Dornier Do 26

The Dornier Do 26 was an all-metal gull winged flying boat produced before and during World War II by Dornier Flugzeugwerke of Germany.

It was operated by a crew of four and was intended to carry a payload of 500 kg (1102 lb) or four passengers on the Lisbon to New York route.

Design and development

The elegant Do 26, sometimes referred to as the "most beautiful flying-boat ever built", was of all-metal construction. The hull had a central keel and a defined step, and the wings were of gull wing configuration, the outer sections being equipped with fully retractable narrow stabilising wing-floats.

Its four engines, Junkers Jumo 205C diesel engines, were mounted in tractor/pusher pairs in tandem nacelles located at the joint between the dihedral and horizontal wing sections. The rear (pusher) engines could be swung upwards through 10° during take-off and landing, to prevent contact between the three-blade airscrew and water spray created by the forward propellers.

The tail unit was of conventional design, comprising a horizontal tailplane and a single, vertical fin with rudder.

Operational history

Pre-war

In 1937 Deutsche Lufthansa ordered three Do 26 aircraft, which were designed to be launched by catapult from special supply ships, for transatlantic air mail purposes. The first, Do 26 A D-AGNT V1 Seeadler ("Sea Eagle") was piloted on its maiden flight by Flight-Captain Erich Gundermann on 21 May 1938; D-AWDS V2 Seefalke ("Sea Falcon") followed on 23 November 1938, piloted by Flight-Captain Egon Fath. Both were completed and handed over to Deutsche Lufthansa before the outbreak of World War II. Due to opposition from the United States, Deutsche Lufthansa was unable to operate these aircraft on the intended transatlantic route; instead in 1939 they were used to carry air mail between Bathurst and Natal in South Africa. The third aircraft, Do 26 B D-ASRA Seemöwe ("Seagull") was completed shortly before the start of World War II.

One notable Do 26 civilian mission was carried out by V2 Seefalke, when on 14 February 1939 the veteran Lufthansa pilot Flight Captain Graf Schack von Wittenau embarked on a mercy flight to Chile, taking 580 kg (1,279 lb) of medical supplies for earthquake victims in Chile. The 10,700 km (6,600 mile) flight lasted 36 hours.

World War II

All three Deutsche Lufthansa aircraft were impressed into military service in 1939 at the outbreak of World War II, as P5+AH, P5+BH and P5+CH respectively.

Three further Do 26 aircraft (V4 - V6) were built as Do 26 C for the Luftwaffe with the more powerful Junkers Jumo 205 D engines (880 HP, 648 kW); the original three aircraft were similarly converted for military service. Armament consisted of one 20 mm MG 151/20 and three 7.92 mm MG 15 machine guns.

The Do 26s saw service in April-May 1940 in the Norwegian Campaign, transporting supplies, troops and wounded. During this campaign three of them were lost:

On 8 May 1940 V2 (ex Seefalke) was shot down by three Blackburn Skuas from the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal while carrying 18 Gebirgsjägers to the Narvik front. After a running fight V2 crash-landed in Efjorden in Ballangen. Its pilot; Graf Schack von Wittenau, crew and 18 soldiers were captured in bloody fighting with Norwegian forces. One of the Skuas, flown by future Fleet Air Arm top fighter ace Philip Noel Charlton, was hit by return fire from V2 and made an emergency landing at Tovik near Harstad.

Then, on 28 May 1940, both V1 (ex Seeadler) and V3 (ex Seemöwe) were set ablaze with gunfire and sunk at their moorings at Sildvik in Rombaksfjord near Narvik, when discovered and attacked by three Hurricanes of No. 46 Squadron RAF led by the New Zealander Flight Lieutenant (later Group Captain) P.G. Jameson, DSO, DFC and bar shortly after landing.

V5 was lost on 16 November 1940 , killing its crew, after being launched at night from the catapult ship Friesenland in Brest. The fate of V4 and V6, which in 1944 were still assigned to the Test Unit (German: Erprobungsstelle) in Travemünde, is unclear.

Variants

Do 26A

Two prototypes, named V1 (D-AGNT Seeadler) and V2 (D-AWDS Seefalke).Do 26B

Third prototype, named V3 (D-ASRA Seemöwe).Do 26C

Military variant for Luftwaffe, powered by Jumo 205D engines and armed with one 20 mm MG 151/20 and three 7.92 mm MG 15 machine guns. Three aircraft built. The V1, V2 and V3 were rebuilt to similar standard.

Operators

• Deutsche Lufthansa operated two Do 26A and one Do 26B aircraft between 1938 and 1939. Later all three were handed over to Luftwaffe.
• Luftwaffe operated all six built aircraft.
• Erprobungsstelle Travemünde
• KGr.z.b.V. 108 (operated in Trans-Ozean Staffel/KGr.z.b.V. 108)
• Küstenfliegergruppe 406 (operated in Sonderstaffel/Ku.Fl.Gr.406)

Survivors

The wrecks of V1 Seeadler and V3 Seemöwe were located in Norwegian waters off Narvik after the war. The wreck of Seemöwe has been removed but the fuselage and wings of Seeadler remain in situ (and are an attraction for divers). Some components from Seeadler, including the cockpit instrument panel and a propeller, are on display at the Narvik War Museum; another propeller can be seen at the flying club in Bodø, Norway.

Specifications - civilian Do 26A

Specifications - Do 26V6

References

Literature

• Hafsten, Bjørn; Larsstuvold, Ulf; Olsen, Bjørn and Stenersen, Sten: "Flyalarm - luftkrigen over Norge 1939-1945", Sem og Stenersen AS, Oslo 1991 ISBN 82-7046-058-3

External links

See also