants of the Bf 109. Still fielded in large numbers during the campaign of France, the fairly sluggish monoplane would often struggle to intercept German fast bombers, particularly the Dornier Do 17 and Junkers Ju 88. [ww2fighters.e-monsite.com]
The D.520 was credited with its four first victories on the 13th of May, when planes from GC I/3 shot down an He 111 bomber from KG 55 as well as three Henschel Hs 126 reconnaissance planes. The next two days, 14th and 15th, would see very heavy engagements for the squadron. On the morning of the 14th, the squadron would be engaged against a strike force of Dornier Do 17 and He 111 bombers under escort by Bf 109Es. The D.520 of GC I/3 would claim six confirmed kills in the morning, two on He 111s, two on Dornier Do 17s and two on Bf 109s, plus a claimed but unconfirmed kill on another Bf 109. In the late afternoon, D.520s of the squadron would engage in combat against a flight of Bf 110 heavy fighters from ZG 26. As often when the Bf 110 was faced with single-engine fighters without backup from Bf 109s, this ended up fairly bloody for the German squadron which lost four planes, with an additional probable Bf 110 killed claimed by the French.

On the 15th, defence against German raids in the morning would see the squadron claim three confirmed and a probable Dornier Do 17 kills, as well as a confirmed Bf 110 and He 111. In the early hours of the afternoon, D.520s would claim one confirmed and two probable Bf 109s.

The squadron’s actions would wind down in the following days, as it retreated from its first airfield to a new one in Meaux-Esbly, closer to Paris. With German pressure now concentrating against the encircled French and British forces in the North, action would be more sporadic. Between the 15th of May and the 3rd of June, the squadron would claim confirmed kills on an He 111, a Bf 109 and a Do 17, as well as further probable kills for another He 111 and another Dornier 17.

From early June onward, with the Dunkirk pocket liquidated by German advance, attention would shift towards the south once again as Germany progressed further into France, while the French organized a fairly desperate defense on the so-called “Weygang Line.” On the 3rd of June 1940, the squadron claimed its first Ju 88 kill, as well as claiming another Bf 109, and probable shoot downs on three Dornier Do 17s and a Heinkel 111. The 5th and 6th of June were particularly intense in terms of combat with German fighters, with the D.520 claiming four Bf 109s and an Hs 126 on the 5th, and a further two confirmed and two probable 109s as well as a confirmed Do 17 on the 6th. The 7th saw the squadron claim a confirmed Do 17 and Bf 109, and two further probable Do 17s.

A flight of German Dornier Do 17Z during the Campaign of France. Variants of the Do 17, alongside with the slower He 111 and the lighter Ju 87, were the most common bombers encountered by the French air force in 1940. The fairly fast Dornier could prove hard to catch for the MS.406. The later MB.152 and Curtiss H75 were already more effective in such a task, but the D.520 was clearly the best equipped French fighter to deal with fast enemy bombers. [Asisbiz]
German soldiers pose in front of a shot down D.520 of GC I/3. This particular plane was flown by Lieutenant Clarisse and shot down on the 21st of May 1940, the pilot being killed. [ww2fighters.e-monsite.com]
The 9th of June 1940 saw the D.520 make the most claims of the Battle of France. The squadron was engaged against a raid of Dornier Do 17s escorted by Bf 109s around noon, claiming four fighters and a bomber. In the late afternoon, the squadron was engaged again against Dornier Do 17s and Junkers Ju 87s once again escorted by Bf 109s, seeing the French fighters down a confirmed Do 17 and Bf 109 as well as two Ju 87s, with a further two probable Do 17 and Bf 109.

The 9th of June 1940 would also begin to see the squadron retiring from its airfield near Paris to go further south, to avoid the now very threatening German advance on the ground. Though a further few engagements were fought fromt the 14 to 16th, most of the action was now behind the squadron. From the 17th to the 21st of June, the squadron would jump from airfield to airfield, from Southern France, to Algeria, finally settling in Kaala-Djerda and later Tunis-El Aouina in French Tunisia.

GC I/3 had claimed a considerable number of victories during the campaign, showing the qualities of the aircraft despite the general lack of training that was to be found in a squadron only recently introduced to its fighter. In total, the squadron claimed 55 confirmed and 19 probable victories. This was at the cost of 32 D.520s lost – of which 21 were lost in aerial combat, the rest being victims of either bombing runs or accidents. This was a rather decent success for a unit which had just received the new fighter type.

Other Squadrons

A number of other squadrons did receive the Dewoitine D.520 during the campaign and used it against German and later Italian forces.

A D.520 of GC II/3 in flight in 1940. The squadron’s emblem, a greyhound, can be observed on the tail. GC II/3 was the second most successful squadron flying the D.520 during the campaign of France. [ww2fighters.e-monsite.com]

The first squadron to receive D.520s after GC I/3 was GC II/3, which transitioned to the D.520 in 10 days from the 10th to the 20th of May. This was a very short transition for the new fighter, which many would imagine to be fairly worrying for the performance of the squadron. Nonetheless, GC II/3 would perform quite admirably during the campaign. Engaged heavily from the 20th of May onward, it would claim a single victory, an He 111, on its first day of combat, five confirmed and two probable victories on Dornier Do 17s, He 111s and Me 110s on the 21st, and ten confirmed victories (eight Ju 87s and two Hs 126s) on the 22nd. During the entire duration of the campaign, GC II/3 would claim 31 confirmed and 15 probable victories at the cost of 20 D.520s, though only three pilots were killed. The squadron notably counted on Czechoslovak pilot Cukr Vaclav, who would claim two confirmed kills and six shared kills, as well as French Capitaine Raymond Clausse, with three confirmed, and two probable kills on his own, as well as two confirmed, and two probable shared kills.

D.520 n°273, flown by GC II/7 in June of 1940. [ww2fighters.e-monsite.com]
D.520 n°119 of GC II/7, shot down on the 15th of June 1940. [ww2fighters.e-monsite.com]
Other squadrons received their D.520s later in the campaign and would see the fewer kills , among other factors, due to the D.520 being received later in the campaign, at which point German air superiority had more or less been established, and sometimes having to work in mixed squadrons that still incorporated slower Morane-Saulnier MS.406s. GC II/7 was one such mixed squadron, receiving their first D.520s around the 25th of May, while at the same time retaining Moranes until at least the 1st of June. The D.520s of the squadron would still claim more than a dozen victories at the cost of nine of their own aircraft.

GC III/3 fought the most intense parts of its campaign with MS.406s, but was refitted with the D.520 in late May, seemingly not engaged from the 20th of May to the 5th of June, during the transitional period. Going back into action with the Dewoitine, pilots of the squadron would go on to claim eight confirmed, and one probable victory in June, with three confirmed Bf 109s shot down, and another probable, one each of the He 111, Me 110, Dornier Do 17, and two Hs 126s.

Pilots of GC III/3 plot their next mission on the tail of a D.520, June of 1940. [AeroVFR.com]
GC III/6 is one of the most well known of the D.520 squadrons despite receiving the aircraft late into the campaign. By mid-June 1940, the squadron was in the process of converting from the MS.406 to the D.520, when the entry of Italy into the war forced it to be put into action against Italian aircraft. Under these conditions, French pilot Capitaine Pierre le Gloan would first shoot down two Fiat BR.20 bombers on the 13th of June. On the 15th, Le Gloan took off on a routine patrol around 11:45 pm, originally comprised of three Dewoitines, but soon reduced to two due to technical issues of one aircraft forcing it to return to base. The two remaining fighters, operating near Saint-Tropez on the Mediterranean coast, encountered a force of twelve Fiat CR.42 biplanes of the Italian squadron 23e Gruppo CT. The two D.520s engaged the biplanes. Le Gloan damaged two, one that caught fire and was later written off, and the other pilot ejected, before the faster French fighters broke off. Le Gloan’s wingman’s guns jammed, forcing him back to base as well. Not content with merely two CR.42 shot down though, Le Gloan encountered a further patrol of CR.42s from 18e Gruppo, shooting one down before evading the others in a dive using the largely superior speed of the 520. Le Gloan then returned to Luc airfield, where GC III/6 was stationed, shooting down a CR.42 attempting strafing runs. Lastly, he would down a BR.20 attempting photo reconnaissance of the airfield, attempting to identify the effects of Italian strafing. The Dewoitine was out of cannon ammunition by this point and the BR.20 had to be shot down by machine-gun fire, requiring a total of five passes. This action would have been sufficient to make Le Gloan an ace not just in a day, but in a single sortie, though he had already scored two victories previously. While it was performed using the higher speed of the D.520 against slower biplanes, which would not effectively pursue the French fighter, it remains an impressive feat and likely the most famous action of the D.520 during the campaign of France. Le Gloan’s victories also appear to be the only confirmed ones scored by GC III/6 with the D.520.

A D.520 of GC III/6 during the Battle of France. [ww2fighters.e-monsite.com]

Two other French army squadrons, GC II/6 and III/7, began transitioning to the D.520 in June but could not be made operational on the aircraft in time to meaningfully take part in the Battle of France. This was also largely the case for two ground-based squadrons of the French navy’s Flottile F1C, AC 1 and AC 2, which received a few D.520s in the later stages of the Battle of France.

The Tricolor Cockade and the Balkenkreuz: Dewoitine versus Messerschmitt

A topic which inevitably comes up when discussing the D.520 is its comparison with the mainstay German fighter at the time, the Bf 109E. This comparison has been a considerable subject of debates, particularly in France, where a significant amount of pride has often been instilled in the D.520 as the only modern indigenous French fighter that saw intense action and was able to challenge the German fighter.

In practice, the duel between the two aircraft was a rather complicated matter – which was known to the French air force, as a Bf 109E captured during the Phoney War was quite extensively tested in comparison to the D.520 in April of 1940.

A Bf 109E-1, previously of JG 76, which was forced to make a landing in France in November of 1939 and was subsequently tested by the French. [asibiz]
The Bf 109 had a clear climb rate advantage over the D.520, which was particularly felt at low altitude, due to being better engined than the French fighter, which was sometimes found to be lacking in horsepower. German engine cooling was also found to be superior, which allowed the aircraft to run for longer at full throttle, while French pilots would often have to temporarily limit running the engine at full throttle to avoid overheating. This would usually allow the German fighter to dictate the terms of engagement, but considering the mostly defensive use of the D.520s, the Bf 109s were forced to provide cover to German bombers, and were often operating in escort, and not air superiority sweeps.

