Editing Dewoitine D.520 (section)

===France===

====Battle of France====
{{main|Battle of France}}

The [[Groupe de Chasse I/3|''Groupe de Chasse'' I/3]] was the first unit to get the D.520, receiving its first aircraft in January 1940. These initial examples were unarmed and used for pilot training.<ref name="Danel 6"/> In April and May 1940, operational units received 34 'war-capable' production D.520s; the type quickly proved to be highly popular with pilots and ground crew. During comparative trials on 21 April 1940 at CEMA at Orleans-Bricy against a captured Bf 109E-3, the German aircraft had a {{cvt|32|km/h}} speed advantage owing to its more powerful engine.<ref name="Danel 3"/> 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 [[Leading edge slats|slats]], could easily sustain the turn on the edge of a stall.<ref name="Danel 3"/>

[[File:Dewoitine D.520, Musee de l'Air et de l'Espace, Le Bourget, Paris. (8211176327).jpg|thumb|left|Dewoitine D.520 on display at Le Bourget]]
By 10 May 1940, when the [[Phoney War]] came to an end as [[Battle of the Netherlands|Germany launched the invasion of France and the Low Countries]], a total of 246 D.520s had been manufactured, but the French Air Force had accepted only 79 of these, as most others had been sent back to the factory to be retrofitted to the new standard.<ref name="Danel 6"/> As a result, only GC I/3 was fully equipped, possessing a force of 36 aircraft. These met the ''Luftwaffe'' on 13 May, shooting down three [[Henschel Hs 126]]s and one [[Heinkel He 111]] without suffering any losses.<ref name="Danel 6"/> The next day, two D.520s were lost while a total of ten Luftwaffe aircraft (4 [[Messerschmitt Bf 110]]s, 2 Bf 109Es, 2 [[Dornier Do 17]]s, and 2 He 111s) were confirmed to be destroyed.<ref name="Danel 6"/>

Four more ''Groupes de Chasse'' and three naval ''Escadrilles'' rearmed with the type before France's surrender.<ref name="Jackson pp. 16-17.">Jackson 2003, pp. 16–17.</ref> GC II/3, GC III/3, GC III/6 and GC II/7 later completed conversion on the D.520. A naval unit, the ''1<sup>er</sup> Flotille de Chasse'', was also equipped with the Dewoitine. However, only GC I/3, II/7, II/6 and the naval AC 1 saw any action in the Battle of France.<ref name="Jackson p. 17.">Jackson 2003, p. 17.</ref> GC III/7 converted to the D.520 too late to be involved in any action. In addition, several aircraft were flown by non-operational units, such as the special patrol of the [[École de l'air]] military school, as well as a handful flown by Polish and civilian pilots in defence of airstrips and production facilities in the vicinity of [[Toulouse]].<ref name="Danel 7"/>

In air combat, mostly against the Italians, the Dewoitine 520s claimed 114 air victories, plus 39 probables.<ref name="Hachette p. 98.">Hachette 1979, p. 98.</ref> Eighty five D.520s were lost.<ref name="Jackson p. 17.">Jackson 2003, p. 17.</ref> By the armistice at the end of June 1940, 437 D.520s had been constructed, 351 of these having been delivered.<ref name="Danel 7"/> After the armistice, 165 D.520s were evacuated to North Africa.<ref name="Jackson p. 17.">Jackson 2003, p. 17.</ref> GC I/3, II/3, III/3, III/6 and II/7 flew their aircraft to Algeria to avoid capture.<ref name="Danel 7"/> Three more, from GC III/7, escaped to Britain and were delivered to the [[Free French]]. A total of 153 D.520s remained in unoccupied mainland France.<ref name="Danel 7">Danel 1971, p. 7.</ref>

One of the most successful D.520 pilots was [[Pierre Le Gloan]], who shot 18 aircraft down (four Germans, seven Italian and seven British), scoring all but two of his kills with the D.520, and ranked as the fourth-highest French ace of the war.<ref name="Danel 7"/>

====Under Vichy====
[[File:Dewoitine D.520 (MAE).JPG|thumb|Dewoitine D.520 exhibited at the Air & Space Museum at Le Bourget]]

