Dewoitine-Tatra D.520, Czechoslovak Air Force , early 1939

Dizzyfugu · April 28, 2018, 10:52:30 AM

1:72 Dewoitine-Tatra D.520, "H8" of the Czechoslovak Air Force's 38th Letka, 2nd Squadron of the Air Regiment 3; Vajnory, early 1939 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Some background:
The Dewoitine D.520 was a French fighter aircraft, designed in response to a 1936 requirement from the French Air Force for a fast, modern fighter with a good climbing speed and an armament built around a 20 mm cannon. At the time the most powerful V 12 liquid-cooled engine available in France was the Hispano-Suiza 12Y, which was less powerful, but lighter than contemporary engines such as the Rolls-Royce Merlin and Daimler-Benz DB 601. Other fighters were designed to meet the specifications but none of them entered service, or entered service in small numbers, too late to play a significant role during the Battle of France.

1:72 Dewoitine-Tatra D.520, "H8" of the Czechoslovak Air Force's 38th Letka, 2nd Squadron of the Air Regiment 3; Vajnory, early 1939 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Dewoitine-Tatra D.520, "H8" of the Czechoslovak Air Force's 38th Letka, 2nd Squadron of the Air Regiment 3; Vajnory, early 1939 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Dewoitine-Tatra D.520, "H8" of the Czechoslovak Air Force's 38th Letka, 2nd Squadron of the Air Regiment 3; Vajnory, early 1939 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Unlike the Morane-Saulnier M.S.406, which was at that time the most numerous fighter in the French Air Force, the Dewoitine D.520 came close to being a match for the latest German types, such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109. It was slower than the Bf 109E but superior in manoeuvrability. Because of a delayed production cycle, only a small number were available for combat against the Luftwaffe. The D.520 proved to be relatively capable as a dogfighter against the Luftwaffe's inventory, but lacked sufficient numbers to make a difference.

Other countries – aware of the aggressive German neighbor – became interested in the D.520, too. Among them, Czechoslovakia was one of the first customers. The country was about to modernize its air force and make the transition from biplane to modern monoplane fighters, and an indigenous development, the Avia B.35, was lagging behind schedule. The Avia B.35 was designed to meet a 1935 requirement by the Czechoslovakian Air Force for a replacement for their B-534 fighter biplanes. The B.35 was an elegant, low-wing monoplane with an elliptical wing. The fuselage was constructed from welded steel tube, covered in metal ahead of and including the cockpit and fabric aft of the cockpit, while the wing was of entirely wooden construction. Rather anachronistically, the Air Force specified a fixed tailwheel undercarriage for the aircraft, in the hope that this would speed development, as the mechanism for retracting the undercarriage was not yet available.

1:72 Dewoitine-Tatra D.520, "H8" of the Czechoslovak Air Force's 38th Letka, 2nd Squadron of the Air Regiment 3; Vajnory, early 1939 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Dewoitine-Tatra D.520, "H8" of the Czechoslovak Air Force's 38th Letka, 2nd Squadron of the Air Regiment 3; Vajnory, early 1939 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Dewoitine-Tatra D.520, "H8" of the Czechoslovak Air Force's 38th Letka, 2nd Squadron of the Air Regiment 3; Vajnory, early 1939 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

However, in late 1937 it had become clear that the B.35 would not be ready soon, and the Czechoslovakian air force was in dire need for faster fighters that could cope with the German Bf 109E. The relations to France led to the provision of the Dewoitine D.520, which was about to enter service and production, and the type was to be produced (including the engines) in license at Tatra. These plans were to no avail, though: On 29 September 1938, Britain and France ceded control in the Appeasement at the Munich Conference; France ignored the military alliance it had with Czechoslovakia, and during October 1938, Nazi Germany occupied and annexed the Sudetenland border region, effectively crippling Czechoslovak defences.

In order to improve the Czechoslovak air force, twelve early D.520 fighters were directly procured from France and delivered in February 1939 (even though these machines came unarmed and had to be outfitted with weapons locally). Domestic production was expected to start – initially supported through kitted aircraft from France - in late 1939, with the plan to produce 200 aircraft. But this never happened: on 15 March 1939, the remainder ("rump") of Czechoslovakia was invaded and divided into the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and the puppet Slovak State.

