Dornier Do 18

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Do 18
Type Flying-boat
Manufacturer Dornier

The Dornier Do 18 was a development of the Dornier Do 15 "Wal" flying-boat. It was developed for Deutsche Lufthansa and they introduced it in 1935. Its records included a non-stop 5,214 mile (8,391 km) flight from Start Point, Devon to Caravelas in Brazil.

Contents

[edit] Design & Development

The Do 18 retained the basic metal hull and stabilising sponsons that had characterized the Do 15, but was aerodynamically more efficient. Powered by two 540 hp (403 kW) Junkers Jumo 5 diesel engines, the Do 18a prototype first flew on 15 March 1935 and was followed by four of the Do 18E variant with improved 600 hp (447 kW) Junkers Jumo 205C engines. Lufthansa's sixth aircraft was the only Do 18F that first took to the skies on 11 June 1937 and established the England to Brazil endurance record between 27 to 29 March 1938 in aviation. It was later designated the Do 18L when modified by the use of the more powerful 880 hp (656 kW) BMW 132N engines; it made its first flight with this engine on 21 November 1939.

  • The Do 18D-1 was the first military version, powered by two Jumo 205C engines, armed with one 7.92-mm (0.31-in) MG 15 machine-guns in the bow and dorsal positions. Other models were the Do 18D-2 and Do 18D-3.
  • The Do 18G-1 was an improved version, powered by two 656-kW (880-hp) Jumo 205D engines, armed with a 13-mm (0.51-in) MG 131 machine-gun in the bow, and a 20-mm MG 151 cannon in a power-operated dorsal turret.
  • The Do 18H was an unarmed dual-control training version, which was built in small numbers.
  • The Do 18N-1 was an unarmed air-sea search and rescue version.

[edit] Service

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 of 803 Naval Air Squadron flying from HMS Ark Royal on September 26, 1939.

[edit] Operators

[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:Junkers 205C diesel, later Junkers 205D, 450 kW (C-engine), 648 kW (D-engine) (600 hp (C-engine), 880 hp (D-engine)) each

Performance

Armament

[edit] See also

Related development

  • Dornier Do 15

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