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The Dornier Do 26 was a flying boat built for civil travel across the Atlantic but that was taken over by the Luftwaffe after the outbreak of the Second World War and used as a transport aircraft.
The first three Do 26s were ordered by Deutsche Lufthansa in 1937 to carry airmail from Lisbon to New York. They required it to be able to carry 1,100lb of mail. In order to achieve the required range it was to carry 1,606 gallons of fuel.
Dornier had produced a long line of earlier flying boats, most of which shared a family resemblance, with high mounted wings carried well above the fuselage and Stummel sponsons coming out of the side of the fuselage for stability (ending with the three engined Dornier Do 24N).
The Do 26 broke that pattern. The high mounted wing was replaced with a shoulder mounted cantilevered wing, with retractable floats mounted half way along to give stability on the water. The Stummel sponsons were removed. This improved the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft. It had a long slender fuselage, ending with a high mounted tail with a single fin and rudder. It was powered by four engines, carried in pairs in nacelles mounted on top of the wings. Each nacelle carried one tractor and one pusher engine. The pusher engines were connected to their propellers by shafts that could be tilted upwards by 10 degrees to move them clear of spray during take off. The first prototype was powered by four 600hp Junkers Jumo 205 diesel engines.
The first prototype, Do 26 V1, made its maiden flight on 21 May 1938, followed by the second, V2, early in 1939. These two aircraft were delivered to Lufthansa, and entered service on the South Atlantic route, making eighteen mail crossings before the outbreak of war.
When war broke out work was already in progress on four more prototypes. V3 was to be completed as the Dornier Do 26B, with room for four passengers. V4, V5 and V6 were to be completed as the Dornier Do 26C, with four 700hp Junkers Jumo 205 engines.
After the outbreak of war the last four aircraft were instead compleded as the Do 26D, for use as transport and reconnaissance aircraft. They were given a 20mm MG 151 in an electrically operated bow turret, and three 7.9mm MG 15s, two in waist positions and one a water tight ventral position. They could carry up to 12 equipped troops. They were joined by the original two prototypes.
All six aircraft were used during the invasion of Norway, with V4, V5 and V6 known to have been used by the Transozean-Staffel and later with 1./Ku.Fl.Gr 406. However three of the six were lost during the Norwegian campaign. Two were shot down by Hurricanes on 28 May 1940 while being used to transport troops to Rombaksfjord. The third crash landed at Narvik and the pilot and ten soldiers were captured.
Engine: Four Junkers Jumo 205 diesel engines
Power: 600hp each
Crew: 4
Span: 98ft 5.25in
Length: 80ft 8.5in
Height: 22ft 5.75in
Empty weight: 23,594lb
Loaded weight: 44,100lb
Max speed: 208mph
Cruising speed: 193mph
Service ceiling: 15,748ft
Range: 5,592 miles
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)