The small band of Czechoslovak D.520 fought valiantly with the 38th Field Flight for a few weeks, but due to the lack of spare parts and the overwhelming number of German fighters, the small fighter force only lasted for a couple of weeks, and by mid-1939 all machines were destroyed or had become unserviceable.

1:72 Dewoitine-Tatra D.520, "H8" of the Czechoslovak Air Force's 38th Letka, 2nd Squadron of the Air Regiment 3; Vajnory, early 1939 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Dewoitine-Tatra D.520, "H8" of the Czechoslovak Air Force's 38th Letka, 2nd Squadron of the Air Regiment 3; Vajnory, early 1939 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Dewoitine-Tatra D.520, "H8" of the Czechoslovak Air Force's 38th Letka, 2nd Squadron of the Air Regiment 3; Vajnory, early 1939 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

General characteristics:
Crew: one
Length: 8.6 m (28 ft 3 in)
Wingspan: 10.2 m (33 ft 5⅓ in)
Height: 2.57 m (8 ft 5 in)
Wing area: 15.87 m2 (171 ft²)
Empty weight: 2,123 kg (4,680 lb)
Loaded weight: 2,677 kg (5,902 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 2,785 kg (6,140 lb)

Powerplant:
1× Hispano-Suiza 12Y-45 liquid-cooled V12 engine, rated at 690 kW (930 hp)

Performance:
Maximum speed: 560 km/h (302 kn, 347 mph)
Range: 1,250 km (675 nmi, 777 mi)
Service ceiling: 10,000 m (33,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 14.3 m/s (2,820 ft/min)
Wing loading: 167 kg/m2 (34.2 lb/ft2)
Power/mass: 257 W/kg (0.156 hp/lb)

Armament:
1× 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannon with 60 RPG,
mounted between the engine's cylinder bank and firing through the propeller hub
4× 7.92 mm (0.312 in) vz. 30 (Česká zbrojovka Strakonice) machine guns
with 250–300 RPG in the outer wings

The kit and its assembly:
A quickie and the reaction to a recently posted profile from fellow modeler Wenzel from the Czech Republic in April 2018 here at whatifmodelers.com, a Dewoitine D.520 in Czechoslovak pre-WWII colors and markings:

Dewoitine-Tatra D.520, aircraft "H8" of the 38th Letka, 2nd Squadron of the Air Regiment 3; Vajnory, Czechoslovakia, early 1939 (Whif profile) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Even though the profile's indicated time frame would be somewhat fishy, I liked the design of this whif. And the fact that I had a surplus Hobby Boss D.520 kit without a concrete plan (yet) in the stash made me spontaneously tackle this small project.

The kit was built OOB, and it is – like many small Hobby Boss kits – a very simple affair with engraved panel lines and a rather rudimentary cockpit. Another weak point is the canopy. While it is perfectly clear, the shape looks a bit odd to me, as if oversized. The fit is not bad, but unfortunately there are location pins/struts molded into the single piece part, and these remain visible even if you build the model OOB.

The only changes I made are some added cockpit interior details, and I cut the canopy into pieces so that it could later be presented in open position for the beauty pics. The radiator received some fake mesh, made from foamed styrene.

1:72 Dewoitine-Tatra D.520, aircraft "H8" of the 38th Letka, 2nd Squadron of the Air Regiment 3; Vajnory, Czechoslovakia, early 1939 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Dewoitine-Tatra D.520, aircraft "H8" of the 38th Letka, 2nd Squadron of the Air Regiment 3; Vajnory, Czechoslovakia, early 1939 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Painting and markings:
I stuck with the inspiring profile, as close as possible. It did not come with detailed information about the potential Czech squadron, but after doing some legwork I found out that the profile's markings (the "H" code and the blue propeller spinner) belong to the Czechoslovak Air Force's 38th Letka around 1938.

