Arsenal VG.32, American engine version of the VG.33

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caid’s suggestion #149

I would like to suggest a pretty nice light fighter for France, the Arsenal VG.32

The concept of a light fighter was very popular in France during the interwar. The government spared no money for the development of such machines, although the results obtained did not justify the hopes. In turn, the Air Force Headquarters believed that such fighters could be used as high-speed interceptors. The calculation was also based on the fact that these aircraft will be cheaper in production, will require less time to fabricate, and in operation, will not require special maintenance. In the end, everything turned out quite the contrary, although several firms managed to achieve very good results.

Arsenal Aeronautique, led by Michel Verniss, and the chief engineer was Jacques Gautier - hence the designation VG. The new company took one of the old factories in Villacoublay, formerly owned by Breguet. The design of the aircraft with the designation VG-30 began at the end of 1936 and proceeded proactively without any government order. The design team intended to create a light single-seat fighter, which in its parameters was at least as good as the one adopted in the same year by the MS.405C.1, but with higher speed. The model of the plane was exhibited at the Paris Aviation Salon, where he made a favorable impression on the specialists. A few months later, the French Air Force issued a specification A.23 for the development of a lightweight fighter in the C1 category, in which VG.30 was very well fitted. Several more companies took part in the competition, and Arsenal’s competitors were strong enough. So, the firm Caudron, which was the trendsetter in this direction, presented project C.713 - the development of successful airplanes of the racing series, adapted for military needs. The lightweight Bloch MB.700 fighter was also built based on the existing design and was a reduced copy of the MB.151. A little later they were joined by Roussel R-30 and CAO.200, which also had good indicators.

The revised project was ready by mid-1937, and the construction of the first VG-30.C1 model was completed the next year. Although the aircraft had a wooden structure, the high manufacturing culture and technological skill of Jacques Gautier left no doubt that the VG-30 would be quite a worthy competition to the recognized giants of aircraft construction. The prototype immediately planned to install a Potez 12Dc (610 hp) motor, but during the construction, it was selected Hispano-Suiza 12Xcrs (690 hp) featured the best performance data. Armament was not installed, but in the project, the fighter was equipped with a 20 mm motor cannon and four wing 7.5 mm machine guns.
as the VG.30 was showing a good performance but featured a rather weak engine, France had sought to improve the design despite giving it a more powerful engine to improve significantly the performance. the VG 31 was designed following this logic but never flowed. as the VG 31 weights were badly centered and the preliminary test showed it would just be nearly impossible not to crash in its current form. the VG.32 and VG.33 were two planes that were parallel development. even if the VG.32 was designed a fair bit before. the VG 32 was offering to the production line an alternative in the choice of engine. mounting the Allison V-1710-C15 providing 1.150 hp, which was getting close to the double of the VG 30 power. it was an American-built engine which was unable to receive the Hub machine-gun. which was not a problem for the armament as the A.23 specification had already proposed a minimal armament as an alternative in the case of the engine couldn’t receive a 20mm. in this case, the fighter was required to receive 2x 20mm in and 2x 7.5mm all in the wings. this armament was the standard of the Mb.152 as well. the plane shows perfectly good performance in the winds tunnel, which allows it to receive a significant order of 400 planes to be put into service alongside the Vg.33. the first dozen planes were expected to be put into service by December 1940. but the delay in acquiring the American-made engine caused the plane to not have any proper test flight. in June 1940 the plane did a symbolic flight of about 30 seconds before the arrival of the Germans at the airport where it was captured. but this information was possibly misleading for propaganda as other sources indicate the engine was never mounted at all. the plane was likely scrapped soon after.

Firepower
the VG.32 was not capable of receiving a hub auto-cannon like the other planes of the VG series. this is why it was intended to receive a pair of 20mm HS404 and a pair of 7.5mm MAC 31 all in the wing. this was the requirement of the A.23 program which set the minimal armament of the French fighter of this time. the armament was never installed and the propeller still has the hole for the 20mm despite to never having any gun there. it was probably just due to the part being used which was from the VG.33. the 20mm was going to have 60 rounds each and the 7.5mm to have 850 rounds each. this gives the plane a fair chance to shut down 2-3 enemy planes before needing to rearm.

Performence
the plane was powered by the Allison V-1710-C15 providing 1.150 hp which is nearly twice the power of the VG.30. the performance is significantly improved over the other version of the same generation. it is even better than the VG.33. the plane weighed 2,750 kg and could theoretically reach 620 km/h at 7000m. As there is no evidence and test about the plane’s real performance, I will let Gaijin guess the performance in the eventuality they add this plane to the game. the ceiling should be in the area of 11,000 m which is more than we need in the game (seriously, few players ever get higher than 6000m) and the range is 1200 km. the range is impressive but the plane was designed specifically to cover a remote area which makes sense.

Survivability
the plane favored the lightweight over the survivability. there is nearly no armor on the plane. only a 3mm steel plate between the engine and cooling system which is not exactly there for protection. the spar and flap are made of metal while all the rest is made of wood. it makes the plane easily catch fire and can break more easily due to the damage. the pilot too is quite vulnerable. the best chance of survival is to rely on the good maneuverability of the plane.

Sources

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