The Dornier Delphin (en: Dolphin) was a 1920s
German single-engine commercial
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 ...
built 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 ...
. As well as commercial users, single examples were acquired by the
United States Navy and the British
Royal Navy for evaluation.
Development
The Delphin I was developed in 1920. It was an all-metal single-engine high-wing
monoplane flying boat. It had an enclosed
cabin
Cabin may refer to:
Buildings
* Beach cabin, a small wooden hut on a beach
* Log cabin, a house built from logs
* Cottage, a small house
* Chalet, a wooden mountain house with a sloping roof
* Cabin, small free-standing structures that serve as in ...
for four-passengers with the wing mounted above, and the
nacelle-mounted
engine above that. It was powered by a 138 kW (185 hp)
BMW IIIa inline engine. The pilot had an open
cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft.
The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...
on the upper surface of the hull behind the engine, which gave him a limited view forward. It first flew on the 24 November 1920. Dornier first tested the design concept and spontoons in place of wingtip floats, with a small three-seater named the
Dornier Libelle.
"The Dornier Dragon Fly Flying Boat"
''FLIGHT'', October 20, 1921
An improved version, the Delphin II, first flew on 15 February 1924, and was powered by either a 186 kW (250 hp) BMW engine or a 194 kW (260 hp) Rolls-Royce Falcon III
The Rolls-Royce Falcon is an aero engine developed in 1915. It was a smaller version of the Rolls-Royce Eagle, a liquid-cooled V-12 of 867 cu in (14.2 L) capacity. Fitted to many British World War I-era aircraft, production ceased in 1927. ...
engine. The enclosed cabin now had room for two crew and five passengers.
Following the success of the Delphin II, a larger version, the Delphin III was developed from 1927. It was powered by a 447 kW (600 hp) BMW VI
The BMW VI was a water-cooled V-12 aircraft engine built in Germany in the 1920s. It was one of the most important German aero engines in the years leading up to World War II, with thousands built. It was further developed as the BMW VII and B ...
engine and had a separate flight deck for the two-man crew and a cabin for ten passengers.
A Delphin I was acquired by the United States Navy, and a Delphin III by the Royal Navy, both of whom were interested in evaluating the metal construction.
Variants
;Delphin I
:Four-passenger version with open cockpit, powered by a 138 kW (185 hp) BMW IIIa inline engine
;Delphin II
:Five-passenger version, powered by either a 186 kW (250 hp) BMW engine or a 194 kW (260 hp) Rolls-Royce Falcon III engine.
;Delphin III
:Ten-passenger version, powered by 447 kW (600 hp) BMW VI engine
Specifications (Delphin III)
See also
References
*The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985), 1985, Orbis Publishing
"The Dornier Cs. II Commercial Flying Boat"
''Flight'', April 21, 1921
{{Dornier aircraft
1920s German airliners
Flying boats
Delphin
Single-engined tractor aircraft
High-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1920