| The first Dewoitine fighter monoplane to relinquish the
parasol configuration in favour of a low-wing layout,
the D 500 flew on 18 June 1932. Intended to meet the
demands of the 1930 C1 programme and eventually
selected as winning contender, the D 500 was powered
by a 12-cylinder Vee Hispano-Suiza 12Xbrs (HS 72)
engine rated at 660hp for take-off and 690hp at
4000m. Armament comprised two 7.7mm
Vickers guns in the fuselage, these later being supplanted
by 7.5mm Darne guns with provision for two
similar wing-mounted weapons. At the end of November
1933, orders were placed for 60 D 500s of which 45
were to be built by Liore-et-Olivier and 15 by SAF-Avions
Dewoitine. Of the former, 40 were to be
powered by the HS 12Xbrs engine and the remaining
five by the HS 12Xcrs (HS 76) with provision for a 20mm
Hispano-Suiza S7 (Oerlikon) cannon mounted between
the cylinder banks. With this installation and twin
wing-mounted machine guns the fighter was designated D 501. The SAF-Avions Dewoitine order was
eventually to comprise eight D 500s, five D 501s and two
D 510s. The first production D 500 was
flown on 29 November 1934, contracts having meanwhile
been placed for a further 50 D 500s and 80 D 501s
to be built by Liore-et-Olivier and 60 D 501s by Ateliers
et Chantiers de la Loire, deliveries to the Armee de l'Air
commencing May-June 1935. Three D 500s were
ordered by Venezuela at the beginning of 1934 and delivered
in July 1935, and in the following year 14 D 501s
were supplied to Lithuania. The Armee de l'Air received
100 D 500s and 133 D 501s, 30 of the latter type
also being supplied to shore-based elements of
France's Aeronautique Navale. Small numbers of D
500s and D 501s equipped Escadrilles Regionale de
Chasse in the early months of World War II, but had
been relegated to tuitional tasks by 1940.
MODEL | D 501 |
WEIGHTS |
Take-off weight | 1787 kg | 3940 lb |
Empty weight | 1287 kg | 2837 lb |
DIMENSIONS |
Wingspan | 12.09 m | 40 ft 8 in |
Length | 7.56 m | 25 ft 10 in |
Height | 2.70 m | 9 ft 10 in |
Wing area | 16.50 m2 | 177.60 sq ft |
PERFORMANCE |
Max. speed | 367 km/h | 228 mph |
Range | 870 km | 541 miles |
Mike Pagliari, e-mail, 09.01.2015 16:05 In view of the relatively small numbers produced of the D-500 /501 /510 series, were any squadrons upgraded with improved variants or did squadrons equipped with one or other of the variants have to remain with that particcular model? reply |
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