The Dornier Do 26 was an all-metal
gull-winged flying boat
A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...
produced before and during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
by ''
Dornier Flugzeugwerke
Dornier Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturer founded in Friedrichshafen in 1914 by Claude Dornier. Over the course of its long lifespan, the company produced many designs for both the civil and military markets.
History
Originally ...
'' of
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. It was operated by a crew of four and was intended to carry a payload of 500 kg (1,100 lb) or four passengers on the
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
to
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
route.
Design and development
The Do 26 was of all-metal construction. The
hull
Hull may refer to:
Structures
* Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle
* Fuselage, of an aircraft
* Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds
* Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship
* Submarine hull
Mathematics
* Affine hull, in affi ...
had a central
keel
The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...
and a defined step; the wings were of gull wing configuration, the outer sections being equipped with fully retractable narrow stabilising wing-floats, instead of Dornier's famous "water-wing" sponsons extending from the lower hull for lateral stabilization.
![Dornier Do 26 interior 1938](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Dornier_Do_26_interior_1938.JPG)
Its four engines,
Junkers Jumo 205
The Jumo 205 aircraft engine was the most famous of a series of aircraft diesel engines produced by Junkers. The Jumo 204 first entered service in 1932. Later engines of this type comprised the experimental Jumo 206 and Jumo 208, with the Jumo ...
C
diesel
Diesel may refer to:
* Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression
* Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines
* Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...
s, were mounted in
tractor/pusher pairs in tandem nacelles located at the joint between the
dihedral and horizontal wing sections.
The rear (pusher) engines could be swung upwards through 10° during take-off and landing, to prevent contact between the three-blade airscrew and water spray created by the forward propellers.
The tail unit was of conventional design, comprising a horizontal
tailplane
A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplane ...
and a single, vertical
fin
A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...
with
rudder
A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...
.
Operational history
Pre-war
In 1937, ''
Deutsche Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
'' ordered three Do 26 aircraft, which were designed to be launched by
catapult
A catapult is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden release of stored p ...
from special supply ships, for transatlantic
air mail
Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be the ...
purposes. The first, ''Do 26 A'' D-AGNT V1 ''Seeadler'' ("
Sea eagle
A sea eagle or fish eagle (also called erne or ern, mostly in reference to the white-tailed eagle) is any of the birds of prey in the genus ''Haliaeetus'' in the bird of prey family Accipitridae.
Taxonomy and evolution
The genus ''Haliaeetus'' ...
"), was piloted on its maiden flight by Flight Captain Erich Gundermann on 21 May 1938; D-AWDS V2 ''Seefalke'' ("Sea Falcon"), followed on 23 November 1938, piloted by Flight Captain Egon Fath. Both were completed and handed over to ''Deutsche Lufthansa'' before the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Due to opposition from the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, the German airline was unable to operate these aircraft on the intended transatlantic route; instead, in 1939 they were used to carry air mail between
Bathurst and
Natal
NATAL or Natal may refer to:
Places
* Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil
* Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa
** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843)
** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ...
on the Southern Atlantic route. The third aircraft, ''Do 26 B'' D-ASRA ''Seemöwe'' ("
Seagull
Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...
") was completed shortly before the start of World War II.
![Dornier Do 26 Seeadler D-AGNT 1938](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Dornier_Do_26_Seeadler_D-AGNT_1938.JPG)
One Do 26 civilian mission was carried out by V2 ''Seefalke'', when on 14 February 1939 the veteran ''Lufthansa'' pilot Flight Captain
Siegfried Graf Schack von Wittenau embarked on a mercy flight to Chile, taking 580 kg (1,279 lb) of medical supplies for earthquake victims in Chile. The 10,700 km (6,600 mi) flight between
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
and
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
lasted 36 hours.
World War II
All three ''Deutsche Lufthansa'' aircraft were impressed into military service in 1939 at the outbreak of World War II, as ''P5+AH'', ''P5+BH'' and ''P5+CH'' respectively.
