World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe Do 17 light (ie. fast) bombers were developed by Dornier in 1933 under the guise of civilian mail carriers, but they were in actuality bombers capable of outrunning pursuing fighters. To reduce drag, their fuselages were made as narrow as possible, hence earning the nickname Fliegender Bleistift from pilots. In 1937, Do 17P aircraft began service with Luftwaffe's long range reconnaissance units allocated to the German Army. Do 17P aircraft "rendered excellent service", recalled General der Flieger Paul Deichmann after the war. During the campaigns in Poland and France, Do 17Z aircraft served in Air Corps VIII as capable low level bombers. They were finally replaced by the modern Do 217 aircraft beginning in 1941. Several Axis nations such as Yugoslavia and Finland also employed the service of Do 17 aircraft in their air forces.

Do 17 Timeline

SPECIFICATIONS

Do 17Z-2

Machinery	Two BMW Bramo 323P Fafnir 9-cylinder radial engines rated at 1,000hp each
Armament	6×7.92mm MG 15 or 5x7.92mm MG 15 and 1x20mm MG FF cannon
Crew	4
Span	18.00 m
Length	15.80 m
Height	4.55 m
Wing Area	55.00 m²
Weight, Empty	5,209 kg
Weight, Maximum	8,850 kg
Speed, Maximum	427 km/h
Service Ceiling	8,200 m
Range, Normal	1,160 km

Photographs

Visitor Submitted Comments

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1.  Bill says:
14 Jan 2011 09:51:32 AM

THE BOMBER THAT NEVER WAS:

Another bomber not listed is the Dornier Do19
The Luftwaffe lacked a 4-engine heavy bomber
the bombers advocate was General Walther Wever the Luftwaffe's First Chief of Staff.

DEATH OF THE DORNIER DO 19

Both Dornier and Junkers built prototypes when General Wever was killed in a air crash the program died with him.
His successors developed twin-engine bombers and believed they would be more effective.

2.  Bill says:
14 Jan 2011 12:59:06 PM

Three Dornier Do19s were built, one flew the other two were scrapped.
The remaining prototype was transfered to the Luftwaffe, and operated with transport
gruppe KGrzbv.105

SHORTSIGHTED:

The Do19 could have been developed into the
4-engine bomber the Luftwaffe needed.
When World War II started the need for a long
range bomber was seen However, much of the
development time had been lost.
Long-range bombing missions would have been more effective against Britain and Russia.

Hermann Goring upon advice from Wever's
successior's Kesselring, Udet and Milch killed the Do19.
Goring shelved the bomber, and later said
"The Fuhrer will never ask me how big our bombers are, but how many we have".