Dornier Do 335

The Dornier Do 335 'Pfeil' was a fast fighter-bomber aircraft used by the Luftwaffe during the last year of World War II. Designed by Prof. Claudius Dornier in 1942, it first flew as a prototype (Do 335-V1) on October 26, 1943. After several months of trials and nine prototypes, it entered service in early November 1944. Since Germany was already losing the war, with factories being bombed by the Allies, the Luftwaffe received only 40 aircraft.

Despite the stringent limit to mass production, the Dornier Do 335 did see combat action in January 1945, during Operation Bodenplatte, which was a Luftwaffe massive air raid against Allied aircraft designed to provide the German armored units with a protective umbrella during the Battle of the Bulge. In seven encounters with Allied fighters, three Pfeils (arrow) managed to shoot down four P-51 Mustangs and two Supermarine Spitfires, with one of the German fighters being damaged.

Below, the fastest piston-engine aircraft of WW2

Technical Description

The Do 335 had a unique design, which set it apart from the rest of WW2 aircraft. It was a two-engine monoplane but it had its power plants mounted in tandem, one in the nose and the other one in the tail. It was also the first plane in history to feature an ejection seat. Technically, it was a cantilever monoplane, with an all-metal fuselage.

It featured straight dihedral wings, which were mounted low on the fuselage and had a leading edge with a sweep of 13 degrees. It had a cruciform tail unit, with the conventional dorsal tail fin augmented by an extra ventral fin. The cantilever tailplane was also of stressed skin construction but the vertical fin had wooden leading edges. Landing gear was retractable and hydraulically actuated.

Specifications

Type: fighter-bomber; night/day fighter.

Length: 13.85 m

Wingspan: 13.80 m

Wing Area: 38.5 sq. meters

Height: 5 m

Power Plant: two Daimler-Benz DB-603E-1, 12-cylinder, inverted "V", liquid-cooled engines, delivering 1,800 HP each.

Maximum Speed: 763 km/h (474 mph).

Range: 1400 km

Armament: one, engine-mounted, 30mm MK-103 cannon; two 15mm cannons in fuselage grooves; two 250-kg bombs in internal bay and other two 250-kg bombs on two hard-points.

Below, A Do 335 V1, the first prototype on the tarmac of a Luftwaffe airbase.

Below, the Dornier Do 335 parked at a military airbase on the West after a dogfight with Allied fighters. You can see the enemy machine gun round holes in the back portion of fuselage.

The Pfeil Do-335A-0, the seventh prototype to be built.