Do 335 Pfeil
| Country | Germany |
| Manufacturer | Dornier Flugzeugwerke |
| Primary Role | Heavy Fighter |
| Maiden Flight | 1 October 1943 |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseThe Do 335 Pfeil ("Arrow") heavy fighters were the result of a design submitted in May 1942 under the name P.231, which was of a single seat high speed bomber that could carry 1,000 kilograms of bombs. The design was awarded a contract and was redesignated Do 335, but by fall of the same year, Dornier Flugzeugwerke was told that Do 335 bombers were no longer needed, but the design could be useful as a foundation to a new heavy fighter design. This design change delayed the prototype flight until Oct 1943, but the prototype aircraft's performance, particularly acceleration and maneuverability, surprised everyone. After adjustments, On 23 May 1944, Adolf Hitler ordered the Do 335 Pfeil design to enter production with highest priority; despite Hitler's orders, delays with engine delivery meant the first unit was not delivered until Jan 1945. The first combat seen was against French ace pilot Pierre Clostermann in Apr 1945, who reported the inability for his Tempest fighter to catch up with the new fast German fighter. On 22 Apr 1945, United States Army troops took control of Dornier's Oberpfaffenhofen factory in Southern Germany. By that time, only 13 production Do 335 Pfeil aircraft were built; counting prototypes, the total number of aircraft built was 38.
ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia.
Last Major Revision: May 2008
SPECIFICATIONS
A-0
| Machinery | Two Daimler-Benz DB 603A 12-cylinder inverted engines rated at 1,725hp each |
| Armament | 1x30mm forward MK 103 cannon, 2x20mm MG 151 cannon, 1,000kg of bombs |
| Crew | 1 |
| Span | 13.80 m |
| Length | 13.85 m |
| Height | 4.55 m |
| Wing Area | 55.00 m² |
| Weight, Empty | 5,210 kg |
| Weight, Maximum | 8,590 kg |
| Speed, Maximum | 765 km/h |
| Service Ceiling | 11,400 m |
| Range, Normal | 1,160 km |
Photographs
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Visitor Submitted Comments
8 Oct 2021 05:53:26 AM
umm it loked up at spped and had terible mounervoribulity in my opinon this is for dive bombing and boom and zoom
All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.
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13 Jun 2019 06:36:00 AM
I love this plane! 1st fighter/bomber DESIGN w/ ejec.seat; jettisonable cruciform tail and rear prop, one of first tandem engine fighter/bomber designs, utilized slight leading edge sweep on wing, tailplanes for better control at high speed, utilized ingenious and streamlined cooling systems for both engines. Do-335 fastest pistonengine fighter/bomber aircraft of WW2 (475 mph - spec. called for 800 kph/500 mph - combined engine output of 3600+ hp!) Centerline nose mount 3 cannon armament superior to machine guns, no gun 'freeze' issues @ altitude as cannon kept 'warm' by fore.engine, no 'g' force gun jam issues as seen w/ wing mount armament - aircraft had internal 1000 kg bomb bay as well. Do-335 utilized tri-cycle gear that greatly enhanced visibility for takeoff, landing - plane could fly, land, takeoff on either engine. Do-335 handled very well, would have held its own in 'dogfighting', would have devastated Allied bomber groups, thankfully never saw mass production. Arguably the pinnacle of prop driven piston engine fighter/bomber design.