Dornier Do 317

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The Dornier Do 317 was a planned German World War II heavy bomber.

In June 1940 Dornier produced plans for further development of the Dornier Do 217, which would have a pressurized cabin and more powerful engines (DB604’s or Jumo222’s) and would be designated Do 317. The Do 317 was one of the proposals submitted to RLM for the ‘Bomber B’ project. Two versions of the Do 317 were proposed: the simplified Do 317A powered by two DB 603A engines and featuring conventional defensive armament, and the more advanced Do 317B with DB 610A/B engines, remotely-controlled defensive barbettes, heavier bombload, and an extended wing. Six prototypes of the Do 317A were ordered, and the first of these, the Do 317 V1, commenced its flight test program on 8 September 1943. The Do 317 V1 was very similar in appearance to the Do 217, but featured a pressurized cabin and triangular tail fins. Trials with the Do 317 V1 revealed no real performance advance over the Do 217 so it was decided to complete the remaining five prototypes without cabin pressurization equipment and employ them as Hs 293A missile launchers. In this form the prototypes were redesignated Do 217R. At this time the Do 317B project was abandoned due to changing wartime conditions.

Contents 1 Specifications (Do 317A) 2 Specifications (Do 317B) 3 References 4 Related content

[edit] Specifications (Do 317A)

General characteristics

• Crew: 4
• Length: 16.80 m (55ft 1½ in)
• Wingspan: 20.63 m (67ft 8½ in)
• Height: 5.44 m (17ft 10½ in)
• Powerplant: 2× DB 603A 12-cylinder inverted-vee engines, 1,304 kW (1,750 hp) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 600 km/h (373 mph)

Armament

• 3 x 13 mm MG 131 machine gun
• 2 x 7.92 mm MG 81 machine gun
• 1 x 15 mm MG 151 cannon
• up to 3,000 kg (6,612 lb) of disposable stores

[edit] Specifications (Do 317B)

General characteristics

• Crew: 4
• Length: 16.80 m (55ft 1½ in)
• Wingspan: 26.00 m (85 ft 3½ in)
• Height: 5.44 m (17 ft 10½ in)
• Max takeoff weight: 24,000 kg (52,910 lb)
• Powerplant: 2× DB 610A/B 24-cylinder inverted-vee engines, 2,140 kW (2,870 hp) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 670 km/h at 7,620 m (416 mph at 25,000 ft)
• Cruise speed: 537 km/h (334 mph)
• Range: 3,600 km (2,237 miles)
• Service ceiling: 10,515 m (34,500 ft)

Armament

• 4 x 13 mm MG 131 machine gun
• 2 x 7.92 mm MG 81 machine gun
• 1 x 20 mm MG 151 cannon
• up to 9,200 kg (20,282 lb) of disposable stores

[edit] References

• Griehl, M. Dornier Do 217-317-417: an Operation History. Airlife, 1991.
• Green, W. Warplanes of the Third Reich. Galahad Books, 1986.
• Luftwaffe Secret Projects - Ground Attack & Special Purpose Aircraft, D. Herwig & H. Rode, ISBN 1-85780-150-4

[edit] Related content

Related development

• Dornier Do 217

Comparable aircraft

• Focke-Wulf Fw 191

 

Related lists

• List of military aircraft of Germany