What was that French fighter that looked like the P-47 (razorback canopy)that was captured by German forces in '40? It was said to have a lot of speed,.......???
I think you mean the Dewoitine D520. Many were captured in 1940-1942 and used as hunter trainers by the Luftwaffe. http://members.fortunecity.com/aeronaves2000/sgm/d520/d520.htm Sorry the text is in french, Wilconqr, but trust me that's what it says. The D521 used a Rolls Royce Merlin engine, hence the great speed [ 09. June 2003, 01:06 PM: Message edited by: KmPok ]
Yeah. That's it. I wonder why the canopy is so far back? Kinda looks more like the P-40 now than the 47.
I imagine just the size of the engine block, against the overall fuselage length. Or maybe the fuel tank is in front of the pilot instead of behind him? Or maybe French pilots had VERY long legs [ 10. June 2003, 11:28 AM: Message edited by: KmPok ]
. Engineering data of the D-520 Manufacturer: Dewoitine Length 8.60 m Height 2.57 m Wingspan 10.20 m Maximum speed 535 km/h Maximum weight 2,675 kg Crew 1 Armament: 1 20 mm cannon in the engine and 4 7.5 mm machine guns. sorry the measurements are in 'foreign' These specs are very similar to the MkI Spitfire, but the cockpit appears to be a bit further back from the trailing edge of the wings. Also the tail fin is deeper adding to the illusion.
Only fairly similar I would say - the Spitfire Mk I is larger in all respects, a little lighter and significantly faster, and the armaments are very different. [ 10. June 2003, 01:26 PM: Message edited by: Greenjacket ]
Agreed, but I meant the airframe specifically. The armament is more reminiscent of the 109, with the centre cannon. Without more specific dimensions it is not easy to tell if the cockpit is actually further back than in the Spit' tho.
Spitfire IIA 1175 hp engine max wt. 6,318 pounds 8- 303 machine guns D.520 910 hp engine max wt. 6,129 pounds 1-20mm cannon and 4- 7.5 mm machine guns Me-109E 1100 hp engine max wt. 5,523 pounds 2-20mm cannon and 2- 7.5mm manchine guns The D.520 was underguned and underpowered compared to the other aircraft. But it was the best the French had at the time.
Most likely you are thinking of the Bloch MB 151 / 152 fighters. Bloch had developed an advanced version, the MB 157. The single flying prototype was captured intact by the Germans. It was rated by the manufacturer at 441 mph at 25,000 feet. From what little is known of the German flight tests with it, it was capable of at least 400+ mph. And, this was in 1940!
Was this the plane the French had produced for export only and the entire shipment was captured in the railyards, all nicely packaged?
No, only a single prototype of it was completed. M. Lucien Servanty was the lead design engineer for the MB 157. Originally a modified MB 152 was to be mated with the newly available Gnome-Rhone 14R engine but this proved impractical. A new airframe was designed and its appearance was similar to the MB 152. Design work started in December of 1939. The prototype was ready for assembly near Paris in mid May 1940. Because of the Germans approaching the city it was loaded on a truck for movement to Poitiers but the truck was captured enroute by the Germans. The plane was then taken to the SNCASO facility at Bordeaux-Merignac for completion. Assembly took until March 1942 due to the low priority of the work. Flight trials commenced in mid 1942 and continued through early 1943. At that time the aircraft was transfered to Orly at Paris (arriving 40 minutes ahead of schedule to the surprise of the controllers there...it was one fast plane). There, the engine was stripped from the plane and sent to Germany for tests. The airframe remained at Orly until it was destroyed in an Allied air raid in early 1944. Now, its predicessors the MB 151 and 152 saw service with the French in 1940. MB 152 serial number 434 was fitted with a Pratt & Whitney R-1830 twin wasp engine (same power plant as on the P-35 and P-43 the predecessors of the P-47). Another was to be fitted with a Wright Cyclone R-1820 and redesignated the MB 154. Hence my stating this as the likely candidate to the original question posed. Some MB 152's saw service with the Vichy French in North Africa and were in combat against the British and US forces there before surrendering.
