Swiss fighter aircraft. In 1938 the Swiss government purchased two Morane Saulnier M.S.405 fighters from France and, after careful evaluation, purchased a licence for the production version, the M.S.406C. Manufacture of a Swiss version of the 406 was assigned to Dornier Flugzeug at Altenrhein, with the Swiss designation D 3800. This differed from the French aircraft in having a Saurer/SLM licence built Hispano Suiza 12Y 31 of 860 hp, cooled by a fixed ventral radiator.
In 1939 40 Dornier delivered 82, followed in 1940 44 by 207 D 3801 fighters with many refinements and in having the 860 hp Hispano 12Y-31 engine replaced by a 1000 hp Hispano 12Y-51 built by A.G.Adolph Saurer.. Both types had one 20 mm (0.79 in) Hispano cannon and two 7.7 mm (0.303 in) wing guns, with provision for two 50 kg (110 lb) bombs.
D-3801
The D 3802 single-seat fighter prototype was built in 1943 by Dornier Werke to designs provided by Morane-Saulnier (designated M.S.450). A second prototype modified up to production standards was produced as the D-3802A, and orders were placed by the Swiss Air Force for 100. With the end of the war in Europe, the order was reduced to ten, built in 1944.
D-3802A
The 1500 hp (12Y 53) D 3803 of 1947 remained a one off, by which time the company had become Flug & Fahrtzeug¬werke (F&FW).
D 3801 Engine: 1000 hp Hispano 12Y-51 Span: 10.61 m (34 ft 9.75 in) Length: 8.16 m (26 ft 9.25 in) Empty weight: 4694 lb Gross weight: 2725 kg (6007 lb). Maximum speed: 523 km/h (325 mph) at 13,950 ft Econ cruise: 190 mph Time to 16,400 ft: 5.4 min Service ceiling: 35,400 ft
D-3802A Engine: Hispano-Suiza 1250 hp 12Y-52 Wingspan: 35 ft 2.75 in Length: 30 ft 7 in Height: 10 ft 11 in Empty weight: 6327 lb Loaded weight: 7716 lb Max loaded weight: 8014 lb Max speed: 391 mph at 21,325 ft Time to 19,865 ft: 7.1 min Ceiling: 33,500 ft Armament: three 20mm (0.79 in) cannon
The unconventional layout of the Do-335 – one engine “pulling” in the nose and another “pushing” in the tail – was patented by Claudius Dornier in 1937. The configuration provided the power of two engines, but with reduced drag and better maneuverability. The German Aviation Ministry (RLM) was interested in the design, but initially wanted Dornier only to produce bombers. By 1942, Dornier was still continuing design work and the war situation was worsening. The Luftwaffe now needed a multi-purpose fighter, and the prototype Do-335V-1 (“V” indicating “versuchs” or “experimental”) flew in fighter form in September, 1943 – six years after its conception. Orders were immediately placed for 14 prototypes, 10 A-0 preproduction aircraft, 11 production A-1 single-seaters, and 3 A-10 and A-12 two-seat trainers. The aircraft was large for a single-seat fighter, with a cruciform tail and a tricycle landing gear. The two liquid-cooled Daimler-Benz DB-603 engines were used in four different versions, each displacing 44.5 liters (2670 cu in) and weighing 910 kg (2006 lb). The engine produced 1750 hp from 12 cylinders in an inverted V layout using fuel injection and an 8.3:1 compression ratio. The rear three-bladed propeller and dorsal fin were jettisoned by explosive bolts in an emergency, to allow the pilot to bail out safely using a pneumatic ejection seat. The seat, inclined 13 degrees to the rear, was ejected with a force of 20 times gravity. The ventral fin could be jettisoned for a belly landing. Unlike a normal twin-engined aircraft, with wing-mounted engines, loss of an engine on the Do-335 did not cause a handling problem. Even with one engine out, speed was a respectable 621 kph (348 mph). Because of its appearance, pilots dubbed it the “Ant eater” (“Ameisenbar”), although they described its performance as exceptional, particularly in acceleration and turning radius. The Do-335 was very docile in flight and had no dangerous spin characteristics. Many Do-335 prototypes were built, as the Reich strained desperately to provide day and night fighters and fast reconnaissance aircraft to the failing war effort. One of the many RLM production plans, issued in December 1943, called for the production of 310 Do-335s by late 1945. Initial production was at the Dornier Manuel plant, but this factory was bombed heavily in March-April, 1944, and the Do-335 tooling was destroyed. Powered by a pair of DB-603E liquid-cooled engines arranged in tandem, it has attained a speed in excess of 500 mph with both 12-foot, 3-blade propellers in operation. Operating on one engine, it can move along at a 350¬mph for several minutes.
Do 335 V3 T9+ZH delivered to 1./Versuchsverband OKL and test flown by Lt. Wolfgang Ziese
A big airplane by any standard, the 335 weighs more than 18,000 pounds with standard equipment and loading, topping 22,000 pounds in certain sub-types. With wing span and length of approximately 45 feet, it was originally built as a single seater only to emerge during the last year of war with a pig-a-back seating arrangement for training and reconnaissance utilization. The Dornier has a wing loading of 41 pounds per square foot in the standard model, wing load¬ing of 35 pounds per square foot in one high altitude type. However, interchangeability of armament and equipment brought wide divergence in gross loading on various mis¬sions. With a 520-gallon main tank installed behind the pilot’s compartment, two wing tanks, two drop tanks, and a bomb bay fuel cell, the aircraft carried a total of 1,000 US gallons of gasoline for a range of approximately 2,400 miles. With internal and external belly tanks removed, the Do-335 carried a single 1,000 kg, two 500 kg bombs, or ten 70 kg anti-personnel missiles in the bomb bay, along with one 250 kg bomb in each drop-tank shackle. The full fighter installation included one 30-mm gun firing through the propeller hub, one 20-mm gun on each side of the nose cowling within the propeller arc, and one 20- or 30-mm gun in each wing. Pilots were well-protected with a bullet-resistant glass windshield and cockpit enclosure, and an armored bulkhead between cockpit and main fuel tank. The trapezoidal wing, built around a heavy spar, has stressed metal skin, squared tips with detachable corners, leading edge de-icer, stowage for master unit of remote indicating compass, hydraulic tanks, oxygen bottles. On the A-6 version, radar antennae are mounted outboard on each wing. The all-metal monocoque fuselage is distinguished only by circular radiator in the nose, jettisonable mounting for rear propeller, cushioned stringers for hollow shaft to rear propeller, and explosive canopy release. In two-place models, the extra seat is above the leading edge of the wing and faces into the fuselage, with only the fuel tank separating this seat from the rear engine. The the Pfeil was never encountered in operations, although available in small numbers as the Do 335 A-1 single-seat fighter (with a maximum speed of 763km/h), Do 335A-6 two-seat night fighter and Do 335 B-series heavy fighter and night fighter towards the end of the war. It was the fastest production piston-engined fighter ever built, attaining 846 kilometers per hour (474 mph) in level flight at a time when the official world speed record was 755 kph (469 mph). Powered by two 1800-hp engines in a unique low-drag configuration.
Dornier Do-335A-1 Pfeil Wingspan: 13.8 m (45 ft. 3.33 in.) Length: 13.85 m (45 ft. 5.25 in.) Height: 5 m (16 ft. 4.75 in.) Weight empty: 7,400 kg (16,314 lb.) Max speed: 763 kph.
