Societe Aeronautique Dewoitine

Founded at Toulouse in 1922 by Emile Dewoitine to build all-metal aircraft. His first fighter, the D.1, appeared that year and his ultralight D.7 of 1923 was demonstrated in the USA. Designed and built a number of fighters, of which the D.21 of 1927 was built in Switzerland and France, and in 1929 in the Argentine. As no French orders were forthcoming, Dewoitine went to Switzerland in 1927 and formed the Societe Aeronautique Dewoitine. Returned to France 1930, establishing a manufacturing agreement with Liore et Olivier, which was entrusted with the redesign of his D.531 to become the D.37 for the Armee de I’Air. He produced two long-range aircraft, both lost on record attempts, and airliners for Air France, but in the main developed a successful family of fighters, the last of which, the D.520 of 1938-1940, was known as the “French Spitfire.”

Dewoitine fighters were eventually responsibility of SNCAM. Meanwhile, D.37 series of parasol-wing monoplane fighters was developed by Liore et Olivier, though name Dewoitine was sustained in fighter field primarily by the low-wing D.500 series, many of which were built by Liore et Olivier. Societe Aeronautique Frangaise gained greatest publicity with record-breaking D.332 Emeraude, first flown 1933, and with D.338 as used extensively by Air France in late 1930s. This latter aircraft was, perhaps, the finest 3-engined airliner in service before Second World War, and continued in use after fall of France.

In France, the Socialist Government of the so called Popular Front brought all the companies building military aircraft, aero engines and armament under its control in 1936. The im¬mediate result was the socialized oblivion of such established companies as Marcel Bloch, Bleriot, Nieuport, Potez, Dewoitine, Hanriot and Farman within half a dozen nationalized groups or Societies Nationales, named according to their geographical location (Nord, Ouest, Centre, Midi and so on).
During the war the Group formed the Societe Industrielle pour I’Aviation with the organization that represented General Motors in France, building the Arado Ar 196 and Ar 199 and developing the Ar 296.