Dewoitine D.372

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Dewoitine D.372
Type	Fighter aircraft
Manufacturer	SNCAM / SNCASE
Maiden flight	October 1931
Primary users	Armée de l'Air Lithuanian Air Force Spanish Republic Air Force

Dewoitine D.372 was a French fighter aircraft from the 1930.

[edit] 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 the firm 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 of 1931. Flight testing resulted in the need for multiple revisions in both engine and airframe, so it was February of 1934 before the second prototype flew. Its performance prompted the French government to order for 28 for the French Air Force the Armée de l'Air and French Naval Air Arm the 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.

[edit] Specifications (Dewoitine D.372)

General characteristics

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

Performance

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

Armament

Two fixed forward-firing 7.7 mm (0.303 inch)Browning machine guns in the fuselage and two similar 7.5mm guns in the wings outside the propeller arc.
French naval versions had four 7.5mm guns in the wings outside the propeller arc.