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[Diving_Hawk]

There is what an aircraft did in war,the facts that cannot be changed and were affected by other conditions( pilot training, materials, strategies and so on)
and there is also the potential each aircraft had to become a great war machine.

These 2 are totally different.
You can have a mediocre fighter win over a very good with the proper pilot skill and tactics. This does not change the fact that it faced a great war machine.

Just because the D520 was never truly given the opportunity to exploit it's potential it does not mean it was a failed design.


So awsome job on this great warbird , 1 of my biggest wishes for il2.

[BT~Tarik]

In June 1940, French armies were taken in the storm of the blitzkrieg.
For the French Air Force it meant continuous moves backwards as their airfields were captured one after each other.
In these chaotic conditions, it was impossible to launch efficient attacks to stop the Luftwaffe.
Although the D520 which was at least equal to the Bf109E, caused significant looses to the Luftwaffe, they were too few to change the course of the war.
Only in this way the D520 could be considered as 'insignificant'.
Well, we could say the same thing about the Me262 actually ... It was the best fighter of its time, but there were not enough pilots, not enough petrol and not enough airfields. The Me262 couldn't do anything to prevent the fall of the 3rd Reich, even to delay it.
I think the Me262 had even a lesser kill/plane ratio than the D520.
But is that all make the Me262 a "insignificant" plane ?
I don't think so.
Neither the D520 ...
My opinion is that any plane which flew during the WWII deserves to be included in IL2 regardless the part it played in the conflict.
Don't forget that in the cockpit of the most "insignificant" plane there was it pilot who had risked his live and often died ... just for that it deserves to fly in our virtual skies.

Tout à fait d'accord !/Totally agree !

[baronbutcher]

In June 1940, French armies were taken in the storm of the blitzkrieg.
For the French Air Force it meant continuous moves backwards as their airfields were captured one after each other.
In these chaotic conditions, it was impossible to launch efficient attacks to stop the Luftwaffe.
Although the D520 which was at least equal to the Bf109E, caused significant looses to the Luftwaffe, they were too few to change the course of the war.
Only in this way the D520 could be considered as 'insignificant'.
Well, we could say the same thing about the Me262 actually ... It was the best fighter of its time, but there were not enough pilots, not enough petrol and not enough airfields. The Me262 couldn't do anything to prevent the fall of the 3rd Reich, even to delay it.
I think the Me262 had even a lesser kill/plane ratio than the D520.
But is that all make the Me262 a "insignificant" plane ?
I don't think so.
Neither the D520 ...
My opinion is that any plane which flew during the WWII deserves to be included in IL2 regardless the part it played in the conflict.
Don't forget that in the cockpit of the most "insignificant" plane there was it pilot who had risked his live and often died ... just for that it deserves to fly in our virtual skies.

Mostly agree but saying that the D520 had a higher kill ratio than 262 isn't quite correct. (A lot of 262 were destroyed on airfield approach - coming to land or taking off besides countless numbers destroyed by raids! )
I like the plane but the Spitfire Mk1A and 109E had the edge. Sorry  Operational history France Battle of France The Groupe de Chasse I/3 was the first unit to get the D.520, receiving its first aircraft in January 1940. These were unarmed and used for pilot training. In April and May 1940, operational units received 34 production D.520s; the type proving to be very popular with the pilots. In comparative trials on 21 April 1940 at CEMA at Orleans-Bricy against a captured Bf 109E-3, the German aircraft had a 32 km/h (20 mph) speed advantage owing to its more powerful engine. However, the D.520 had superior maneuverability, matching its turning circle, although displaying nasty characteristics when departing and spinning out of the turn repeatedly during the tests. The Bf 109, owing to its slats, could easily sustain the turn on the edge of a stall.

By 10 May 1940, when Germany invaded France and the Low Countries, 228 D.520s had been manufactured, but the Armée de l'Air had only accepted 75, as most others had been sent back to the factory to be retrofitted to the new standard. As a result, only GC I/3 was fully equipped, having 36 aircraft. They met the Luftwaffe on 13 May, shooting down three Henschel Hs 126s and one Heinkel He 111 without loss. Four more Groupes de Chasse and three naval Escadrilles rearmed with the type before France's surrender.[26] GC II/3, GC III/3, GC III/6 and GC II/7 later completed conversion on the D.520. A naval unit, the 1er Flotille de Chasse, was also equipped with the Dewoitine. But only GC I/3, II/7, II/6 and the naval AC 1 saw any action in the Battle of France. GC III/7 converted to the D.520 too late to be involved in combat.