Dornier DO 335 A-02 Pfeil (Ameisenbär) Length : 45.604 ft / 13.9 m Height : 16.404 ft / 5.0 m Wingspan : 45.276 ft / 13.8 m Wing area : 414.414 sq.ft. / 38.5 sq.m Max take off weight : 20969.6 lb / 9510.0 kg Weight empty : 16317.0 lb / 7400.0 kg Max. speed : 395 kt / 732 km/h Service ceiling : 37730 ft / 11500 m Wing load : 50.64 lb/sq.ft / 247.0 kg/sq.m Range max fuel : 1161 nm / 2150 km Range w/max.payload: 1100 km / 684 miles Engine : 2 x Daimler Benz DB 603A, 1726 hp / 1800kW Crew : 1 Armament : 1x MK 103 30mm, 2x MG 151, 500kg Bomb. int. , 2x 250kg Bomb. ext.
Do-335A-6 two seat night fighter.
Do-335A-12 two seat trainer.
Do 335 Production List
Do 335V series prototypes, 14 aircraft built at Friedrichshafen, mid 1943 to mid 1944, and tested at Mengen.
Model: Do 335V-1 Code: CP+UA Werk Nr: 230001 Notes: 1st prototype. DB603A-1 engines. FF 28.10.43
Model: Do 335V-2 Code: CP+UB Werk Nr: 230002 Notes: to Rechlin, rear engine caught fire, w/o 15.04.44
Model: Do 335V-3 Code: CP+UC/T9+ZH Werk Nr: 230003 Notes: A-4 prototype, to Ob.d.L.
Model: Do 335V-4 Code: CP+UD Werk Nr: 230004 Notes: Do 435 prototype, not completed
Model: Do 335V-5 Code: CP+UE Werk Nr: 230005 Notes: 1st with armament fitted, A-2 engines
Model: Do 335V-6 Code: CP+UF Werk Nr: 230006 Notes: Dornier development a/c, hit by bomb
Model: Do 335V-7 Code: CP+UG Werk Nr: 230007 Notes: Junkers Jumo 213A & E testbed, Dessau
Model: Do 335V-8 Code: CP+UH Werk Nr: 230008 Notes: Daimler-Benz DB603E-1 testbed, Stuttgart
Model: Do 335V-9 Code: CP+UI/V9 Werk Nr: 230009 Notes: A-0 prototype, to Rechlin May 1944
Model: Do 335V-10 Code: CP+UK Werk Nr: 230010 Notes: A-6 prototype night ftr with SN-2 radar
Model: Do 335V-11 Code: CP+UL/11 Werk Nr: 230011 Notes: A-10 prototype trainer
Model: Do 335V-12 Code: CP+UM Werk Nr: 230012 Notes: A-12 prototype trainer
Model: Do 335V-13 Code: RP+UA/13 Werk Nr: 230013 Notes: B-1 prototype, to France for tests
Model: Do 335V-14 Code: RP+UB/14 Werk Nr: 230014 Notes: B-2 prototype, destroyed
Do 335A-0 pre-production batch, 10 aircraft built at Oberpfaffenhofen July-Oct 1944. One example converted to A-4 standard.
Model: Do 335A-0 Code: VG+PG/101 Werk Nr: 240101 Notes: DB603A-2 engines, at Rechlin July 1944
Model: Do 335A-0 Code: VG+PH/102 Werk Nr: 240102 Notes: sole survivor, to USAAF as FE 1012, now at NASM
Model: Do 335A-0 Code: VG+PI/103 Werk Nr: 240103 Notes: to Ob.d.L. late July 1944
Model: Do 335A-0 Code: VG+IJ/104 Werk Nr: 240104 Notes: to Erkdo 335 Sept 1944
Model: Do 335A-0 Code: VG+IK/105 Werk Nr: 240105 Notes: to Erkdo 335 captured by US at Lechfeld 4.45
Model: Do 335A-0 Code: VG+PL/106 Werk Nr: 240106 Notes: to Erkdo 335
Model: Do 335A-0 Code: VG+PM/107 Werk Nr: 240107 Notes: to Erkdo 335
Model: Do 335A-0 Code: VG+PN/108 Werk Nr: 240108 Notes: to Erkdo 335
Model: Do 335A-0 Code: VG+PO/109 Werk Nr: 240109 Notes: to Erkdo 335
Model: Do 335A-0 Code: VG+PP/110 Werk Nr: 240110 Notes: to Erkdo 335 Oct 1944
Do 335A-1 production batch. 11 aircraft built at Oberpfaffenhofen, plus 9 aircraft part assembled, Nov-April 1945.
Model: Do 335A-1 Code: 113 Werk Nr: 240113 Notes: Captured by US
Model: Do 335A-1 Code: Werk Nr: 240161 Notes: Captured by US
Model: Do 335A-1 Code: Werk Nr: 240162 Notes: Captured by US
Model: Do 335A-1 Code: 240163 Werk Nr: Notes: Captured by US
Model: Do 335A-1 Code: Werk Nr: 240164 Notes: Captured by US
Model: Do 335A-1 Code: Werk Nr: 240165 Notes: Captured by US
Model: Do 335A-1 Code: Werk Nr: 240166 Notes: Captured by US
Model: Do 335A-1 Code: Werk Nr: 240167 Notes: Captured by US
Model: Do 335A-1 Code: Werk Nr: 240168 Notes: Captured by US
Model: Do 335A-1 Code: Werk Nr: 240169 Notes: Captured by US
Model: Do 335A-1 Code: Werk Nr: 240170 Notes: Captured by US
Model: Do 335A-1 Code: 01 Werk Nr: 240301 Notes: Partly assembled Captured by US
Model: Do 335A-1 Code: 02 Werk Nr: 240302 Notes: Partly assembled Captured by US
Model: Do 335A-1 Code: 03 Werk Nr: 240303 Notes: Partly assembled Captured by US
Model: Do 335A-1 Code: 04 Werk Nr: 240304 Notes: Partly assembled Captured by US
Model: Do 335A-1 Code: 05 Werk Nr: 240305 Notes: Partly assembled Captured by US
Model: Do 335A-1 Code: 06 Werk Nr: 240306 Notes: Partly assembled Captured by US
Model: Do 335A-1 Code: 07 Werk Nr: 240307 Notes: Partly assembled Captured by US
Model: Do 335A-1 Code: 08 Werk Nr: 240308 Notes: Partly assembled Captured by US
Model: Do 335A-1 Code: 09 Werk Nr: 240309 Notes: Partly assembled Captured by US
Model: Do 335A-2 Code: Werk Nr: Notes: project only
Model: Do 335A-3 Code: Werk Nr: Notes: project only
Do 335A-4 10 aircraft scheduled Jan-Feb 1945, only 4 part assembled at Oberpfaffenhofen.
Model: Do 335A-4 Code: 10 Werk Nr: 240310 Notes: Partly assembled Captured by US
Model: Do 335A-4 Code: 11 Werk Nr: 240311 Notes: Partly assembled Captured by US
Model: Do 335A-4 Code: 12 Werk Nr: 240312 Notes: Partly assembled Captured by US
Model: Do 335A-4 Code: 13 Werk Nr: 240313 Notes: Partly assembled Captured by US
Do 335A-6 none assembled, Heinkel Vienna factory bombed out.
