The Dewoitine D.27 was a
parasol
An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunlight. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally used ...
monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
designed by
Émile Dewoitine
Émile Dewoitine (26 September 1892 – 5 July 1979) was a French aviation industrialist.
Prewar industrial activities
Born in Crépy-en-Laonnais, Émile Dewoitine entered the aviation industry by working at Latécoère during World War I. ...
in 1928.
Design and development
After the end of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the slump in demand for aircraft forced Dewoitine to close his company and move to
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
in 1927.
He produced the D.27 the following year, 66 of which were produced for the
Swiss Air Force
The Swiss Air Force (german: Schweizer Luftwaffe; french: Forces aériennes suisses; it, Forze aeree svizzere; rm, Aviatica militara svizra) is the air component of the Swiss Armed Forces, established on 31 July 1914 as a part of the army and ...
from 1931. It was also license-built in
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
by
Zmaj aircraft and in
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
.
Operational history
Seven strengthened versions, designated the D.53, served experimentally with the French ''Escadrille'' 7C1, flying from the
aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
.
Variants
* D.271 : One aircraft used for testing a
Hispano-Suiza 12Hb Hispano-Suiza piston aero-engines were predominantly piston engines produced by Hispano-Suiza in France, Spain, and under licence in the United Kingdom, the United States and Russia from the First World War through to the 1950s. Development of these ...
engine.
* D.273 : One aircraft used for testing a
Bristol Jupiter
The Bristol Jupiter was a British nine-cylinder single-row piston radial engine built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. Originally designed late in World War I and known as the Cosmos Jupiter, a lengthy series of upgrades and developments turn ...
engine with supercharger.
* D.531 : One aircraft used for testing a Hispano-Suiza engine.
* D.532 : A single aircraft used for testing a
Rolls-Royce Kestrel
The Kestrel or type F is a 21 litre (1,300 in³) 700 horsepower (520 kW) class V-12 aircraft engine from Rolls-Royce, their first cast-block engine and the pattern for most of their future piston-engine designs. Used during the interwar pe ...
inline engine.
* D.535 : One aircraft fitted with an HS 12Xbis engine.
* D.534 : Used for parachute trials.
Operators
;
*''
Aviation Navale
French Naval Aviation (often abbreviated in French to: ''Aéronavale'' (contraction of Aéronautique navale), or ''Aviation navale'', or more simply ''l'Aéro'') is the naval air arm of the French Navy. The long-form official designation is ' ...
''
;
*
Royal Romanian Air Force
The Air Force branch of the Royal Romanian forces in World War II was officially named the (ARR), or the Romanian Royal Aeronautics, though it is more commonly referred to in English histories as the (Royal Romanian Air Force, FARR), or simply ( ...
;
*
Spanish Republican Air Force
The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939.
Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics ('' Aeronáutica M ...
;
*
Swiss Air Force
The Swiss Air Force (german: Schweizer Luftwaffe; french: Forces aériennes suisses; it, Forze aeree svizzere; rm, Aviatica militara svizra) is the air component of the Swiss Armed Forces, established on 31 July 1914 as a part of the army and ...
;
*
Royal Yugoslav Air Force
The Royal Yugoslav Air Force ( sh-Latn, Jugoslovensko kraljevsko ratno vazduhoplovstvo, JKRV; sh-Cyrl, Југословенско краљевско ратно ваздухопловство, ЈКРВ; ( sl, Jugoslovansko kraljevo vojno letalstv ...
Specifications (D.27)
See also
References
Bibliography
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External links
Virtual Aviation Museum
{{Dewoitine aircraft
1920s French fighter aircraft
D.027
Parasol-wing aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1928