Dornier Do 18

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Do 18
Prototype Do 18 V-1
Type	Flying-boat
Manufacturer	Dornier

The Dornier Do 18 was a development of the Dornier Do 15 "Wal" flying-boat. Introduced by Deutsche Lufthansa in 1935, its records included a non-stop 5,200 mile (8,350 km) flight from Start Point, Devon to Caravelas in Brazil.

In Luftwaffe service it was obsolete by the outbreak of World War II, but a few were used on North Sea reconnaissance missions. It was highly vulnerable to such heavily armed RAF aircraft as the Short Sunderland and Lockheed Hudson and was soon relegated to the air/sea rescue role. A Do 18 was the first German aircraft to be shot down by British aircraft during the war, when one of a formation of three was caught over the North Sea by three Fleet Air Arm Blackburn Skua bomber-fighters flying from HMS Ark Royal on September 26, 1939.

[edit] Specifications (type)

General characteristics

• Length: 19.2m (63 ft)
• Wingspan: 23.7m (77 ft 9 in)
• Height: 5.4m (17 ft 9 in)
• Wing area: 98m² (1,055 ft²)
• Loaded weight: 9,980 kg (22,000 lb)
• Powerplant: 2× Junkers 205 diesel , 450 kW (600 hp) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 249 km/h (155 mph)
• Range: 3,220 km (2,000 miles)
• Service ceiling: 4,270 m (14,000 ft)
• Wing loading: 101.8 kg/m² (20.9 lb/ft²)
• Power/mass: 0.09 kW/kg (0.055 hp/lb)

Armament

• 2 x machine guns

[edit] Related content

Related development

Dornier Do 15

Designation sequence

Wn 16 - Do 16 - Do 17 - Do 18 - Do 19 - Do 20 - Do 22

Related lists

List of military aircraft of Germany - List of flying boats