Where the D.520 is often said to have had an advantage is in maneuverability. The D.520 had the advantage of more subtle and less abrupt controls in comparison to the Bf 109E, which would typically give an advantage to the French fighter in a prolonged dogfight. The Dewoitine also enjoyed good engine torque, and in comparison to the BF 109E the cockpit of the D.520 offered far greater visibility which would prove an advantage in such a situation. This was not, however, a massive advantage, and the comparative trials held in April of 1940 saw a duel typically last for several minutes before one of the two aircraft could mount an advantage over the other. In turning fights, the D.520 had a known issue where it was vulnerable to stalling and temporary loss of control during some turns. This was an issue if the enemy fighter was in a favorable position at the moment, though in some engagements it was found that the stalling could be used as an evasive maneuver if the enemy fighter was at a considerable speed advantage. In general, the D.520 was found to still be more comfortable to pilot than the 109 in prolonged dogfights. In turnfights, the D.520 would typically win when the turns were towards the right, but the Bf 109 could be expected to win those towards the left.

In general, while French patriotism would encourage many French authors to claim the D.520 as equal or sometimes even superior to the Bf 109, in practice, the German fighter could arguably be claimed to usually have a slight edge – its ability to dictate the terms of engagement was not entirely compensated for by the maneuverability of the French fighter. This, however, does not paint the full picture. While one may ponder at length over whether the D.520 could be considered equal or slightly inferior to the Bf 109E, it remains clear that it was highly superior to the pre-existing fighters in the French air force, such as the Curtiss H75, Bloch MB.152, and particularly the Morane-Saulnier MS.406, when it came to intercepting fast German bombers such as the He 111, and particularly the Do 17 and Ju 88. The MS.406, notably, would often struggle to catch up with German bombers, while the D.520 could do so relatively easily – giving the French air force a far better tool against enemy bombers, though obviously one which arrived way too late. As such, the D.520 represented a major improvement in the capability of the French air force – which would have been further reinforced by additional new fighter types entering service in June of 1940, the Bloch MB.155 and Arsenal VG.33, with the later managing even better performance than the D.520, with a less powerful engine of the same type, and likely offering a serious competitor to the Bf 109 and Spitfire had the war not abruptly interrupted for the French Third Republic.

An Arrow through the Cockade: Vichy’s Workhorse

Absolutely defeated on the ground by a better equipped, led, and coordinated German army, France was forced into an armistice with Germany, negotiated on the 22nd of June 1940 and going into effect on the 25th of June 1940. In this Compiègne Armistice, the Third Reich inflicted on its French archenemy what was, in many ways, a revenge and repeat of Versaille, with the French as the victim, seriously limiting the size of the French army and its ability to produce new equipment.

However, strategic requirements are a more important matter than symbolism. The French government was in control of many colonial areas around Africa and Asia which Great-Britain was now interested in seizing to further their situation and, with the sinking of the French fleet of Mers-El Kébir on the 2nd of July 1940, this set a major precedent of hostility between the new French regime and the British. Under these conditions, allowing the new Vichy French government to retain a military that could offer resistance to British and Free French attempts to seize colonial territories and naval assets was a useful prospect for Germany. As such, France was allowed to keep a number of squadrons and military units operational – most notably in French North Africa and the French Levant, but also Metropolitan France to an extent.The air force was allowed more strength than the army, which could not operate any armored vehicles outside of Panhard 178s downgraded to a machine-gun armament in mainland France.

D.520 n°277 of GCIII/6, the personal plane of French ace Pierre le Gloan, in flight in French North Africa during the early months of the Vichy regime. One can observe the identification arrow, which in this case extended all the way to the propeller hub, but on other aircraft stopped around or slightly in front of the cockpit. [ww2fighters.e-monsite.com]

Dewoitine D.520 of GC III/7 in Chateauroux, France, August 1940. The planes are yet to receive any Vichy identification markings and were likely not used operationally at this point. [Pinterest]
As such, authorization was given for the Vichy regime to maintain squadrons I/3, II/3, III/6, II/7 and AC1 operating the D.520. All would be stationed first in French North Africa, with all being located in Algeria outside of II/7 operating in Tunisia. The motive behind putting Vichy’s best fighters in French North Africa was that this location was now the most valuable colony still in the hands of the regime, and was much more vulnerable than the French mainland to potential attack attempts by the Allies. At the same time, while the D.520’s range could allow it to comfortably ferry over the Mediterranean and generally operate in a theater where longer ranges could be desirable, Vichy did retain a number of squadrons operating the shorter-ranged Bloch MB.152 in Metropolitan France. With the Bloch fighter unable to reasonably make the crossing, and ill-equipped to reasonably protect French North Africa, the D.520 was pretty much the only possible choice outside of a now incredibly outdated MS.406 that was on its way out of Vichy’s air force.

During their service life, Vichy aircraft were given a number of recognition markings to differentiate them from British or Free French aircraft and avoid friendly fire incidents from German or Italian planes. At first, this manifested in the form of a white line going through the rear and center of the fuselage, with the cockade superimposed on top and an arrowhead in the direction of the front of the plane. This was put on from the late summer of 1940 onward. From early 1941 onward, these were judged insufficient to reasonably identify Vichy’s aircraft, and they saw their tail sections and propeller hubs painted yellow to further ease identification; it is with these identification markings that the Vichy D.520 would fight during the Levant campaign in May of 1941. In the summer of 1941, the recognition markings were pushed even further, with orange stripes included within the yellow sections, and in many cases, parts of the engine cover painted in the same yellow and orange scheme as the tail.

A magnificent colorized photograph of GC III/6 D.520 fighters. This photo was taken at Eleusis airfield, Athens, in May of 1941, a refueling stop for the French fighters heading to the Levant. It gives a formidable view of the D.520’s camouflage, the yellow tail section, and the identification arrow. [Flickr]
A good view of a Vichy D.520 in the markings which were now standard by 1942, with the white identification line no longer featuring an arrowhead, and yellow-and-orange stripes on the empennage and engine fairing. [Asibiz]
In April of 1941, with German approval, production of the D.520 resumed to fulfill an order for 550 new planes for Vichy’s air force. The goal was now to make the D.520 the standard fighter of the French air force to the greatest extent possible, first replacing the MS.406 in the squadrons then operating it, and in the further future the MB.152 and MB.155 operated by the fighter groups in Metropolitan France. Two new fighter groups operating the D.520 were created, GC I/2 in Châteauroux, Metropolitan France, and GC II/6 intended for French Occidental Africa, while four squadrons operating other types were re-equipped with the D.520 in Metropolitan France, these being GC I/1, GC III/9 and GC II/1. The last squadron, GC II/5, located in Casablanca, Morocco, was in the process of switching during the Allied invasion of French North Africa, Operation Torch, in November of 1942.

A number of Dewoitine D.520 fighters in the SNCAM-Dewoitine factories of Toulouse/Saint-Martin-du-Touch in 1942. The planes are now being completed with the identification white band, the arrowhead no longer featured, and with the orange and yellow sections at the empennage and around the engine block. [ww2fighters.e-monsite.com]
In a fairly cruel twist of irony, what was once the only fighter able to offer resistance to Germany’s Luftwaffe, by 1940 now flew for the Vichy Regime, and only truly became the most common French fighter under this collaboration government. The D.520 would see considerable action in defending Vichy’s colonial territories against British, Free French and American intervention, now fighting a whole different set of aircraft. However, this would once again be under lackluster conditions; pilot training under Vichy was not as extensive and long as under the pre-armistice conditions, partly due to lack of fuel restricting the flight hours which would be performed. While the pilots who fought under Vichy during the Levant campaign and Operation Torch had had more time to accustom themselves to the D.520 than those flying during the Battle of France, these were often the same men from the same squadrons which had now made the switch to the D.520 during the Battle of France. They flew fewer hours per year overall, and as such had their skills not as “well maintained” as their Allied counterparts that were regularly flying combat missions against the Regia Aeronautica and Luftwaffe over North Africa and the Mediterranean.

Another view of the Toulouse/Saint-Martin-Du-Touch facilities, showing the considerable industrial effort by Vichy at manufacturing the D.520. Still present in only moderate numbers in the Battle of France, it is only under Vichy that the D.520 would truly become the mainstay fighter of the French air force. [aérothèque.com]
Under the Vichy regime, studies were also performed in outfitting the D.520 with more powerful engines in order to make the Dewoitine a viable fighter for later in the war. This resulted in the D.520Z, fitted with a Hispano-Suiza 12Z 1,600 hp engine. This project would result in work on a prototype, completed in February of 1943 with German approval, but would only fly in 1947. A project modernizing the D.520 further, the M.520T, would never even reach prototype stage. Vichy had hoped the D.520Z would be serially produced, and postwar trials indeed indicated the fighter had respectable performance even by mid-war standards, being able to reach 659 km/h at 9,150 meters, and could climb to 4,000 meters in 4 minutes 10 seconds, to 8,000 meters in 8 minutes 22 seconds, and to 11,000 m in 14 minutes 19 seconds. This was a very significant improvement in comparison to the D.520, though it came at the cost of the 12Z being a sometimes unreliable engine that would require a lot of maintenance. The occupation of the Vichy regime would prevent any further development, despite a production of up to 230 having been hoped for in the middle of 1942.

A view of the D.520Z prototype postwar. Had production been undertaken in the mid-war, the D.520Z would have been a decent fighter, but by the post-war era, it could only really be used as a testbed. [Pinterest]
A profile view of the M.520T. While on the loose technical basis of the D.520, it would in many ways have been a new aircraft. [War Thunder Forums]

Dewoitines Against Hurricanes: The Levant Fiasco

On the 1st of April 1941, a coup in previously British-influenced Iraq brought to power a pro-Axis government, the Golden Square, which would result in the Anglo-Iraqi War lasting for much of the month of May. Germany and Italy, eager to use this opportunity to open another front against the British Empire in the Middle-East, pushed Vichy France to allow Axis planes to use the French colonies of Syria and Lebanon as a base to get to Iraq and support their troops against British Commonwealth forces.

