During World War Ⅱ, certain fighter aircraft became the prize thoroughbreds of the air arms they served. The Supermarine Spitfire, for example, came to be virtually synonymous with the British fighter. In the Soviet Union, it was the Polikarpov I-16, later to be eclipsed by the Yakovlev series. Germany's most famous fighter was the Messerschmitt Me-109, Japan's was the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, and the pride of the United States was the North American P-51 Mustang. Also among that elite was the Dewoitine D.520, sometimes known to its pilots as "Mademoiselle France" because of its elegant shape. It was the best fighter France had in 1940, though it entered service too late to save the country from invasion.
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