Dornier Do 215

Design & Development

The Do 17 fast bomber elicited renewed interest from foreign air forces (after the initial Do 17K series production). In July 1937, Dornier therefore prepared a pre-series Do 17 Z-0 as a demonstrator for export customers. It was given the civil registration D-AAIV. While this aircraft was essentially identical to the production Do 17Z, the Reichsluftfahrtministerium assigned the designation Do 215 to the export version. However, in spite of the Do 215 being designated as an export version, many Do 215s were used by the Luftwaffe.

The first prototype, Do 215 V1, retained the nine-cylinder Bramo 323 Fafnir radial engine of the Do 17Z. It crashed during testing. The second prototype, Do 215 V2, was equipped with the Gnome-Rhône 14-NO radial engine. It safely completed testing, but did not attract export orders because it did not offer a notable performance increase over the Do 17Z. The third prototype, Do 215 V3, used a 1,175 PS (1,159 hp) Daimler-Benz DB 601 Ba inline engine. In 1937, Dornier had used the earlier Daimler-Benz DB 600 powerplants in the Do 17L and Do 17M subtypes. The Do 215 V3, which first flew in the spring of 1939, demonstrated a noticeable improvement in flight performance compared to the earlier prototypes.

Series production of the Do 215 A-1 began in 1939. The order, intended for the Swedish Air Force, was stopped in August 1939, due to the political situation. The 18 extant aircraft were embargoed and pressed into Luftwaffe service upon the outbreak of World War II.

Some modifications were made and the resulting aircraft were redesignated as Do 215 B-0 through Do 215 B-5. This was the standard production version. According to official figures, 105 Do 215s were produced between 1939 and 1941 by Dornier in its factory at Oberpfaffenhofen.

Sources:
Gunston, Bill - The Encyclodepia of the Worlds Combat aircraft, 1976, Chartwell Books, Inc., New York
Brown, Eric, Captain - Wings of the Luftwaffe, 1979, Airlife Publishing Ltd., Shrewsbury
Gunston, Bill & Wood, Tony - Hitler's Luftwaffe, 1977, Salamander Books Ltd., London
Donald, David - The Complete Encyclopedia Of World Aircraft, 1997, Brown Packaging Books Ltd., London
Wikipedia - Dornier Do 215