Rare Dewoitine D.520 In Final Stages Of Restoration

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Rare Dewoitine D.520 In Final Stages Of Restoration

Post by n33d4sp33d_85 » Mon Mar 16, 2020 9:54 pm

Dewoitine D.520 fighter restoration in Rochefort

The restoration of a rare Dewoitine D.520 fighter aircraft at the French Association Nationale du Musée de l'Aéronautique Navale (A.N.A.M.A.N) in Rochefort has entered the final stage. During the past 30 years volunteers have worked more than 20,000 hours to restore this 1942-built aircraft for static exhibition. It is expected that the D.520 will officially be rolled out in May 2020. The fighter will be a welcome addition to the museum's collection, as it is one of the few remaining examples of the 900 aircraft of the type ever built.

The museum's D.520 was built with construction number 650 by the Dewoitine factory in Toulouse during the World War II. It was flown by pilots of the French Vichy Government from Pau. Afterwards it was used by the FFI, the French Interior Forces, for observation and espionage missions. From 1945 to 1950 it served as a (then two-seat) trainer for the Armée de l’Air (AdlA, French Air Force). In 1950 the aircraft was withdrawn from service and ended up as gate guard at Air Base 123 Orléans/Bricy.

At a certain moment the aircraft was removed from the air base and trucked to La Ferté Alais, where it was dismantled but not restored. By 1970 the fighter was reassembled and exhibited in the Musée de l ‘Air at Paris/Le Bourget. This museum did not have the time nor the funds to start a full scale restoration, and that was why the aircraft finally ended up in Rochefort around 1990. The volunteers have done an amazing job returning the fighter into a single seater and tracking down an original Hispano-Suiza 12Y engine.

N'ayez qu'un mot pour les bénévoles (I can only think of one expression befitting the resolve of the volunteers): CHAPEAU!
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