After the end of this campaign, this breach of Vichy’s non-belligerence in favor of Axis support would lead to British, Australian, Indian, and Free French troops invading the Vichy colonies of the Levant. The Vichy regime attempted to put up a defensive effort, which, in the air, relied on Dewoitine fighters.

Prior to May of 1941, only the older MS.406 were located in Levant. With the rise of tensions as the colony now hosted Axis planes, GC III/6 was relocated from Algeria to Rayack in Lebanon on the 27th-28th of May 1941. This airfield would be used until late June, when the squadron would move to Alep. During the Levant campaign, GC III/6 would be joined by GC II/3, which moved into the Levant, transiting through Axis-occupied Greece and would operate from Homs and later Alep during the campaign. The French Navy’s AC 1 squadron would be deployed to the Levant as well.

The opposition the French would face consisted of Hawker Hurricane and Curtiss Tomahawks (P-40), as well as occasionally older Gloster Gladiators, escorting bomber formations typically composed of Blenheim bombers.

Dewoitine D.520 N°383 of GC III/6 at Rayack airfield, Lebanon, May 1941. The aircraft features the yellow recognition tail as well as a recognition arrow stopping in front of the cockpit. This aircraft, flown by Capitaine Rival Mazières, second in command of GC III/6, was shot down by British Curtiss Tomahawk fighters on the 23rd of June 1941 with the pilot, at this time Sergent Savinel, killed. [ww2aircraft.net]
The mangled wreck of the same Dewoitine, shot down on the 23rd of June 1941. [joseph bibert fichiers]
The French squadrons put up considerable opposition in the air, with the D.520 still being a decent adversary for the fighter aircraft they were facing. GC II/3’s scoreboard was fairly moderate, with two Blenheims and a Tomahawk shot down on the 2nd of July, with one confirmed and one probable Tomahawk on the 11th of July. GC III/6, present in the operations for longer, would feature a much more accomplished score-board during the campaign. They claimed 16 confirmed and 2 probable Hurricanes, a Fulmar, a Maryland, a Tomahawk, and three Gladiators. Pierre le Gloan, still flying with GC III/6, claimed seven victories: six Hurricanes and a Gladiator. As for the Navy’s AC 1 squadron, it would claim seven confirmed and one probable kill.

Though these were some considerable victories, the D.520 suffered some significant losses during the campaign, with about 40 planes lost, though only eight pilots were killed. Most of these were not shot down in flight. The issue the French faced in Levant were limited aviation facilities that featured little to no anti-aircraft defenses. Against a considerably numerically superior adversary, this resulted in the French being unable to defend their airfields against strafing runs, which decimated the fleet of Dewoitine aircraft. As British forces were progressing through the region swiftly, the three D.520 squadrons were redeployed to Algeria transiting through Greece in early July, so that the remaining fighters, and most importantly their pilots, could participate in the defense of French North Africa, now that the French Levant was irredeemably lost.

A Navy D.520 during the early Vichy area. The aircraft’s branch can be identified by the anchor present on the rudder section. [Cols bleus : hebdomadaire de la Marine française, French Navy, September 1985]
It should be noted that two D.520s left behind by Vichy’s air force in the Levant would be captured by the Free French and re-used for a short while in order to train the pilots of Free French GC 3 “Normandie.” This squadron would, from late 1942 onward, be deployed to the Soviet Union, operating with great success using Soviet Yak fighters for the remainder of the war, and gaining great fame as the only Western Allied fighting unit on the Eastern Front, and a highly successful squadron by both Free French and Soviet standards. Previously, the Free French had operated three D.520s that had defected from France to England in June of 1940. Two were conscripted into the force which attempted to seize Dakar in September of 1940, and following the failure of this attempt, they were unloaded in French Equatorial Africa, a colony which joined the Free French. One was lost in an accident, and the other left at its airfield when Free French pilots moved to Egypt to be equipped with Hawker Hurricanes.

Dewoitine D.520 n°302, one of the two D.520s captured by the Free French in the Levant. The two fighters were used by GC 3 Normandie before it moved to the USSR and eventually became the famous “Normandie-Niémen”. [warisboring.com]
The Free French D.520 n°139, by this point in time the only one in service, preparing for take-off in Chad, January of 1941. [ww2fighters.e-monsite.com]
 

French Droplets on the Torch

A Vichy D.520 of an unidentified squadron in French North Africa, 1941. [ww2aircraft.net]
In November of 1942, with the war in the desert in Libya clearly going to the advantage of the Allies, French North Africa appeared as an increasingly appealing territory to seize to further the position of the Allies in North Africa. The large colony, comprising Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, was however fairly well defended, with the heaviest military forces still in the hands of the Vichy Regime located there. In terms of squadrons using the Dewoitine, these being GC I/3, II/3, III/3, III/6, II/7 and AC 1.

The Anglo-American landings were performed on the 8th of November. For air cover, they relied on large numbers of Grumman F4F Wildcat/Martlet and some Hawker Sea Hurricanes, which were still fighters the D.520 could hope to challenge – and the French squadrons did put up some considerable opposition to Operation Torch.

US Navy F4F Wildcat aboard USS Ranger CV-4 during Operation Torch. The American carrier fighter was about a match for the D.520, with a fairly similar maximum speed, likely slightly superior manoeuvrability but lower climb rate. [World War Photos]
GC I/3, operating near Oran, racked up a considerable score on the 8th of November, shooting down six Fairey Albacore light naval bombers, five Douglas C47 transport planes, five Hurricanes or Sea Hurricanes, and even a Spitfire. GC III/3, operating near Oran, appears to have claimed nine victories for seven D.520s lost. GC II/3, III/6 and II/7 were not located in areas as hot as the major Algerian harbour of Oran, and appear not to have claimed any victories during the battle. The French Navy’s AC 1 operating in Morocco claimed two F4F Wildcats for no aerial losses.

A D.520 of squadron 2AC of Flottila 1F on the runway in French North Africa, 1942. [ww2fighters.e-monsite.com]

However, while the French Dewoitines could still put up quite a fight against an F4F in the air, the numerical superiority of Allied fighters, and lack of French airfield defences would once again come back to haunt the French air force, with the AC 1 losing 19 of its 27 D.520s against strafing and bombing runs during the three-days of fighting during Operating Torch.

Luckily for the French, the colonial authorities of North Africa swiftly decided not to continue a vain opposition to Allied advances, and instead sided with the Allies against the Axis. With this, the Vichy squadrons, comprising a little over 130 D.520s, were now fighting against Axis troops. One was repainted in American colors and tested by the US Army Air Corps.

However, the end of the service of the D.520 in North Africa would be fairly swift, with the squadrons soon refitted with fighters such as Hurricanes and Spitfires for further operations, the D.520 no longer being seen as an up-to-date fighter and they lacked the facilities in France likely necessary for the manufacture of spare parts. The Dewoitine was relegated to a training role, in which it was still used in early 1944.

A flight of Free French D.520s over North Africa, early 1944. The planes received a roundel, and no other markings. Due to their operation in an area now void of Axis activity, no risk of confusion with an aircraft of a now nonexistent Vichy air force was considered. [joseph bibert fichiers]

Case Anton: The Dewoitine Under the Balkenkreuz

Days after French North Africa was invaded by the Allies, attention would now turn to the unoccupied part of France under the jurisdiction of the Vichy Regime. On the 11th of November 1942, Germany launched Case Anton, the Wehrmacht rushing to take control of Southern France, facing no resistance from Vichy troops that had been ordered to stay in their barracks and not oppose the Germans invaders. With this swift move, Germany captured around 250 Dewoitine D.520 fighters as well as the facilities which were in the process of producing more.

D.520 n°95 of JG 101 at Pau airfield, France, 1944. The German D.520s were repainted in a camouflage fairly similar to what could be found on other German aircraft by that point in the war. [Asisbiz]
The French production facilities would continue to work during German occupation, albeit at a reduced rate, seeing as the D.520 was a very low priority by late 1942. About 60 further fighters would be completed under German occupation.

Within the Luftwaffe, the D.520 was put to use as a trainer aircraft. Though now obsolete as a frontline fighter, it could still provide a decent introduction to modern, metal monoplanes with retractable landing gear. For this purpose, JG 101 was outfitted with the D.520 and operated in occupied France, mostly from Pau, in the South, where it would be free from sweeps and raids performed from the British Isles. JG 103, operating during the remainder of the war in the Netherlands or Austria, also used the D.520, as did JG 105, operating near Paris and Chartres, and JG 107 in Nancy. In German service, the D.520s were painted in a light gray color with darker gray spots on much of the aircraft, something typically found on many late-war German aircraft. The underside of the aircraft, and in some cases the nose and tail sections, were painted in a garish yellow color, likely for identification purposes as a training aircraft. The planes received a Balkenkreuz marking on the central fuselage and a swastika on the tail.

German maintenance crews at work near a D.520 in occupied France. [Pinterest]
The D.520 was noted to not always be a very easy plane to pilot, as it had some unforgiving flight characteristics and suffered from some mechanical issues, such as landing gear which at times failed to retract completely. However, in comparison to German fighters of the time, it offered much smoother and lighter controls for the pilot in comparison to the now quite heavy Bf 109G which were being operated by this point. There would nonetheless be several accidents, with at least three German pilots killed and two wounded on the Dewoitine. A number were also destroyed by Allied bombings of French airfields used by the Luftwaffe.

Outside of a training aircraft, there was another use the Germans could find to the D.520 by the second half of the war. It offered a convenient ‘hand-me-down’ aircraft to outfit the air forces of Axis states which requested fighters from Germany, without diverting any frontline German fighters being manufactured by this point. Two German allies would be outfitted with considerable numbers of D.520 in this fashion, Italy and Bulgaria, though it is sometimes claimed some outfitted Romania as well.

The French Fighter of the Regia Aeronautica

The Regio Esercito (Italian Army) captured 30 Dewoitines during the Battle of France, with many more being transferred to Italy after German capture in France.

The D.520s were assigned to various Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force) fighter groups, tasked with intercepting American bombers in the defense of various major cities, an endeavor which was met with mixed results. As Italy began to fall, some Dewoitines were destroyed by retreating Italians, or recaptured by the Germans.

It is of note that the Italians regarded the D.520 largely inferior for various reasons, but did praise the aircraft’s armament, making mention of the formidable 20mm cannon.

