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- #81
The never much lowed, but still an useful bomber in the LW arsenal was the Do-217. That bomber type finally offered a sizable bomb bay, decent cruise and top speed and more than token defensive armament.
The performance chart for the Do-217E-1, engines BMW 801A, 'Kampfleistung' power setting (30 min rating; up to 1460 PS in low gear, up to 1300 PS in high gear). Germans rarely, if ever, used the 'Notleistung' (~'emergency power', usually a 5 min rating) for their bombers' engines, other than for take off ('Startleistung'). For the early BMWs, that also probably meant that engine reliability was greater than the fighters' engines (801C as equivalent here). (open the pics separately)
The Do-217E-2 introduced a bit a longer bomb bay, meaning that more bombs could be carried internally, or a decent bombload and fuel in the same time (all internally).
The performance chart for the Do-217E-1, engines BMW 801A, 'Kampfleistung' power setting (30 min rating; up to 1460 PS in low gear, up to 1300 PS in high gear). Germans rarely, if ever, used the 'Notleistung' (~'emergency power', usually a 5 min rating) for their bombers' engines, other than for take off ('Startleistung'). For the early BMWs, that also probably meant that engine reliability was greater than the fighters' engines (801C as equivalent here). (open the pics separately)
The Do-217E-2 introduced a bit a longer bomb bay, meaning that more bombs could be carried internally, or a decent bombload and fuel in the same time (all internally).