Dewoitine D.33
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The Dewoitine D.33 was a single-engine low-wing all-metal
monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...
aircraft designed and produced by the French aircraft manufacturer
Dewoitine Constructions Aéronautiques Émile Dewoitine was a French aircraft manufacturer established in Toulouse by Émile Dewoitine in October 1920. The company's initial products were a range of metal parasol-wing fighters, which were largely ignored by ...
.Durand, William Frederick - ''Aerodynamic Theory. A General Review of Progress. Under a Grant of the Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics.'' Vol. 1. California Institute of Technology, 1943. It is best remembered for setting a long-distance world record on its
maiden flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. In the early days of aviation it could be dange ...
in 1930. The D.33 was developed in response to an initiative by the French Air Ministry to encourage advanced into the nation's industrial aeronautical capabilities. Dewoitine was only one of several companies to respond; the development process took roughly one year. Beyond the initial D.33 model, further derivatives of the aircraft were produced; there were three major variations to the type, each of which was designed as a separate aircraft. Largely due to the record-breaking performance achieved, this line of aircraft were highly regarded and attracted considerable commercial interest throughout the 1930s. Several of these derivatives were operated as an
airliner An airliner is a type of airplane for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. The modern and most common variant of the airliner is a long, tube shaped, and jet powered aircraft. The largest ...
by
flag carrier A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by that government for international operations. Histo ...
Air France Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...
and even being used in a military context during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Shortly after the end of the conflict, the remaining aircraft were retired, having become obsolete.


Development

The origins of the D.33 can be traced back to 1929 and the implementation of a wider policy of ordering prototypes to encourage technical progress by French aircraft companies. That year, the French Air Ministry issued a specification that sought a long-range aircraft that was suitable for setting international endurance and distance records; it specifically offered a generous bonus that would be paid if a range of could be demonstrated. Corresponding orders were placed with multiple entities, including
Société des Avions Bernard ''Société des Avions Bernard'' () was a French aircraft manufacturer of the early 20th century. History The company was founded in April 1917 by Adolphe Bernard as Etablissements Adolphe Bernard to licence-build SPAD fighters. Immediately ...
,
Blériot Aéronautique Blériot Aéronautique was a French aircraft manufacturer founded by Louis Blériot. It also made a few motorcycles between 1921 and 1922 and cyclecars during the 1920s. Background Louis Blériot was an engineer who had developed the first practi ...
and
Dewoitine Constructions Aéronautiques Émile Dewoitine was a French aircraft manufacturer established in Toulouse by Émile Dewoitine in October 1920. The company's initial products were a range of metal parasol-wing fighters, which were largely ignored by ...
.Borget ''Le album de fanatique de l'Aviation'' June–July 1969, p. 12.