Do 335A-10 aircraft built at Oberpfaffenhofen.
Model: Do 335A-10 Code: 111 Werk Nr: 240111 Notes: flew late Nov 1944. Captured by US at Oberpf.
Model: Do 335A-10 Code: Werk Nr: 240114 Notes: not completed
Do 335A-12. 2 aircraft built at Oberpfaffenhofen, plus 2 aircraft part assembled.
Model: Do 335A-12 Code: 112 Werk Nr: 240112 Notes: Air Min 225, to RAE, w/o 18 Jan 1946
Model: Do 335A-12 Code: 121 Werk Nr: 240121 Notes: to England, w/o 13 Dec 1945
Model: Do 335A-12 Code: 122 Werk Nr: 240122 Notes: not completed, scrapped by US
Model: Do 335A-12 Code: Werk Nr: Notes: Partly assembled
Do 335B series prototypes. 6 aircraft part assembled at Oberpfaffenhofen.
Model: Do 335B-2 Code: RP+UB 14/18 Werk Nr: 240118 Notes: B-2 replacement proto, to France with CEV until 4.6.48
Model: Do 335V-15 Code: RP+UC 15/19 Werk Nr: 240119 Notes: B-1 2nd prototype to Lwe 2.45
Model: Do 335V-16 Code: RP+UD 16/20 Werk Nr: 240120 Notes: B-2 2nd prototype night ftr with FuG 218
Model: Do 335V-17 Code: RP+UE 17/16 Werk Nr: 240116 Notes: B-6 prototype to France w/o Autumn 45
Model: Do 335V-18 Code: RP+UF 18/17 Werk Nr: 240117 Notes: B-6 2nd prototype night ftr to Lwe 2.45
Model: Do 335V-19 Code: RP+UG 19/15 Werk Nr: 240115 Notes: B-3 prototype not completed
Model: Do 335V-20 Code: Werk Nr: Notes: B-7 prototype not completed
Model: Do 335V-21 Code: Werk Nr: Notes: B-8 prototype not completed
Model: Do 335V-22 Code: Werk Nr: Notes: B-8 2nd prototype not completed
Derived from the Do 217, this air¬craft was designed in 1939 to meet the Luftwaffe’s Bomber B specification. Drop¬ped in 1940 to allow work to be hastened on the Do 217P, the 317 was resurrected in 1941 in two forms. The 317A was little more than a pressurized 217, while the 317B had a much greater span, completely new engines, remote control cannon barbettes and a bombload of 5600 kg (12,346 lb), with an overload option of two 1800 kg (3968 lb) bombs on wing racks. One was built and six more were converted to Do 217R on the production line. The 317 was dropped in 1943.
Do 317B Span: 25.9 m (85 ft) Length: 16.8 m (55 ft 1.5 in) Gross weight: 24 000 kg (52911 lb) Maximum speed: 670 km/h (416 mph)
The Do 217 was one of the few completely new bombers to enter service with the Luftwaffe after the start of the Second World War. Though similar in configuration to the much earlier Do 17 series, it had a totally different structure and was much larger and more powerful. Like the contemporary Fw 190, the Do 217 was an all electric aircraft.
The first prototype, the Do 217 VI, first flew in August 1938. Developed from the basic Do 17 design but was stressed for heavier loads and had a dive brake fitted in the tail which opened out like an umbrella when the aircraft was used as a dive bomber but, With two 1150 hp DB 601 engines, was underpowered. Several prototypes followed, with the Jumo 211 of similar power, until the V7 of 1939 found more power with two of the 1550 hp BMW 139 radials. The Do 217 V7 abandoned the dive brake fitted in the V1 which had rarely been used since the bomber was better suited for level attacks than dive bombing. This engine was not put into production and the Do 217 changed to the heavier but more powerful BMW 801, rated at 1600 hp. Dornier had prolonged difficulties in achieving acceptable flying qualities and clearing the Do 217 for level and dive bombing, torpedo dropping, minelaying and later, reconnaissance, ground attack, anti-shipping strike and night fighting. The problem of poor handling was partially solved by the addition of fixed slots along the leading edges of the twin fins.
The first production version was the Do 217E, which was powered by two BMW 801A engines and armed with one fixed MG 151 and one flexible MG 151 machine-gun in the nose; one MG 131 in a manually operated dorsal turret; one MG 131 in a lower rear-firing position; and two MG 15s in lateral-firing positions.
In most versions a crew of four was accommodated, close together but in fair comfort, in the nose compartment. The wing had hot air de icing and accommodated flexible fuel cells between the spars, which passed through the top of the fuselage above the extremely large bomb bay. Early sub-types had a unique petal type dive bombing airbrake forming a long tailcone, but this was fairly soon abandoned.
The E-2 sub-version was similar but had an electrically operated turret, while the E-5 had attachments under the outer wings for two Hs 293 glider bombs for attacking convoys – special equipment for controlling these bombs was installed in the fuselage. Various armament schemes were fitted to prototypes and the E 0 and E 1, but the first major sub type, the E 2, had a fixed MG 151/15 forward firing cannon, an MG 131 in the dorsal turret, an MG 131 aimed manually from the lower rear and two to four 7.92 mm (0.312 in) MG 15 aimed from nose and beam windows. The Do 217E 2 was initially intended as a dive bomber and was fitted with an umbrella dive brake, and carried a 1000 kg (2200 lb) bombload.
Subsequent bomber versions had MG 81 machine guns in place of the MG 15, often in neat pairs; the R19 Rfistsatze pack (field modification kit) added four MG 81 firing aft in the tail. The bombload was typically 4000 kg (8818 lb), including about 1500 kg (3307 lb) hung externally. Most versions had a bomb bay long enough to accommodate two torpedoes internally. All early versions had 1580 hp BMW 801A or 801M engines with fan cooling and multiple fishtail exhausts.
A handful of E 0, E 1 and E 2 versions saw action over Britain in 1940 41, mainly with KG 40. The impressive capability of the 217 was marred by the structural and control hazards attendant upon steep dive bombing, and this technique was soon erased from the 217’s repertoire. The elimination of this role tended to accentuate the importance of the work already in hand in early 1941 for the development of air launched guided missiles for use against ships and similar important targets.
A Dornier Do 217E-4 was equipped with a Gerat 104 (104 device), prewar experimental design for an airborne anti-shipping gun. It was a recoilless gun firing a 635 kg (1400 lb) armour piercing shell. The gun was slung in the bomb bay and could be swung out when the Do 217 went into an attack.
The Dornier Do 217E 5 was the final production model of the E series and was designed to carry the Henschel Hs 293 rocket powered radio controlled glide bomb on pylons outboard of the engine nacelles. Do 217E 5s saw action with the Luftwaffe in the Mediterranean against the Royal Navy, US Navy and co belligerent Italian warships
The first missile to reach operational service was the Henschel Hs 293, weighing 1045 kg (2304 lb), which became operational with 11/KG 100 based at Cognac in August 1943.The Henschel missile was carried, two at a time, by the Do 217E 5, which was otherwise changed only by addition of the radio guidance equipment. Two days after the introduction of the missile, 11/KG 100 attacked and sank the corvette HMS Egret. Substantial numbers of E series bombers served on the Eastern Front from 1942, while the only Do 217 Geschwader(wing) to remain in the West, Kg 2, lost 65 of its original 88 crews between May and September of that year in sporadic missions against Britain.
