Devuatin D.1 ( fr. Dewoitine D.1 ) - French fighter of the interwar period . The first flight took place on November 18, 1922; It was produced from 1924 to 1926 in the head company Dewoitine in France, as well as under license from the Italian company Ansaldo under the name Ansaldo AC.2 . The aircraft was in service with the Air Forces of France, Italy, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, individual machines were purchased by Switzerland, Japan and Czechoslovakia.
Dewoitine D.1 | |
---|---|
Type of | fighter |
Manufacturer | |
Chief Designer | |
First flight | November 18, 1922 |
Status | out of service |
Operators | French Navy Aviation Schweizer Luftwaffe KVVS Yugoslavia Regia aeronautica |
Years of production | 1924–1926 |
Options | Dewitine d.9 |
Design History
Dewoitine D.1 - the first aircraft designed by engineer Emil Devuatin after he founded his own design firm CAED in October 1920 ( fr. Constructions Aeronautiqes Emile Dewoitine ). It was a single-engine fighter - a parasol , which was conceived in 1919 and was supposed to replace the fighters of the First World War. In 1921, the French Aeronautical Technical Service (STAé) issued the STAé 1921 C1 leger specification for the supply of a lightweight single-seat fighter intended to equip the French Air Force . Emil Devuatin participated in the competition with his newly established company. The design of Devuatina was at that time technically advanced, based on the high-profile scheme with an oval metal fuselage.
The first prototype under the name D.1.01 flew on November 18, 1922. According to the test results, the forward pilot review was considered insufficient. To correct this problem, a central metal 120-mm pylon was placed on the fourth pre-production sample, located in front of the dome, which raised the wing in the parasol position, which improved the field of view. Of the first three prototypes, designed for evaluation by the French test committee and retaining the original design, two had serious flight accidents that compromised the design of the third surviving prototype, then converted to standard D.1bis. The next three copies, respectively, intended for delivery to Czechoslovakia, Japan and Italy, and then two more by the order of Switzerland, were brought up to standard D.1bis. However, the problem with the forward view was not completely corrected by this technical solution, which led to the appearance of a new version (D.1ter), in which an inverted V-shaped tubular box was inserted instead of the central pylon, which finally eliminated all obstacles to the review. .
Thus, during the design of the aircraft has undergone two significant modifications, designated as D.1bis and D.1ter. The second model was adopted for mass production as a reference in 1924. The aircraft became the ancestor of a series of fighters from D.1 to D.27.
D.1 had a good commercial success, receiving an order of 29 copies from the French government and abroad, mainly from the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which made the largest order for 79 aircraft.
Modifications
- D.1.01
- first prototype.
- D.1
- pre-production aircraft, some of them without a pylon, and some with a standard pylon D.1bis - 15 copies.
- D.1bis
- an improved version with a wing raised 121 mm (4.75 inches) on a short pylon.
- D.1ter
- further modification with the wings supported on the cab struts instead of the pylon used on D.1bis. serial version.
- Ansaldo AC.2
- Italian licensed version
- D.8
- High-altitude version D.1, equipped with a larger wing of a wooden structure and a high-altitude engine Hispano-Suiza 8Fe. Presented at CEDANA (Commission dÉxamen des Appareils Nouveaux pour lÁeronautique) under the 1921 C1 fighter program, D.8 failed to attract orders due to the abolition of the specification for a high-altitude fighter. The only D.8 set several speed records on a closed route in 1924 (one prototype was built).
Construction Description
The aircraft was a single-seat monoplane-parasol of metal construction with two struts on each wing. The wing is rectangular in plan, metal construction of duralumin, covered with canvas. The fuselage was also a metal structure (duralumin pipes connected by rivets) and covered with duralumin sheet. The open cockpit was behind the wing in the fuselage. In the nose was a V-shaped 8-cylinder engine with liquid cooling Hispano-Suiza 8Fb, with a capacity of 300 liters. with. He brought a wooden two-bladed screw with a fixed pitch. The aircraft had a non-retractable landing gear with two wheels mounted on the axle, and a spring-loaded crutch as the third pillar under the tail of the aircraft. In winter, skis were installed instead of wheels. The engine radiators were mounted on a fixed chassis support and were made in the form of rollers. The nose of the aircraft and the tail part are rounded, and the tail of the angular form. Armament was 2 machine guns Vickers 303, caliber 7.7 mm.
Operation
France
France ordered 30 or 40 D.1ter modification aircraft for its naval aviation, 15 of which served in the Escadrille 7C1 of the Bearn aircraft carrier.
Czechoslovakia
Bought 1 aircraft in version D.1bis.
Switzerland
Switzerland acquired 2 copies in version D.1bis in 1925 and 1928. Used until 1941.
Japan
Acquired 1 copy in version D.1bis.
Italy
Italy purchased one copy. The delivered aircraft received the name Ansaldo AC.1 . After that, the Italian company Ansaldo acquired a license to manufacture these aircraft in a modification of D.1ter and produced 112 units, which were the backbone of Italian aviation, which used them until 1929. The aircraft, made in Italy, was named Ansaldo AC.2 . Thus, Italy has become the largest operator of the aircraft Dewoitine D.1.
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia ordered 79 aircraft, but in the end bought 45 copies of the aircraft. One of the pre-series in 1924, which was tested in the Air Force. And 44 serial copies, issued in 1925 and commissioned in 1926. During the operation of these aircraft, it was noted that the production aircraft on the characteristics were worse than the demo model, on the basis of which it was decided to purchase the aircraft.
The aircraft were in service with the 101st, 102nd, 103rd, and 104th Squadron, based at the Zemun airfield, and the 107th and 108th Squadron, stationed at the Zagreb airfield.
After several accidents with this aircraft, at the request of the Air Force Command, engineer Dusan Stankov carried out a detailed static recalculation in 1929, developed a new horizontal stabilizer, corrected the aircraft alignment and made a definite strengthening of the aircraft design. Extensive modification of the aircraft Dewoitine D.1 Zemunsky plant performed Ikarus. The number of such modified aircraft has not been accurately determined, but, according to some studies, this number was about 37 aircraft.
Although the importance of the Devoatin D.1 aircraft for the Yugoslav Air Force decreased due to the adoption of the Avia BH-33 fighter, it remained in the service of the Yugoslav Royal Air Force until 1937, as a training for the course of training fighter pilots in acrobatic flights.