Regia Aeronautica D.520 of an unidentified squadron. The planes have by this point received Italian markings, such as the cross and the white band, but the base camouflage appears to remain the one featured on the original French planes, outside of perhaps the red propeller hub. [Pinterest]

The Shield of Bulgaria

A magnificent view of a Bulgarian D.520 in front of a mountain range. The camouflage used by the Bulgarian air force was similar to the Luftwaffe’s, but using Bulgarian markings and stripping their planes of any garish yellow paint. [Pinterest]
The other Axis air force which received a large number of D.520s was the Bulgarian Air Force. Though a member of the Axis powers, Bulgaria had chosen to remain out of Operation Barbarossa, and to not declare war on the Soviet Union, with its contribution to the war effort mostly consisting of its occupation of parts of Greece and Yugoslavia as well as economic cooperation with the Reich. As such, providing fighters for the Bulgarian Air Force may have seemed to be a lower priority for Germany in comparison to other allies, such as Hungary and Romania, which were actively fighting on the Eastern Front. However, Bulgaria was nonetheless at war with the Western Allies and, from 1943 onward, the subject of air raids increasing in frequency and intensity.

The D.520 seemed to be an appropriate hand-me-down for this lower priority but not insignificant part of the Axis, especially as the aircraft, while obsolete against modern fighters by 1943, could still be used against bombers and Bulgaria was still mostly out of reach of Allied single-engined fighters. Up to 150 D.520s appear to have been offered to Bulgaria, of which 120 would be ordered and 96 effectively delivered, the first 48 in August of 1943.

6th Fighter Regiment D.520s at a hangar at Karlovo airfield, Bulgaria, September of 1943. While the Avia fighters which shared the same engine family as the D.520 were no longer frontline fighters by this point, the experience gained by Bulgarian mechanics working on them likely simplified the transitional period to the D.520. [ww2fighters.e-monsite.com]

A major advantage of the D.520 for Bulgaria was that the old Czechcoslovak fighters already in use by the Bulgarian air force, the Avia B-71 and B-135, already used engines of the Hispano-Suiza 12Y family, albeit older models. This meant that Bulgarian mechanics would already have some experience with engines similar to those found on the Dewoitines, and that some amount of parts commonality could be expected, easing the logistical burdens Bulgaria would suffer in comparison to obtaining a fighter with an unrelated engine.

The Bulgarian Dewoitines were painted in schemes generally similar to the German ones, with a light gray base, dark upper, along with mottled spots in between. They, however, made more use of brown and green colors as well. The cross of the Bulgarian air force was painted on the aft fuselage, with the individual fighter number behind it. A yellow or white band was sometimes featured in front of the cross, behind the cockpit. The tips of the wings and sometimes the propeller hub were also painted in yellow.

The Bulgarian Dewoitines were delivered to the 6th IP (Fighter Regiment), where they formed the core of the 1st and 2nd groups. They would be operated in intercept missions, fighting along with Bf 109G-2 fighters also operated by the Bulgarians. American raids at this time typically consisted of B-24 bombers escorted by P-38 twin-engine fighters. While these escorts were significantly faster and better armed than the Dewoitines, the Bulgarian fighters could still count on their superior maneuverability to avoid being shot down. It appears the first victories by Bulgarian Dewoitines were scored on the 24th of November 1943, when three to four American planes were shot down by a Bulgarian fighter force composed of 24 D.520s and 16 Bf 109s. The first loss in combat appears to have been on the 10th of December, when one of 22 D.520s flying to intercept a flight of 60 B-24s and 60 P-38s was shot down. Ten days later, on the 20th, D.520s would score two victories, including an escorting P-38. On the 10th of January, Bulgarian pilots, flying 23 D.520s and 16 Bf 109s, in cooperation with 30 German Bf 109s, would claim four B-17s and four P-38s for the loss of a D.520.

Bulgarian air force personnel in front of a D.520 at Karlovo airfield in 1943. The D.520 would form a considerable portion of the Bulgarian air force’s fighter complement in late 1943 and early 1944, though it would progressively be superseded by the more modern Bf 109G. [ww2fighters.e-monsite.com]
The 30th of March 1944 saw the largest air raid of the war on Bulgaria, with more than 360 B-17s and B-24s attacking Sofia. The Bulgarian air force scrambled all aircraft it could muster, including some Avia B-135s from training schools in addition to 28 D.520s from the first group of 6th Fighter Regiment (I/6) and 6 from the 2nd group (II/6). The Dewoitine-equipped groups claimed a B-17 for I/6, and two bombers and a P-38 for II/6. By this point however, losses were starting to increase for Bulgarian fighters, with 4 to 5 D.520s lost against P-38s and defensive fire from the bombers. By the spring of 1944, American air raids now included P-51 and P-47 escorts in addition to the P-38, further complicating the task of Bulgarian pilots. The D.520s appear to have been falling out of favor in comparison to Bf 109s for interception purposes by this point. While 44 Dewoitines were still available to the Bulgarian air force on the 1st of May 1944, they would claim their last victory on 5th of May with a B-17 shot down. Losses started to mount at this point, mostly due to bombing runs against Bulgarian airfields as well as lack of spare parts to support continued operation. By the 1st of September 1944, only 32 D.520s were still in Bulgarian hands, with only about half in flying condition. Overall, the D.520s appear to have claimed 5 B-17s, 2 B-24s and 4 P-38s, attacking in intercept missions against the USAAF, at the loss of seven D.520 in combat. Eight to ten were actually lost in accidents, and overall, eight Bulgarian pilots were killed flying the Dewoitine.

Bulgarian air force personnel of the 6th Fighter Regiment in front of a row of parked D.520s. [ww2fighters.e-monsite.com]
As Soviet forces reached Bulgaria, a communist coup took over on the 9th of September 1944 and Bulgaria joined the war on the side of the Soviet Union. Remaining Bulgarian D.520s would operate against German forces from September to November, with a further two planes being lost, before the type was sent away from the frontlines in November of 1944. D.520s would remain in use by Bulgarian flight schools until 1947, when the type was finally retired from the service of the Bulgarian air force, and surviving aircraft were scrapped.

Bulgarian air force cadets stand on a D.520 during the plane’s last year of service in Bulgaria, 1947. [ww2fighters.e-monsite.com]

The Dewoitine into Liberation

By the 6th of June 1944, the D.520 was no longer used as a frontline fighter by any air force in the West. The Luftwaffe and Free French air force both operated the type as a trainer, with many of the Luftwaffe’s fleet of Dewoitines based in France.

While in the first two months following Operation Overlord, Allied progress would remain fairly slow and confined to Normandy, the breakthrough of Operation Cobra in late July saw a lightning-fast liberation of France by a combination of Allied mobile troops, and uprisings by the Forces Françaises de l’Intérieur (French Forces of the Inside or FFI) the leading organized French resistance. This would result in many D.520s being left behind on overrun airfields.

A first use of the D.520 by the FFI would be by a group of resistance fighters taking over the German occupied airfield at Châteauroux on the 20th of August 1944, where they found several damaged aircraft. Cannibalizing parts from different planes, the FFI managed to repair a single Dewoitine. Repainted in French colors, with a Cross of Lorraine on the tail, a French flag on the empennage, and “FFI” painted on the central fuselage, the Dewoitine was flown by a pilot that had not flown since the Battle of France, but ended up belly-landing. Two days later, German troops fleeing Southern France temporarily occupied Chateauroux again, with the FFI camouflaging their plane, and going into hiding until German forces finally left on the 10th of September.

The belly-landed FFI D.520 of Chateauroux, 27th of August 1944. [ww2fighters.e-monsite.com]

A more organized and professional use of the Dewoitine by the Free French, or French Forces of the Interior (FFI) would be accomplished by the Marcel Doret fighter group. Following the Allied Landings in Provence on the 15th of August 1944, much of Southern France was liberated by Allied troops and FFI uprisings in the following days, including at German airfields in Southern France, the facilities of the Morane-Saulnier, the SNCASE-Dewoitine factories in Toulouse, and the surrounding area. This resulted in a considerable number of Dewoitines falling into the hands of the FFI, which would very swiftly put them to use. Under the command of Marcel Doret, the most prolific French test pilot in the pre-war era, a fighter group was established, operating two squadrons of D.520s, one in Toulouse and one in Tarbes, both in Southern France. This group was grown as the “1er Groupe de Chasse FFI” (1st FFI fighter group), or more colloquially as the “Doret group”. It appeared to have had a strength of 18 D.520s.

Doret fighter group D.520s in late 1944. This photo shows how different markings co-existed at the time. The aircraft towards the left features a Cross of Lorraine on the tail and “FFI” inscribed within the invasion stripes, which the aircraft to the right as well as the one in the background lack. [Association des Amis du musée de l’Air]
A Free French D.520 with an unusual-looking, dotted camouflage pattern. [ww2fighters.e-monsite.com]
 

The Doret group was officially dissolved on the 1st of December 1944 – in practice, it was integrated into the formal structure of the French army as GC 2/18 “Saintonge.” The group was deployed to the Western French coast and used in recon missions as well as escorting Douglas A-24 Banshee bombers over the remaining German “pockets”, areas on the coast which remained under German control due to the presence of highly fortified U-Boat bases the Allies preferred to blockade, rather than attempt a costly take-over. In February of 1945, the D.520s were transferred to GC I/18 Vendée, continuing to see use in similar operations. This fighter group, the last operating the D.520 as a frontline fighter, was dissolved in October of 1945.

The camouflages used by the FFI were based on the German camouflages the D.520 were found with when captured, meaning a lighter gray base with darker gray spots. In some cases, the same brown as present on the D.520 previously in the service of the French air force was reintroduced on parts of the plane. Green could sometimes also be found. The FFI repainted the plane’s tail control surface with the French flag, as found on French air force aircraft prior to the armistice and the capture of the French fighters. A red cross of Lorraine was often found in the white stripe of this tail making. In the first months of operation, the D.520s also received the black and white invasion stripes in order to avoid any form of friendly fire incidents. In some cases, “FFI” appears to have been written in black letters in the white parts of the invasion stripes on the central fuselage. The D.520s also received French roundels on their wings, and later had their invasion stripes removed, with the space left on the central fuselage used for another roundel. A number in a circle was also present on the tail of many aircraft for identification purposes.