On 9 September 1943 Italian Admiral Bergamini’s battleship and flag ship Roma (46,215 tons) was intercepted by 12 Do.217K-2 carrying Fritz X (SD 1400X) glide bombs. Shortly after 3:30pm the Roma was hit by two FX 1400 and torn in two. Admiral Bergamini and the 1254-man crew went down with the ship. Hitler and Goring were not informed of the FX 1400 because General Adolf Galland did not want Hitler any further pretext for increasing bomber production at the expense of fighter planes.
The Do 217K V1, the prototype of the K series which was flown with a single fin and rudder assembly. The K1 had an R25 tail housing to take the Perlon braking parachute which became a standard feature in later models. Though intended as a night bomber the K series could carry four L5 torpedoes or FX 1400 Fritz X stand off glider bombs. With the Do 217K 1 a more capacious crew compartment was introduced, being a redesigned deeper and more rounded nose. Most of this series had the 1700 hp BMW 8011), and the extra power enabled the wing of the K 2 version to be extended to 24.8 m (81 ft 41 in) to lift two of the formidable 1567 kg (3455lb) FX 1400 radio controlled free fall missiles on racks under the inner wings. The K was the fitting of a battery of four fixed rearward-firing MG 81 machine-guns in the tail-cone. Major Bernhard Jope’s III/KG 100 became operational with the FX missile on the Do 217K 2 in the late summer of 1943. They worked up at Graz, moved to Istres (Marseilles) and were ready when the Italian fleet sailed from La Spezia to join the Allies on September 9, 1943. Six K 2s sank the flagship, Roma, which went down with all 1255 men, and crippled Italia. Later Jope himself hit HMS Warspite and his unit sank or damaged other Allied ships during the Salerno landings.
The Do 217J was a somewhat hastily contrived night fighter, some being rebuilt ‘E’ series bombers with heavy nose armament and with light bombs in the rear bomb bay. The J 2 had Lichtenstein FuG 202 (sometimes and/or FuG 212) airborne radar, with a different arrangement of guns and the bomb bay filled with ammunition. The Do 217J 2 had a solid nose mounting four 20mm MG FF cannon, four 7.92mm MG 17 machine guns. The upper and lower rear guns of the E-2 were retained. Most of the ‘J’ series were passed to the Italian Regia Aeronautica (later Aviazione della RSI, after the September 1943 armistice) to help defend Milan and Turin by night.
Do 217F with FuG Lichenstien BC antenna array, Sicily 1942/43
A modest production run of Do 217M bombers in 1943 had the 1750 hp DB 603A engine, while a nightfighter conversion of this model was the 217N. Some of the N series, such as the N 2/R22, had four MG 151 cannon firing steeply upwards at an angle usually near 70′ in the so called ‘Schrdge Musile’ scheme.
Dornier 217M-1
Do.217N-2 with FuG 202 radar, 4 x 20mm MG 151 cannon, 4 x MG 17 machine guns
The Do 217P was planned as a high altitude reconnaissance bomber with pressurized cabin for the crew of four and two DB 603B engines fed with boosted mixture by a vast supercharger in the fuselage driven by a DB 605T. The Do 217P O was a high altitude reconnaissance aircraft, though it could carry two 500 kg (1100 lb) bombs on underwing racks or two 900 litre (198 Imp gal) auxiliary tanks. It carried one Rb 20/30 camera and two Rb 75/30 as a reconnaissance aircraft, but a minimum of defensive armament principally because it flew out of range of enemy fighters. Although the P looked knobbly and bristled with engine inlets, radiators and intercoolers, it could fly at over 15 240 m (50 000 ft) and exceed 585 km/h (363 mph). The remaining 217P development aircraft were stripped of their pressurization and put into service as Do 217R missile carriers armed with the Hs 293. First flown in June 1942, this version failed to enter production. Total production of the Do 217 was only 1905. Of these, 1541 were offensive, the other 364 being night fighters.
Do 217 E Engines: 2 x BMW 801 Span: 19 m (62 ft 4 in)
Do 217 E-2 Engines: 2 x BMW 801 Span: 19 m (62 ft 4 in) Gross weight: 15000 kg (33069 lb) Maximum speed: 515 km/h (320 mph)
Do 217 J Engines: 2 x BMW 801 Span: 19 m (62 ft 4 in)
Do 217 K Engines: 2 x BMW 801 Span: 19 m (62 ft 4 in)
Do 217 K-2 Engines: 2 x BMW 801
Do 217 M Engines: 2 x Daimler-Benz DB 603 Span: 19 m (62 ft 4 in)
Do 217N Prop: four blade Wingspan: 62 ft 4 in Length: 58 ft 9 in Speed: 320 mph at 18,700 ft Ceiling: 31,170 ft Range: 1550 miles Armament: 4 x 20mm cannon, 4 x 7.9mm mg, 1 x 13mm mg Crew: 3
Do.217N-2 Engines: 2 x Daimler-Benz DB 603A, 1720 hp Wingspan: 62 ft 4 in Length: 62 ft Height: 16 ft 4.75 in Empty weight: 22,665 lb Combat weight: 29,101 lb Max speed: 320 mph at 19,685 lb Cruise: 264 lb Service ceiling: 29,200 ft Range: 1090 mi Armament: 8 x 20mm MG 151 cannon / 4 x 7.9mm MG 17 Radar: FuG 202/212 or SN-2
Broadly similar in design and layout to the Do 18, the Do 24 had three radial engines mounted separately on the wing leading-edge, and twin fins and rudders. At the prompting of the Netherland’s Marine Luchtvaartdienst, in 1935 Claudlus Dornier set about developing a replacement for the WAL seaplanes which was already thirteen years old and totally obsolete.
Working to Dutch specifications Dornier installed, Wright R-1820 Cyclones in the Do 24 V3 and V4, temporarily shelving the Jumo 205-powered V1 and V2. D-ADLP, the V4, was used for open sea trials at Bodensee and proved to be a. typically tough Dornier airplane. Plans were made to build 60 Do 24Ks under license in the Netherlands, but following diversion of part of the funding to buy additional Martin 139s (export versions of the B-10 medium bomber) this order was cut to 48 planes. When Germany invaded Holland in 1940, 25 Do 24Ks were captured in various stages of completion and were used for air-sea rescue work in the North Sea and English Channel. The seaplane was evaluated at Erporoblingsstelle-See Travemunde and was judged to be so suitable for this mission that production was resumed in Holland, BMW-Bramo Fafnir radials replacing the American Wrights with the result that the machine was redesignated Do 24T, additional aircraft being built in occupied France as well.
The first of three prototypes to fly, on July 3, 1937, was the Do 24 V3 (D-AYWI), pow-ered by 875-hp Wright Cyclone R-1820-F52 engines. This aircraft, plus the V4 and ten similarly-powered Do 24K-1s were delivered to the Dutch navy, and apart from the Jumo 205C-engined V1 and V2 were the only German-built examples.
