What do you think?
Rate this book
Dornier Do 335
The Dornier Do 335 was conceived as a high-speed, all-weather fighter, and represented the pinnacle of piston-engined aircraft design. The Do 335 was a big aircraft, weighing just over 10,000kg when laden with fuel, equipment, and pilot, yet powered by two Daimler-Benz DB 603 engines, it was capable of reaching a maximum speed of 750km/h at 6400 meters, making it the fastest piston engine aircraft produced in Germany during World War II.
Some forty aircraft were built between late 1943 and the end of the war, and it was intended to deploy the type as a day fighter, bomber, night fighter, bad weather interceptor, and reconnaissance aircraft, all of which were intended to incorporate the latest armament, bomb sights, communications, and radar equipment, as well as an ejector seat. Featuring archive photography and specially commissioned artwork, this is the full story of the aircraft that the Luftwaffe hoped would turn the tide of the war.
Some forty aircraft were built between late 1943 and the end of the war, and it was intended to deploy the type as a day fighter, bomber, night fighter, bad weather interceptor, and reconnaissance aircraft, all of which were intended to incorporate the latest armament, bomb sights, communications, and radar equipment, as well as an ejector seat. Featuring archive photography and specially commissioned artwork, this is the full story of the aircraft that the Luftwaffe hoped would turn the tide of the war.
113 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 18, 2018
6 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
About the author
Robert Forsyth
127 books6 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 28, 2024
The Apex of Propeller Driven Aircraft
Any review of this book would have to start off by stating it is part of Osprey Publishing's X Plane series. It is, as such, relatively short at only 80 pages of which, very roughly, a third consists of illustration of one type or another. Hence if one is looking for an academic tome this is not the book to purchase. The relevant question is how well does this book considering the constraints imposed on it by its format? The answer is very well.
The book provides a detailed history of the development of aircraft, from its genesis through testing to its end at the end of the war (basically being flown from base to base to avoid capture). There is a detailed history of its creator, Dornier, starting by his design of float planes after the first world war through various other aircraft. There is quite a bit of detail on test pilots. There is also a discussion of how the aircraft's purpose, like that of the ME 262 jet, early on was on bombing (even though the aircraft was much more suited for use as a heavy fighter) and how there was so much emphasis on so many different functions that development of the aircraft was seriously delayed. This was despite the importance placed on it by leading figures in the Luftwaffe like Goering.
Not that multi-functionality and inability to concentrate on purpose were the only developmental problems. Others factors contributing to the long development of the aircraft included the complexity of the design. The aircraft's huge size lead to landing gear problems as well as engine development problems (many times leading to fires). Towards the end of the war, just as the aircraft was ready for production, Germany's strategic situation was such that just manufacturing the aircraft became a serious problem.
With respect to illustrations, something that Osprey books are known for, the book is quite good. There are plenty of contemporaneous photographs of the aircraft as well as test pilots. In addition the cockpit is very well illustrated in detail and there are numerous cutaway drawings of the plane. This reviewer has only two criticisms with respect to illustrations. One is that there should have been a large cutaway of the entire aircraft instead of the current too small one. In addition, there should have been a large-scale drawing/painting of the aircraft as a whole from a variety of angles (i.e., top, bottom, sides, front and back).
All of the above are positives of the book. Unfortunately it also has a few serious negatives. One relates to the fact that the book is filled with far too much minutiae. In a large book this would not have proven a problem but in a short book, where one needs to concentrate on the most important things, it is a problem. The writer spends far too much time providing too many details on test pilots, the locations of testing facilities, far too much detail on test flights as well as the episodes involving the movement of aircraft from one base to another towards the very end of the war. Again, it is not that this not interesting, just that this is too much time spent on these topics for a book of such limited length.
That space could have been used much more productively, in this reviewer's opinion, on much more important questions and topics. These include a detailed discussion and analysis of how well the aircraft could have fulfilled the functions it was intended for. For example, how well could it have performed as heavy fighter against bomber formations (i.e., the book only has two to three sentences on this)? Considering the fighters heavy armament (it was equipped with 30mm guns), armour plating (excellent defense against the hail of .SO caliber bullets it would face from bomber's defensive guns) and its very high speed (very good way of getting through large numbers of escorting fighters that were slow than this plane) it would have made an extraordinary heavy fighter. How well would have the plane served in the reconnaissance role? An analysis comparing this plane's speed and that of allied interceptors would have been very relevant here.