In April 1941, the German armistice commission authorized [[Vichy France|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.<ref name="Danel and Cuny 1966, p. 106">Danel and Cuny 1966, p. 106.</ref><ref name="Danel 7 10">Danel 1971, pp. 7, 10.</ref> However, no D.520 units were to be stationed on the French mainland, thus individual aircraft were instead stored or dispatched to units overseas, such as in North Africa.<ref name="Danel 10">Danel 1971, p. 10.</ref>

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.<ref name="Danel and Cuny 1966, p. 106"/> 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 power plants 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]] 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 (which had an Italian base at the time), before the final flight to Syria. This meant several thousand kilometers were flown over mountains and sea. The most demanding part was Catania-Rhodes, which entailed no less than {{cvt|1200|km}} flown over water.<ref>Vascotto, V. "La campagna di Siria." ''Storia Militare'' magazine, Albertelli editions, Parma, n.9/06 pp. 38–39.</ref> Even the trip from Rhodes to Syria was {{cvt|800|km}}. LeO 451s and [[Martin Maryland|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 arrived successfully. The Vichy Air force was numerically strong, but with very few ground crew and spare parts, which meant that 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 Fulmar]]s, losing one D.520 (its pilot was taken prisoner).<ref>Sgarlato, Nico. "La campagna aerea di Siria." ''Eserciti nella Storia magazine,'' Delta editions, Parma, n.10/08, p. 44.</ref> Over the following days several escort missions were flown to protect Martin, LeO and Bloch 200 (3/39 Esc) bombers from British [[Royal Navy]] fighters. Two Hurricanes were shot down (with another D.520 lost) on 9 June.

During the Syria campaign, a total of 266 missions were conducted by the Vichy French Air Force: 99 of them were carried out by D.520s, nine by MS.406s, 46 by Martin 167s and 31 by LeO 451s. On 10 July, five D.520s attacked [[Bristol Blenheim]] bombers from [[No. 45 Squadron RAF]] that were being escorted by seven [[Curtiss P-40 Warhawk|Curtiss Tomahawks]] from [[No. 3 Squadron RAAF]] (3 Sqn).<ref name="Herington 1954, p. 94">Herington 1954, p. 94.</ref> The French pilots claimed three Blenheims, but at least four of the D.520s were destroyed by the Australian escorts, including two by [[flying officer]] [[Peter Turnbull (RAAF officer)|Peter Turnbull]].<ref name="Herington 1954, p. 94"/><ref>Brown 1983, p. 17.</ref> The following day, a Dewoitine pilot shot a P-40 down from 3 Sqn, the only Tomahawk lost during the campaign.<ref name="Herington 1954, p. 94"/> 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 them 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 26 June, a strafing run by Tomahawks of 3 Sqn, on Homs airfield, destroyed five D.520s of Fighter Squadron II/3 (Groupe de Chasse II/3) and damaged six more.

[[File:French aircraft wreckage North Africa 1943.jpg|thumb|Tail section of a burned Vichy D.520 at an airbase in North Africa, 1943]]
By the end of the campaign, 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. The Allies lost 41 planes, 27 of those shot down by French fighters. During [[Operation Torch]] (the invasion of North Africa), GC III/3 (previously known as GC I/3), was engaged in combat with the Allies over [[Oran]]. ''Flotille'' 1F saw action against the [[United States Navy]] [[Grumman F4F Wildcat]] squadron [[VFA-11|VF-41]] (from the carrier {{USS|Ranger|CV-4|6}}), over [[Casablanca]]. One D.520 was among fourteen US victory claims; the only Allied losses were due to ground and friendly fire.<ref>Tillman 1995, p. 91.</ref> Other Dewoitine-equipped units in North Africa such as GC II/7 or GC II/3 did not 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. Among the 44 kills that the French scored overall, there were five losses from fighters and flak out of a squadron of eight [[Fairey Albacore]]s from {{HMS|Furious|47|6}}, some of which were shot down by D.520s of GC III/3.<ref>Brown, J.D. p. 93</ref>

====Free French Dewoitines====
A very small number of D.520s were briefly operated by Free French Forces for training purposes. Along with the three examples that had flown to Britain in June 1940, two other Dewoitines were recovered from retreating Vichy forces in [[Rayak]], Lebanon. These D.520s were flown by pilots of the ''[[Normandie-Niemen]]'' unit before it was sent to the [[USSR]], where they flew the [[Yakovlev Yak-1]] that had many similarities with the French aircraft.