DW32001 Dewoitine D.500 Model

DW32001 Dewoitine D.500 1/32 scale

The Dewoitine D.500 was an all metal, open cockpit, fixed undercarriage monoplane fighter aircraft designed and produced by French aircraft manufacturer Dewoitine.

Developed from a specification issued by the French Air Ministry during 1930, the D.500 was developed to be a more capable replacement to the Nieuport 62. Ordered by the French Air Force during November 1933 and introduced in its initial model during 1935, the design was developed into several variants, most notably the D.510 which was re-engined with the more powerful Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs powerplant. It proved to be a relatively popular aircraft during the interwar period.

First production variant D.500 witha 515kW ( 691 hp ) Hispano-Suiza 12Xbrs engine and was armed with a 2 x 7.7 mm ( .303 in ) Vickers machine guns or 2 x 7.5 mm Darne machine guns in the nose, provision for 2 x additional Darnes in the wings. 101 were built.