Born in Crépy-en-Laonnais, Émile Dewoitine entered the aviation industry by working at Latécoère during World War I.

In 1920, he founded his own company, but facing little success at home, went to Switzerland where his Dewoitine D.27 fighter was accepted for operational service.

In 1936, part of the French aviation industry was nationalized and Dewoitine's factories were absorbed by the state-owned SNCAM.

Facing charges of collaborationism after the liberation of France, Dewoitine fled to Spain, where he developed a derivative of the D.520 with Hispano Aviación.

He later went to Argentina, where he worked for the Industria Aeronáutica Militar, developing the Pulqui I, the first South American jet plane, and Colibrí, a trainer aircraft.