Dornier do 335

[BIG BIRD]

With the boing b-29 the americans used several factories just to buld on b- 29. If the germans diverted 100% of aircraft production to the me 262 and me 262 night fighter variant then that ,may, may have changed the coarse of the war. Keep in mind that both Germany and Japan's aircraft production was at a wartime high at the end of the war , they were both let down because of lack of fuel.

 

[SoD Stitch]

Hi SoD. I don't know about the "B" variant, but I do know that Farnborough test flew a Do335A-12...

You're probably right; my records indicate a B-2 went to France, and two (2) A-12's went to Farnborough.

What do you know about the ejection seats? The French article mentions that they estimated that the seat when fired would leave with a force of 18G. In Roger Receveau words...

I don't know that much about the ejection seats, just that they were extremely primitive; the tail unit was also equipped with explosive bolts, which sheared off the vertical stabilizer and the rear propeller so that the ejecting pilot wouldn't receive a "headectomy" when ejecting. I know that when Dornier Flugzeugwerke in Germany began restoring the only surviving Do 335 in 1974, they found the explosive bolts to be still operational after 30 years.

 

[BIG BIRD]

thats neat do you know how the explosive bolts worked.

 

[HoHun]

Hi Stitch,

>I don't know that much about the ejection seats, just that they were extremely primitive

Hm, that doesn't necessarily mean they weren't effective. Even if they might not have been perfectly reliable, the chances of getting injured or even killed in a "pedestrian" bailout were considerable too - especially if you had to leave the aircraft at high speed.

I don't think an 18 G vertical acceleration is necessarily dangerous - it really depends on the length of the acceleration pulse. It might be interesting to have a look at the NASA rocket sled trials in this context ... I believe they tested much more violent accelerations than that.

Regards,

Henning (HoHun)

 

[A E G]

Reply to 'SoD Stitch': I also love this aircraft, wanted to post some interesting facts that some may not know: 1)Do-335 first fighter/bomber aircraft DESIGN w/ ejec.seat (Heinkel He-219 first PRODUCTION fighter aircraft w/ ejec.seat). 2)Do-335 one of the first fighter/bomber aircraft designs utilizing centerline dual push-pull engine configuration. Claude Dornier granted patent for centerline push-pull arrangement in the 1930's. 3)This aircraft is arguably the PINNACLE of propeller driven/piston engine fighter/bomber design w/ top speed of 475 mph (spec. called for 800kph/500mph!). Do-335 equipped w/ TWO Daimler Benz 603 liquid cooled 'V' 12 cylinder engines that produced 3600 hp w/ boost! 4)No gun 'freeze' issues @ altitude; 3 nose-mount cannon armament kept 'warm' by foreward engine - no 'g' force gun jam issues as seen in wing mount armament. 5)Do-335 utilized slight leading edge sweep on wings and vert/horz stabilizers for enhanced control at high speed (see Me-262) as did other late war designs. Centerliine engine placement greatly reduced drag (as seen on wing mount twin engine designs) and increased airflow performance--enhanced safety for pilot as aircraft could fly, land and takeoff on either engine. 6)Do-335 equipped w/ internal bomb bay of 1000 kg capacity - design also utlilized some ingenious cooling systems; annular radiator for forward engine, conventional radiator w/ flow system similar to P-51 for aft engine. According to German test/ pre-production pilots Do-335 was surprisingly manueverable for a large twin engine aircraft (which weighed almost twice as much as a P-51 fully loaded!). The few 'bugs' found during testing such as 'porpoising' @ higher speeds, weak nose landing gear, overheat issue w/ aft mount engine had been generally ironed out by production time; however it came too late and approx. only 40 were actually built. This aircraft would have caused chaos among Allied bomber groups, might very well have 'held' its own in 'dogfighting' though at disadvantage w/ single engine fighters that were more maneuverable - certainly its speed would have gotten it out of 'trouble' if needed. Do-335 top speed probably only matched by late late war P-51 H model - only exceeded by jet/rocket propelled aircraft. Manufacturers had become aware that (pushing) 500mph was the limit for prop driven/piston engine aircraft. Do-335 combat radius of approx. 800 miles, service ceiling of approx. 33000 feet is respectable, not spectacular - believe the Do-335 design had capability for pressure cockpit as well. I recently read a post regarding two deaths encountered during test use of ejec.seat - both crew had arms dismembered during ejection! If this is true crew may have not been fully informed re: seat use OR design still needed work - very unfortunate either way! A truly revolutionary aircraft (see only example left @ Natl.Air&Space museum that was carefully restored by Dornier Co. 1975 and is really beautiful; only missing rear engine and of course cannon armament!) There are lots of excellent model builds of Do-335 on the 'Net, worthwhile to view. Thank You for the time from a real Do-335 fan! An interesting 'sidenote' - Heinkel Co. designed, built and flew the world's FIRST rocket and jet propelled aircraft circa Jun/Aug 1939! see He-176 and He-178.