Cheers folks.
Tophe: Thanks ... but, yeah, lets blame the sign painter
Vous êtes licencié!
And some more French that
I the painter can screw up ...
The Good and the Bad/Ugly -- Post-War Dewoitine D.520-based RacersTwo examples of racers developed from surplus Dewoitine D.520 fighter airframes.
(Top) The Arsenal-SNCASE V.S.E.520 racer conversion as first revealed at Châtillon-sous-Bagneux.
The Arsenal-SNCASE V.S.E.520 was joint project between the Arsenal de l'aéronautique and SNCASE (Sud-Est). The V.S.E.520 was built to promote two different products. The first was the Arsaéro 12H, Arsenal's post-war development of the German Junkers
Jumo 213 inverted V-12 engine. The second was the cooling arangement (albeit inverted) of the Sud-Est S.E.580 fighter. [1]
Tuned for racing, the Arsaéro 12C (for
Course) was to produce at least 2,375 hp. Originally, the VSE.520 was to feature contra-rotating propellers but these were not ready and a 4-bladed prop was fitted instead. That made the racer 'snakey' to handle. But the inverted S.E.580-style cooling proved to the V.S.E.520's Achille's heel.
In the V.S.E.520, the cooling intake scoop was in the belly, the radiator block was mounted horizontally in the fuselage, and the adjustable efflux vent was situated just in front of the enlarged tailplane. In theory, this arrangment should have the same aerodynamic advantages as the that of the S.E.580. But it didn't. The installation proved quite 'draggy' and radiator exhaust air flowing over the tail tended to promote rudder buzz.
As a racer, the V.S.E.520 was a complete failure and was withdrawn from competition before the end of the first season.
(Bottom) The SNCASE S.E.520V racer conversion after the restitution of its metal wingtips. Inset, SNCASE logo (as shown on S.E.520V fin).
Far more successful was Sud-Est's own S.E.520V (for
Vitesse). This racer had the same enlarged tailplane as the V.S.E.520 but was powered by a Rolls-Royce
Griffon V-12. [2] Most radical was the cooling arrangement.
The S.E.520V substituted the D.520's belly radiator for twin, fuselage-mounted units. Each radiator bath extended along the fuselage-side from behind the cockpit to just below the stabilizers. This arrangement proved highly successful and was believed to produce less drag than a single, enlarged belly radiator.
Nicknamed '
Plus Vite!' ('
Top Speed!' or '
More Speed!') by its Sud-Est team, F-DEPV went on to win more closed-course races than any other French post-war air racer.
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[1] The larger Sud-Est S.E.580 fighter was to be powered by the Arsaéro 24H (a 'doubled' X-24 development of the Arsaéro 12H V-12).
[2] The originally-intended Hispano-Suiza 12Z engine had been rejected as insufficiently powerful.
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