Production continued with 28 Dutch-built Do 24K-2s, powered by 1000-hp R-1820-G 102 engines, and carrying revised armament and up to 1250-kg (110-lb) bombs. Twenty-five of these were delivered to the Dutch East Indies. The other three, and eight partially-built K-2s, were captured in 1940 and completed to Luftwaffe standards as Do 24N-1 air/sea rescue aircraft. From this the major ASR/transport version, the Do 24T-1, was developed with 1000-hp Bramo 323R-2 engines. Armament consisted of a 20-mm (0.79-in) Hispano cannon in a dorsal turret and single 7.9-mm (0.311-in) machine-guns in the bow and stern positions. One hundred and eighty of these were built (110 in Holland and 70 by CAMS in France).
Of the 294 Do 24s built (including prototypes) only 37 saw service with the Dutch East Indies navy, for whom it was originally designed in 1935.
By contrast, some 222 were employed by the Luftwaffe.
Do-24T-3
Forty-nine Dutch-built Do 24T-2s were sold to Spain, and in 1944 Spain also purchased 12 generally similar Dutch-built Do 24T-3s, powered by three 1,000 hp BMW engines. These were used to provide an air-sea rescue service in the Mediterannean, the Spanish machines picking up downed crews of any nationality. Only 48 of the French-built T-Is reached the Luftwaffe, the remainder being ‘liberated’ and used as transports by Flottille 917 Tr of the French Aetonavale starting in December 1944 with the first two.
The Dutch East Indies Dorniers operated for some time against Japanese shipping in the southwest Pacific; those of the Luftwaffe saw action in the Baltic, English Channel, Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
Engines: 3 x BMW Bramo 323, 735kW Max take-off weight: 18400 kg / 40565 lb Empty weight: 10600 kg / 23369 lb Wingspan: 27.0 m / 88 ft 7 in Length: 21.9 m / 71 ft 10 in Height: 5.8 m / 19 ft 0 in Wing area: 108.0 sq.m / 1162.50 sq ft Max. speed: 340 km/h / 211 mph Cruise speed: 255 km/h / 158 mph Ceiling: 5900 m / 19350 ft Range w/max.fuel: 4800 km / 2983 miles Range w/max.payload: 2400 km / 1491 miles Armament: 4 machine-guns, 1 x 30mm cannon, 600kg of bombs Crew: 6
Do 24T-1 Span: 27 m (88 ft 7 in) Length: 22.05 m (72 ft 4 in) Gross weight: 16 200 kg (35715 lb) Maximum speed: 332 km/h (206 mph)
Do 24T-3 Engines: 3 x BMW-Bramo, 1000hp. Wing span: 88 ft 7 in (27 m). Length: 72 ft 2.5 in (22 m). Height: 18 ft 10.5 in (5.75 m). Max TO wt: 39,249 lb (17,800 kg). Max level speed: 211 mph ( 340 kph).
The 1935 Do 18 was originally produced as a transatlantic mail-carrying flying-boat and used on the South Atlantic service of Deutsche Luft-Hansa. Evolved as a civil and military successor to the Dornier Wal, the first of five Do 18 prototypes (registered D AHIS) flew on March 15, 1935, powered by two 540 hp Junkers Jumo 5 engines. These five prototypes were delivered to Deutsche Luft¬hansa. It was available in two forms as the Do 18E and Do 18F, with an AUW of 10,000kg and 11,000kg and with larger wings. A total of about 160 was eventually built during 1936 40, the major Luftwaffe versions being the Do 18D (about 75 built) and Do 18G and H (71 built).
The Do 18D 1, D 2 and D 3 differed in equipment only and were delivered from mid¬-1936. By the autumn of 1939 they equipped single Staffeln of five Kustenfliegergruppen (coastal aviation groups). Powered by 600 hp Jumo 205C engines, they were only lightly armed with single bow and dorsal 7.9 mm (0.311 in) MG 15 machine guns, and could carry two 50 kg (110 lb) bombs beneath the starboard wing. Do 18Ds took part in many early wartime campaigns, among them Poland, Norway and the Battle of Britain.
On 27 March 1938 a Do.18 catapulted from the ship Westfalen, anchored off the English coast, and flew 5245 miles / 8440 km non-stop to Caravelas, Brazil, to set a new endurance record for seaplanes.
The Do 18G-1, which entered service from mid 1939, had 880 hp Jumo 205D engines, a 13 mm (0.51 in) MG 131 in the bow, a 20 mm (0.79 in) MG 151 in a power operated dorsal turret, and provision for rocket assisted takeoff.
On Sunday 8 October 1939: During a patrol flight over the North Sea, a Lockheed Hudson coastal reconnaissance plane of 224 Sqn became the first English aircraft to shoot down a German plane, a Dornier Do.18 flying boat.
The Do 18H 1 was a six seat unarmed trainer version. Both the Do 18D and the Do 18G had been withdrawn from first line service by autumn 1941, but some G 1s were converted to Do 18N 1s for air/sea rescue duties. One Do 18 was redesignated Do 18L when its two 447kW Junkers Jumo 205 were replaced by 671kW BMW 132N. Do 18 were also operated as reconnaissance and search-and-rescue aircraft by the Luftwaffe, more than 70 being built for this purpose, plus a number of Do 18H trainers.
Do-18E Engines: 2 x Jumo 205, 440kW Max take-off weight: 10000 kg / 22046 lb Empty weight: 6260 kg / 13801 lb Wingspan: 23.7 m / 77 ft 9 in Length: 19.3 m / 63 ft 4 in Height: 5.4 m / 17 ft 9 in Wing area: 98.0 sq.m / 1054.86 sq ft Max. Speed: 260 km/h / 162 mph Cruise speed: 240 km/h / 149 mph Ceiling: 4200 m / 13800 ft Range w/max.fuel: 5100 km / 3169 miles Range w/max.payload: 2600 km / 1616 miles Crew: 4
Do 18G-1 Span: 23.70 m (77 ft 9 in) Length 19.25 m (63 ft 2 in) Gross weight: 10759 kg (23719 lb) Maximum speed: 267 km/h (166mph)
Designed originally from an outline specification drawn up in July 1932 which referred to a “high-speed passenger transport and mailplane” as a six-passenger plane for Deutsche Luft Hansa’s European route network. From the outset the Do 17 was in fact a dedicated medium bomber and reconnaissance aircraft.
The first prototype, the Do 17c, shortly afterwards to be re-designated Do 17V1, was flown on 23 November 1934, powered by a pair of 660 hp BMW VI 12 cylinder liquid cooled V type engines, this having a single fin-and-rudder tail assembly whereas the second prototype, the Do 17 V2 (formerly Do 17a), was fitted with a twin fin-and-rudder assembly for comparison. The V2 flying on 18 May 1935.
Three prototypes were completed for DLH, each of them having a single fin and rudder; but their slimness was also their commercial undoing, the very narrow fuselage making it extremely difficult for passengers to reach their seats. Following its rejection by DLH, the Do 17 design languished for a time, until the RLM (Reichsluftfahrtministerium, or German aviation ministry), seeking a new medium bomber for the Luftwaffe, was persuaded to evaluate the Dornier aircraft for this role.
The RLM ordered further prototypes, beginning with the Do 17 V4, which flew in the late summer of 1935. These were generally similar to the first three prototypes, except for having twin fins and rudders (to make the aircraft a more stable bombing platform) and a decrease of 0.55 m (1 ft 9A in) in overall length. They carried a crew of three, and had an all metal fuselage, metal and fabric covered wings, and fully retractable mainwheels and tailwheel. All were broadly similar, except for the installation of 775 hp Hispano Suiza 12 Ybrs liquid cooled V type engines in the Do 17 V5 and a defensive armament of a single hand operated 7.9 mm (0.311 in) MG 15 machine gun in the cockpit of the Do 17 V7.