Design

The Dewoitine D.33 was a single-engine low-wing
cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...
monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...
of all metal (
duralumin Duralumin (also called duraluminum, duraluminium, duralum, dural(l)ium, or dural) is a trade name for one of the earliest types of age hardening, age-hardenable aluminium–copper alloys. The term is a combination of ''Düren'' and ''aluminium'' ...
) construction.Borget ''Le album de fanatique de l'Aviation'' August–September 1969, pp. 26–27.''Flight'' 10 April 1931, p. 314. It had a slim and
streamlined Streamlines, streaklines and pathlines are field lines in a fluid flow. They differ only when the flow changes with time, that is, when the flow is not steady flow, steady. Considering a velocity vector field in three-dimensional space in the f ...
fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...
, the main cross section of which had been intentionally reduced to a minimum. The D.33 had a shell-type fuselage, which was common to Dewoitine designs of the era. It was divided across numerous bulkheads and frames that were connected by four main U-section
longeron In engineering, a longeron or stringer is a load-bearing component of a framework. The term is commonly used in connection with aircraft fuselages and automobile chassis. Longerons are used in conjunction with stringers to form structural fram ...
s and small stringers. Duralumin sheet panels covered the airframe's exterior. In order to facilitate the fuselage's assembly, it was cut off behind the wing spar and attached to it by four bolts. The forward portion was connected with the rear portion by two bolts while the leading edge of the wing was connected to via four bolts. The upper covering of the leading edge formed the floor of the cabin while the trailing edge did not pass through the fuselage as to permit the installation of the navigator's and radio operator's stations in the resulting space to the rear.NACA 1931, p. 4. The aircraft was typically flown by a crew of three (comprising a pilot,
navigator A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's prim ...
and radio operator) that were seated in a
tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...
arrangement within an enclosed cabin. A passageway was provided between the different crew positions. On account of the aircraft's long distance performance, various amenities and comfort features were provided for the crew; these included a couch that permitted rest breaks to be taken and a
toilet A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human waste (urine and feces) and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting p ...
.''L Aéronautique'' May 1931, p. 160. The pilot, who was seated in front, had optimal visibility from their position. Their windshield had sliding panes and the roof could be rapidly opened for emergency egress via
parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...
. The instrumentation panel, which was suspended elastically, was within easy line of sight for the pilot. Heated air could be drawn from behind the
radiator A radiator is a heat exchanger used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always a ...
via an adjustable trap. The navigator's instrumentation included a
compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with No ...
, clock,
air speed indicator The airspeed indicator (ASI) or airspeed gauge is a flight instrument indicating the airspeed of an aircraft in kilometres per hour (km/h), knot (unit), knots (kn or kt), miles per hour (MPH) and/or metres per second (m/s). The recommendation by In ...
, and
altimeter An altimeter or an altitude meter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level. The measurement of altitude is called altimetry, which is related to the term bathymetry, the measurement of depth under water. Ty ...
. Electricity was generated by a retractable generator mounted on a
telescopic A telescope is an instrument designed for the observation of remote objects. Telescope(s) also may refer to: Music * The Telescopes, a British psychedelic band ** The Telescopes (album) * ''Telescope'' (album), by Circle, 2007 * ''The Telescope' ...
mast.NACA 1931, pp. 4-5. The wing of the D.33, which was composed of metal, had a trapezoidal form complete with elliptical wingtips. Furthermore, it had a relatively high-
aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a geometry, geometric shape is the ratio of its sizes in different dimensions. For example, the aspect ratio of a rectangle is the ratio of its longer side to its shorter side—the ratio of width to height, when the rectangl ...
, permitting it to achieve relatively high efficiency, while still retaining a relatively low structural weight of 10 kg/m2 (2.05 lb./sq.ft.), which was considered to be particularly low for a metal wing.NACA 1931, p. 1. Its structure used only a single spar, positioned at one-third of the chord from the
leading edge The leading edge is the part of the wing that first contacts the air;Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. alternatively it is the foremost edge of an airfoil sectio ...
; the lateral boxes at the centre of this structure formed the aircraft's 16 fuel tanks as well; these tanks proved to be resistant against not only the routine impact stresses of many take-offs and landings, but also deformation when the wing was intentionally overloaded.NACA 1931, pp. 1-3. The spar's supporting structure consisted of two
duralumin Duralumin (also called duraluminum, duraluminium, duralum, dural(l)ium, or dural) is a trade name for one of the earliest types of age hardening, age-hardenable aluminium–copper alloys. The term is a combination of ''Düren'' and ''aluminium'' ...
-section flanges and two openwork sheet webs; stress was uniformly distributed by the flanges' decreasing thickness across the span. Box-type vertical compression members were also used; the oblique members, which normally worked in tension, were stiffened by Q sections.NACA 1931, p. 2. To ease ground transportation of, as well as repairs to, the aircraft, the wing was dividable into five sections. The spar flanges, which differed in width across each section, were connected by sturdy hinges composed of high resistance
steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
able to withstand stresses of up to 100 tonnes (220,462 lb.). The sole spar could absorb all bending stresses without buckling despite its comparatively small width, partially due to the strong flanges. The leading edge, which could withstand both drag and torsional stresses, comprised box
rib In vertebrate anatomy, ribs () are the long curved bones which form the rib cage, part of the axial skeleton. In most tetrapods, ribs surround the thoracic cavity, enabling the lungs to expand and thus facilitate breathing by expanding the ...
s and plain ribs that were cross-braced using compact longitudinal strips. A smooth covering of sheet duralumin was present, its thickness varied according to the anticipated stresses of that particular area. The leading edge was connected with the spar via two long hinges; all sections along the span were joined to one another using continuous hinges that followed the outline of the wing section. Stresses from the
