Dewoitine D.372
Encyclopedia
Dewoitine D.372 was a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...

 of the 1930s.

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
Lioré et Olivier
Lioré-et-Olivier was a French manufacturer of aircraft of the 20th century, founded in 1912 by Fernand Lioré and Henri Olivier.The company was nationalized in 1936, becoming a part of SNCASE.-Aircraft designs:* Lioré et Olivier LeO 7...

. They were high-wing monoplane
Monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. Since the late 1930s it has been the most common form for a fixed wing aircraft.-Types of monoplane:...

s of all-metal construction with valve head blisters on their engine cowling
Cowling
A cowling is the covering of a vehicle's engine, most often found on automobiles and aircraft.A cowling may be used:* for drag reduction* for engine cooling by directing airflow* as an air intake for jet engines* for decorative purposes...

s. The first prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...

 flew in October 1931. Flight testing resulted in the need for multiple revisions in both engine and airframe
Airframe
The airframe of an aircraft is its mechanical structure. It is typically considered to include fuselage, wings and undercarriage and exclude the propulsion system...

, 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

  • 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...

  • French Navy
    French Navy
    The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...


 Lithuania
 Spain
  • Spanish Republican Air Force
    Spanish Republican Air Force
    The Spanish Republican Air Force, , was the air arm of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939...


Specifications (Dewoitine D.372)

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