GC I/18 “Vendée” D.520s in flight in the spring of 1945. [WWII aces e-monsite]
A number of FFI D.520s were also exhibited during an aviation exhibition in Paris in the spring of 1945.

D.520s exhibited on the Champs-Elysées, Paris, Spring of 1945. [ww2fighters.e-monsite.com]

The Undying Trainer

One would expect the conclusion of the war to finally have buried the old D.520, by this point completely obsolete against modern prop fighters, let alone jets. Nonetheless, the plane saw continued use in the training role it had often been relegated in the later phases of the war.

This trainer role saw a final variant of the D.520 be designed and produced, the D.520 DC, double commande (dual control.) As the name suggests, this was a D.520 with an extended cockpit to the rear, intended for two men, a cadet and an instructor. The plane would receive dual controls allowing the instructor to take over control of the plane.

The unusual-looking D.520DC trainer conversion seen in 1946. This plane is D.520 n°243, the first of the 13 D.520DC, arguably the “prototype” of the series of conversions. [ww2fighters.e-monsite.com]

The modification had been devised by a French air force adjutant, with a first D.520, n°243, converted in the autumn of 1945. This was a very much makeshift conversion, using pedals from an Fw 190, a control stick from a no longer flyable D.520, and seemingly a seat from an A-24 Banshee for the instructor. Nonetheless, after a first flight in October of 1945, impressions were positive, and after a few modifications were performed, a dozen of D.520s were converted to the DC standards in early 1946. These planes would be used to train a number of French air force cadets, including the first few women to obtain military pilot licenses in the French air force.

The training service of both DC and single-seat D.520s would continue in the following year, though the type was progressively retired as more modern aircraft, including jets, were introduced. The last flight of a D.520 in the French air force was performed on the 30th of September 1953.

Surviving Aircraft

A D.520 is present on static display at France’s Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace du Bourget (ENG: Museum of Air and Space of the Bourget) near Paris. It is painted as a fighter of GC III/6, the squadron of the type’s most successful pilot, Pierre le Gloan.

A restored D.520 in GC I/3 camouflage. [le blog du lignard]
A D.520 in flyable condition is currently in the hands of the Conservatoire de l’Air et de l’Espace d’Aquitaine (Air and Space Conservatory of Aquitaine). It was restored to airworthiness from 2005 onward, after having been in storage for decades. A third D.520 is present in a hangar of the French navy, awaiting restoration alongside a number of other aircraft.

A fourth D.520, n°408, was part of the Musée de l’air et de l’espace as soon as it was phased out of service in 1957. Surviving as a warbird, it tragically crashed in July 1986, killing the pilot.

Variants

  • D.520-01 – The first prototype, utilizing a Hispano-Suiza 12Y-21 generating 890hp. No armament fitted. Numerous modifications included changes to the radiators, tail, exhaust, a 12Y-29 engine, and propeller.
  • D.520-02 – A fully armed prototype. Implemented all prior modifications, along with improved landing gear, and a larger empennage.
  • D.520-03 – Prototype with upgraded 12Y-31 Engine
  • D.520 – Main Production Version, fitted with the Hispano-Suiza 12Y-45 engine. Around 900 produced.
  • D.521 – Prototype utilizing the British Merlin III Engine.
  • D.522 – Version fitted with the slightly older Hispano-Suiza 12Y-31, fitted with a new Hispano-Suiza supercharger, providing better high-altitude performance. Production was scheduled to start in July 1940, but never occurred due to the German invasion of France.
  • D.523 – Fitted with the improved Hispano-Suiza 12Y-51 mated to a Sydlowski-Planiol supercharger, producing up to 1,000 hp at altitude. Also offered significant speed and climb advantages over the original D.520. Only one prototype produced.
  • D.524 – Scheduled for 1940 production, would have used the Hispano-Suiza 12Z engine, a refined version of the 12Y engine, expected to have produced 1,300 hp. None built.
  • HD 780 – Prototype floatplane naval version of the D.520 featuring foldable, angled, gull wings, increased engine size, and two floats. Was completed in March 1940 but never flown.
  • D.525 – Combined the Hispano-Suiza 12Y-51 engine with the Hispano-Suiza supercharger used on the D.522. Only 30 produced.
  • D.520Z – Produced under the Vichy Regime in 1943 with German approval, this prototype installed the Hispano-Suiza 12Z engine, making 1,600 hp, a considerable boost in power. First flight didn’t take place until 1947.
  • M.520T – Project to further modernize the D.520, never reached the prototype stage.
  • D.520DC – A two seat trainer version developed immediately post-war. DC roughly indicates ‘dual control.’

Operators

  • French Armée de l’Air (French Air Force) – The French Air Force hastily produced and deployed to active squadrons mere months before hostilities broke out between Germany and France. After the conclusion of the Battle of France, and subsequent armistice, the aircraft would continue to serve under the air force the Vichy Regime.
  • Forces Françaises de l’Intérieur (FFI / Free French Forces) – Organized FFI forces operating in recaptured areas of France after Allied breakthroughs in 1944 assembled a few small squadrons and began flying reclaimed D.520s, most notably the “Doret Group,” before being reabsorbed into the formal structure of the revitalized French Army.
  • Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force [Axis]) – The Italians managed to acquire several dozen D.520s throughout the course of the war, and pressed them into domestic service defending and intercepting allied bombers over the Italian mainland.
  • Luftwaffe (Nazi Germany) – During Germany’s various incursions into France, several hundred D.520s came under their control, in addition to continuing serial production under German occupation. The Dewoitines that found their way into German service were primarily used as trainers, or were transferred to Axis allies, namely Italy and Bulgaria.
  • Bulgarian Air Force – As Bulgaria was an ally of the Axis powers, upwards of 98 D.520s were transferred to the country’s air force, and used to intercept Allied bomber raids.

Conclusion – The Incarnation of “Trop peu et trop tard”: The D.520 in French Mythos

Since the end of the Second World War, the D.520 has progressively gained a near-mythical status in French military enthusiast circles. The reasons for this are quite easy to identify. The D.520 was the best performing French fighter introduced in large numbers during the Battle of France, and seemingly the only one which posed a credible threat to the Bf 109. However, it arrived too late, and numbers too small to Germany’s advance. In this regard, it was one of a considerable amount of fairly advanced pieces of equipment the French army was close to introducing in 1940, but never could due to the Armistice, similar in this fashion to its fellow Bloch MB.155 and Arsenal VG.33 fighter aircraft, the two Richelieu-class battleships, and the MAS 40 semi-automatic rifle of the French army.

This massive place in French mythos, reinforced by Pierre Le Gloan’s commendable combat record with the type, could be said, however, to have caused some bias to exist in some French analysts, where placing the D.520 as an equal to the Bf 109 has become sort of tradition. While the D.520 was much closer to competing with the German fighter in comparison to the previous MS.406 or MB.152, in some ways, the German fighter could be said to still be a little better performing. It is also questionable whether or not the D.520 could have evolved to become a mainstay fighter for the French air force for the rest of the war, as the Spitfire was for the Royal Air Force and the Bf 109 for the Luftwaffe. In some ways, the VG.33 airframe, which slightly outperformed the D.520, with a previous and weaker version of the same engine, may eventually have provided a better long-term mainstay fighter for France. In any case though, difficult circumstances prevented the VG.33 from ever reaching service, but the D.520 would have the opportunity to live an active service life in a number of air forces, one which saw it in action against both Axis and Allied forces alike.

Dewoitine D.520C-1 specifications

Wingspan 10.18 m /
Length 8.75 m /
Height 2.55 m /
Wing Area 16 m² /
Engine Hispano-Suiza 12Y-45
Power at Critical Altitude 935 hp at 4,200 m
Max RPM 2,400 RRM
Propeller Three-bladed Ratier or Chauvière (3 m diameter)
Empty Weight 2,050 kg /
Maximum Takeoff Weight 2,740 kg /
Wing Load 195 kg/m²
Fuel Capacity 400 liters standard

640 liters with wing fuel tanks

Time to Altitude 4,000 m in 5’13”

6,000 m in 7’57”

8,000 m in 13’24”

Maximum Speed 425 km/h at sea level

535 km/h at 6,750 m

Cruising Speed 400 km/h
Stall Speed 125 km/h
Range Around 900 km with standard fuel load

1,500 km at max fuel fuel load (equipped w/ wing tanks)

Maximum Service Ceiling 11,000 m /
Crew 1 Pilot
Armament 20 mm HS-404 firing through the propeller hub with 60 rounds

4x MAC34M39 machine-guns with 675 rounds per gun in the wings

Number Completed Around 900 (produced 1939-1944)

Gallery

D.520 No.12 Cdt Thibaudet – GC I/3, Cannes-Mandelius, March 1940
D.520 No.90 Sergent Michel Madon who would go on to be credited with 11 confirmed kills during the war – GC I/3, Suippes, France, May 1940
D.520 No.61 Czechoslovak Pilot Cukr Vaclav – GC II/3, Oran-La-Senia Airfield, July 1940
D.520 No.277 flown by “Ace in One Day” Pierre Le Gloan – GC III/6, Prior to Armistice 1940
D.520 No.343 Cdt Moriat – GC II/3, Alep-Nerab Syria, July 1941
Free French D.520 – Not long after the Invasion of Normandy

Credits

  • Written by Marisa Belhote
  • Special Thanks for Contributions to the Italian Section by Arturo Giusti
  • Edited by Henry H., Stan L. and Ed J.
  • Illustrations by Ed Jackson

Sources

Arsenal de l’Aéronautique VG.33

French flag France (1936-1940)
Fighter – 25 Built & ~200 Incomplete [Destroyed]

The VG.33 on an airfield. Colorized by Amazing Ace

Arsenal de l’Aéronautique was one of the more peculiar plane manufacturers of interwar France, though it is also one of the somewhat more obscure ones. Arsenal was a state company which was created towards the end of 1934. Its goal at the time was to provide a way to train aviation engineers employed by the French state, and to help them evaluate design proposals. It would also be tasked with studying aircraft designs without the profitability constraints of a private company, meaning Arsenal de l’Aéronautique would typically be used to study experimental projects not necessarily meant to see mass-production. Following the mass nationalization of France’s aircraft industry ,which began in August 1936 under the Popular Front’s government, Arsenal was given eight hangars built by Bréguet in Villacoublay, near Paris, to install its design bureau and production facilities.

