Dewoitine D.520

The Dewoitine D.520 was French fighter aircraft that entered service in early 1940, shortly after the opening of World War II. Unlike the Morane-Saulnier M.S.406, which was at that time the most numerous fighter of 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.

Dewoitine D.520 in The War That Came Early
As the French began to mass with the English at the Belgium border in preparation for an attack against Germany's western flank, the D.520 was filling out the ranks as the French Air Forces prime fighter, giving the 109 a tougher challenge in the skies.