Editing Dewoitine D.520 (section)

===''Regia Aeronautica'' Dewoitines===

About 60 D.520s were acquired by the ''[[Regia Aeronautica]]'' (the Italian Air Force or RA).<ref name="Danel and Cuny 1966, p. 150"/><ref name="Danel 12">Danel 1971, p. 12.</ref> Italian pilots appreciated the aircraft's capabilities and Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannon, at least by 1940–1941 standards. The first three D.520s were assigned to 2° ''Stormo'' based at the [[Torino]]-Caselle airfield, where they were used for the defence of Torino's industrial area.<ref name="Dimensione Cielo 1972, p. 65">Dimensione Cielo 1972, p. 65.</ref> Other D.520s were captured in [[Montélimar]], [[Orange, Vaucluse|Orange]], [[Istres]] and [[Aix-en-Provence]].<ref name="Dimensione Cielo 1972, p. 66">Dimensione Cielo 1972, p. 66.</ref>
[[File:Guido fibbia 3jpg013 low.jpg|thumb|Italian ace [[Guido Fibbia]] (right) with a ''Regia Aeronautica'' D.520 {{circa|1943}}]]

At the beginning of 1943, the Italian ace [[Luigi Gorrini]] ferried D.520s taken as [[Prize of war|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.<ref name="Neulen p. 67."/> "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 {{cvt|20|mm|3}} cannon."<ref name="Neulen p. 67.">Neulen 2000, p. 67.</ref> <!---unnecessary----On the other hand, regardless of his opinion, D.520s were also faster, with longer range and a better service ceiling when compared to the Macchi. However, these two fighters never fought each other, as far as is known. Gorrini himself stated, on another occasion, that French fighters were better than the early ones in the RA: ''Credevamo inoltre di averci degli aerei validi, ma quando abbiamo cominciato a vedere cosa aveva il nemico, .. parlo dei Dewotine e dei Morane ... ho conosciuto quelle macchine in seguito, quando mi recai in Francia a prendere alcuni loro aeroplani .. Era come paragonare un triciclo ad una Ferrari...'', that could be translated as: ''We believed [we had] valid aircraft, but when we saw what [the] enemy had, .. I talk about Dewoitine and Morane ... I knew those machines when I ferried some of them to Italy, it was like comparing a tricycle with a Ferrari''.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20120904125629/http://www.italia-rsi.org/farsianr/gorrini.htm Gorrini's interview on italia-rsi.org]}}</ref>---> Italian pilots liked the {{cvt|20|mm|3}} gun, the modern cockpit, the excellent radio set and the easy recovery from a spin but they also complained about the weak undercarriage and the small [cannon] ammunition drum capability; the ammunition was not available in quantities (the HS.404 was not compatible with Breda and Scotti {{cvt|20|mm|3}} guns, so everything depended on France's depots). At the end of February the 359a ''Squadriglia'' (22° ''Gruppo''), led by Major Vittorio Minguzzi, received eight Dewoitine D.520. At that time, American B-24s frequently bombed Naples, so an effective interceptor was badly needed, and D.520s were all that were available in early 1943. The 359a ''Squadriglia'' pilots used Dewoitines with some success. <!---unnecessary---Vittorio Minguzzi recalled the effectiveness he saw during the first fight with a B-24 (1 march 1943); despite [the fact that] he had only ten [rounds of] 20 mm ammunition, firing all them at close range had a very impressive effect on that bomber (the D.520 was found to be a very stable gun platform); Minguzzi was impressed as well by the results, but when he did another attack with only machine guns, it had little effect on the B-24s, and in return his D.520 was almost shot down, forcing him to dive and escape.<ref>Ciampaglia, Giuseppe: ''Quando la R.A. adottò il cannone da 20 mm'', RiD Magazine 11/2002 p.93</ref> Minguzzi wrote also that the D.520 had an armoured seat. There are not many more reports about the D.520 in the RA; pilots liked the 20 mm gun, but they also needed a fast fighter to catch up with the B-17s and B-24s. They simply had to choose between old fighters, D.520s and the fast but under-armed MC.202s, until they had MC.205s, Bf-109 and RE.2005s (Minguzzi was very interested by this fighter, after the experience with the D.520 and its 20 mm gun).<ref>Lembo, Daniele ''Il D.520 nella R.A.'', Aerei nella Storia magazine, West ward editions, Parma, 26/2002 p.25-26</ref>---->

On 1 March 1943, Maggiore Minguzzi claimed a B-24 while flying a D.520. This claim was initially only claimed as a probable but was later upgraded to a confirmed. This was probably the first Italian claim using this aircraft.
On 21 May 1943, the ''Regia Aeronautica'' and the ''Luftwaffe'' agreed to exchange 39 [[Lioré et Olivier LeO 45]]1s, captured by the Italians at the [[SNCASE]] factory in [[Ambérieu-en-Bugey]] ([[Lyon]]), with a stock of 30 D.520s. Subsequently, in the spring and summer of 1943, the Dewoitines were used by 161° ''Gruppo Autonomo'', based in southern Italy with 163a ''Squadriglia'' in [[Grottaglie]], 162a ''Squadriglia'' in [[Crotone]] and 164a ''Squadriglia'' in [[Reggio Calabria]].<ref name="Dimensione Cielo 1972, p. 66"/>
On 31 July 1943, the ''Regia Aeronautica'' still had 47 Dewoitines in service.<ref name="Dimensione Cielo 1972, p. 63">Dimensione Cielo 1972, p. 63.</ref> After the armistice of 8 September 1943, three D.520s, previously in service with 24° ''Gruppo'', were used by the [[Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana]] of the [[Italian Social Republic]] for training.<ref name="Dimensione Cielo 1972, p. 66"/>