Dornier Do 215

Dornier Do 215
Type:	bomber
Design country:	German Empire
Manufacturer:	Dornier
First flight:	1938
Commissioning:	1939
Number of pieces:	105

The Dornier Do 215 was a twin-engine aircraft made by the German manufacturer Dornier , which was used as a reconnaissance aircraft and night fighter . The Dornier-Werke listed the aircraft as a multi-purpose aircraft and stated the following uses: heavy bomber, long-range bomber, long-range reconnaissance aircraft, combined bomb reconnaissance aircraft, low-attack aircraft and destroyer.

Development and production

Due to the sensation that the Dornier Do 17 caused at an air show in Zurich in the summer of 1937 , numerous countries began to be interested in the design. Yugoslavia acquired a production license for the Do 17K and Do 17M versions. In the meantime, a new version of the Do 17Z went into production for the Air Force, but it was not approved for export. Dornier soon tried to obtain such approval. The Reich Aviation Ministry finally allowed the export under the condition of a different designation Do 215.

As before, Yugoslavia was the first interested party. Do a 17-Z 0 of the pre-production was used as screening machine having a pair Gnome Rhône-14N - radial engines equipped and received the designation Do 215 V2 before being presented to the Yugoslav Air Force. Previously, a Do 17 Z-0 with the standard BMW Bramo 323 A-1 engines had been renamed the Do 215 V1 . However, the V2 showed hardly any improved flight characteristics compared to the previous model, which was already in production in Yugoslavia, so no order was placed. Dornier then decided to equip the Do 215 with the more powerful DB-601 A engines from Daimler-Benz. A corresponding prototype flew under the designation Do 215 V3 (W. No. 96) and showed considerable increases in performance compared to the other prototypes.

A number of other test machines followed:

• For version B-4 the V2 (factory number 43) served as a test sample.
• The variant B-6 (TK-9 installation in Poznan) was tested on factory number 16.
• The factory number 89 was the prototype for the night reconnaissance aircraft B-10.
• The prototype of version B-2 (armor 2) was the work number 99.
• The factory number 59 represented the B-9 prototype.

In December 1939, Sweden ordered 18 Do 215 A-1s to replace the undelivered French Breguet 694s . The machines ordered were not delivered due to a German export embargo and the order was subsequently canceled in September 1940. Instead, the German Air Force took over the aircraft.

The Dornier Do-215-B series was the production model for the German Air Force. Between December 1939 and January 1941 a total of 101 pieces were produced. The W. 1 can be expected as the first prototype, so that a total of 102 Do 215s were built.

In 1941 some Do 215B received the weapon head already mounted in the Do 17 Z-10 "Kauz II" instead of the bow glazing for night hunting purposes. These machines were given the designation Do 215 B-5. At least 17 aircraft were converted into such night fighters.

Two copies of the type were delivered to the Soviet Union for testing purposes under the designation Do 215 B-3 . In the initial phase of the war, one of these machines is said to have been used. The flights were discontinued after a short time because of the high risk of being shot down by their own air defense.

commitment

By May 1940, all squadrons of the reconnaissance group / Commander in Chief of the Air Force ( Aufkl.Gr./Ob.dL ) received machines of various Do-215A and Do-215B variants. The 1st squadron operated with a mix of Do 215 A-0 and Do 215 B-4 for long-range reconnaissance, while the 2nd and 3rd squadron were equipped with Do 215 B-4 alongside other types of aircraft. The guy also came to the 1st (F) / Aufkl.Gr. 124 and the 2nd (F) / night reconnaissance group .

In 1941, some Do 215B were converted to the Do 215 B-5 night fighter version and were used in the 4th squadron of Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 ( 4./NJG 2 ), which operated from the occupied Netherlands.

In 1942, Hungary received some Do 215 B-4s from air force stocks and used them as long-range reconnaissance aircraft on the Eastern Front.

In the further course of the war, the Do 215 was partly used as a travel and training aircraft.