Roots in Tandem-Engine Fighter Designs

The timeline of the VG 33’s predecessors tends to be somewhat unclear. It is generally considered that the fighters hold their roots in tandem-engine designs, which were being studied at the request of the French state in the mid to late 1930s. The VB10, which would be manufactured postwar, was one result of these studies. However, orders to design such tandem designs appear to date from 1937 according to some sources, while a mockup of the VG 33’s direct predecessor, the VG 30, appeared in November of 1936.

The Arsenal VG.30 mockup, the beginning of the VG.3X series of fighters, at the Paris air show of November 1936. [arsenalvg33.free.fr ]
In any case, the engineers of Arsenal, led by lead engineer Michel Vernisse, presented their new plane at the 15th Paris Air Show in November 1936. The design they had worked on appears to date from early 1936, and was an attempt to compete with contemporary fighter designs, such as the MS.405 or LN 161 . This aircraft would be designated the Arsenal de L’aéronautique VG.30.

The VG.30: An Impressive First Draft

The VG.30 mockup which was first presented at the Paris air show was a low cantilever-wing monoplane powered ,originally, by the Potez 12dc 610 hp in-line engine. The plane was to use an almost exclusively wooden construction, which would save on cost and strategic resources (though this would prove less so the case than expected when it was found France lacked the spruce wood reserves to build the aircraft and had to purchase large quantities abroad to compensate for this issue). It had a capable armament of one 20 mm HS-404 firing through the propelled hub, and four wing-mounted 7.5 mm MAC 34 machine-guns. The wings had a surface of 14 m². When first unveiled, the VG.30 had a very modern appearance and drew considerable interest from France’s air ministry. So much so that, in early 1937, the Air Ministry set requirements for a competition, the “A.23”, for French aircraft designers to offer light fighter aircraft designs. This opened up some competition to the VG.30, which would materialize in several prototypes, such as the (Bloch MB.700, SNCAO CAO.200, Roussel R.30).one design, Caudron’s C.714, would enter production (Caudron’s very light C.714)

Arsenal worked on adapting their VG.30 to these requirements and then manufactured a prototype. Manufacturing of the prototype started during the summer of 1937, and faced some considerable delays. Notably, the Potez engine could not be delivered, which pushed the Arsenal designers to switch to another engine, Hispano-Suiza’s 12Xcrs, which would provide a considerable power increase up to 690 hp. This change would start the association between Arsenal’s VG.3X series fighters and Hispano-Suiza in-line engines.

A small but nonetheless rare view of the VG.30 prototype during flight. [Internet Movie Plane Database]
The first prototype of the VG.30 had its first flight on the 15th of October 1938. It would still have to wait several months for official state trials, in which some subsequent modifications were made to the aircraft. in July of 1939 were the state trials undertaken. The VG.30 proved to have decent performance for a light fighter with a Hispano-Suiza powerplant that was not the most powerful of these available; up to 485 km/h in level flight. In a dive, the VG.30 was found to reach 805 km/h.

The VG.30 prototype on the ground during trials. [arsenalvg33.free.fr ]

Improving Upon the VG.30

The VG.30 had been found to be a rather capable design, but it had room for improvement. This was done by designing the VG.31. An issue with the VG.30 was that the radiator was fairly far forward. Being further in front than the cockpit, it was found not to be ideal for the plane’s aerodynamic profile. The VG.31 had its radiator moved back by two meters, and also had the wing surface reduced by two square meters. A more powerful engine was fitted in the form of the Hispano-Suiza 12Y-31 860 hp, which did not however feature a 20 mm gun firing through the propeller hub. Two of the wing machine-guns were also removed, with only two 7.5 mm MAC 34s remaining as armament.

The VG.31 was never flown. It appears a fuselage was built, but was then converted to a VG.33 which was also never flown, but used as a model to base production upon.

The VG.33: First Production Model

Wind tunnel trials of the VG.31 showed that its reduced wingspan resulted in aerodynamic instability. Its reduced armament was also a major issue. However, its radiator, pushed back to the rear, appeared to be a good design choice in order to reduce drag and improve the aerodynamic profile of the series.

In designing a more advanced version, the best parts of the VG.30 and VG.31 were combined. The new fighter, the VG.33, would combine the wingspan and armament of the VG.30, with the fuselage and engine of the VG.31 – modified to mount a 20 mm HS-404 firing through the propeller hub.

Production of the VG.33 prototype started in 1938, and the prototype took flight for the first time on the 25th of April 1939. The official trials would last from July of 1939 to March of 1940, and were generally very positive.

Design: The Structure of the VG.33

A photo of the first VG.33 prototype during production in late 1938, showing the wooden structure of the aircraft before the plywood cover was applied. [Le Fana de l’Aviation n°199]
Schematics of the wing structure of the VG.33, which was mostly made using spruce. [Le Fana de l’Aviation n°199]
The VG.33 was designed using a largely wooden construction, made mostly of spruce. Almost all of the plane’s internal structure was wooden, and then given a plywood skin. The VG.33 used a semi-monocoque fuselage and a one-piece wing structure. The plane had a wingspan of 10.80 m, with each wing having a surface of 14 m². The plane was 8.55 m long, and 3.35 m high. Empty, it would weigh around 2,050 kg. When loaded, it would be between 2,450 and 2,896 kg (the second prototype would be weighed at 2,680 kg in seemingly standard configuration, with guns, fuel and pilot). The VG.33’s landing gear deployed outward.

The mounting of the Hispano-Suiza 12Y-31 engine onto a VG.33. [Le Fana de l’Aviation n°199]
The VG.33 used a Hispano-Suiza 12Y-31. This was a V12 engine producing 860 hp maximum at a critical altitude of 3,320 m, and at 2,400 rpm. This engine was fitted with a three-bladed Chauvière variable pitch propeller with a diameter of 2.95 m. This propeller would rotate at up 1,600 rpm. The water radiator was located below the cockpit,and was recessed into the fuselage as a way to reduce drag as much as possible. Upon take-off, a VG.33 would weigh 2,680 kg.

Firing through the propeller hub was the plane’s heaviest armament: a 20 mm HS-404 autocannon. Found on most French fighters of the era, this cannon fired 250 grams projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 880 m/s. It was fed by a 60-round drum magazine, which would typically be expended quite quickly considering the weapon typically fired at 570 to 700 rpm. Additionally, two MAC34M39 machine-guns were located in each wing. The M39 was the belt-fed version of the original MAC34 aircraft machine-gun, which initially used drum magazines. The 9 gram 7.5 mm projectiles were fired at 830 m/s, and 1,200 to 1,450 rpm. With a larger ammunition provision of 850 rounds per gun, the machine-guns could be kept firing much longer than the cannon.

The VG.33 featured the standard radio of the French air force at the time, the RI 537.

Performance

The VG.33 on an airfield, giving a good angle on the plane’s sleek profile and radiator. [Pinterest]
The trials undertaken from July of 1939 to March of 1940 gave a very good impression of the Arsenal VG.33, which could reasonably be considered the best French single-engine fighter of the era.

At its optimal altitude of 5,200 m, the VG.33 could reach a maximum speed of 558 km/h. This was faster than the newest French fighter of the time, the D.520, by about 20 km/h. The take-off speed would be of about 135 km/h, with a take-off distance of about 550 m. The landing speed was 125 km/h. The plane’s climb-rate was also a strength of the design. It would reach 1,000 m in 1.17 minutes, 2,000 in 2.34, 5,000 in 6.26 and 8,000 in 13.26. The plane had an operational ceiling of roughly 9,500 m.

The VG.33 had a maximum range of 1,060 km with its full fuel load of 400 litres. At an altitude of 5,000 m, it had an endurance of two hours and forty minutes There were trials for additional fuel tanks on the VG.30, which could perhaps have been applied to the VG.33 as well. The plane would then have a fuel load of 600 litres, and it was expected a VG.33 could cross up to 1,560 km, or fly for four hours and twenty minutes.

A view of the instrument board in the VG.33’s cockpit. [Pinterest]
Posessing superb performance, forgiving flight characteristics, and good maneuverability, the VG.33 was a great fighter for its day . The first report made by the CEMA, the French Air Force’s evaluation service, in September in 1939, found the plane had excellent and well-balanced control surfaces which were effective at all speeds. Even at low speed, the plane remained very controllable all the way down to the stall speed, which made it easy to perform landings with. Furthermore, there was no particular imbalance and no risk of the plane losing control and nosing over. Taking-off was also not hard on the VG.33. The plane had no issues keeping a straight trajectory on the runway,and was considered very controllable even on the ground. The landing gear was found to be reliable and safe. The only somewhat lacking element was found to be the plane’s brakes, which were perhaps not as powerful as would be appreciated.

In comparison to the D.520 – which was already a decent fighter – the VG.33 compared favorably in pretty much all areas. This was even more of an achievement when taking into account the weights and powerplants of the two planes. The D.520’s weight was about equal to the VG.33 (2,050 kg empty, 2,740 kg fully loaded), however, it used a more powerful version of the same series of Hispano-Suiza 12Y engine, the 12Y-49. In comparison to the VG.33’s 12Y-31, the 12Y-49 producded 90 hp more, with a maximum output of 950 hp. This did not prevent the VG.33 from being faster than the D.520, climbing at a higher rate, and being more manoeuvrable, while featuring the exact same armament. In other words, the VG.33 would be, by the standards of 1939 and1940, a stellar fighter, very much able to compete with the newest designs from Germany or Great-Britain, the likes of the Bf109E and Spitfire. The plane would also have enough evolutionary potential to birth a series of fighters lasting potentially well into the war

A view of the uncovered 12Y-31 engine of a likely unfinished VG.33, the photo likely being of German origin. The 12Y-31 was not the most powerful version of the 12Y engine available by 1940, yet it was sufficient for the VG.33 to outclass fighters such as the D.520 powered by more powerful models of the same engine family. [hisaviation.com]

Production Orders and Setting Up the VG.33’s production

The outbreak of the Second World War in September of 1939 led to Arsenal’s fighter,which had been undertaking trials for several months at this point, being ordered into production. A first order was placed on the 12th of September, for 220 VG.33s.