The profile also came with FS tone suggestions, and I stuck to them as good as possible, too. For the Dark Brown (FS 30108) I used Humbrol 10 mixed with some 160. The Dark Green (FS 34097) is Humbrol 105 (Marine Green) and the Tan tone (FS 30266) is RAL 7028 (German WWII Dunkelgelb, from Modelmaster). The latter was used on purpose in order to have a less reddish sand tone on the aircraft.
I also deviated from the benchmark on the undersides, for which FS 36495 had been suggested. I found the tone to be too light for my taste and replaced it with Light Gull Grey (FS 36440, Humbrol 129). The spinner was painted with a mix of Humbrol 15 and 89, trying to match the national markings as good as possible.

1:72 Dewoitine-Tatra D.520, aircraft "H8" of the 38th Letka, 2nd Squadron of the Air Regiment 3; Vajnory, Czechoslovakia, early 1939 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Dewoitine-Tatra D.520, aircraft "H8" of the 38th Letka, 2nd Squadron of the Air Regiment 3; Vajnory, Czechoslovakia, early 1939 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

As usual, the kit received a light black ink washing and some post-shading in order to emphasize panels.

1:72 Dewoitine-Tatra D.520, aircraft "H8" of the 38th Letka, 2nd Squadron of the Air Regiment 3; Vajnory, Czechoslovakia, early 1939 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Dewoitine-Tatra D.520, aircraft "H8" of the 38th Letka, 2nd Squadron of the Air Regiment 3; Vajnory, Czechoslovakia, early 1939 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The cockpit interior was painted in dark grey, while the landing gear and its wells became bluish-grey (according to French aircraft).

The markings were gathered from the scrap box: the Czech roundels come from a recent KP Yak-23 sheet (printed by Propagteam), the tactical letter code was created with white, modern 24" RAF code letters from Xtradecal. My only personal addition is the manufacture code on the fin in front of the roundel, taken from the OOB sheet.

1:72 Dewoitine-Tatra D.520, aircraft "H8" of the 38th Letka, 2nd Squadron of the Air Regiment 3; Vajnory, Czechoslovakia, early 1939 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Finally, some soot stains around the gun ports and the exhausts were added with graphite, some more very light dry-brushing with acrylic pale grey was done, and the D.520 received a coat with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).

1:72 Dewoitine-Tatra D.520, "H8" of the Czechoslovak Air Force's 38th Letka, 2nd Squadron of the Air Regiment 3; Vajnory, early 1939 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Dewoitine-Tatra D.520, "H8" of the Czechoslovak Air Force's 38th Letka, 2nd Squadron of the Air Regiment 3; Vajnory, early 1939 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

A quick and simple project, but a nice distraction from the recent Cold War builds. I like how well the D.520 blends into its fictional Czech role, due to the same engine that powered several pre-WWII Avia designs. The disruptive scheme suits the aircraft, well, too, and with the Czech roundels the whole thing can even be called colorful!

PR19_Kit · April 28, 2018, 02:57:18 PM

That does look good, and especially so in Czech markings.

The D.520 is a very nice looking aircraft.

TheChronicOne · April 29, 2018, 04:09:50 AM

It's gorgeous, I love it!!! Projects like this float my boat. Collabo stuff.... Looks like a million bucks..... looks real!

zenrat · April 29, 2018, 04:19:28 AM

I must admit, seeing Tatra in the title I was expecting a gorgeous fastback car with an air cooled V8 behind the rear axle.
But this'll do instead.

Hotte · April 29, 2018, 04:51:23 AM

Very nice czech Dewoitine

Hotte

NARSES2 · April 29, 2018, 06:10:57 AM

I really do like that Dizzy and may well borrow that camouflage scheme if I may ?

Dizzyfugu · April 29, 2018, 08:11:32 AM

Well, ask PantherG - I got permission to re-upload his artwork in my FlickR account as a benchmark.

Looks very good in these colors (reminds a bit of pre-WWII Netherlands, doesn't it? Would be a nice alternative, too!) and markings, very natural..

NARSES2 · April 29, 2018, 08:21:38 AM

Quote from: Dizzyfugu on April 29, 2018, 08:11:32 AM

Looks very good in these colors (reminds a bit of pre-WWII Netherlands, doesn't it? Would be a nice alternative, too!) and markings, very natural..

It does indeed. I like these 3 colour upper works schemes