Building Dewoitines in AmericaI was surprised to read that Ford had been contracted by France to license-build an Allison V-1710-powered Dewoitine D.520 development in the US. So, this is more of an 'almost-was' rather than a true whif ...
I moved the dates back so that the first Ford-built D.522C.1s were arriving in France just before the Armistice. The D.522 would have been weakly armed compared with the D.520 (having lost the 20mm cannon). I'm imagining the
Armée de l'Air issuing them to
Groupes Aériens d'Observation to act as tactical recce fighters.
The
Aéronavale was also expecting deliveries of D.520s. Instead, I've got the navy receiving D.522s which were issued to
Escadrilles AC1 and AC2 (
Avions de Chasse).
Then the whif starts. In the RW, Ford was also working on a new, fuel-injected V-12. This engine was to have the same dimension as the Royce-Rolls
Merlin and similar construction (aluminum block and heads) but would have had dual overhead camshafts.
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,5494.0.htmlIn my whif, Ford accelerates development of their V-12 to replace Allison V-1710C-15s. To save on development time, the Ford V-12 was adapted to take the Szydlowski-Planiol S-39-H3 supercharger from the D.520's Hispano-Suiza 12Y-45 engine. The opportunity was also taken to allow for the installation of an HS404
moteur-canon firing through the hub of a Ratier 1060 propeller.
In early May 1940, production at Ford Aircraft Division's Oakland County plant shifted to the new fighter -- dubbed D.523 by SNCAM and the AdlA. Ford had its own designation system. Ford applied Type 15 to the D.520 (later F.150 to follow French designation patterns). Ford-built D.522s became the Type 15A/F.151. The Type 15B/F.152 was a still-born plan to build Merlin-powered D.520s. So, the Ford V-12-powered aircraft became the Type 15B/F.153.
[To be continued ...]