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| Arsenal VG 33 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Description | |
| Role | Interceptor-fighter |
| Crew | one, pilot |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 28ft .67" |
| Wingspan | 29ft 0" |
| Height | 12ft 2.5" |
| Wing area | 236.81 sq ft |
| Weights | |
| Empty | 4519 lbs |
| Maximum take-off | 5853 lbs |
| Powerplant | |
| Engines | Hispano-Suiza 12Y31 |
| Power | 860 hp |
| Performance | |
| Maximum speed | 347 mph |
| Range | 746 miles |
| Service ceiling | 36,090 ft |
| Armament | |
| Guns | 1x 20mm cannon 4x 7.5mm machine guns |
| Bombs | |
The Arsenal VG 33 was a fast, modern fighter which arrived too late to see much service in the Armeé de l'Air during the Battle of France. While somewhat underarmed compared to the Messerschmitt Bf 109, the VG-33 matched it in speed and maneuverability and was somewhat faster than the Dewoitine D.520. In larger quantities, this plane could have shown the Luftwaffe a rough time, but as was the case for most French planes, production problems plagued the VG-33 such that only 160 aircraft were close to completion before the Armistice, with just 19 of 44 produced actually taken on by the Armeé de l'Air.
Named for Ingenieur-General Vernisse (V - director) and Jean Gaultier (G - designer), the French Arsenal VG series of aircraft began life in the mid 1930's as a lightweight interceptor of wooden construction competing against the Caudron C.713. The design resurfaced at a 1937 competition for development. The prototype VG 33 first flew in August of 1939.
Model History
VG-33 Initial Production Model with 4x 7.5mm MAC 1934 MGs, 20mm cannon (44 built)
VG-39 Advanced prototype with 1200hp Hispano Suiza Type89ter and 6x 7.5mm MAC 1934 MGs, 20mm cannon (1 built)
The VG-33 saw service with the Armeé de l'Air (19)
Total production (including prototypes: 49
Active Service
The VG-33 did not see combat during the Battle of France.
21 VG-33 were confiscated by the Luftwaffe for testing and other purposes.
The VG series of fighter aircraft were developed by Arsenal for the French Armeé de l'Air just prior to the start of World War II. One version, the VG-33, entered production just prior to the German invasion of France, and when France fell in June 1940 about 150 had been delivered, although only a dozen were flown. Performance was actually better than the Armeé de l'Air's front-line fighter, the Morane-Saulnier M.S.406, and development of the series continued after France's fall.
The original specification that led to the VG series was offered in 1936 in order to quickly raise the number of modern aircraft in French service, by supplying a "light fighter" of wooden construction that could be built rapidly in large numbers. The contract resulted in three designs, the VG-30, the Caudron C.714 and the Bloch MB-700. Prototypes of all three were ordered.
The VG-30 was all wooden in construction, using plywood over stringers in a semi-monocoque construction. The layout was conventional, a low-wing monoplane that bore a striking resemblance to the later Italian Macchi C.202. Armament consisted of a 20mm Hispano-Suiza 404 cannon firing through the propeller hub, and four 7.5 mm MAC 1934 M39 drum-fed machine guns, two in each wing. The design was supposed to be powered by the Potez 12Dc flat-12 air-cooled inline engine, but this ran into development problems. The prototype was then fitted with a Hispano-Suiza 12Xcrs instead, and flew in this form in October 1938.
In order to find some solution to the engine problem, the VG-31 was to use the 860hp Hispano-Suiza 12Y-31 and the VG-32 the Allison V-1710C-15. The VG-31 flew in 1939 and proved to have excellent performance. The prototype VG-32 was completed in 1940 and awaiting its test flight when it was captured by the advancing German forces at Villacoublay.
The VG-33 was a modified version of the VG-31 using the same 12Y-31, and first flew on April 25th, 1939. It had surprisingly good performance of 560km/h, and was ordered into production with a contract for 220 aircraft in September, later raised to 1,000. Production didn't take long to start, but most of the airframes never received engines and sat at the factory when it was overrun.
Further developments continued while the VG-33 production started. The VG-34 mounted the newer 960hp 12Y-45, while the VG-35 and similar VG-36 both used the 1,000hp 12Y-51. Single prototypes of all three were built and flown in early 1940. The VG-37 was an extended range version of the -36, while the VG-38 was to have used the 12Y-77, but neither were built.
The last in the series was the VG-39, originally powered by the new 1,200hp 12Y-89 using an extension shaft on the propeller to streamline the nose profile, giving the plane an excellent speed of 625km/h (388mph) even when loaded down with two more machine guns. The actual production version was to have been the VG-39bis, powered by the new 1,500hp Hispano-Suiza 12Z-17 using a new radiator intake design that looked similar to the one used on the P-51 Mustang.
Two more designs were projected, both based on the VG-39bis airframe. The VG-40 mounted the Rolls-Royce Merlin III and the VG-50 the newer Allison V-1710-39. Neither were built.
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