Dornier Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturer founded in
Friedrichshafen in 1914 by Claudius Dornier. Over the course of its long
lifespan, the company produced many designs for both the civil and military
markets. History
Originally Dornier Metallbau, Dornier Flugzeugwerke took over Flugzeugbau
Friedrichshafen production facilities when it failed in 1923. Dornier rose to
prominence in the 1920s and 1930s as a manufacturer of large, all-metal flying
boats, including the 1924 Wal and the Do X. Dornier also built a series of
successful land planes, including the Komet and Merkur that were used by Luft
Hansa and other European carriers during the 1920s and early 30s. Dornier built
its aircraft outside Germany during much of this period, in compliance with the
restrictions placed on German aircraft manufacturers by the Treaty of
Versailles. Foreign factories licence-building Dornier products
included CMASA and Piaggio in Italy, CASA in Spain, Kawasaki in Japan, and
Aviolanda in the Netherlands. Once the Nazi government came to power and
abandoned the treaty's restrictions, Dornier resumed production in Germany.
Dornier's most significant military aircraft design before and during World
War II was the Do 17, nicknamed The Flying Pencil. It was developed and
first flown in 1934 as a commercial aircraft in competition for a Lufthansa
contract. Due to its narrow fuselage it was not commercially attractive and was
passed over by Lufthansa. Dornier then further developed it as a military
aircraft with a prototype bomber first flying in 1935. In 1937, it was employed
in pro-Fascist terror bombings by the German Condor Legion during the Spanish
Civil War. Production continued within Germany and this versatile two-engined
aircraft was developed by the Luftwaffe into multiple combat variations. The
medium bomber variant saw much service during the early part of World War II
including extensive use in the Battle of Britain. It was later developed into an
effective nightfighter to defend Germany from the RAF bomber offensive. Dornier
developed the successful Do 217 based on the Do 17; ostensibly looking like its
younger sibling, this larger and much heavier bomber was in fact a completely
new design. Dornier also developed the fastest piston-engined fighter of the
war, the two-engined Do 335, introduced too late to enter combat service.
Dornier's history of successful flying boats lead to new models that saw
service in several armed forces around the world as well as Germany, including
the Do 22, Do 18, and Do 24. After WWII, aircraft production was
again forbidden in Germany, and Dornier relocated to Spain and then to
Switzerland where the firm provided aeronautical consultancy services until
once again returning to Germany in 1954. Post-war, Dornier quickly re-established
itself with highly successful small STOL transports such as the Do 27 and Do 28.
Additionally, in 1974 it developed the Alpha Jet as part of a joint venture
with French aircraft manufacturers Dassault-Breguet. The plane was well
received and established itself as the new standard NATO trainer during the
1970s and 80s. In 1983, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
bought a production licence for the Dornier Do 228 and manufactured the
aircraft for the Asian market sphere. By 2013 a total of 117 Dornier DO-228
aircraft had been produced by HAL with plans to build 20 more during 2013-14.
In 1985, Dornier became a member of the Daimler-Benz group integrating its
aeronautic assets with the parent company. As part of this transaction,
Lindauer Dornier GmbH was spun off, creating a separate, family-owned firm,
concentrating on textile machinery design and manufacturing. The rest of
the company was split into several subsidiaries for defence, satellites,
medtech and aircraft. In 1996, the majority of Dornier
Aircraft was acquired by Fairchild Aircraft, forming Fairchild Dornier.
This company became insolvent in early 2002. Production of its 328 Jet was
acquired by US company Avcraft. Asian interests continued to show interest in
its 728 version in August 2004, but production had not restarted. The other
subsidiaries became part of the EADS, the medtech division was sold to an
investment company and now bears the name Dornier MedTech.
Dornier Medtech manufactures medical equipment, such as the Dornier S
lithotriptor, HM3, Compact Delta to treat kidney stones. Dornier MedTech
also manufactures laser devices for a wide range of applications.
= Dornier Seaplane Company= The Dornier family have a spin-off
company and project, the Dornier Seastar. It is a turboprop-powered
amphibious aircraft built largely of composite materials. This was developed
by Claudius Dornier Jr. Dornier aircraft projects
= Letter designations= (Does not include designations for
aircraft built while Dornier was with Zeppelin-Lindau)
Dornier Gs Precursor to Wal destroyed by Military Inter-Allied Commission of
Control Dornier Do A Libelle
Dornier Spatz Landplane version of Do A Dornier Do B Merkur Development of Do C
Dornier Do C Komet Dornier Do C 2, 3, 4 Fighter unrelated
to earlier Do C, redesignated Do 10 Dornier Do D
Dornier Do E Dornier Do F
Dornier Do G Grief Dornier Do H Falke
Dornier Do I Dornier Do J Wal
Dornier Do K Dornier Do L Delphin
Dornier Do N Design for Japanese as Kawasaki Ka 87
Dornier Do O Wal Custom built version of Do J
Dornier Do P Dornier Do R.2 and R.4 Superwal
Dornier Do S Dornier Do T
Dornier Do U Dornier Do X
Dornier Do Y Additional unbuilt projects include 3
different Schneider Trophy racers from 1924, 1928 and 1931 and a large
multi-engine seaplane similar to the Do X with engines buried in the wings.
= 1933-1945= Dornier Do 10
Dornier Do 11 Dornier Do 12
Dornier Do 13 Dornier Do 14
Dornier Do 15 Dornier Do 16
Dornier Do 17 Dornier Do 18
Dornier Do 19 Dornier Do 22
Dornier Do 23 Dornier Do 24
Dornier Do 26 Dornier Do 29
Dornier Do 212 Dornier Do 214 Project
Dornier Do 215 Dornier Do 216 Project
Dornier Do 217 Dornier Do 247 Project
Dornier Do 317 Dornier Do 335
Dornier Do 635 Dornier P 256
= 1945-present= Dornier Do 25 Prototype for Do 27
Dornier Do 27 Dornier Do 28 - developed from Do 27
Dornier Do 29 Dornier Do 31
Dornier Do 32 Dornier Do 128
Dornier Do 132 Dornier Do 228 - developed from Do 28
Dornier Do 231 Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet
Dornier 328 Fairchild Dornier 328JET
Fairchild Dornier 428JET Fairchild Dornier 728 family
Dornier Aerodyne Dornier Seawings Seastar
Dornier S-Ray 007 Dornier Automobile Projects
Dornier Delta Dornier Delta II, developed for Hymer
Dornier Faint Object Camera Dornier GmbH built the Faint Object
Camera for the Hubble Space Telescope, which was used from 1990 to 2002. The
ESA funded the unit, which actually consists of two complete and independent
camera systems designed to provide extremely high resolution, exceeding
0.05 arcseconds. It is designed to view very faint UV light from 115 to 650
nanometers in wavelength. It was the last original instrument on the Hubble
when it was replaced by the Advanced Camera for Surveys in 2002.
Missile projects Dornier Viper
Spacecraft AMC-5
Project 621 See also
Dornier Museum Friedrichshafen References
External links Luft '46
DFW's Web Page Dornier Museum Friedrichshafen