Dornier Do 215

what is it?

The Dornier Do 215 was a light bomber, aerial reconnaissance aircraft and later a night fighter, produced by Dornier originally for export, but in the event most served in the Luftwaffe. Like its predecessor, the Dornier Do 17, it inherited the title "The Flying Pencil" because of its slim fuselage. The successor of the Do 215 was the Do 217.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · 18 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 470 km/htop speed
• range 1,553 kmwithout refuelling
• size 9,200 kgmax take-off weight
• built 102made in total

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 88 years ago, in 1938.
• 🏎️Top speed is 3.6× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 18 m: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 1,553 km: 9× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.1× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1938

introduced

1939

retired

1944

status

retired

number built

102

role

light bomber/night fighter

origin

German Reich

makers

Dornier

engines

2× Daimler-Benz DB 601Aa / Daimler-Benz DB 601

crew

4

length

15.8 m

wingspan

18 m

height

4.6 m

max take-off weight

9,200 kg

top speed

470 km/h

cruise speed

410 km/h

range

1,553 km

ceiling

9,500 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family