The Dornier Do 23 was a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
medium bomber
A medium bomber is a military bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized Aerial bomb, bombloads over medium Range (aeronautics), range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombe ...
of the 1930s.
Design and development
The earlier
Do 11 had exhibited several problems, so two initiatives were launched to address those shortcomings. The first resulted in the
Do 13. The second effort was a more extensive rework which resulted in the Do 23. With additional landing flaps at the rear of the wings several of the handling problems were corrected, but crew and military equipment were analogous to the Do 11 and performance was still considered mediocre.
Between 1934 and 1935 282 Dornier Do 23s were built 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 ...
'' of which 273 were assigned to the units. In 1936 the machines were replaced by the first versions of the Do 17 and were transferred to the training duties. During the war, some Do 23s were used as
minesweeper
A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping.
History
The earliest known usage of ...
s, known as ''Minensuch'' — literally, "mine-search" aircraft in German — and fitted with a current-carrying
degaussing
Degaussing is the process of decreasing or eliminating a remnant magnetic field. It is named after the gauss, a unit of magnetism, which in turn was named after Carl Friedrich Gauss. Due to magnetic hysteresis, it is generally not possible to redu ...
ring under the
airframe
The mechanical structure of an aircraft is known as the airframe. This structure is typically considered to include the fuselage, undercarriage, empennage and wings, and excludes the propulsion system.
Airframe design is a field of aerospa ...
to create a magnetic field that triggered submerged
naval mines
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any v ...
. These aircraft were usually given an -"MS" suffix to designate them, as had been done with the similarly equipped
Bv 138 MS or
Ju 52MS aircraft.
Experiments with spraying devices to blow off chemical warfare agents were also carried out with Do 23 with some aircraft used to fight pests.
Variants
First aircraft received letters A, C, E and F which were designation of aircraft, not variants. The only production version was G.
*Do 23A: Aircraft WNr.231, registered as D-2485.
*Do 23C: Aircraft WNr.293, registered as D-AHYL.
*Do 23E: Aircraft WNr.294, registered as D-AGIR.
*Do 23F: Aircraft WNr.295, used for stress and vibration tests.
*Do 23G: Production version, manufactured in the Dornier main plants in Wismar and Friedrichshafen. Henschel and Blohm & Voss were also involved in the production with 24 aircraft each.
Operators
;
*
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 ...
;
*
Royal Hungarian Air Force
The Hungarian Air Force ( hu, Magyar Légierő), is the air force branch of the Hungarian Defence Forces.
The task of the current Hungarian Air Force is primarily defensive purposes. The flying units of the air force are organised into a single ...
Specifications (Do 23G)
See also
References
{{Authority control
Do 023
1930s German bomber aircraft
World War II medium bombers of Germany
Aircraft first flown in 1934
Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft