Dornier Do 18 - WikiHQ

The Dornier Do 18 was a development of the Do 16 flying boat. It was developed for the Luftwaffe, but Deutsche Luft Hansa received five aircraft and used these for tests between the Azores and the North American continent in 1936 and on their mail route over the South Atlantic from 1937 to 1939.

On 27–29 March 1938, a "Do 18 W" established a seaplane record, flying non-stop a straight distance of 8,391 km (5,214 mi) from Start Point, Devon to Caravelas in Brazil.

Design and development

In 1934, the Dornier Flugzeugwerke started development of a new twin-engine flying boat to replace the Dornier Do J "Wal" (Whale) in both military and civil roles. The resultant design, Do 18, retained the layout of the Wal, with a metal hull fitted with distinctive stabilising sponsons, and powered by two engines above the wing in a push-pull layout, but was aerodynamically and hydrodynamically more efficient. It was planned to be powered by two of the new Junkers Jumo 205 Diesel engines. Although heavy, these promised to give much lower fuel consumption than conventional petrol engines of similar power.

The first prototype, the Do 18a, registration D-AHIS (and named Monsun by Deutsche Luft Hansa) flew on 15 March 1935, powered by two of the earlier 410 kW (550 hp) Junkers Jumo 5c Diesels as the planned Jumo 205s were not yet available. It was lost on 2 November 1935 over the Baltic Sea during high-speed tests. Three further prototypes followed, two (the Do 18d and Do 18b) being prototype military aircraft, and the Do 18c (later redesignated Do 18 V3), a civil prototype.

The Do 18c was delivered to Deutsche Luft Hansa as a Do 18E civil transport (D-ABYM Aeolus), quickly followed by a further two aircraft, (D-AANE Zyklon and D-ARUN Zephir)

Variants

Civil variants

;Do 18E

:Initial civil version, powered by 410 kW (550 hp) Jumo 205C-1 engines. Four built.

;Do 18F

:Long range civil version V7 D-ANNE Zyklon, with extended-span (26.30 m (86 ft 3 in)) wings and increased take-off weight. One built.

Military variants

The Do 18D 79 built, was the first military version, powered by two 450 kW (600 hp) Jumo 205C engines, armed with one 7.92 mm (0.312 in) MG 15 machine gun in the bow and dorsal positions.
The Do 18G 62 built, was an improved version, powered by two 656 kW (880 hp) Jumo 205D engines, armed with a 13 mm (0.51 in) MG 131 machine gun in the bow, and a 20 mm MG 151 cannon in a power-operated dorsal turret. This version had an altered bow contour and broader sponsons. Provision for rocket-assisted take off (JATO) was possible.
The Do 18H 22 built (+ conversions ?) was an unarmed dual-control six seat training version.
The Do 18N was a designation for unarmed air-sea search and rescue conversions in service with the Seenotdienst

Including the civilian flying boats 170 Dornier Do 18 were built by Dornier in Manzell (48 until March 1939) and Weser Flugzeugbau in Einswarden and Nordenham (122 until August 1940).

Operators

Deutsche Luft Hansa
Luftwaffe

Specifications (Do 18D-1)

thumb|Dornier Do.18 3-view drawing from [[L'Aérophile August 1936]]

References

Bibliography