The Dewoitine D.1 was a French single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1920s, built by the French industrial company Dewoitine.

Development

The D.1 was the first airplane designed by Emile Dewoitine after he established his own company. The D.1 was designed to meet requirements issued by the French Service Technique de l'Aeronautique. It was a monoplane, with a metal oval-section fuselage with duralumin sheet skinning, and a metal strut-braced parasol wing with fabric covering. The first prototype (D.1.01) flew in November 1922. Derivatives of the D.1 were fitted with V-8 (D.1 and D.8), V-12 (D.19 and D.27), W-12 (D.12 and D.21) and radial engines (D.9 and D.26) as well as a variety of wing designs. Radiators on the inline engine versions were mounted on the undercarriage struts (D.1 and D.8), on the sides of the engine cowling (D.1.01), ahead of the cowling on the nose (D.12, D.19 D.21), or under the nose (D.27 and D.53).

Operational history

The D.1 was demonstrated in several countries. Yugoslavia purchased 79, Switzerland two, and Japan one. Italy purchased one, but then constructed 112 of their own version under the designation Ansaldo AC.2. The French Air Force did not put the D.1 into service, but the French Navy acquired 30 D.1ter's, 15 of which equipped Escadrille 7C1 and operated off the FRENCH AIRCRAFT CARRIER Béarn.

Survivors

Variants

Operators

Specifications (D.1.01)