Arsenal de L’Aéronautique lacked any facilities suited for mass-production. As such, production of the VG.33 would be undertaken by the SNCAN factory of Sartrouville, South-West of Paris. Five days after the first order, an additional 200 VG.33s were ordered, with the fighter being thought of as a good potential replacement for the aging Morane-Saulnier MS.406.

In the following months, orders and scheduled production of the VG.33 would evolve considerably, with the type quickly being seen as a future mainstay fighter for the French air force. By late September 1939, it was planned that the first 10 serial-production VG.33s were to be delivered in April of 1940, with production gradually rising to 150 planes a month by the autumn. The schedule was revised in November, with the 10 examples then being scheduled for February, and production to be set at 50 planes a month from April onward at the SCAN factory. It was already understood that a second assembly line would be required at this point. It was planned to open an assembly line in Michelin’s factories of Clermont-Ferrand, in the region of Auvergne in Southern France. This facility would not produce the VG.33, but one of its derivatives, the VG.32, of which the first were to be completed in December of 1940. There were also plans to set up a VG.33 production chain in Vendée, Western France.

VG.33 fuselages (top) and wing structures (bottom) during production. [Le Fana de l’Aviation n°199]
The flap of a VG.33 during production in a workshop. [arsenalvg33.free.fr ]
Production of the VG.33 required a large number of small producers. The aircraft’s largely wooden construction meant that a lot of parts could be supplied by cottage industry sources. Nonetheless, the production of the plane was quite consuming in terms of resources. To produce a single VG.33, 1,166 kg of spruce, 110 kg of plywood, 880 kg of steel, 436 kg of aluminum and duralumin and 125 kg of magnesium was required. Even if mostly wooden, a large quantity of steel was still consumed in the aircraft’s production. The most significant efforts in providing the materials needed to produce the VG.33 were not spent in acquiring any of the steel though, but rather the spruce wood. The French Air Force only had a reserve of 750 tonnes, and the wood was also used to manufacture some reconnaissance or training aircraft, meaning this available reserve would only be sufficient to provide for about 500 VG.33s. France had to start a scramble to acquire spruce from foreign sources. In November, the acquisition of 500 m3 of spruce from Great-Britain was negotiated. In the meantime, France also bought spruce not only from its traditional suppliers, the USA and Canada, but also from an additional source, Romania. Romanian spruce was soon found to be lacking in comparison to the North American-sourced material. However, it would still be sufficient for less strategically important reconnaissance or training aircraft, freeing up better quality spruce for the VG.33, which had become an absolute priority of the French air ministry by the spring of 1940. In terms of cost, the airframe of the VG.33, without engine or armament, cost 630,000 French francs to produce. This was less than the D.520 (700,000) or MB.152 (800,000), and the VG.33 could be considered to be a fairly economical fighter – though not as much as the much lighter, and less capable, Caudron C.714, born from the same specifications .

Too Little, Too Late

The first production schedule for the VG.33 evolved considerably over the months.At the outbreak of the war, it was expected that the first VG.33s would be delivered in April 1940. In November 1939, the date for the first expected deliveries was changed to February 1940. In January of 1940, it appeared obvious this schedule would not be met and the new set date for the first VG.33 deliveries was March. Finally, in March, the first VG.33 were not yet completed, and the schedule was moved again to April of 1940, where it originally was at the start of the war. Finally, the first production aircraft would take flight on the 21st of April 1940. The next two production aircraft followed in early May. Eventually, 7 production aircraft would be taken into the French Air Force’s registry. The aircraft’s production and service was cut short by the German invasion of the Low Countries and France, with the production facilities at Sartrouville being occupied by German troops around the 14-15th of June 1940.

Side view of a VG.33. Taken in Toulouse, Southern France, in 1942, this photo shows one of the few production aircraft which could be evacuated to Southern France in time. [Le Fana de l’Aviation n°199]
The first squadron the VG.33 was supposed to enter service with was the GC ½, which previously operated the MS.406, far outclassed by the D.520 or Bf.109E. This squadron was allocated its two first aircraft, the 2nd and 4th production VG.33s, on the 10th of June 1940. The squadron, already engaged in the campaign, could not allocate any pilots to recover the aircraft. In the end, pilots of a reconnaissance group, GR 1/55, took them and relocated them from the under threat airport of Villacoublay, near Paris, to the far-away Toulouse-Francazal, deep in Southern France. Production planes n°1 and n°7 were moved to Clermont-Ferrant, where they were supposed to serve as models for the future VG.32 assembly chain. A fifth aircraft was moved to Southern France, n°7, in uncertain conditions.

Two VG.33s were reportedly part of an ad-hoc defensive squadron created in Bordeaux in June, GC I/55 active from the 17th to the 24th. According to some scaint claims, they may have been engaged in a few combat missions in the last days of the campaign of France. Two VG.33s are known to have been captured by German forces on Mérignac airfield, in Gironde, the same region as Bordeaux. These may have been the same aircraft.

Two production VG.33s captured intact by the Germans in Mérignac, Gironde. [Le Fana de l’Aviation n°199]
Outside of these 7 aircraft taken in by the French air force, production at SCAN’s facilities in Sartrouville had been starting to pick up steam, and a number of aircraft were at various stages of production. It appears a total of 19 fighters had been completed. 20 more lacked only their landing gear and were near completion. Seemingly, at least 120 more fuselages were at various stages of production. The vast majority of these were sabotaged in extremis to prevent advancing German troops from capturing them. Notably, the completed fighters, that had yet to be taken in by the French air force were destroyed by the crew of a Potez 540 reconnaissance bomber on the 14th of June using sledgehammers, mere hours before German troops would seize the facilities. This did not prevent the Germans from getting their hands on a few VG.33s. Two VG.33s were seemingly captured in Mérignac airfield. Located near Bordeaux, these two planes may have been those part of an ad-hoc defensive squadron. At least one aircraft would be repainted in German colors and tested extensively, likely at Rechlin airfield, Germany, and given the registration number “3+5”. According to some sources, the Germans would capture a total of five serial production VG 33s as well as the original prototype.

An uncompleted VG.33, likely photographed by the picture services of Germany’s armed forces in Sartrouville. [Le Fana de l’Aviation n°199]
The VG.33 which would be tested by German pilots at the Rechlin airfield. [Armedconflicts.com]
Another photograph of the VG.33 which was captured by the Germans [Armedconflicts.com]

A Series of Derivatives, France’s Potentially Mainstay World War Two fighter

Though the VG.33 was already a very potent fighter by 1940, there were already plans to improve upon it, generally by improving its powerplant. A variety of prototypes, mostly based on VG.33 airframes and given alternative designations as VG.33 prototypes, were flown in the Spring of 1940 and would have given Arsenal’s new series of fighters a more promising fate, were it not for the German occupation of France.

The VG.32, developed before the VG 33, but never flown, replaced the 12Y-31 engine with an American-sourced Allison V-1710-C15 1,150 hp engine. A model from the same series of engines would be fitted into the American P-40 Warhawk fighter. While also being more powerful than the Hispano-Suiza 12Y, the most significant advantage of the Allison engine was that it would relieve France’s strained engine industry. By producing the relatively easy to build VG.33 airframe and giving it an engine which would not strain the local industry, France would have a fighter that would require comparatively few work hours. The fifth VG.33 prototype airframe, VG.33-05, was supposed to receive the Allison engine and be the VG.32 prototype. However, the engine was not delivered before the armistice and, as such, the prototype was never flown. Nonetheless, the VG.32 had been ordered for serial production. Production was to be set-up in Michelin’s facilities of Clermont-Ferrant. It was hoped the first dozen would be delivered in December of 1940, with 25 to be manufactured in January of 1941, 40 in February, 70 in March, 100 in April, and 150 monthly from May 1941 onward. This obviously never materialized. As it was never flown, there is no good way to estimate the VG.32’s performance. The Allison engine reportedly required lengthening the engine cover by 42 cm and may have made the plane somewhat heavier, but its significantly higher power output may still have resulted in the VG.32 being at least comparable, if not somewhat superior to the VG.33.

A rear view of the first VG.33 derivative to take flight, the VG.34, parked aside a LeO 451 bomber on a French airfield. [Aviafrance]
The first VG.33 derivative to take flight would be the VG.34. Built using the second VG.33 prototype airframe (VG.33-02), the VG.34 mounted a more powerful version of the Hispano-Suiza 12Y engine, the 12Y-45. Producing 960 hp, this was enough to give the VG.34 a maximum speed of 576 km/h at 6,000 m, and likely improve upon its climb rate as well. The VG.34 had its first flight on the 20th of January 1940. It appears to have been at an airfield near Toulouse by the armistice, with its further fate unknown.

The VG.35, made from VG.33-04, received a Hispano-Suiza 12Y-51 engine producing 1,000 hp. Sadly, it is a lot more elusive than the VG.34. Its recorded performances do not appear to be known, nor do any photo survive, despite the VG.35 having its first flight on the 25th of February 1940. The plane was known to be in Orléans by the point German forces captured the city. Its further fate is unknown.

A front view of the fairly impressive-looking VG.36 prototype. [Old Machine Press]
The VG.36 could be said to be a more mature version of the VG.35. Using the same 12Y-51 engine, the VG.36 was not built from a converted VG.33 airframe, but instead had a new one, incorporating a number of changes. Its radiator was wider but presented a smaller profile, and was more integrated into the fuselage in an effort to reduce drag. Taking its first flight on the 14th of May 1940, the VG.39 could reach 590 km/h at 7,000 m. Very satisfying in terms of its performance, it appears to have been scheduled to replace the VG.33 on the production lines at some point. As for the prototype, it was reportedly withdrawn to an airfield in La-Roche-Sur-Yon during the campaign, before being destroyed to avoid capture.

The VG.37 was never built; a further development of the VG.36, it was to feature a supercharger and be modified for long-range operations. The VG.38 was never built either, and was to feature an improved version of the 12Y engine – the exact model being unknown.

