Editing Dewoitine D.520 (section)

===Overview===
[[File:D.520 Le Bourget Cckpit01.jpg|thumb|Gunsight and instrument panel from the D.520 on display at Le Bourget]]
The Dewoitine D.520 was a French [[fighter aircraft]], intended to be a capable contemporary of types such as the [[Messerschmitt Bf 109]] and [[Supermarine Spitfire]]. An all-metal structure was used, except for fabric-covered ailerons and tail surfaces. The wing, even if single-spar, was a solid and rigid unit with a secondary spar and many reinforced parts. The inwardly retracting undercarriage had a broad {{cvt|2.83|m}} track, and was fitted with wide, low-pressure tyres.<ref>Danel and Cuny 1966, pp. 225, 226.</ref>

The D.520 was designed to be maintained easily with many inspection panels, a rare feature for its time. Recharging the D.520 ammunition was swift and easy; the machine gun magazines required five minutes each and three minutes for the {{cvt|20|mm|3}} cannon. To fill the machine gun ammunition boxes took 15 minutes, while five minutes were needed to empty it as the cartridges were not expelled. The D.520's cockpit was set well back in the fuselage, aft of the trailing edge of the wings. This gave the pilot good downward visibility, but the long nose in front of him was a drawback when taxiing on the ground.<ref name="Jackson p. 15.">Jackson 2003, p. 15.</ref>

A [[self-sealing fuel tank]] with a capacity of {{cvt|396|L}} was mounted between the engine and cockpit, along with two wing tanks which, combined, carried another {{cvt|240|L}}, for a total of {{cvt|636|L}};<ref>Danel and Cuny 1966, p. 228.</ref> this was considerably more than the contemporary Bf 109E, Spitfire I and early Italian fighters, each with about {{cvt|400|L}} fuel capacity. The ferry range was from {{cvt|1300|to|1500|km}} at {{cvt|450|km/h}} which, from June 1940, allowed D.520s to escape to North Africa when France fell.<ref name="Gigli-Cervi"/>