Warplanes of Germany: Luftwaffe Dornier Do 217

Dornier Do 217

(Luftwaffe Photo)

The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by the German Luftwaffe during the Second World War. It was a more powerful development of the Dornier Do 17, known as the Fliegender Bleistift (German: "flying pencil"). Designed in 1937-38 as a heavy bomber but not meant to be capable of the longer-range missions envisioned for the larger Heinkel He 177, the Do 217's design was refined during 1939 and production began in late 1940. It entered service in early 1941 and by the beginning of 1942 was available in significant numbers.

The Dornier Do 217 had a much larger bomb load and a much greater range than the Do 17. In later variants, dive bombing and maritime strike capabilities using glide bombs were experimented with, considerable success being achieved. Early Do 217 variants were more powerful than the contemporary Heinkel He 111 and Junkers Ju 88, having a greater speed, range and bomb load. Owing to this it was called a heavy bomber rather than a medium bomber. The Do 217 served on all fronts in all roles. On the Eastern Front and Western Front it was used as a strategic bomber, torpedo bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. It was also used for tactical operations, either direct ground assault or anti-shipping strikes during the Battle of the Atlantic and Battle of Normandy. The Do 217 was also converted to become a night fighter and saw considerable action in the Defence of the Reich campaign until late in the war.

The type also served in anti-shipping units in the Mediterranean, attacking Allied convoys and naval units during the Battle of the Mediterranean. In 1943, the Do 217 was the first aircraft to deploy precision-guided munitions in combat, when Fritz X radio-guided bombs sank the Italian battleship Roma in the Mediterranean. After the end of the war, at least one Dornier Do 217 continued in military operational service with the Swiss Air Force until 1946. (Wikipedia)

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Dornier Do 217.

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Dornier Do 217C-0.

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Dornier Do 217E-2 1136, coded RH+EJ.

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Dornier Do 217 E. First flown in August 1938, the Do 217 was a development of the Do 17 and remained in production until the latter part of 1943. The first production version was the Do 217E, which was used during 1940 and 1941 as a bomber and for attacks on convoys. It 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. 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.

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Dornier Do 217E-2 B-Stand with DL 131 turret.

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Dornier Do 217E-1, coded DD+LF.

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Dornier Do 217E-5.

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Dornier Do 217E-4, coded F8-AP.

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Do 217 E-1 (Wk.Nr. 0040).

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Do 217 E of the 3/KG 2, Dreux, 5 June 1942.

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Dornier Do 217E-1 bombers, 1942.

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Dornier Do 217E-1.

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Dornier Do 217 E-1, KG 40.

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DDo 217E, Bourges, 1944.

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Dornier Do 217E, coded 3E+EN, 5/KG 6.

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Dornier Do 217E, 148, 1942.

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Dornier Do 217E-5.

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Dornier Do 217E, I/KG 66, in Montdidier, France.

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Dornier Do 217E, 4298.

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Dornier Do 217J-1 fitted with FuG 202 AI radar. The Do 217J was a night fighter developed from the E, to which it was structurally similar but for having a redesigned solid armoured nose fitted with four 20mm MG FF cannon and four 7.92mm MG 17 machine-guns; the upper and lower rear guns of the E-2 were retained. Special night-flying equipment was installed and for some time Js were the standard Luftwaffe night fighter.

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Dornier Do 217J-1 night fighter prototype fitted with FuG 202 AI radar.

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Dornier Do 217J-2 night fighter, coded GE+EA, fitted with FuG 202 AI radar.

(Bundesarchiv, Bild 101III-Pachnike-041-24A / Pachnike / CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Do 217K-2, with the K-versions standard “stepless cockpit”. The Do 217K was a further development of the E, the distinguishing feature of this version being a redesigned deeper and more rounded nose. The Do 217K-1 was a bomber; but the K-2 with 24.4 m wings was equipped to carry two FX 1400 Fritz X radio-controlled armour-piercing bombs for attacking armoured ships. Another novelty in the K was the fitting of a battery of four fixed rearward-firing MG 81 machine-guns in the tail-cone. Like the E and J, the K had BMW 801 engines.

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Dornier Do 217K-1.

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This Dornier Do 217 K-1 of 6./KG 2 crashed at Hilversum in the night of 4-5 May 1943.

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Dornier Do 217 K-01, coded KE+JA, (Wk.Nr. 4401).

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Dornier Do 217K-01, coded KE+JA (Wk.Nr. 4401).

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Dornier Do 217 K, cockpit.

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Dornier Do 217K-2, 4572.

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Dornier Do 217M.

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Dornier Do 217M-1.

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Dornier Do 217M-1.

A change of power plant to the Daimler-Benz DB 603 led to the Do 217M, which was otherwise similar to the K and was the latest version of the Do 217 in service at the time of Germany's capitulation. The Do 217N was a night-fighter variant of the M, with armament that could include two or four fixed upward-firing guns.

The Do 217M was a Luftwaffe twin-engine four-seat night-interceptor and intruder-fighter bomber. The aircraft was powered by two Daimler Benz DB 603A 1`2-cylinder liquid-cooled engines each rated at 1,750 hp for take-off and 1,850 hp at 6,889’. It had a maximum speed of 264-mph and a maximum cruising speed of 289-mph at 17,716’. Its service ceiling was 27,559’ and its normal range was 1,090 miles. The aircraft weighed 30, 200 lbs empty and 43,607 lbs fully equipped. Its wing span is 52’4”, its length is 62’ and its height is 16’5”. The Do 217N-2/R22 night fighter variant was armed with four MG 17 machineguns in the fuselage nose, four 20-mm MG 151 cannon in the lower nose and four 20-mm MG 151 cannon firing upwards from the central fuselage, tilted forward 70°.

The Do 217M was developed from the Do 217K-1 bomber which introduced by Dornier in the autumn of 1942. The Do 217K-1 had a new glazed nose incorporating an unstepped revised cockpit and defensive dispositions. The Do 217M-1 was essentially a Daimler-Benz DB 603A-powered version of the Do 217K-1, and the similar Do 217M-5 was equipped with an under fuselage rack for an Hs 293 missile. The Do 217M-3 was a DB 603A-engined equivalent of the Do 217K-3, and the Do 217M-11 was an extended-span missile-carrying equivalent of the Do 217K-2.

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Dornier Do 217N-2 0174, coded PE-AW.

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Dornier Do 217N.

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Dornier Do 217N-2 with FuG 202.

Dornier Do 217N-1 night-fighter coded SO+QY, captured by the USAAF in May 1945.  (USAAF Photo)

(RAF Photo)

Dornier Do 217M-9, (Wk. Nr. 0040), KF+JN, captured at Flensberg.  Designated RAF AM7, this aircraft was modified with vertical tail fins and rudders later used in the Do 317.  It was scrapped at Flensberg in 1945.

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Dornier Do 217PV, coded BK-IR.

The final variant of the Do 217 was the P, developed as a very high-altitude bomber and reconnaissance aircraft with a pressurised cabin for the crew of four. First flown in June 1942, this version failed to enter production, as did the further developed Do 317. A few Do 217J night fighters also served with Italy.

Production of all versions of the Do 217 totalled 1,730, and these aircraft were last used in large scale bombing operations against the UK in early 1944. By the middle of the year the majority remaining in service were missile carriers, and these continued to operate with limited success until the end of the war. (Wikipedia)

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Dornier Do 217E-2 1104 ramjet test bed.