Dewoitine
Encyclopedia
Constructions Aéronautiques Émile Dewoitine was a French aircraft manufacturer established by Émile Dewoitine
at Toulouse
in October 1920. The company's initial products were a range of metal parasol-wing fighters which were largely ignored by the French Air Force
but purchased in large quantities abroad and licence-built in Italy, Switzerland, and Czechoslovakia. The company was liquidated in January 1927, with the only remaining active programme (the D.27
) being transferred to EKW in Switzerland.
The company was re-established in Paris in March the following year as Société Aéronautique Française (Avions Dewoitine) or SAF. After briefly continuing D.27 production, the reconstituted firm produced a range of fighters that became a mainstay of the French airforce during the 1930s, the D.500 family.
It also developed important civilian airliners, such as the D.333 and its derivative the D.338, designed for pioneering routes to French Indochina
(Vietnam), and eventually Hong Kong.
The firm was nationalised in March 1937 into the short-lived SNCA du Midi or SNCAM, and produced the D.520
as France's best-performing fighter at the outbreak of war, albeit in too small numbers to pose any serious opposition to the Luftwaffe
in the Battle of France
.
The final end of Dewoitine as a recognisable entity was its absorption into SNCASE in December 1940, by which time Émile Dewoitine had departed to join SIPA
, and no further aircraft were produced under the Dewoitine name.
Émile Dewoitine
Émile Dewoitine was a French aviation industrialist.- Prewar industrial activities :Born in Crépy-en-Laonnois, Émile Dewoitine entered the aviation industry by working at Latécoère during Word War I...
at Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
in October 1920. The company's initial products were a range of metal parasol-wing fighters which were largely ignored by the French Air Force
French Air Force
The French Air Force , literally Army of the Air) is the air force of the French Armed Forces. It was formed in 1909 as the Service Aéronautique, a service arm of the French Army, then was made an independent military arm in 1933...
but purchased in large quantities abroad and licence-built in Italy, Switzerland, and Czechoslovakia. The company was liquidated in January 1927, with the only remaining active programme (the D.27
Dewoitine D.27
|-See also:-External links:*...
) being transferred to EKW in Switzerland.
The company was re-established in Paris in March the following year as Société Aéronautique Française (Avions Dewoitine) or SAF. After briefly continuing D.27 production, the reconstituted firm produced a range of fighters that became a mainstay of the French airforce during the 1930s, the D.500 family.
It also developed important civilian airliners, such as the D.333 and its derivative the D.338, designed for pioneering routes to French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
(Vietnam), and eventually Hong Kong.
The firm was nationalised in March 1937 into the short-lived SNCA du Midi or SNCAM, and produced the D.520
Dewoitine D.520
The Dewoitine D.520 was a French fighter aircraft that entered service in early 1940, shortly after the opening of World War II. Unlike the Morane-Saulnier M.S.406, which was at that time the Armée de l'Airs most numerous fighter, the Dewoitine D.520 came close to being a match for the latest...
as France's best-performing fighter at the outbreak of war, albeit in too small numbers to pose any serious opposition to the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
in the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
.
The final end of Dewoitine as a recognisable entity was its absorption into SNCASE in December 1940, by which time Émile Dewoitine had departed to join SIPA
SIPA
SIPA may refer to* State Investigation and Protection Agency. a law enforcement agency in Bosnia and Herzegovina* Société Industrielle Pour l’Aéronautique, a defunct French aircraft maker* Securities Investor Protection Act...
, and no further aircraft were produced under the Dewoitine name.