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Do 17
The Do 17 was dubbed “flying pencil” because of its shape. Designed in 1934, it was a postal service aircraft for Lufthansa, even though tests were secretly being made to use it as a bomber aircraft(remember – after the First World War, Germany was not allowed to constitute an air force, so all airplanes had to be used as if they were only for civil purposes).
Delivered to the Luftwaffe, the Do 17 was engaged in combat during the Civil War in Spain (1936-1937). Later, during the Blitzkrieg at the beginning of World War 2, the aircraft was used in masse – in particular against Poland and France. But during the Battle of Britain, it became clear that it could not be a match for the Allied fighter aircrafts. In 1943, the German took this medium bomber off the front lines and used it for secondary tasks, mainly as a transport airplane.
Specifications
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Type:
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Medium Bomber
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Crew:
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4 to 5
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Powerplant:
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Two
1,000 hp (746 kW) BMW Bramo 323P Fafnir 9-cylinder single row radial engines
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Max speed:
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255 mph (410
km/h)
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Ceiling:
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26,905 ft (8200
m)
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Range:
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721 miles (1160
km) with full bombload
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Weight (empty):
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11,464 lbs (5200
kg)
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Weight (loaded):
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15,520 lbs (7040
kg)
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Wingspan:
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59 ft 1/2 in
(18.00 m)
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Length:
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51 ft 10 in
(15.80 m)
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Height:
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14 ft 11 in (4.55
m)
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Armament:
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Up
to seven 7.92 mm (0.31 in) Rheinmetall MG 15
trainable machine guns in the
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windscreen,
nose, dorsal and ventral postions plus an internal bombload of 2,205 lbs (1000 kg)
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The Do 17 was only one of the famous German World War 2 planes.
Click to see more German aircrafts.
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