Three other Do 26 aircraft (V4 – V6) were built as ''Do 26 C'' for the ''
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
'' with the more powerful 648 kW (880 hp)
Junkers Jumo 205
The Jumo 205 aircraft engine was the most famous of a series of aircraft diesel engines produced by Junkers. The Jumo 204 first entered service in 1932. Later engines of this type comprised the experimental Jumo 206 and Jumo 208, with the Jumo ...
D engines; the original three aircraft were similarly converted for military service. Armament consisted of one 20 mm
MG 151/20 cannon
The MG 151 (MG 151/15) was a German 15 mm aircraft-mounted autocannon produced by Waffenfabrik Mauser during World War II. Its 20mm variant, the 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon, was widely used on German Luftwaffe fighters, night fighters, figh ...
and three 7.92 mm (.312 in)
MG 15 machine gun
The MG 15 was a German 7.92 mm machine gun designed specifically as a hand-manipulated defensive gun for combat aircraft during the early 1930s. By 1941 it was replaced by other types and found new uses with ground troops.
History
The MG 1 ...
s.
Norwegian Campaign
The Do 26s saw service in April and May 1940 in the
Norwegian Campaign, transporting supplies, troops and wounded to and from the isolated German forces fighting at
Narvik
( se, Áhkanjárga) is the third-largest municipality in Nordland county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Narvik. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Ankenesstranda, Ball ...
under the command of General
Eduard Dietl
Eduard Wohlrat Christian Dietl (21 July 1890 – 23 June 1944) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 20th Mountain Army. He was magnanimously awarded of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Na ...
. During this campaign three of them were lost:
On 8 May 1940, V2 (ex ''Seefalke'')
[Hafsten 1991, p. 89] was shot down by three
Blackburn Skua
The Blackburn B-24 Skua was a carrier-based low-wing, two-seater, single-radial engine aircraft by the British aviation company Blackburn Aircraft. It was the first Royal Navy carrier-borne all-metal cantilever monoplane aircraft, as well as ...
s of
803 Naval Air Squadron
803 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm squadron.
History
Interwar
803 NAS was formed on 3 April 1933 by promoting No 409 (Fleet Fighter) Flight to the status of a squadron, with nine Ospreys. In the same month it embarked on f ...
,
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...
, operating from the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
while carrying 18
Gebirgsjäger
''Gebirgsjäger'' () are the light infantry part of the alpine or mountain troops (''Gebirgstruppe'') of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The word '' Jäger'' (meaning "hunter" or "huntsman") is a characteristic term used for light infantry in ...
s to the Narvik front.
After a running fight V2 crash-landed in Efjorden in
Ballangen
Ballangen ( sme, Bálák) is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1925 until its dissolution in 2020. The municipality was part of the traditional district of Ofoten. The administrative centre of th ...
. Siegfried Graf Schack von Wittenau, the crew and 18 soldiers, were captured in bloody fighting with Norwegian forces.
One of the Skuas, flown by future
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...
fighter ace
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...
Sub-Lieutenant
Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces.
In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...
Philip Noel Charlton, was hit by return fire from V2 and made an emergency landing at
Tovik
Tovik is a village in Tjeldsund Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The village is located on the mainland at the entrance of the two fjords; Astafjorden and Vågsfjorden, and at a distance of about from Harstad/Narvik Airport, Ev ...
near
Harstad
( se, Hárstták) is the second-most populated municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the Harstad (town), town of Harstad, the most populous town in Centra ...
.
Then, on 28 May 1940, both V1 (ex ''Seeadler'' piloted by
Ernst-Wilhelm Modrow
Ernst-Wilhelm Modrow (5 May 1908 – 10 September 1990) was a German night fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany. He was recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Modrow, along with four other pilots, was the 45th most successf ...
) and V3 (ex ''Seemöwe'') were set ablaze with gunfire and sunk at their moorings at Sildvik in Rombaksfjord near
Narvik
( se, Áhkanjárga) is the third-largest municipality in Nordland county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Narvik. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Ankenesstranda, Ball ...