In air combat, mostly against Italians, the Dewoitine 520s claimed 114 air victories, plus 39 probables. Eighty five D.520s were lost. By the armistice at the end of June 1940, 437 D.520s had been built with 351 delivered. After the armistice, 165 D.520s were evacuated to North Africa. GC I/3, II/3, III/3, III/6 and II/7 flew their aircraft to Algeria to avoid capture. Three more, from GC III/7, escaped to Britain and were delivered to the Free French. A total of 153 D.520s remained in mainland France. One of the most successful D.520 pilots was Pierre Le Gloan, who shot down 18 aircraft (four Germans, seven Italian and seven British), scoring all of his kills with the D.520, and ranked as the fourth-highest French ace of the war.

Under Vichy Dewoitine D.520 exhibited at the Air & Space Museum at Le Bourget, France.In April 1941, the German armistice commission authorized Vichy authorities to resume production of a batch of 1,000 military aircraft for their own use, under the condition that 2,000 German-designed aircraft would later be manufactured in France and delivered to Germany. As part of this agreement, 550 examples of the D.520 were ordered to replace all other single-seat fighters in service. The plan was to have the Dewoitine eventually equip a total of 17 Groupes with 442 aircraft, three escadrilles of the Aéronautique navale with 37 aircraft each, plus three training units with 13 aircraft. The agreement stated that aircraft of this new batch were to be similar to the ones already in service. From serial number 543 on, however, D.520s used the 12Y-49 engine that had a slightly higher rated performance than the 12Y-45, although the German Armistice Commission explicitly prohibited replacing the original engines with the more powerful 12Y51 or 12Z engines.

In 1941, D.520s of GC III/6, II/3 and naval escadrille 1AC fought the Allies during the Syria-Lebanon campaign. The Vichy French Air Force (Armée de l'Air de Vichy) was already relatively strong, but several units were sent to reinforce it. D.520s were the only French single-seat fighters capable of making the trip to Syria. The GC III/6 was sent first. The ferry trip was very difficult for a 1940 interceptor and the pilots pushed their planes as far as their fuel tanks would allow them to. They flew from France to Syria with intermediate stops at Rome, Brindisi or Catania. Another route was available through Germany and Greece (Athens), but it was seldom used. The trip always included a stopover in Rhodes (once an Italian base), before the final flight to Syria. This meant several thousands of kilometers were flown over mountains and sea. The most demanding part was Catania-Rhodes, which entailed no less than 1,200 km flown over the sea. Even the trip from Rhodes to Syria was 800 km. LeO 451s and Martin 167F bombers had few problems, but D.520s were forced to fly a strenuous and dangerous mission, without any help or external assistance. Of the 168 French aircraft (of all types) sent to Syria, 155 accomplished their mission and successfully arrived. The Vichy Air force was numerically strong, but with very few ground crew and spare parts, so the operational flying time for the D.520s was very limited. D.520s of GC III/6 first saw action against British aircraft on 8 June 1941, when they shot down three Fairey Fulmars, losing one D.520 with its pilot taken prisoner). Over the following days several escort missions were made to protect Martin, LeO and Bloch 200 (3/39 Esc) aircraft from British Royal Navy fighters. On 9 June, Two Hurricanes were shot down (with another D.520 lost).

In total, during the Syria campaign 266 missions were flown by the Vichy French Air Force: 99 of them were made by D.520s, nine by MS.406s, 46 by Martin 167s and 31 by LeO 451s. The D.520s were therefore the most active of the French aircraft in the campaign, where they claimed 31 kills over British and Australian units while losing 11 of their own in air combat and a further 24 to AA fire, accidents and attacks on their airfields. On 10 July, five D.520s attacked Bristol Blenheim bombers from No. 45 Squadron RAF that were being escorted by seven Curtiss Tomahawks from No. 3 Squadron RAAF (3 Sqn).The French pilots claimed three Blenheims, but at least four of the D.520s were destroyed by the Australian escorts, including two by F/O Peter Turnbull. The following day, a Dewoitine pilot shot down a P-40 from 3 Sqn, the only Tomahawk lost during the campaign. This Dewoitine was in turn shot down by F/O Bobby Gibbes. The initial advantage that the Vichy French Air Force enjoyed did not last long, and they lost most of their aircraft during the campaign. The majority of the lost aircraft were destroyed on the ground where the flat terrain, absence of infrastructure and absence of modern anti-aircraft (AA) artillery made them vulnerable to air attacks. On June 26, a strafing run by Tomahawks of 3 Sqn, on Homs airfield, destroyed five Dewoitine D.520s of Fighter Squadron II/3 (Groupe de Chasse II/3) and damaged six more.

