A D0 217 night fighter in the hangar.
Dornier Do 217 was a multirole bomber of the Third Reich.
Background[]
A more powerful, upgraded version of the Dornier Do 17Z medium bomber, the 217 was designed as a short-range heavy bomber, with a much larger bomb load and range than its little brother. More powerful than the early versions of the He 111 and Ju 88, the Do 217 served on all fronts of the war from its introduction in 1941 to the end of the war in 1945. It was an all-metal, shoulder-wing cantilever monoplane powered by a pair of air-cooled BMW 801A engines, crewed by four. The maximum bomb load of the E series was 3,500 kg (7,700 lb) of bombs, with an additional 500 kg (900 lb) available if the fuselage fuel tank was cut down.
Over 1,900 Do 217s were produced. The aircraft has the distinction of being the first aircraft in history to deploy precision-guided munitions in combat: The Fritz-X radio-guided, free-fall bomb, sinking the Italian battleship Roma in 1943.
Models[]
Do 217 E-4[]
Do 217 J-1[]
The J suffix designated a dedicated night fighter variant, introduced in 1942 to provide the Luftwaffe with a hard-hitting defensive fighter for use against Allied bombers. Although effective, it had a number of limitations due to attempts to turn it into a multirole fighter/bomber, poor maneuverability, and high weight. Only 130 J-1s were produced.
- Do 217 J-1 Close Air Support: A variant tailored for closer air support operations.
- Do 217 J-1 Light Bomber 50kg: A variant carrying a single 50 kg bomb in the rear bomb bay.
Do 217 J-2[]
The J-2 was simply an upgraded J-1 night fighter with a superior FuG 202 Lichtenstein radar, sealed rear bomb bay, and MG 151 2 cm cannons. Upgraded in very limited numbers, the J-2 marked the end of the J series and Do 217's career as a night fighter.