,
[Hafsten 1991, p. 99] when discovered and attacked by three
Hawker Hurricanes
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...
of
No. 46 Squadron RAF
No. 46 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force, formed in 1916, was disbanded and re-formed three times before its last disbandment in 1975. It served in both World War I and World War II.
World War I
No. 46 Squadron was ...
led by the New Zealander
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...
(later
Group Captain
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...
)
P.G. "Pat" Jameson,
DSO,
DFC and
bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar (u ...
shortly after landing.
Three
mountain gun
Mountain guns are artillery pieces designed for use in mountain warfare and areas where usual wheeled transport is not possible. They are generally capable of being taken apart to make smaller loads for transport by horses, humans, mules, tractor ...
s destined for the German forces fighting in the mountains east of Narvik were lost with the destruction of V1 and V3, whilst one gun was unloaded from one of the aircraft before it was lost.
Later World War II service
V5 was lost on 16 November 1940, killing its crew, after being launched at night from the catapult ship ''Friesenland'' in
Brest, France
Brest (; ) is a port city in the Finistère department, Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of the peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French mi ...
. The fate of V4 and V6, which in 1944 were still assigned to the Test Unit (German: ''Erprobungsstelle'') in
Travemünde
Travemünde () is a borough of Lübeck, Germany, located at the mouth of the river Trave in Bay of Lübeck, Lübeck Bay. It began life as a fortress built by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, in the 12th century to guard the mouth of the Trave, an ...
, is unclear.
Variants
;Do 26A
:Two prototypes, (''V1'' - D-AGNT ''Seeadler'') and (''V2'' - D-AWDS ''Seefalke'').
;Do 26B
:Third prototype, (''V3'' - D-ASRA ''Seemöwe'').
;Do 26C
:Military variant for ''Luftwaffe'', powered by
Junkers Jumo 205D engines and armed with 1x
MG 151/20 cannon
The MG 151 (MG 151/15) was a German 15 mm aircraft-mounted autocannon produced by Waffenfabrik Mauser during World War II. Its 20mm variant, the 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon, was widely used on German Luftwaffe fighters, night fighters, figh ...
and three
MG 15 machine gun
The MG 15 was a German 7.92 mm machine gun designed specifically as a hand-manipulated defensive gun for combat aircraft during the early 1930s. By 1941 it was replaced by other types and found new uses with ground troops.
History
The MG 1 ...
s. Three aircraft built and ''V1'', ''V2'' and ''V3'' were rebuilt to similar standard.
Operators
;
*''
Deutsche Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
'' operated two Do 26A and one Do 26B between 1938 and 1939. Later all three were handed over to the ''Luftwaffe''.
*''
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
'' operated all six built aircraft.
**''
Erprobungsstelle Travemünde''
**''
KGr.z.b.V. 108'' (operated in ''Trans-Ozean Staffel''/KGr.z.b.V. 108)
**
''Küstenfliegergruppe'' 406 (operated in ''Sonderstaffel''/Ku.Fl.Gr.406)
Surviving aircraft
The wrecks of V1 ''Seeadler'' and V3 ''Seemöwe'' were located in Norwegian waters off Narvik after the war. ''Seemöwe'' has been removed but the fuselage and wings of ''Seeadler'' remain in situ (and are an attraction for divers). Some components from ''Seeadler'', including the cockpit instrument panel and a propeller, are on display at the Narvik War Museum; another propeller can be seen at the flying club in
Bodø
Bodø (; smj, Bådåddjo, sv, Bodö) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Bodø (which is also the capital of Nordland count ...
, Norway.
www.eurotravelling.net Norway, Narvik info-panel on right has Do. 26 information
Specifications – civilian Do 26A
See also
Notes
Bibliography
*
*
*
{{Authority control
Do 026
1930s German mailplanes
1930s German military transport aircraft
Gull-wing aircraft
Flying boats
High-wing aircraft
Diesel-engined aircraft
Four-engined push-pull aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1938