Unfortunately none is provided. How would have the plane have served as an air superiority fighter? The book mentions that it performed well against a FW 190 in one mock combat. However, considering the aircraft's weight (very, very heavy relative to single engine fighter) which would have resulted in relatively limited maneuverability, combined with the fact that it was equipped with only heavy guns with limited ammunition relative to lighter caliber guns (heavy guns would be good against bombers but not so good against lighter fighters) how accurate could this assessment, based on only one mock duel, have been?
This reviewer would take of a star to star and half for the aforementioned problems.
Any review of this book would have to start off by stating it is part of Osprey Publishing's X Plane series. It is, as such, relatively short at only 80 pages of which, very roughly, a third consists of illustration of one type or another. Hence if one is looking for an academic tome this is not the book to purchase. The relevant question is how well does this book considering the constraints imposed on it by its format? The answer is very well.
The book provides a detailed history of the development of aircraft, from its genesis through testing to its end at the end of the war (basically being flown from base to base to avoid capture). There is a detailed history of its creator, Dornier, starting by his design of float planes after the first world war through various other aircraft. There is quite a bit of detail on test pilots. There is also a discussion of how the aircraft's purpose, like that of the ME 262 jet, early on was on bombing (even though the aircraft was much more suited for use as a heavy fighter) and how there was so much emphasis on so many different functions that development of the aircraft was seriously delayed. This was despite the importance placed on it by leading figures in the Luftwaffe like Goering.
Not that multi-functionality and inability to concentrate on purpose were the only developmental problems. Others factors contributing to the long development of the aircraft included the complexity of the design. The aircraft's huge size lead to landing gear problems as well as engine development problems (many times leading to fires). Towards the end of the war, just as the aircraft was ready for production, Germany's strategic situation was such that just manufacturing the aircraft became a serious problem.
With respect to illustrations, something that Osprey books are known for, the book is quite good. There are plenty of contemporaneous photographs of the aircraft as well as test pilots. In addition the cockpit is very well illustrated in detail and there are numerous cutaway drawings of the plane. This reviewer has only two criticisms with respect to illustrations. One is that there should have been a large cutaway of the entire aircraft instead of the current too small one. In addition, there should have been a large-scale drawing/painting of the aircraft as a whole from a variety of angles (i.e., top, bottom, sides, front and back).
All of the above are positives of the book. Unfortunately it also has a few serious negatives. One relates to the fact that the book is filled with far too much minutiae. In a large book this would not have proven a problem but in a short book, where one needs to concentrate on the most important things, it is a problem. The writer spends far too much time providing too many details on test pilots, the locations of testing facilities, far too much detail on test flights as well as the episodes involving the movement of aircraft from one base to another towards the very end of the war. Again, it is not that this not interesting, just that this is too much time spent on these topics for a book of such limited length.
That space could have been used much more productively, in this reviewer's opinion, on much more important questions and topics. These include a detailed discussion and analysis of how well the aircraft could have fulfilled the functions it was intended for. For example, how well could it have performed as heavy fighter against bomber formations (i.e., the book only has two to three sentences on this)? Considering the fighters heavy armament (it was equipped with 30mm guns), armour plating (excellent defense against the hail of .SO caliber bullets it would face from bomber's defensive guns) and its very high speed (very good way of getting through large numbers of escorting fighters that were slow than this plane) it would have made an extraordinary heavy fighter. How well would have the plane served in the reconnaissance role? An analysis comparing this plane's speed and that of allied interceptors would have been very relevant here.
Unfortunately none is provided. How would have the plane have served as an air superiority fighter? The book mentions that it performed well against a FW 190 in one mock combat. However, considering the aircraft's weight (very, very heavy relative to single engine fighter) which would have resulted in relatively limited maneuverability, combined with the fact that it was equipped with only heavy guns with limited ammunition relative to lighter caliber guns (heavy guns would be good against bombers but not so good against lighter fighters) how accurate could this assessment, based on only one mock duel, have been?
This reviewer would take of a star to star and half for the aforementioned problems.
November 5, 2020
Good book on what might have been a great warplane
Another good Osprey book on a limited knowledge warplane DO 335. An interesting aircraft it could have been a stunning weapon had it not had so many teething issues.
Another good Osprey book on a limited knowledge warplane DO 335. An interesting aircraft it could have been a stunning weapon had it not had so many teething issues.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews