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Dewoitine D.372

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Wingspan
  
11 m

First flight
  
October 1931

Length
  
7.44 m

Manufacturers
  
SNCASE, SNCAM


Dewoitine D.372 was a French fighter aircraft of the 1930s. It's 14 export versions to Lithuania may have been used there briefly, before going to Spain. The data on them during the flight tests there is missing.

Contents

History

Design of this machine was by SAF-Avions Dewoitine but owing to over work at that companies plant at the time, manufacture of the D.372 was transferred to Lioré et Olivier. They were high-wing monoplanes of all-metal construction with valve head blisters on their engine cowlings. The first prototype flew in October 1931. Flight testing resulted in the need for multiple revisions in both engine and airframe, so it was February 1934 before the second prototype flew. Its performance prompted the French government to order for 28 for the Armée de l'Air and Aéronavale. The Lithuanian government ordered 14 that remained in service with their tiny Air Force until 1936, when they were sold to the Spanish Republican government.

Operators

 France
  • French Air Force
  • French Navy
    •  Lithuania
     Spain
  • Spanish Republican Air Force

    • Specifications (Dewoitine D.372)

    General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 7.44 m (24 ft 4 in)
  • Wingspan: 11.22 m (36 ft 10 in)
  • Height: 3.40 m (11 ft 2 in)
  • Wing area: 17.45 m² (187.83 ft²)
  • Empty weight: 1,220 kg (2,910 lb)
  • Loaded weight: 1,884 kg (4,153 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Gnome-Rhône 14Kfs Mistral Major, 14-cylinder, twin-row, air-cooled radial, 694 kW (930 hp)

    • Performance

  • Maximum speed: 380 km/h at 4,400 m (236 mph at 14,435 ft)
  • Range: 900 km (559 mi)
  • Service ceiling: 11,000 m (36,090 ft)

    • Armament

  • 2 × fixed forward-firing 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Browning machine guns in the fuselage and 2 × similar 7.5 mm (.295 in) Darne machine guns in the wings outside the propeller arc.
  • French naval versions had 4 × 7.5 mm (.295 in) Darne machine guns in the wings outside the propeller arc.

    • References

    Dewoitine D.372 Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA