Dewoitine D.332
| D.332 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dewoitine DE.333 F-ANQB "Cassiopée" 1939 | |
| Role | Airliner |
| Manufacturer | Dewoitine |
| First flight | 11 July 1933 |
| Primary user | Air France |
| Number built | D.332 1 D.333 3 |
| Variants | D.338 |
The Dewoitine D.332 was a 1930s French eight-passenger airliner built by Dewoitine.
Design and development
The D.332 was an all-metal cantilever low-wing monoplane. The pilot and co-pilot were seated side by side in a cabin located forward of the wing leading edge. A radio operator station was located behind the pilots, and it had a passenger cabin for eight passengers. The landing gear had trouser-type fairings on the main gear legs.
Operations
The aircraft first flew on 11 July 1933 powered by three Hispano-Suiza 9V radial engines. The prototype was named Émeraude ("Emerald" in French) and carried out demonstration flights around European capitals. Émeraude gained a world class record on 7 September 1933 when it flew a 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) course with a useful load of 2,000 kilograms (4,410 pounds) at an average speed of 159.56 km/h (99.1 mph).
Designed to meet an Air France requirement for use on the route to French Indochina, the aircraft set out for Saigon on 21 December 1933 on a proving flight. The aircraft arrived at Saigon on 28 December 1933. On the return flight when only 400 km (250 mi) from its destination, Le Bourget airport, Émeraude struck a hill near Corbigny in a violent snowstorm and was destroyed. Despite the accident, Air France decided to order three of an improved version designated the D.333. The D.333 was a heavier and strengthened ten-seat version, the fully loaded weight being increased by 1,650 kg (3,640 lb). The three D.333s were used on the Toulouse-Dakar sector of the Air France South American route for several years.Two of these aircraft were transferred to the Argentine Air Force after World War II and used, along with two 338s. Argentina had a total of two of each kind
Accidents and incidents
On January 15, 1934, while flying from Lyons, France, to Paris-Le Bourget Airport outside Paris – the final leg of a flight that began on 5 January in Saigon, French Indochina, with stops at Karachi, British India; Baghdad, Iraq; Marseilles, France; and Lyons – the prototype Emeraude, operating for Air France and registered as F-AMMY, crashed in a snowstorm at Corbigny, France, killing all ten people on board. The crash probably occurred due to icing.[1]
Variants
- D.332: Prototype aircraft with eight seats. One built.
- D.333: Production aircraft with ten seats. Three built.
- D.338: Improved version with retractable undercarriage.
Operators
Specifications (D.332)
Data from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985)
General characteristics
- Crew: four (two pilots, radio operator and a mechanic)[2]
- Capacity: eight passengers[2]
- Length: 18.95 m (62 ft 2 in)
- Wingspan: 29 m (95 ft 1¾ in)
- Height: ()
- Wing area: 80 m² (861.14 ft²)
- Empty weight: 5,280 kg (11,640 lb)
- Max. takeoff weight: 9,350 kg (20,613 lb)
- Powerplant: 3 × Hispano-Suiza V9 (licence-built Wright Cyclone) radial piston, 429 kW (575 hp) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 300 km/h (186 mph)
- Cruise speed: 250 km/h (155 mph)
- Range: 2,000 km (1,243 mi)
- Service ceiling: 6,300 m (20,670 ft)
References
- ↑ http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19340115-0 Aviation Safety Network: Accident Description[]
- 1 2 "The New Dowoitine Transport Monoplane, D.332". Flight: 801. 10 August 1931.
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dewoitine D.333. |
- "Wings Over Four Continents" Popular Mechanics, December 1935 excellent photo of D.332 in flight top pp. 866