trailing edge The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ...
, which was composed of
rivet A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylinder (geometry), cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the deformed e ...
ed tubular ribs, were conveyed forwards to the spar. In the centre of the wing, each solid rib was flanked by two lightened ribs as a weight reduction measure.NACA 1931, p. 3. In spite of the typical tendency for thin wings to induce vibration, there was no meaningful vibration generated by the D.33's wing across any engine speed or
angle of attack In fluid dynamics, angle of attack (AOA, α, or \alpha) is the angle between a Airfoil#Airfoil terminology, reference line on a body (often the chord (aircraft), chord line of an airfoil) and the vector (geometry), vector representing the relat ...
flown. Neither was any noticeable torsion of the wing tips present even in the event of an abrupt deflection of the
aileron An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement aroun ...
s while flown at high speeds. Even when flown in a fully loaded configuration, the flight characteristics of the aircraft remained highly manoeuvrable as well as being inherently stability; even in rough skies, the D.33 was reportedly a satisfactory aircraft to fly.NACA 1931, pp. 1-2. It was also quite easy to both take-off as well as to land, in part due to the
centre of gravity In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the barycenter or balance point) is the unique point at any given time where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. For a ...
of the empty aircraft being slightly behind that of its placement when fully loaded. The low-mounted position of the wing was also conducive during both the take-off and landing phases of flight. The ailerons were placed as close to the hinge axis as to reduce their centre of gravity and to reduce their
inertia Inertia is the natural tendency of objects in motion to stay in motion and objects at rest to stay at rest, unless a force causes the velocity to change. It is one of the fundamental principles in classical physics, and described by Isaac Newto ...
; to reduce the impact of jams, the ailerons were divided into several portions, each having two hinges. The aircraft was powered by a
Hispano-Suiza 12N The Hispano-Suiza 12N was one of two new V-12 engine designs first run in 1928 and was manufactured by Hispano-Suiza's French subsidiary for the Armée de l’Air. It produced about , was the first to use nitriding, gas nitride hardening and int ...
V12 engine A V12 engine is a twelve-Cylinder (engine), cylinder Internal combustion engine#Reciprocating engines, piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V engine, V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more c ...
that drove a two-bladed
Ratier Ratier-Figeac is an aircraft components manufacturer in Figeac, France. From 1926 until 1930 it also built a car with a 746 cc overhead camshaft engine. From 1959 until 1962 Ratier made motorcycles, having taken over the motorcycle business of t ...
metal propeller.NACA 1931, p. 8. Measures to maximise propeller efficiency included the unobstructed nose of the engine
cowling A cowling (or cowl) is the removable covering of a vehicle's engine, most often found on automobiles, motorcycles, airplanes, and on outboard boat motors. On airplanes, cowlings are used to reduce drag and to cool the engine. On boats, cowlings ...
as well as its positioning being well forward of the
leading edge The leading edge is the part of the wing that first contacts the air;Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. alternatively it is the foremost edge of an airfoil sectio ...
of the wing.NACA 1931, pp. 1, 5-6. Engine cooling was achieved via a honeycomb radiator that was located on the base of the fuselage; it could be partly retracted using tubular controls that worked in torsion and via a square-threaded screw. Reserve water tanks were also present both above the engine cylinders and within the fuselage. The oil tank was located behind the engine, which was separated by a
firewall Firewall may refer to: * Firewall (computing), a technological barrier designed to prevent unauthorized or unwanted communications between computer networks or hosts * Firewall (construction), a barrier inside a building, designed to limit the spre ...
. The blade-type radiator for the oil was located within the cowling.NACA 1931, p. 6. A heating tube was present in the air intake. A
Fire extinguisher A fire extinguisher is a handheld active fire protection device usually filled with a dry or wet chemical used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergencies. It is not intended for use on an out-of-control fire, such as one which ha ...
were also located in the engine bay while a hand pump was also provisioned to mitigate against the failure of the mechanical pumps.NACA 1931, pp. 6-7. The aircraft was furnished with a fixed
tailwheel undercarriage Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft Landing gear, undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the Center of gravity of an aircraft, center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail ...
. It consists of a bent axle of uniform strength supported in front by a biconical tube and vertically by a
shock absorber A shock absorber or damper is a mechanical or hydraulics, hydraulic device designed to absorb and Damping ratio, damp shock (mechanics), shock impulses. It does this by converting the kinetic energy of the shock into another form of energy (typic ...
. The wheels were mounted on
ball bearing A ball bearing is a type of rolling-element bearing that uses balls to maintain the separation between the bearing races. The purpose of a ball bearing is to reduce rotational friction and support radial and axial loads. It achieves this ...
s and were equipped with brakes which that could be individually actuated by the pilot. The axle was attached directly beneath the wing spar, permitting the shock absorber to transmit its stresses directly onto the spar, while the compression member rested on a fuselage frame at the connecting point for the engine bearer. The tail skid had a wheel, complete with a
rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...
tyre, that was supported by a multiple-braked spring type shock absorber in the stern post. The rear portion of the fuselage was strongly tapered as to increase the efficiency of the flight controls; this compact contact area did not permit the use of a
cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...
stabilizer, thus it was instead braced by several small tubular struts. The stabilizer had two parallel spars connected by ribs while the covering, which was applied in strips parallel to the spars, was stiffened by flanged edges and sections. The stabilizer was adjustable mid-flight by a square-threaded screw mounted on the rear spar and operated via a nut, cable, and wheel; the stabilizer's angle of incidence was indicated by a pointer. The
elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...
flaps consisted of a channel-section front spar on which were mounted two removable panels that were internally stiffened by section members. Similar construction was used for the
rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...
.NACA 1931, p. 5.


