Dornier Do 17

Up to 17 MB1s were equipped with in-line Daimler-Benz DB 601 A-0 engines with a takeoff power of 1100 hp.

The career of the Do 17 began as a high-speed mail plane and ended as one of the Luftwaffe's main bombers in the early years of World War II and as a long-range reconnaissance aircraft performing its dangerous missions far into enemy territory.

History Until 17, it was associated with the factories of Dornier Werke GmbH, located in the city of Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance. The founder and owner of the company was Professor Claudius Dornier, who was born on May 14, 1884 in Kempten (Allgäu). After graduation, he worked in a firm that designed and built metal bridges and viaducts, and in 1910 was transferred to the experimental center for the construction of airships (Versuchsanstalt des Zeppelin-Luftschiffbaues), where he studied the statics and aerodynamics of airships and the construction of propellers, he also worked on floating hall for airships. Even before the outbreak of the First World War, he developed a project for a large airship with a capacity of 80 m³, intended for transatlantic communication between Germany and the United States.

After the outbreak of the war, Dornier worked on the creation of a large military multi-engine flying boat. In his project, he used steel and duralumin as the main structural materials. The flying boat received the designation Rs I, the first prototype was built in October 1915, but even before the flight, further development of the aircraft was abandoned. The following three designs of Dornier flying boats - Rs II, Rs III and Rs IV - were completed and tested in flight. The Zeppelin Werke GmbH factory at Seemoos, managed by Dornier, was transferred to Lindau-Reutin in 1916. In 1918, a single-seat all-metal fighter DI was built here, but it was not mass-produced.

After the end of the war, Dornier took up the construction of civil aircraft. On 31 July 1919, a six-seat boat was tested and designated Gs I. However, the Allied control committee classified the new aircraft as a design prohibited by the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles and ordered the destruction of the prototype. The same fate befell the two prototypes of the 9-seater Gs II flying boat. Not afraid of this, Dornier began to create designs that did not go beyond. The flying boat Cs II Delphin, designed for five passengers, took off on November 24, 1920, its land counterpart C III Komet - in 1921, and soon the two-seat flying boat Libelle I joined it. In Lindau-Reutin they change them the name of Dornier Metallbauten GmbH. To get around the restrictions, Dornier decided to establish overseas branches of his company. CMASA (Societa di Construzioni Meccaniche Aeronautiche Marina di Pisa) was the first company established in Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and Spain.

In addition to subsidiaries in Italy, Dornier has opened factories in Spain, Switzerland and Japan. The Swiss branch was located in Altenrhein on the other side of Lake Constance. The largest flying boat, the twelve-engine Dornier Do X, was built there. Dornier's next developments were the Do N twin-engine night bomber, designed for Japan and manufactured by Kawasaki, and the Until P four-engine heavy bomber. Y. Dornier began work on the Do F twin-engine bomber. The first prototype took off on May 17, 1931 in Altenrhein. It was a modern design with a metal shelled fuselage and wings constructed from metal ribs and beams, partly sheathed in sheet and partly in canvas. The aircraft was equipped with two 1931 hp Bristol Jupiter engines. each built under license from Siemens.

As part of the German aviation expansion plan for 1932-1938, it was planned to begin serial production of Do F aircraft, designated Do 11. Production of Do 11 and Militär-Wal 33 flying boats for German aviation began in 1933 at Dornier-Werke GmbH factories. After the National Socialists came to power in January 1933, the rapid development of German combat aviation began. The Reich Aviation Ministry (Reichsluftfahrtministerium, RLM), created on May 5, 1933, developed plans for the development of military aviation. assumed the production of 1935 bombers by the end of 400.

Initial speculations describing specifications for a fast fighter-bomber (Kampfzerstörer) were published in July 1932 by the Arms Testing Division (Waffenprüfwesen) under the Military Armaments Office (Heereswaffenamt) of the Reich Defense Ministry (Reichswehrministerium), headed by the Obstlt. Wilhelm Wimmer. Since at that time Germany had to comply with the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles, the head of the Heereswaffenamt is a lieutenant general. von Vollard-Bockelburg - hid the true purpose of the aircraft by sending out technical conditions to aviation companies labeled “fast communication aircraft for DLH” (Schnellverkehrsflugzeug für die DLH). The specifications specified in detail the military purpose of the aircraft, while it was reported that the possibility of civilian use of the machine should be taken into account - provided, however, that the airframe could be converted into a military version at any time. and with little time and resources.