peperez
Charter Member
The design that took Emile Dewoitine's parasol fighter formula to the apex of its development was the D 27, which was evolved to meet the requirements of the STAe 1926 C1 leger programme for lightweight fighters. Adhering closely to the structural concept of preceding fighters, but embodying much aerodynamic refinement and a split-axle (with independently articulated wheels) rather than cross-axle undercarriage, the D 27 was powered by the 500hp Hispano-Suiza 12Mb (HS 57) 12-cylinder Vee engine and had an armament of two synchronised 7.7mm guns. The liquidation of the Construction Aeronautique E Dewoitine in January 1927 resulted in the transfer of development of the D 27 to the EKW in Switzerland, where a prototype flew on 3 June 1928. They were used by Spanish Republic at Spanish Civil War and by the Swiss Flieger Troop operational first line units until 1940 when they were substituted by the Swiss made version of the MS 406.