Dornier

Creation and the first successes

The company Dornier ( Dornier Flugzeugwerke ) is a German company of aeronautical engineering created by the pioneer of aviation Claude Dornier (1884-1969) in 1922. To be able to circumvent the restrictions of the Traité of Versailles, it first of all founded a building site in Italy with Marina di Pisa where were built famous the Hydravion S Wal exported in the whole world.

During the Inter-war period, Dornier acquired the celebrity by manufacturing the flying-boats ensuring the transatlantic connections. Most impressive of them without question the “boat stealing was” Do X. The Dornier C X , been driven by twelve engines with propeller coupled per pairs, was the largest plane of before the Second world war. The entirely metal flying-boats of the series Wal (whale) like their successor, the C 18 and the four-engined plane Do 26 opened the first transatlantic lines (Southern and Northern) ensuring the transport of passengers and mail. After the exit of C 24, Dornier created the Do 26, a seaplane with the concept of tilting engines revolutionary and the retractable floats, so as to improve aérodynamisme, black spot of the seaplanes.

The Second world war

The six existing Do 26 were equipped at the beginning with the conflict with an armament and were used by the Luftwaffe like apparatuses of transport and maritime patrol. From the point of view of the quantity, they are especially the Do 18 (in Luftwaffe version) been driven by two diesel engines out of tandem which were used at the beginning of the War in September 1939, primarily to accomplish reconnaissance flights above the the North Sea before being replaced by three-engined BV 138. After the occupation of the Netherlands, manufacture under license of three-engined the Do 24 on behalf of the guards coast-Dutch (Luchtvaartdienst Marine) continued for Luftwaffe. This flying-boat (first flight in 1937) which held the sea particularly well had been designed for the connections with the colonies in Southeast Asia. Luftwaffe accepted a total of 217 apparatuses of this type. This plane at sea became the most important vehicle of the escadrilles of help (Seenotstaffeln) on the coasts of the European countries occupied by the armies of IIIe Reich. It will create thus the family of the Do 17, apparatus with the fuselage so fine which it was called the " pencil volant" initially bomber but which was also implemented like hunter of night (alternatives Do 215 and Do 217). The design of its model of origin had been ordered as of 1932/1933 under the designation of code “fast commercial transport aircraft” ( Schnellverkehrsflugzeug ) by the direction of the provisioning of the Army (Heereswaffenamt). Dornier developed towards the end of the conflict an original twin-engine intended to be a fast heavy hunter, the Do 335, apparatus with engines placed out of tandem (a propeller conventional tractory with before more one pusher airscrew behind the empennage), with three-wheeled train and, new thing for the time, with Ejector seat. This heavy general-purpose hunter which had made its first flight in 1943 and was the plane with piston engine of the fastest series of world (765 km/h) did not take more share with the conflict in an active way (see in the Large Circus of Pierre Clostermann the description of its meeting with this apparatus). The last existing specimen, captured by the American troops, had been repatriated at Dornier 1974 to be restored there and had remained exposed to the Deutsches Museum of Munich several years before taking again the way of the USA.

The factory in Switzerland: Until the end of the Second world war, a subsidiary company continued to exist in Switzerland (with Altenrhein) where was built elements of the Dornier Do X as well as the 30 Do 24 intended for the Netherlands. This factory carried out under license all the Bücker 131 and 133 implemented by the Swiss air force.

Post-war period

Dornier, who belonged to the circle of the principal producers of armament (see Wehrwirtschaftsführer ), was judged “not-culprit” ( unbelastet ) at the time of the Dénazification which followed the capitulation but it made in spite of very vis-a-vis the bankruptcy, his factory of Manzell/Friedrichshafen at the edge of the Lac of Constancy being entirely destroyed. The aeronautical engineering being moreover prohibited in Germany of post-war period, Dornier went to settle with Zoug in Suisse and made manufacture its planes in Spain.

Manufacture in Germany began again with Lindau and Immenstaad close to the Lake of Constancy like to Oberpfaffenhofen and Neuaubing close to Munich. Weaving looms and other machines intended for the industry of fabric were developed in Lindau and soon exported in the whole world. The factory of Langenargen manufactured light metal products (sections and scales). The other factories were devoted to aeronautical engineering. Thanks to its apparatuses of the type s.t.o.l and v.t.o.l, Dornier could reestablish on the market at the time of the remilitarization of the Germany of the West (FRG) in 1956. The great stages of the recovery were the Do 27 (1956), the Do 28 Skyservant (1960) and the Do 31 (1962).

Claude Dornier withdrew company in 1962. This one was taken again by the heirs and was directed by its sons. The following directors did not belong any more to the family (Dr. Schmidt and Dr. Schäfer).

Thereafter Dornier developed the short-distance carrier with propeller Do 228 then the twin-jet aircraft Do 328.

One will quote also the apparatuses built in international cooperation like the Breguet Atlantic, the Boeing E-3 Sentry of advanced alarm (AWACS) of NATO, the Alpha Jet (in co-operation with Dassault Aviation in 1973 and called IA 63 in the Argentinian version), Beautiful UH-1D, the Sikorsky CH-53 (whose successor will be in the long term project HTH - Heavy Transport Helicopter - for which Eurocopter tenders).

CONTINUATION AND END

It was repurchased by Daimler-Benz AG in 1985 then resold with Fairchild in 1996.

The attempts to develop regional planes, in particular the Dornier Do 728 were commercial failures and Fairchild-Dornier went bankrupt in 2002.

List planes and Dornier helicopter

Album of the Dornier planes

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