Operational history

The French aviators Joseph Le Brix and
Marcel Doret Marcel may refer to: People * Marcel (given name), people with the given name Marcel * Marcel (footballer, born August 1981), Marcel Silva Andrade, Brazilian midfielder * Marcel (footballer, born November 1981), Marcel Augusto Ortolan, Brazilian ...
flew the D.33
prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...
on record-setting flight in 1931. It was powered by a Hispano-Suiza water-cooled direct-drive engine and carried of
gasoline Gasoline ( North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When for ...
(petrol) as fuel and of
lubricating oil A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces ...
. In addition to the weight of the two pilots, the plane carried a load of , including of gasoline sealed off from the rest of its fuel system to ensure it had the weight to qualify for a record-setting flight, giving it a weight of . It carried no
wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information (''telecommunication'') between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided transm ...
or wireless operator. Le Brix and Doret took off from
Istres Istres (; Occitan: Istre) is a commune in southern France, some 60 km (38 mi) northwest of Marseille. It is in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture. Location I ...
, France, at 06:36 on 23 March 1931, making a takeoff run of about that lasted 68 seconds. They flew a triangular course from
Istres Istres (; Occitan: Istre) is a commune in southern France, some 60 km (38 mi) northwest of Marseille. It is in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture. Location I ...
to
Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...
to
Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...
. Although
fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus and is heavily influenc ...
during the night of forced them to shorten part of their course, they remained aloft continuously for 32 hours 17 minutes before landing at 14:54 on 24 March. The flight covered a distance of at an average speed of . The flight set seven new world records, for both duration and distance by an aircraft carrying a load of , both duration and distance by an aircraft carrying a load of , both duration and distance by an aircraft carrying a load of , and average speed by an aircraft over a distance of .


Variants

*D.33.01 : First
prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...
. *D.33.02 : Second prototype.


D.332

The D.332 was developed based on the original D.33. A single- spar cantilever low-wing monoplane, the D.332 had fundamental resemblances to the original design. Able to hold a total of eight passengers, the D.332 had a small, enclosed
cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, on the front part of an aircraft, spacecraft, or submersible, from which a pilot controls the vehicle. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the controls th ...
, with an aerodynamic design and a rigid undercarriage. It was constructed purely from metal, and was built approximately three years after the original D.33 model, in 1933. The D.332 proved successful, ultimately achieving a best speed of over 250 km/h (155 mph), and during the initial tests, where it was flown by test pilot Marcel Doret,Taylor & Gunston 1980, p. 475. the D.332 prototype successfully flew from
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
to
Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...
. It did, however, crash on the return flight from Saigon, on 15 January 1935.


D.333

In 1934, the D.333 was designed, built and flown for the first time. It was different from its predecessors in that it was constructed with a more spacious cabin, and could hold a maximum of 10 passengers. The primary buyer of this model was
Air France Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...
; however, two of the three planes bought by the latter crashed while flying the distance between
Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
and
Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...
.


D.338

1935-6 saw the drafting and prototype of the D.338. This new model was built with retractable undercarriage, and could carry 22 passengers over a maximum of around 1,950 km (1,210 mi). Fitted with 485 kW (650 hp) Hispano-Suiza 9V16/17 engines, the D.338 could travel at a speed of up to 260 km/h (160 mph). The D.338 was the first truly successful model in the line, and became widely used by Air France, first for flights within
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, and later for international flights, between France and various parts of
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
. A total of 31 D.338s were purchased by Air France, and they were used into the Second World War, where they were employed as troop transporters. Following their use in the conflict, only eight aircraft survived. However, despite this, the basic model was still used for years, until more recent builds were designed.


D.342 and D.620

Dewoitine designed two one-off aircraft based on the D.33 line; the D.342 and the D.620. Very few details relating to the specifics of these two aircraft are known or documented. Both were heavily based on the D.338 in particular.


Operators

; *
Air France Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...


Specifications


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft'' (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing.
"The Dewoitine D 33 commercial airplane (French) : a low-wing cantilever monoplane"
''
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency that was founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its ...
'', 1 June 1931. NACA-AC-146, 93R19729. {{Dewoitine aircraft D.033 1930s French airliners 1930s French experimental aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1930 Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear