Dornier Do 335
Sign in to saveAlso known as Pfeil fighter, Pfeil aircraft, Arrow fighter, Arrow aircraft, Do 335
fighter aircraft family by Dornier
Key facts
- Type
- Fighter-bomber
- National origin
- Nazi Germany
- Manufacturer
- Dornier Flugzeugwerke
- Status
- Retired
- Primary user
- Luftwaffe
- Manufactured
- 1944–1945
- First flight
- 26 October 1943
via Wikipedia infobox
~19 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The Dornier Do 335 Pfeil (Arrow) is a heavy fighter built by Dornier for Germany during World War II. The Pfeil's performance was predicted to be better than other twin-engine designs due to its unusual push-pull configuration and the lower aerodynamic drag of the in-line alignment of the two engines. It is considered one of the fastest piston-engined aircraft ever and was Nazi Germany's fastest piston-engined aircraft of World War II. The Luftwaffe was desperate to get the design into operational use, but delays in engine deliveries meant that only a handful were delivered before the war ended and it never saw combat.
The Do 335 was originally designed as a Schnellbomber. It could reach speeds of around 800 km/h in level flight, and could outrun most of the military aircraft in service at the time, with only first generation jet fighters being faster.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Dornier Do 335” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.