Dewoitine D.332 / D.333/ D.338 / D.342 / D.620
An all-metal single-spar cantilever low-wing monoplane; it was intended for service with Air Orient on its Paris-Saigon route. Power was provided by three 428.5kW Wright Cyclone radial engines and the aircraft had a trousered fixed landing gear. The single D.332 Emeraude was first flown on 11 July 1933 by test pilot Marcel Doret.
Several speed-with-load-over-distance world records fell to the D.332 in 1933 and it made many spectacular European flights. However it crashed on the final return stage of the inaugural Paris-Saigon service on 15 January 1935.
Three D.333s followed, each powered by 428.5kW Hispano-Suiza radial engines and accommodating ten passengers. One was lost in October 1937 while flying the Toulouse-Dakar service with Air France. The others flew in South America on the Buenos Aires-Natal route.
In 1936 the prototype of a new version appeared as the D.338, a fast 22-passenger Air France liner. It was followed by 30 production examples for Air France. These had retractable landing gears, were powered by 484.5kW Hispano-Suiza V16/17 engines, and each accommodated up to 22 passengers. They were operated on the Paris-Cannes-Damascus-Hanoi and Paris-Dakar routes. Many continued to fly during World War II on government liaison and VIP duties and eight were used for a short time after the war.
D.339
During the war, the Free French airline known as Lignes Aériennes Militaires flew the D.338 on scheduled service to Beirut and Brazzaville, French Congo.
Dewoitine D338
Lufthansa, the German airline, made use of seven D.338s which they confiscated from Air France.
Nine of the aircraft survived the war and were put into service for a few months.
The D.342 was a one-off development of the D.338, as was the D.620.
D.333
Engine: 3 x HS 9 Vd, 425kW
Take-off weight: 11100 kg / 24471 lb
Empty weight: 6960 kg / 15344 lb
Wingspan: 29.4 m / 96 ft 5 in
Length: 22.1 m / 72 ft 6 in
Wing area: 99.0 sq.m / 1065.63 sq ft
Max. Speed: 300 km/h / 186 mph
Cruise speed: 260 km/h / 162 mph
Ceiling: 5000 m / 16400 ft
Range w/max.fuel: 2000 km / 1243 miles
Range w/max.payload: 850 km / 528 miles
Crew: 4
Passengers: 22
