Early oddities - the Dewoitine D33
By Willie Bodenstein
The D.332 that had its first flight in 1930 and was able to accommodate a total of eight passengers. It was based on the original D.33, a single-spar cantilever low-wing monoplane.
Photo © L'Aerophile magazine / commons.wikimedia.org
Constructed purely from metal, the single engine D.332 had a small, enclosed cockpit, with an aerodynamic design and a rigid undercarriage. The prototype successfully flew from Paris to Saigon. It did, however, crash on the return flight from Saigon, on 15 January 1935. However, the D.332 proved successful, ultimately achieving a best speed of over 250 km/h (155 mph) during the initial tests, where it was flown by test pilot Marcel Doret.
There were three documented variations to the model, each of which was designed as a separate aircraft. This line of aircraft was regarded highly commercially before World War II and they were influential in the establishment of the Dewoitine Company.
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