The sleek and impressive looking VG.39, often considered to be the most brilliant example of the future of French fighter design to have reached prototype stage by 1940, parked in front of a LeO 451 bomber. [ww2.sas1946.com]
The VG.39 was the most advanced model which took flight. Its main improvement was in terms of its powerplant. It received the advanced Hispano-Suiza 12Y-89 ter, with an output of 1,200 hp. It appears this engine did not allow for a cannon firing through the propeller hub in this version. To somewhat compensate for this, the wings were redesigned, keeping the same surface area but having a vastly modified structure which enabled for the mounting of one additional MAC34 machine-gun in each wing. Taking its first flight on the 3rd of May 1940, it could reach an impressive 625 km/h at 5,750 m. A very well performing plane for the time, the VG.39 was, as the VG.36, intended to enter production. This would, however, likely have been in the form of an improved version still on the drawing board by 1940. Designated as the VG.39bis, this improved VG.39 would feature an even more powerful Hispano-Suiza 12Z-17 engine producing 1,600 hp and allow for a 20 mm HS-404 to fire through the propeller hub, with the 6 wing machine-guns being retained. The VG.39bis would also incorporate a lower and widened radiator design similar to the one found in the VG.36. It would likely have been a very high performing aircraft, but it stayed on the drawing board due to the German occupation of France. As for the VG.39 prototype, its eventual fate is unknown.

The Undying Shadow of a Promising Fighter: Vichy Regime Studies

As can be seen, the VG.33 was an aircraft with promising performance, and an already well-developed series of variants which would have guaranteed the aircraft good evolutionary potential. Had France not been knocked out of the war by 1940, it is likely the Arsenal VG.3X series would have become for France what the Spitfire was to Britain or the Bf.109 to Germany: a mainstay able to continue to evolve and remain relevant for pretty much the entirety of the conflict.

This promising future was cut short by German wings, tracks and feet occupying France in 1940. Nonetheless, the armistice regime known as Vichy continued some studies upon the base of the VG.33. A few of the fighters, seemingly five production models as well as the original prototype, were indeed re-located in the unoccupied part of France at the end of the 1940 campaign. Though they were not put into service, they appear to have been taken as a basis to continue working on future fighters.

A series of profile views of Arsenal’s series of fighters. There is little in common to be found between the original VG.30 or VG.33 and the later VG.50 or VG.70 projects undertaken by the Vichy regime. [le Fana de l’Aviation n°199]
Under the Vichy regime, studies would continue, leading to the VG.40, 50 and then VG.60. The definitive aircraft designed by 1942 would have featured larger 16.25 m² wings, and a completely redesigned fuselage which had little to do with the old VG.33. It would feature a new version of the Hispano-Suiza 12Z engine. Studies stopped after the occupation of the unoccupied part of France in November of 1942, but would resume after the liberation of France, with a VG.60 fitted with a German Jumo 213E 1,750 hp engine being considered. This would have been a fighter vastly different from the original VG.33. Armed with eight wing-mounted M2 Browning 12.7 mm machine-guns and a cannon of unknown model firing through the propeller hub, it would have weighed up to around five tons and was expected to reach over 700 km/h. This would never materialize, as Arsenal would end up manufacturing a version of a pre-war project in the form of the tandem engine VB.10. The design bureau would also design some jet fighters in the form of the VG.70 and VG.90, though these would not result in any Arsenal aircraft being adopted by France before the bureau was absorbed into the larger SNCAN in December of 1954.

A Fighter Mystified and Fantasized-About, Cut Short by France’s Defeat

The Arsenal VG.33 was a particularly interesting French piece of equipment. Having its roots in a venture by Arsenal de L’Aéronautique to design the VG. 30 light fighter, the type would evolve into a solid fighter by 1939-1940. Having both promising performance and evolutionary potential, the VG.33’s future was cut short by the German invasion which happened right as the very first production aircraft were taking their first flights. Even more so than the D.520, often described by this sentence, the VG.33 arrived too few and too late, and couldn’t provide the French air force an aircraft able to compete with Germany’s Bf.109 . It has since become a fairly mystified piece of French engineering. An elegant fighter with a sleek design, it has become a sort of ambassador for the large variety of advanced military equipment which France was to field by 1940, but never got the chance. In this fashion, it is not too different from the Somua S40 and B1 Ter tanks or MAS 40 rifle in the psyche of French military enthusiasts.

Two production VG.33s on a French airfield. The majestic and sleek fighter design that is the VG.33 has attracted the eyes of many French military enthusiasts for decades. Though the reality is somewhat more complex, it is certain the VG.33 would have provided the French air force with a better performing asset than the MS.406, MB.152, and even D.520 and H.75. [Old Machine Press]

Replica Construction

This heavily mystified status of the VG.33 likely played a role in the creation of a project to produce a replica of the French fighter aircraft. An association, Arsenal Sud Restoration, was created with the goal of building a replica. With the original plans unavailable, the team had to recreate them using new tools. As of November 2020, while far from complete, the shape of the replica’s fuselage is starting to take shape, while the rudder has been painted and given its markings.

A view of the state of the project in October of 2020 [Facebook]

Variants

VG.30: Original light fighter prototype

VG.31: Planned modified variant of the VG.30, with Hispano-Suiza 12Y-31 860 hp engine, radiator moved to the back, and only two 7.5mm machine-guns. Never flown, a fuselage built and converted to a VG.33 prototype

VG.32: Planned variant fitted with Allison V-1710-C15 1,150 hp engine. A VG.33 prototype fuselage was set aside to receive the engine and serve as the VG.32 prototype, but it had not yet been mounted in June of 1940. Production was scheduled to begin in December 1940.

VG.33: Main production variant, using the Hispano-Suiza 12Y-31 860 hp engine and armed with one 20mm HS-404 autocannon and four 7.5mm MAC 34 machine-guns.

VG.34: Prototype converted from the second VG.33 prototype airframe, using the Hispano-Suiza 12Y-45 engine producing 960hp.

VG.35: Prototype converted from the fourth VG.33 prototype airframe, fitted with the Hispano-Suiza 12Y-51 1,000hp engine.

VG.36: Prototype, an improved iteration of the VG.30 series with the 12Y-51 engine in a modified airframe, with a radiator designed to reduce drag and significant other changes. Was to replace the VG.33 on the production lines at some point

VG.37:Planned variant of the VG.36 fitted with a supercharger and optimized for longer-range operations, never built

VG.38: Fighter design with an unknown iteration of the 12Y family of engines, never built.

VG.39: Prototype using the Hispano-Suiza 12Y-89 ter, producing 1,200hp but not fitted with an engine cannon, and instead using six 7.5mm machine-guns instead of four.

VG.39bis: Further evolution of the VG.39, powered by the Hispano-Suiza 12Z-17 1,600hp engine which would allow for a 20mm firing through the engine, while retaining six 7.5mm machine-guns. Never built

VG.40: First variant studied under the Vichy regime, using a Roll-Royces Merlin III 1,030hp engine on an airframe based on the VG.39bis. Never built

VG.50: Variant studied under the Vichy regime, using the Allison V-1710-39 engine. Never built

VG.60: Variant studied under the Vichy regime, with a new version of the Hispano-Suiza 12Z series of engines. Never built.

Arsenal VG.33 Specifications

Wingspan 10.8 m / 35 ft 6 in
Length 8.55 m / 28 ft 1 in
Height 3.55 m / 11 ft 8 in
Wing Area 14 m² / 46 ft² (One Wing)
28 m² / 92 ft² (Total)
Engine Hispano-Suiza 12Y-31
Engine Output Take Off – 760 hp
Optimal Altitude – 860 hp at 5,200 m / 17,000 ftMax RPM –  ~1,850 Standard
Propeller Three-bladed Chauvière Variable Pitch Propeller (2.95 m diameter) 
Empty Weight 2,050 kg / 4,519 lb
Takeoff Weight 2,450 to 2,896 kg (2,680 kg standard)
5,400 to 6,385 lb (5,908 lb standard)
Wing Loading 95.7 kg/m²  /  19.6 lb/ft² (at standard 2,680 kg weight)
Fuel Capacity 400 liters / 105 US gallons           
600 liters / 158 US gallons with proposed additional non-droppable fuel tanks
Maximum Speed  558 km/h / 347 mph
Cruising Speed 385 km/h / 239 mph
Cruising Range 1,060 km / 620 mi with Standard 400 liter fuel load

1,560 km / 970 mi with Extended 600 liter fuel load

Endurance 2h40 at 5,000m with 400 liter fuel load

4h20 at 5,000m with 600 liter fuel load

Maximum Service Ceiling 9,500 m / 31,000 ft
Time to Altitude 1.17 minutes to 1,000 m

2.34 minutes to 2,000 m

3.51 minutes to 3,000 m

5.07 minutes to 4,000 m

6.26 minutes to 5,000 m

8.02 minutes to 6,000 m

10.11 minutes to 7,000 m

13.26 minutes to 8,000 m

Crew One Pilot
Armament
  • 20 mm HS-404 firing through the propeller hub center with 60 rounds
  • 4x MAC34M39 machine-guns with 850 rounds per gun in the wings
Production
  • 1 prototype + 4 completed derivative prototype
  • Around 20 production aircraft fully completed of which 7 were taken in by the French Air Force
  • 40 airframes very close to completion
  • About 200 aircraft in various stages of production in total by June of 1940 

Gallery

Arsenal VG.30 Prototype
Arsenal VG.33 Prototype
Arsenal VG.33 in Standard Camouflage for 1940
German Captured VG.33 – Depicted as seen in testing at Rechlin

Sources

  • Written by Marisa Belhote
  • Edited by Stan and Henry H.
  • Illustrations by Ed Jackson
  • Le Fana de l’Aviation, Jean Cuny & Raymond Danel, 1986:
  • N°197 : “Les Chasseurs Arsenal VG 30 à VG 70” (I)
  • N°198 : “Les Chasseurs Arsenal VG 30 à VG 70” (II)
  • N°199 : “Les Chasseurs Arsenal VG 30 à VG 70” (III)
  • L’Aviation Française, chasse, bombardement, reconnaissance et observation 1939-1942, Dominique Breffort, Histoire & Collection Editions, 2011
  • L’Arsenal de L’Aéronautique, Gérard Hartmann for hydroretro.net, February 2007
  • William Pearce for old.machinepress.com: https://oldmachinepress.com/2019/03/05/arsenal-vg-30-series-vg-33-fighter-aircraft/
  • https://www.facebook.com/ArsenalVG33/