By the end of the campaign, the Vichy forces had lost 179 aircraft from the approximately 289 committed to the Levant. The remaining aircraft with the range to do so, evacuated to Rhodes. The known French losses of fighter aircraft were 26 in air combat and 45 in strafing and bombing actions. Allied forces lost 41 planes, 27 of those shot down by French fighters. During Operation Torch, GC III/3 (previously known as GC I/3) was engaged in combat with the Allies over Oran. Flotille 1F saw action versus the United States Navy F4F Wildcat squadron VF-41 (from the carrierUSS Ranger), over Casablanca. One D.520 was among 14 US victory claims, with the only Allied losses being due to ground and friendly fire. Other Dewoitine-equipped units in North Africa such as GC II/7 or GC II/3 did not to take part in the fighting. Overall, the known D.520 air strength in North Africa was 173 D.520s (143 combat ready) of GC II/3, III/3, III/6, II/7 and II/5, another 30 were in Senegal with GC II/6. The Navy had Esc 1AC and 2AC. Many D.520s were destroyed on the ground by Allied bombing. The French Air Force lost 56 aircraft, among them 13 D.520s. The Navy lost 19 D.520s aircraft. Among the 44 kills that the French scored overall, there was an entire squadron of nine Fairey Albacore, from the HMS Furious, all shot down by D.520s of GC III/3.
Performance:Although the D520 which was at least equal to the Bf109E, - Dewoitine D.520 came close to being a match for the latest German types, such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109. It was slower than the Bf 109E but superior in manoeuvrability. Quote D.520 had superior maneuverability, matching its turning circle, although displaying nasty characteristics when departing and spinning out of the turn repeatedly during the tests. The Bf 109, owing to its slats, could easily sustain the turn on the edge of a stall.
Although employing a modern design philosophy for its time, the D.520 was considered more difficult to fly than the older MS.406. Capt. Eric Brown, commanding officer of the Royal Aircraft Establishment's Captured Enemy Aircraft Flight, tested the D.520 at RAE Farnborough, saying that “It was a nasty little brute. Looked beautiful but didn’t fly beautifully. Once you get it on the ground, I was told not to leave the controls until it was in the hangar and the engine stopped. You could be taxiing toward the hangar and sit back when suddenly it would go in a right angle.”
At the beginning of 1943, the Italian ace Luigi Gorrini ferried D.520s taken as prizes of war to Italy to be used for defence. "I have collected several dozen Dewoitines from various French airfields and the Toulouse factory", he recalled later. "At the time, when we were still flying the Macchi C.200, it was a good, if not very good, machine. Compared to the Macchi 200, it was superior only in one point: its armament of the Hispano-Suiza HS 404 20 mm cannon.". Also used by Bulgaria - Romanian Dewoitines were, in fact, in transit to Bulgaria and only flew over Romania in order to get to their final destination.
I agree if available in numbers it certainately would have made an impact in the Battle of France much like a lot of French aircraft in 1940. Interesting history - not insignificant! I agree that it would be lovely in the game. 

[redfox]

Thank You for the history lesson baronbutcher - wasn't aware of the Syria-Lebanon campaign by the Vichy a/c.

Cheers - Redfox

[SAS~Poltava]

+100 

This is a MOST welcome aircraft, that can be used in many different campaigns in different theatres of war.

[cgagan]

Great post, baronbutcher, many thanks for all info provided. 1000+ votes for the D520!

[HundertzehnGustav]

d.520 = hug

[SAS~Poltava]

PS.

If a WIP thread on an aircraft has attracted over 43.000 views its obviously pretty highly anticipated...

[HundertzehnGustav]

wrong.
that means, there are a lot of french people on the SAS repeatedly klicking this thread to rtificially boost its "viewcount"

but only a handsful of non-french people are interested...
XD

[UF_Zargos]

Pathetic !

[cgagan]

Oh, come on, 110G!!!! This plane has been the most expected darling for many of us!

[agracier]

but only a handsful of non-french people are interested...

my goodness ... what does nationality have to do with being interested in an aircraft?