States of operations

•  German Empire
•  Hungary
•  Soviet Union (tests only)
• (not delivered) order from:
  •  Sweden

technical description

Wings The Dornier Do 215 was a cantilevered shoulder-wing wing with two-spar wings in all-metal construction with slot ailerons and split flaps between ailerons and fuselage; the flaps were operated electrically.

Fuselage On the all-metal fuselage , executed in shell construction, a so-called combat head with a glass nose was attached as the fuselage tip. The machine was entered through a flap in the bottom of the fuselage.

Tail unit The all-metal horizontal stabilizer was designed to be cantilevered, the two-part horizontal stabilizer was adjustable during the flight and each equipped with a trim tab. The all-metal rudder was designed twice (one end plate each) and cantilevered, the rudder was covered with fabric.

Chassis Both the main wheels and the faired tail wheel were designed to be electrically retractable. Wheel brakes acted on the chassis.

The main difference to the Do 17Z was the engine with the liquid-cooled Daimler-Benz-DB-601 engines instead of the air-cooled Bramo 323, as well as a changed equipment. Ultimately, the machine was equipped with the 1,100 hp DB 601 B-1 engines.

Version overview

• Do 215 B-0: a total of three machines from the original A-series, converted for the Luftwaffe and equipped with FuG 10; Use as a so-called reconnaissance bomber

• Do 215 B-1: Redesign of the remaining and improved machines in the A series

• Do 215 B-2: equipped with a sliding cover under the bomb compartment; A Rb 50/30 series display device was installed in the bomb room, and further display devices in the area of ​​the access hatch and the B stand

• Do 215 B-3: two machines of this type were delivered to the Soviet Union at the end of 1939 on the basis of contractual ties

• Do 215 B-4: Photo reconnaissance aircraft developed from the B-2 in an improved version

• Do 215 B-5 "Kauz III": conversion of Do 215 B-1 to a night fighter; Replacement of the glazed nose with the solid and more aerodynamic nose of the predecessor Do 17 Z-10 "Kauz II". In the nose there was an infrared spotlight covered by Plexiglas for the "Spanner" viewing system and, arranged in a semicircle above it, four 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns . Optionally, one or two 20 mm MG FF cannons could be installed in a container under the fuselage. In mid-1941, one machine was equipped with the FuG 202 “Lichtenstein-B / C” interception radar for testing purposes, and further operational machines were converted to it from mid-1942.

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data of the Dornier Do 215 B-4
crew	4th
length	15.79 m
span	18.00 m
height	4.56 m
Wing area	55.00 m²
Empty mass	5800 kg
Max. Takeoff mass	8800 kg
drive	two V12 engines DB 601 Ba (liquid-cooled) with 1175 HP starting power each acting on metal 3-blade adjustable propellers
Top speed	485 km / h at an altitude of 4000 m
Marching speed	460 km / h
Landing speed	125 km / h
Rate of climb	2 minutes for 1000 m
Summit height	9000 m
Range	2450 km
Armament	4 × 7.92 mm MG 15 , 1 each semi-rigid in the windshield, in the bow, in the B and in the C stand
Cameras	3

See also

• List of aircraft types

Web links

Commons : Dornier Do 215  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ Aircraft type book. Handbook of the German Aviation and Accessories Industry. Main edition A 3rd revised and expanded edition, year 1939/40, ISBN 3-8112-0627-3 .
2. ^ William Green: War Planes of the Second World War, Volume 9. 2nd edition, London 1968, pp. 7ff.
3. ^ Lennart Andersson: Svensktmilitaryflyg - propellerepoken. Karlshamn 1992, p. 111.
4. ↑ Sergei Pasynitsch, Sergei Zwetkow, Stefan Büttner, Jörg Mückler: Long-range reconnaissance aircraft with a red star - the chronicle of the 47th Air Regiment. Flieger Revue Extra No. 30, Möller, Berlin 2010, p. 60.
5. ↑ Federal Archives / Military Archives, Production Programs RL 3