Dornier Do 24 from the Left |
|
The Dornier Do 24 was a three engined parasol winged flying boat that was built for the Netherlands, but was mainly used by the Germans on air-sea rescue duties.
The Do 24 was developed for the Royal Netherlands Naval Air Service. Work on it started in 1935. It was based on the single engined Dornier Do 18, a similar parasol winged flying boat, with the single engine carried on top of a sturdy pylon that also carried the wing. A distinctive feature of both aircraft were the sponsons that extended from both sides of the hull (looking like the stubs of lower wings), used to give the aircraft better stability in the water.
The Do 24 carried its wing on a series of struts, with a central pair arranged in an inverted V supporting the central engine and a pair of outer struts on each side going out where the sponsons met the hull to the outer engine. The engines were carried in sponsons mounted on the front of the tapered straight edged level wing. It was of all metal construction, with a slender two step hull. The rear end of the hull curved up so the tailplane could be carried directly on it. The single tailplane carried twin fins and rudders.
Three prototypes were built. The first to fly was the Do 24 V3, which made its maiden flight on 3 July 1937 powered by three Wright R-1820-F52 Cyclone radial engines. This was delivered to the Netherlands late in 1937, and became the prototype of the Dutch Dornier Do 24K.
Do 24 V1 was the second aircraft to fly, on 10 January 1938. The V1 and V2 were both powered by 600hp Junkers Jumo 205 Diesel engines with ventral radiators.
Dutch Service
Production of the Dutch aircraft was split between Weser-Flugzeugbau near Bremen, which produced 11 aircraft and the Netherlands, where 25 were built under licence.
Some of the Dutch Do 24 reached the Dutch East Indies. However nine were destroyed late in 1941 after the Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies. The survivors reached Australia, where four were sunk by a Japanese attack on Broome in March 1942. This left six, five of which were used by the RAAF. One aircraft was used by the Netherlands Forces Intelligence Service from Australia until October 1943, when it joined the other five.
German Service
The V1 and V2 prototypes were both equipped with armament and were used as transports during the invasion of Norway in the spring of 1940.
After the conquest of the Netherlands in May 1940 any semi-completed Do 24Ks were shipped back to Germany. They were equipped for air-sea rescue duties and designated as the Do 24N-1.
Production of the Do 24 continued at the Aviolanda and De Schelded factories in the Netherlands during the German occupation, under the control of Weser-Flugzeugbau. About 170 Do 24Ts were produced for Germany, split between the T-1 and T-2.
Another 50 were built at the Chantiers Aero-Maritimes de la Seine factory at Sartrouville, France, although not all of these aircraft were completed before the liberation of France. The incomplete aircraft were finished after the war and used by the French Navy until 1953.
Both versions were powered by the BMW-Bramo 323R-2 Fafnir radial engine (later redesignated as the BMW 301R). They were armed with a 20mm MG 151 cannon in a power operated dorsal turret and two 7.9mm MG 15 machine guns, one in the nose and one in the tail. They could carry twelve 50kg/ 110lb bombs or extra fuel.
The main German users of the Do 24 were the three air-sea rescue staffeln, 1., 2. and 3./ Seenotgruppe. The type was also used by 2. and 3./ KG 200, which carried out special operations. The status of air sea rescue aircraft soon became controversial, partly because the British believed (with some justification) that they were also carrying out military reconnaissance duties and partly on the grounds that any rescued German aircrew would be returned to service. As a result work in the air-sea rescue squadrons could be quite dangerous.
Spanish Service
In the spring of 1944 the Spanish purchased twelve Do 24T-3s, which were delivered in June 1944. These were used on air-sea rescue duties in the Mediterranean, from a base at Pollensa on Majorca. These aircraft rescued aircraft of both sides, and as neutral aircraft none were shot down during the war. The type remained in Spanish service for some time after the Second World War, as the Dornier HR.5.
Do 318
One prototype of the Do 318 was built by Weser-Flugzeubau. This was based on the Dornier Do 24T-2, but with a new wing with boundary layer suction (air pumps that pulled air into the front of the wing to reduce interference with the smooth airflow over the wing). This reduced drag and increased range, but only the one prototype was built.
Do T
Engine: 2 x BMW BMW-Bramo 323R-2 Fafnir radial engine
Power: 600hp each
Crew:
Span: 88ft 7in
Length: 72ft 2 1/3in
Height: 18ft 10 3/8in
Empty weight: 20,286lb
Loaded weight: 39,249lb
Max speed: 211mph at 9,840ft
Climb Rate: 7.5min to 3,280ft
Service ceiling: 19,352ft
Range: 1,801 miles
Armament: One 20mm cannon and two 7.9mm machine guns
Bomb load: Twelve 50kg/ 110lb bombs
Aircraft of the Luftwaffe 1935-1945, Jean-Denis G.G. Lepage.
Combines a good background history of the Luftwaffe with a comprehensive examination of its aircraft, from the biplanes of the mid 1930s to the main wartime aircraft and on to the seemingly unending range of experimental designs that wasted so much effort towards the end of the war. A useful general guide that provides an impressively wide range of information on almost every element of the Luftwaffe (Read Full Review)
Dornier Do 24 climbing 
Publicity Poster for Dornier Do 24