The
DornierDornier may refer to:* Claudius Dornier , German aircraft designer and builder** Dornier Flugzeugwerke, German aircraft manufacturer founded in 1914 by Claudius Dornier* Dornier Consulting, international consulting and project management company...
Do 19 was a
GermanNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
four-engine
heavy bomberthumb|The [[B-29 Superfortress]], a heavy bomber.A heavy bomber is a bomber aircraft of the largest size, and typically longest ranges. The term was used primarily prior to and during World War II, when engine power was so scarce that designs had to be carefully tailored to their missions...
that first flew on October 28, 1936. Only one
prototypeA prototype is an original type, form, or instance of something serving as a typical example, basis, or standard for other things of the same category...
flew, and it was converted to a
transportMilitary transport aircraft are typically fixed and rotary wing cargo aircraft which are used to deliver troops, weapons and other military equipment by a variety of methods to any area of military operations around the surface of the planet, usually outside of the commercial flight routes in...
in
1938This is a list of aviation-related events from 1938:- Events :* Imperial Airways inaugurates scheduled service from London to Montreal. Pan American World Airways is banned from British airports out of fears that more advanced U.S...
. The other two were scrapped.
The
LuftwaffeLuftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1933 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956.Schweizer Luftwaffe is also the name of the Swiss Air...
had a shortcoming in the lack of an efficient heavy bomber fleet.
Generalleutnant Walther WeverWalther Wever was a pre-World War II Luftwaffe Commander.-Military career:On 1 September 1933 he became the Commander of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium, and later became Chief of Staff of the Luftwaffe, a post he held up until his death.Wever was a supporter of the Strategic bomber and recognised...
, the
Luftwaffes first Chief of Staff was the most persistent advocate of a German long-range strategic bomber fleet.
The
DornierDornier may refer to:* Claudius Dornier , German aircraft designer and builder** Dornier Flugzeugwerke, German aircraft manufacturer founded in 1914 by Claudius Dornier* Dornier Consulting, international consulting and project management company...
Do 19 was a
GermanNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
four-engine
heavy bomberthumb|The [[B-29 Superfortress]], a heavy bomber.A heavy bomber is a bomber aircraft of the largest size, and typically longest ranges. The term was used primarily prior to and during World War II, when engine power was so scarce that designs had to be carefully tailored to their missions...
that first flew on October 28, 1936. Only one
prototypeA prototype is an original type, form, or instance of something serving as a typical example, basis, or standard for other things of the same category...
flew, and it was converted to a
transportMilitary transport aircraft are typically fixed and rotary wing cargo aircraft which are used to deliver troops, weapons and other military equipment by a variety of methods to any area of military operations around the surface of the planet, usually outside of the commercial flight routes in...
in
1938This is a list of aviation-related events from 1938:- Events :* Imperial Airways inaugurates scheduled service from London to Montreal. Pan American World Airways is banned from British airports out of fears that more advanced U.S...
. The other two were scrapped.
The
LuftwaffeLuftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1933 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956.Schweizer Luftwaffe is also the name of the Swiss Air...
had a shortcoming in the lack of an efficient heavy bomber fleet.
Generalleutnant Walther WeverWalther Wever was a pre-World War II Luftwaffe Commander.-Military career:On 1 September 1933 he became the Commander of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium, and later became Chief of Staff of the Luftwaffe, a post he held up until his death.Wever was a supporter of the Strategic bomber and recognised...
, the
Luftwaffes first Chief of Staff was the most persistent advocate of a German long-range strategic bomber fleet. It was built for the
Luftwaffes
Ural bomberThe Ural bomber was a program to develop a long-range bomber for the Luftwaffe, created and led by General Walther Wever in the early 1930s. Wever died in an air crash in 1936, and the program ended almost immediately...
program under
GeneralA general officer is an officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is simply called general.-All general officer...
Walther Wever (General)Walther Wever was a pre-World War II Luftwaffe Commander.-Military career:On 1 September 1933 he became the Commander of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium, and later became Chief of Staff of the Luftwaffe, a post he held up until his death.Wever was a supporter of the Strategic bomber and recognised...
. The RLM
Technisch Amt issued a specification for a four-engine heavy bomber. But after Wever's death in an airplane crash in June 1936, Wever's successor,
Albert KesselringAlbert Kesselring was a Luftwaffe Generalfeldmarschall during World War II. In a military career that spanned both World Wars, Kesselring became one of Nazi Germany's most skilful commanders, being one of 27 soldiers awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and...
, canceled Germany's long-range
bomberA bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, primarily by dropping bombs on them.-Classifications of bombers:...
projects to concentrate on tactical bombers.
Both Dornier and Junkers were competitors for the contract, and each received an order for three prototypes in late 1935. The Dornier design was given the project number of Do.19, while the Junkers prototype became the
Ju 89The Junkers Ju 89 was a heavy bomber designed for the Luftwaffe prior to World War II. Two prototypes were constructed, but the project was abandoned without the aircraft entering production...
.
History & Development
The Dornier Do 19 was a mid-wing cantilever design, and was mostly metal in construction. It had a rectangular-section
fuselageThe fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...
and a tail unit, quite similar to the one fitted to the contemporary British
Armstrong Whitworth WhitleyThe Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was one of three British twin-engine, front line medium bomber types in service with the Royal Air Force at the outbreak of the Second World War. It took part in the first RAF bombing raid on German territory, and remained an integral part of the early British...
medium bomberA medium bomber is a bomber aircraft designed to operate with medium bombloads over medium distances; primarily to distinguish them from the much larger heavy bombers and smaller light bombers. The term was used primarily prior to and during World War II, when engine power was so scarce that...
, with braced twin
finThe vertical stabilizers, or fins, of aircraft, missiles or bombs are typically found on the aft end of the fuselage or body, and are intended to reduce aerodynamic side slip....
s and
rudderA rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft,or other conveyance that moves through a fluid . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...
s, mounted on the upper surface of the
tailplaneA tailplane, also known as horizontal stabilizer, is a small lifting surface located behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplanes...
. It also had retractable
landing gearIn aviation, the undercarriage or landing gear is the structure that supports an aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi.-Overview:...
, including the tail wheel. The power plant, according to some sources, was supposed to be four Bramo 322H-2
radial engineThe radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders point outward from a central crankshaft like the spokes on a wheel. This configuration was very commonly used in large aircraft engines before most large aircraft started using turbine engines...
s, that were mounted in nacelles at the
leading edgeThe leading edge is the part of the wing that first contacts the air.During a tailslide, from an aerodynamic point-of-view, the trailing edge becomes the leading edge and vice-versa.The leading edge may be equipped with one or more of the following:...
s of the wings.
It had a crew of nine, which would have consisted of a pilot, co-pilot, navigator, bombardier, radio operator and five gunners.
The V1 prototype flew on 28 October 1936. After
Generalleutnant Weaver died in an airplane crash, the heavy bomber program lost its momentum, and never recovered. When the
Luftwaffe was given its heavy blow over the skies of England, the error of not having heavy bombers became apparent. But by then, it was too late in the day to develop the bombers required.
Albert Kesselring, Wever's successor, believed that what Germany required was more
fighterA fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets by dropping bombs. Fighters are small, fast, and maneuverable...
s and tactical bombers. Therefore the V2 and V3 prototypes were scrapped. The original V1 became a transport in 1938. The Dornier Do 19 was only built in prototype form, yet it had a promising design that could have yielded a useful long-range bomber.
Specifications (Do 19 V2)
See also
External links