Post by Admin on Apr 5, 2019 8:37:08 GMT 10
A Brief History of the Dornier Do 10 & Do 21
After a brief service with the Luftwaffe prior to WW2 in both its single and twin seat forms, the Dornier Do 10 was shown to have shortcomings that the looming War in Europe might very well bring to light. The original Do 10 had been produced as a twin seat fighter and was a large, somewhat cumbersome aircraft that reflected an antiquated view on the design of fighter aircraft, that is, it was a two seat machine with two machine guns firing forward along with an open cockpit for both pilot and rear gunner, who was armed with a manually operated mounting which held another two weapons.
Flown in 1931, the prototype of the Do 10A (as it would become known) didn’t impress the RLM greatly. A limited production order, more a nod to Dornier Flugzeugwerke’s other products than the type itself, was placed for the fledgling Luftwaffe, serving with one Staffel of JG 233 as an experimental ‘heavy’ fighter unit, alongside the Geschwader’s regular component of Heinkel He 51s.
The Geschwader’s pilots along with their commander, Major Max Ibel, looked upon the new ‘fighter’ with a degree of amusement and quickly put ‘der dicke mann’ (the Fat Man) or ‘Hermann’ (a name given by the pilots due to it’s size compared to the Heinkels) through it’s paces.
Although biplanes, the nimble Heinkels were easily able to outmanoeuvre the ‘new’ monoplane and routinely got into firing positions without the rear gunner causing harm at all. When attacked, they would simply cartwheel out of the line of fire, leaving the less agile type in their wake.
This saw the type quickly regulated to a ‘hack’ aircraft with the remaining Staffel machines being farmed out to other Jagdgeschwadern as ‘liason’ aircraft.
The RLM approached Dornier within months of the Do 10A’s service entry taking along Maj. Ibel who portrayed the type’s deficiences in no uncertain terms.
Claude Dornier himself intervened in the discussions, promising the RLM that a new fighter would be produced that would exceed the capabilities of his rival, Ernst Heinkel’s, products. In the interim, Dornier would rework the Do 10 into a new role as a ground attack machine with a single seat, this design having been studied after the initial flight of the Do 10A and designated Do 10B.
In addition to the redesign, Dornier would produce a new machine that would be designated the Do 21. The new fighter would be a parasol winged monoplane with a relatively heavy armament of four machine guns much like the Do 10B, but with a smaller, lighter airframe, resulting in an agile, fast fighter that would see regular Luftwaffe service proving an easy match for the Heinkel He 51s and replacing them completely within months.
The new Dornier would especially become a favoured mount of many veterans of WW1 now serving in the fledgling Jagdwaffe, some of whom had flown the Fokker D.VIII, a similarly configured parasol monoplane.
The now unwanted Heinkels would go on to form the backbone of the later Legion Kondor’s Jagdgruppe 88.
A staffel of Do 10Bs were also sent to Spain as part of J/88 operating as a Schlactstaffel, tasked with close air support duties. The heavy, robust airframe of the Dornier proved advantageous in this new role with Staffeln aircraft able to return to base after serious damage whilst the lighter Heinkel He 51Cs were seen to fall after similar hits. These operations would pave the way for later aircraft, such as the Ha 137 to be introduced into the fray.
After a brief service with the Luftwaffe prior to WW2 in both its single and twin seat forms, the Dornier Do 10 was shown to have shortcomings that the looming War in Europe might very well bring to light. The original Do 10 had been produced as a twin seat fighter and was a large, somewhat cumbersome aircraft that reflected an antiquated view on the design of fighter aircraft, that is, it was a two seat machine with two machine guns firing forward along with an open cockpit for both pilot and rear gunner, who was armed with a manually operated mounting which held another two weapons.
Flown in 1931, the prototype of the Do 10A (as it would become known) didn’t impress the RLM greatly. A limited production order, more a nod to Dornier Flugzeugwerke’s other products than the type itself, was placed for the fledgling Luftwaffe, serving with one Staffel of JG 233 as an experimental ‘heavy’ fighter unit, alongside the Geschwader’s regular component of Heinkel He 51s.
The Geschwader’s pilots along with their commander, Major Max Ibel, looked upon the new ‘fighter’ with a degree of amusement and quickly put ‘der dicke mann’ (the Fat Man) or ‘Hermann’ (a name given by the pilots due to it’s size compared to the Heinkels) through it’s paces.
Although biplanes, the nimble Heinkels were easily able to outmanoeuvre the ‘new’ monoplane and routinely got into firing positions without the rear gunner causing harm at all. When attacked, they would simply cartwheel out of the line of fire, leaving the less agile type in their wake.
This saw the type quickly regulated to a ‘hack’ aircraft with the remaining Staffel machines being farmed out to other Jagdgeschwadern as ‘liason’ aircraft.
The RLM approached Dornier within months of the Do 10A’s service entry taking along Maj. Ibel who portrayed the type’s deficiences in no uncertain terms.
Claude Dornier himself intervened in the discussions, promising the RLM that a new fighter would be produced that would exceed the capabilities of his rival, Ernst Heinkel’s, products. In the interim, Dornier would rework the Do 10 into a new role as a ground attack machine with a single seat, this design having been studied after the initial flight of the Do 10A and designated Do 10B.
In addition to the redesign, Dornier would produce a new machine that would be designated the Do 21. The new fighter would be a parasol winged monoplane with a relatively heavy armament of four machine guns much like the Do 10B, but with a smaller, lighter airframe, resulting in an agile, fast fighter that would see regular Luftwaffe service proving an easy match for the Heinkel He 51s and replacing them completely within months.
The new Dornier would especially become a favoured mount of many veterans of WW1 now serving in the fledgling Jagdwaffe, some of whom had flown the Fokker D.VIII, a similarly configured parasol monoplane.
The now unwanted Heinkels would go on to form the backbone of the later Legion Kondor’s Jagdgruppe 88.
A staffel of Do 10Bs were also sent to Spain as part of J/88 operating as a Schlactstaffel, tasked with close air support duties. The heavy, robust airframe of the Dornier proved advantageous in this new role with Staffeln aircraft able to return to base after serious damage whilst the lighter Heinkel He 51Cs were seen to fall after similar hits. These operations would pave the way for later aircraft, such as the Ha 137 to be introduced into the fray.
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