The Do 17 was a highly advanced design for the early 1930s, grouping all crew members in the forward fuselage and it was faster than virturally any single-seat fighter then existant. Preparations for the large-scale production of the Do 17 at Dornier’s Manzell, Allmansweiller and Löwenthal factories were underway by early 1938, when plans were also being fprmulated for additional productiom by Henschel at Berlin-Schönefeld, Siebel at Halle and by the Hamburger Flugzeugbau.
The first version to go into production, towards the end of 1936, was the Do 17E-1 bomber, based on the Do 17 V9, which had a further reduction of 0.90 m (2 ft 111 in) in the length of the nose. The Do 17E-1, powered by two 750 hp BMW VI 7.3 engines, carried a short range internal bombload of 750 kg (1653 lb) and had a defensive armament of two MG 15 machine guns, one above the fuselage and one below.
Do 17
In parallel production was the Do 17F 1, a photographic reconnaissance counterpart to the E 1 with two cameras and an extra fuel tank installed in the bomb bay. Both versions were in squadron service with Luftwaffe units by the summer of 1937, the Do 17E-1 initially equipping the I. Gruppen of KG 153 and KG 155 while the F 1 went to the long-¬range reconnaissance group Fernatifklarungsgruppe 122. During 1937 38 the Do 17E and F were included among the types of Luftwaffe aircraft selected to equip units of the Condor Legion sent by Germany to fight on the Nationalist side in the Spanish Civil War. Here their performance made them virtually immune from interception by their opponents’ fighters.
The principal shortcomings of the Do 17 revealed over Spain were its limited warload and its poor defence against attack from below and to the rear, and the Do 17M did little to remedy these defects.
General re-equipment of the Do 17E-mounted Kampfgruppen was held in abeyance pending availability of the much improved second generation Do 17Z which was following the Do 17M by less than a year and utilised most of the gigs and tooling employed by the earlier model.
The Do 17P reconnaissance equivalent production was launched in 1938 by Henschel, Hamburger Flugzeubau and Siebel, a total of 330 being built for the Aufklärungsgruppen.
In July 1937, at about the time these first production models were reaching their first squadrons, an international military aircraft competition was staged at Dijbendorf, near Zilrich in Switzerland. One of the competitors was the French Dewoitine D 510, generally considered at that time to be the best single seat fighter in service anywhere in Europe. This fast and manoeuvrable little fighter was totally out-classed by an example of the Do 17, a twin engined bomber even though this was not revealed at the time. The Do 17 concerned was a specially stripped down prototype, the Do 17 V8, fitted with DB 600A engines specially boosted to give 1000 hp each. The Do 17 V8’s performance had many side effects, not least on fighter design thinking in countries both inside and outside Europe. A more direct result was an expression of interest in the Do 17 itself from the Yugoslav government, which eventually placed an order for 20 of the German bombers. These export examples were designated Do 17K, and at the request of the customers were powered by Yugoslav built 980 hp French Gnome Rhone 14 N radial engines. The ‘pure’ bombers were designated Do 17Kb 1; reconnaissance models were designated Do 17Ka 2 and Ka 3, the latter doubling also in the bombing and attack roles. In addition to those supplied from German production, manufacture of the Do 17K was also undertaken under licence, in 1939 40, by the Drzavria Fabrika Aviona (state aircraft factory) at Kraljevo, near Belgrade. The additional available power gave the Do 17K a useful increase in both speed and range, notwithstanding an improved internal bombload (in the Kb 1) of 1000 kg (2205 lb) and an armament increased to three 0.312 in (7.92mm) FN Browning machine guns and one 20mm (0.79 in) Hispano cannon. Seventy Do 17Ks were still in service with the Yugoslav air force when the country was invaded by Germany in early April 1941. Later that month two of them escaped to Greece with a consignment of gold bullion. Losses during the fighting in Yugoslavia were fairly heavy, but those Do 17Ks that survived were passed on in early 1942, after the occupation, to the newly created Croatian air force. The improvements in weapon capacity and performance exhibited by the Do 17K had, in fact, been evolved for two generally similar versions for the Luftwaffe, the Do 17M bomber and Do 17P reconnaissance bomber, the increased power being derived respectively from a pair of 900 hp supercharged Bramo 323AA or 865 hp BMW 132M radial engines. In 1938 these began gradually to replace the Do 17Es and Do 17Fs in service, and by September 1938 combined production of the Do 17E, F, M and P series totalled 580. Three experimental models to be evolved during 1937 38 were the Do 17L, Do 17R and Do 17S. The Do 17L (two prototypes only) was a four seat pathfinder version with 900hp Bramo 323AA engines. The two Do 17R prototypes were testbeds, one powered by 950 hp Daimler Benz DB 600G engines and the other by 1100 hp DB 601As. The Do 17S (three built, first flight early 1938) was a high-speed reconnaissance version with DB 600G engines and a crew of four. None of these went into production, but between them the R and S series led to the Do 17U, of which 15 were produced in 1938 and distributed among nine Karripfgruppen (bomber groups) for pathfinder duties. The Do 17U carried a crew of five and was powered by 950 hp DB 600A engines.
Dornier Do.17Z
The final version in the Do 17 production series, and the one produced in the greatest quantity, was the Do 17Z. The Do 17Z, the design of which begun early 1938, featured an entirely new forward fuselage, A progressive development of the Do 17S/Do 17U, it appeared in late 1938 and broke away from the Do 17’s earlier ‘Flying Pencil’ image by adopting as standard the deeper, more angular and more extensively glazed nose section first seen on the Do 17S.
Do 17Z
This permitted a heavier defensive armament (which the Do 17 now needed) of up to six MG 15 guns, five of them aimed manually. The Do 17Z series carried a crew of four or five, and were powered at first by Bramo 323A 1 and (from the Z 2) by 1000 hp Bramo 323P series engines.
The downward-firing MG 15 machine gun which was poked through a hatch in the floor of proceeding Do 17 versions had too limited a field of fire to provide protection from below and to the rear. Crew accommodation had always been cramped thus, for the Do 17Z, the cockpit roof raised and fully glazed. The nose containing the bombardier’s station was extensively glazed with a series of small, flat panels, and the lower part was bulged and extended aft to a point just forward of the wing leading edge, terminating in a position for an aft-firing MG 15 machine gun.
Do 17Z bombardier station
Approximately 525 examples of the Do 17Z were built, of which the Do 17ZA (delivered from January 1939) and the Do 17Z 2 (the most numerous sub type) were bombers, the Do IV 3 (22 built) a recon-naissance model, the Do 17ZA a dual control training version of the Z 2, and the Do IV 5 a version of the Z 2 for rescue duties.
The pre-series Do 17Z-0, which appeared late in 2938, was a four-seat bomber, defensive armament comprising three 7,0mm MG 15 guns – one on a pillar-type mounting at the rear of the flight deck, a second protruding through the starboard panels of the windscreen and the third on a hemispherical mounting firing below the fuselage. This armament was augmented on the production Do 17Z-1 by a fourth MG 15 protruding through the nose cone. Appearing before the end of 1938, the Do 17Z-1 was under-powered by its two 900 hp BMW-Bramo 323A-1 radial engines when carrying a full 2205 lb / 1000 kg bombload. Bombload wasreduced to 1100 lb / 500 kg, but was restored to the full load early in 1939 with the appearance of the Do 17Z-2 with 1000 hp Bramo 323P engine with two-speed superchargers. Restoration of the full bombload dictated some reduction in fuel load reducing penetration with maximum load to 205 mi / 330 km.
