3 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Dornier CS II Delphin L'Aéronautique September 1921: L'Aéronautique magazine· Public domain
- 2. Dornier Do L Delphin III Le Document aéronautique September,1928: Le Document aéronautique· Public domain
- 3. Dornier Delphin III L'Aérophile June,1928: L'Aérophile magazine· Public domain
what is it?
The Dornier Delphin (en: Dolphin) was a 1920s German single-engine commercial flying boat built by Dornier Flugzeugwerke. As well as commercial users, single examples were acquired by the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy for evaluation. The all-metal design was increasing in popularity, and the Delphin was also important for the development of the Dornier Komet and Merkur land planes.
How to recognise it: 1 engine · 19.6 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 106 years ago, in 1920.
- Wingspan of 19.6 m: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1920-11
- number built
- —
- role
- commercial flying boat
- makers
- Dornier
- engines
- 1× BMW VI inline piston engine
- length
- 14.4 m
- wingspan
- 19.6 m
- height
- 4.1 m
- max take-off weight
- 3,900 kg
- top speed
- 180 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 4,500 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q3714319, Wikipedia: Dornier Delphin (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.