Do 17Z-2
Lacking the load carrying capability of the He 111 and the speed of the Ju 88, production was tapering off by the end of 1939 and terminated during early summer of 1940 after about 500 were delivered.
The Do 17Z-2 was to perform the first operational sortie of WW II when aircraft of III/KG 2 took-off from Heiligenbeil, East Prussia, 45 minutes after the official outbreak of war, to bomb approaches to the rail bridge at Dirschau, a major link across the Polish Corridor.
Equipping nine Kampfgruppen of KG 2, KG 3, KG 76 and KG 77, the Do 17Z-2 was in the forefront when the first attacks on channel convoys took place in July 1940, and the Kommodore of KG 2, Oberst Fink, was assigned the title of Kanalkampfführer with the task of clearing the channel of British shipping, his Do 17Z-2s providing the principle component of the battle group entrusted with this mission. On Adler Tag the Do 17Z-2s of KG 2 bombed Eastchurch as the sole Kampfgeschwader failing to receive Goering’s postponement order, losing four aircraft in the process.
The Do 17Z-2s of KG 3 bombed Eastchurch and Rochester two days later, and on the 16th those of KG 76 attavked West Malling, following up this mission with attacks on Biggin Hill and Kenley on the 18th. The incursions over Britain of the Do 17Z rapidly revealed the deficiencies of its defensive armament, fotward maintenance units first adding two MG 15 machine guns which could be fired laterally from the radio operator’s position and then another pair to provide a total of eight defensive machine guns.
The Dornier bomber possessed good manoeuvrability and its structural integrity enabled it to undertake shallow diving attacks at speeds in excess of 270 mph / 590 kph, but it carried no armour protection for its crew. Attrition remained high and by mid-September the numerical importance of the Do 17 began to dwindle.
Dornier Do17/Z testbed for Lorin ramjet
Luftwaffe strength returns showed a total of 493 Do 17s on charge on December 2, 1939. Of these, 352 were Do I7s (mostly Z¬2s), 12 were Do 17Rs, 41 were Do 17Ms, and 83 were Do 17Ps. The P and Z models were thus the principal versions encountered during the early attacks on Poland, France, the Low Countries and Britain in 1939 40. They performed reliably and effectively and, despite a fairly high rate of attrition, were popular with their crews. The Do 17 “Flying Pencil” was the first type of German aircraft shot down by an RAF single-seat fighter during the war (a Hurricane of No 1 Squadron on 30 October 1939). Dornier 17 production ended in July 1940 after approximately 1200 of all models had been built. Only one Geschwader (wing), KG2, used the 17Z for more than a year after the invasion of the Soviet Union.
When it became necessary to find improvized night fighters to counter RAF raids on German held targets, a small number of Do 17Zs were converted to this role. After trials in 1939 with a Do 17Z 6 K= I (screech owl) prototype, nine more Z 3s were converted in 1940 to three seat Do 17Z 10 Kauz II night fighters, with a battery of two 20 mm (0.79in) MF FF cannon and four 7.9 mm (0.312 in) MG 17 machine guns in a ‘solid’ nose. Operating with Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 in Holland, the Do 17ZA0 scored its first ‘kill’ on the night of October 18/19, 1940.
In 1938, in the hope of attracting further foreign orders for the bomber, Dornier took two of the pre production Do 17Z Os and used them as export demonstration aircraft under the new RLM type number Do 215. Redesignated Do 215 V1 (with Bramo 323 engines) and Do 215 V2 (with 980 hp Gnome-Rhone 14 N radials), the latter was demonstrated to Yugoslavia, but without securing any orders. The only order forthcoming was from Sweden, which was shown the Do 215 V3, another former Do 17Z 0 refitted with 1075 hp DB 601A inverted V engines. Eighteen of these were ordered for the Swedish air force in mid 1939 as Do 215A 1s, but were not completed before the war. Only three Do 215B 1s had been completed by the end of 1939, but production continued in parallel with the radial engined Do 17Z, and ninety two Do 215B-1s and B 4s were delivered to the Luftwaffe in 1940, production being completed in 1941 with a further six machines.
Do.215B-1
The first of the batch was flown in December 1939, and all were taken over by the Luftwaffe, with minor modifications, as Do 215B 0s or B 1s. Delivered in early 1940, they were followed into production by two generally similar Do 215B 3s for the Soviet Union (the B 2 was not built); and then by the principal Luftwaffe model, the Do 215B 4 (similar to the B 1, and also with 1100 hp DB 601Aa engines, but fitted with different cameras); and the Do 215B 5. This final Do 215B version, some 20 of which were converted on the line from Do 215B 4s, was produced in the latter half of 1940 as a night fighter/intruder aircraft, and had a ‘solid’ nose similar to that of the Do 17Z 10 in which were installed four MG 17 machine guns and two 20 mm (0.79 in) MG FF cannon. The Do 215B 4 differed from the B-1 solely in the type of cameras installed, an RB 50/30 camera being mounted beneath the ventral gun position, and an RB 20/30 camera being mounted on the crew entry hatch. In addition to the cameras, twenty 110 1b (50 kg) bombs could be carried. Two slightly modified machines designated Do 215B 3 were exported to the Soviet Union during the winter of 1939 40.
Do.215
Several Do 215B-1 airframes were converted to Do 215B 5 night fighter configuration and delivered to NJG.2 during late 1940 for operation from Gilze Rijen in the Netherlands, these undertaking intruder sorties against RAF bomber bases. In July 1941 Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 in Holland was the first operational Luftwaffe aircraft to carry the early Telefunken FuG 202 Lichtenstein BC airborne interception radar. Oberleutnant Ludwig Becker of NJG 1, later to become one of the Luftwaffe’s leading night fighter pilots, made the first ‘kill’ using this equipment on August 9, 1941. The Do 215B 5 was fitted with a solid nose housing one 20 mm MG FF cannon and four 7.9 mm. MG 17 machine guns.
Hauptmann Becker in his Do 17Z-6
In all, 101 Do 215Bs were built before production ended in January 1941. By this time mainstream development of the Do 17/215 bomber concept was well under way in the more advanced form of the Dornier Do 217, the first examples of which had entered service towards the end of the previous year. After 1942, virtually no Do 215s remained in service with first line units, those which survived being reallocated mostly to test and development work. The Do 17, however, following its replacement by the Do 217 in 1942, found a new career as a glider tug and continued in the role to the end of the war.
Do-17 Engine: 2 x BMW Bramo 323P, 770kW Max take-off weight: 8890 kg / 19599 lb Empty weight: 5230 kg / 11530 lb Wingspan: 18.0 m / 59 ft 1 in Length: 15.8 m / 51 ft 10 in Height: 4.6 m / 15 ft 1 in Wing area: 55.0 sq.m / 592.01 sq ft Max. Speed: 410 km/h / 255 mph Cruise speed: 376 km/h / 234 mph Ceiling: 9000 m / 29550 ft Range w/max.fuel: 2000 km / 1243 miles Armament: 4 x 7.9mm machine-guns, 1000kg of bombs Crew: 4
Do.17E Engines: 2 x BMW VI, 750 hp.
Do 17E-1 Span: 18 m (59 ft 1 in) Length: 16.25 m (53 ft 3.75 in) Gross weight: 7040 kg (15,520 lb) Maximum speed: 355 km/h (220 mph)
Do 17Z Engines: 2 x Bramo Fafnir, 1000 hp Top speed: 255 mph Cruise: 216 mph Range: 750-1000 mi Wingspan: 59 ft 0 in Length: 53 ft 0 in
Do 17M-1 Span: 18 m (59 ft 1 in) Length: 16.10 m (52 ft 9.75 in) Gross weight 8000 kg (17,637 lb) Maximum speed: 410 km/h (255 mph)
Do 17Z 2 Span: 18 m (59 ft 1 in) Length: 15.79 m (51 ft 9.75 in) Gross weight: 8590 kg (18,938 lb) Maximum speed: 360 km/h (224 mph) Armament: 2 x 7.92mm MG 15 mg
Do.215 Engines 2 x 1,075 hp Daimler Benz DB 601 A. Length: 51.75 ft (15.75 m). Wing span: 59.1 ft (18m). Weight empty: 12,730 lb (5,770 kg). Max bomb load: 2,200 lb (1,000 kg) Max speed: 300 mph (480 kph). Ceiling: 29,000 ft. (8,800m) fully loaded. Range: 1,860 miles (3,000 km). Range: 900 sm with 2200 lb bombs. Crew: 4. Armament: 4 x mg.
Do 215A-1 Engines: 2 x 1,075 hp Daimler Benz DB 601A. Max speed: 289 mph (465 kph) with a 2,200 lb (1000 kg) bomb load. Max cruise: 257 mph (413.5 kph). Normal range: 965 mls (1553 km). Service ceiling: 31,170 ft (9500 m).
Do 215B-1 Engines: 2 x 1,075 hp Daimler Benz DB 601Aa. Max speed: 239 mph (385 kph) at sea level, 289 mph (465 kph) at 13,123 ft (4 000 m). Tactical radius with max bomb load: 236 mls (380 km). Max ferry range: 1,522 mls (22450 km). Wing span: 59 ft 0in (18.00 m). Length: 52 ft 0 in (15.80 m) Height: 15 ft 1 in (4.60 m). Wing area, 592 sq.ft (55.0 sq.m). Crew: 4. Armament: four 7.9 mm MG 15 mg. MTOW: 19,400 lb (8 800 kg)
Do 215B-3
Do-215B-4 Engines: 2 V-12 Daimler-Benz DB 601Aa with 1100hp/820kW Max speed: 239 mph (385 kph) at sea level, 289 mph (465 kph) at 13,123 ft (4 000 m). Climbing Rate: 1000m in 2min, 18sec Operational Altitude: 9000m Weight empty: 5775kg MTOW: 19,400 lb (8 800 kg) Wing span: 59 ft 0in (18.00 m). Length: 52 ft 0 in (15.80 m) Height: 15 ft 1 in (4.60 m). Wing area, 592 sq.ft (55.0 sq.m). Tactical radius with max bomb load: 236 mls (380 km). Max ferry range: 1,522 mls (22450 km). Armament: One or two 7,92mm Machine Guns in the Nose, two 7,92mm MG in the front glass, two 7,92mm MG in each of the side windows, one 7,92mm MG on the back of the cockpit, one 7,92mm MG in the belly. Max Bomb load: 1000kg Crew: 4.
Do 215B-5 Engines: 2 x 1,075 hp Daimler Benz DB 601Aa. Wing span: 59 ft 0in (18.00 m). Length: 52 ft 0 in (15.80 m) Height: 15 ft 1 in (4.60 m). Wing area, 592 sq.ft (55.0 sq.m). MTOW: 19,400 lb (8 800 kg).
Dr Claude Dornier was employed by Count Zeppelin in 1910, and in 1914 was in charge of the design and construction of large all-metal marine aircraft at Zeppelin-Werke Lindau. Here he produced the Rs.I in 1915, then the largest aircraft in the world, with a span of 43.5m. By 1918 three more giant flying-boats had been built, Rs.II, III, and IV, as well as prototypes of single-seat and two-seat fighters.
All employed Dornier’s techniques of advanced metal construction. After the war the works were transferred to Manzel, near Friedrichshafen, where some two-seaters for the Swiss Air Force were completed. At Manzel, between 1920 and 1925, appeared the Libelle, Delphin, Komet and Merkur, small civil aircraft, and the Falke, an unsuccessful fighter. In 1922 the company became Dornier Metallbauten GmbH and in 1926, as the Manzel works were too small, it transferred to Altenrhein in Switzerland (Aktien Gesellschaft für Dornier Fluzeuge). Here, for the next three years, Aktien Gesellschaft fur Dornier Flugzeug was occupied in building three Do X flying-boats, the largest aircraft of their time, powered by 12 engines. Two were sold to Italy. Bomber designs followed, the Do N, P, and Y being built 1929-1931. These led to the Do F which, like the Do 11, began in 1933 to reequip the German Air Force. However, in 1932 production was resumed in Germany. The Swiss factory subsequently became the Eidgenossisches Flugzeugwerk. 1932 production in Germany, this time as Dornier-Werke GmbH, began with the military Wal (later the Do 18) and Do 11 bomber, supplanted later by the Do 23. In 1934 appeared its first modern warplane, the Do 17, evolved from a fast, six-passenger mailplane designed for Deutsche Luft Hansa. The Do 17 and its successor, the Do 217, which served as a nightfighter, were the only Dornier designs to see largescale production during 1935-1943. Towards the end of the war the company produced the Do 335 push-pull twin-engined heavy fighter with a top speed of 763km/h, probably the fastest piston-engined Second World War fighter.
After the war Dornier became established in Spain. The first postwar aircraft developed completely in Germany was the twin-engined STOL Do 28. An experimental STOL jet transport followed, the Do 31, and the Do 29 research aircraft. From 1966 the company developed the Skyservant and was involved in international programs. Collaboration with Avions Marcel Dassault-Breguet Aviation on Alpha Jet development and production included research into supercritical wing. Merkle joined Dornier in 1969. Became Dornier GmbH in 1972. A majority shareholding was acquired by Daimler-Benz AG in 1985. In 1989 Deutsche Aerospace AG was formed as a corporate unit of Daimler-Benz Group and intended to unite the work of Dornier, MBB, MTU and more, and was renamed Daimler- Benz Aerospace AG. in 1995, with the Regional Aircraft division administered by Dornier Luftfahrt GmbH. In June 1996 Fairchild Aerospace purchased 80% of Dornier Luftfahrt from Daimler-Benz Aerospace, forming Fairchild Dornier Germany Dornier Luftfahrt GmbH. Within Daimler Chrysler Aerospace AG, Dornier Flugzeugwerft GmbH represents part of the Military Aircraft business unit.
In 1938, Rene Dorand created the Societe Francaise Du Gyroplane, to develop a new aircraft with coaxial rotors, the GII, which was evacuated to Chambery in 1940 and finished. After the end of the war, it was found that no one dared to start the rotors, which, were very close to one another. The aircraft was donated to the French Air Museum.
All Aero 