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At the beginning of 1938, Dornier issued manufacturing specification #1323, recognizing the need for a twin-engine bomber or long-range reconnaissance aircraft powered by Daimler-Benz DB 601B engines. Dornier recognized shortcomings of its fast Do 17 well before the war. With Junkers’ new prototype, the Junkers Ju 88, being superior to the Do 17 in every way, Dornier designed a new bomber to meet a requirement from the RLM for a larger and more versatile bomber than the Do 17, capable of both level and dive bombing. One of the most versatile and useful bomber designs the Germans put into production after the war started, the Dornier Do 217 remedied the shortcomings of the Do 17 while greatly advancing the design in all areas.
Superficially a scaled up Do 215, and initially powered by the same engines, the Do 217 was actually considerably larger and totally different in detailed design. The first prototype (the Do 217 V1) flew on 4 October 1938, but crashed seven days later during a single engine flying test. It was found to be underpowered and was unmaneuvrable when compared with contemporary bombers. Instability was a problem at first, but modifications such as fixed slats along the leading edges of the vertical fins helped to improve flight stability.

Much of Dornier’s efforts in 1938 to 1940 were devoted to finding more powerful engines and improving the flying qualities. When the BMW 801 radial engine became available, it solved the problems of the aircraft being underpowered and allowed the fuselage to be deepened, thus accommodating larger and heavier bomb loads. This enabled the Do 217 to fulfill its potential and carry a heavier bomb load than any other Luftwaffe bomber of the time.
There was a desire for the Do 217 to be capable of performing dive bombings, so it was therefore fitted with a tail-mounted dive brakes, with dorsal and ventral panels that were hinged at the rear of the tail extension they emerged from. This could not be made to function adequately in the early models however, and was omitted until the Do 217E-2 entered service. When this mark reached service, use of the dive brake was found to sometimes overstrain the rear fuselage, so it was often removed.

The Do 217 could carry a much heavier bombload than either the Heinkel He 111 or Junkers Ju 88. It was also very fast, surpassing both aircraft in maximum speed. It was Germany’s largest bomber for nearly two years until the Heinkel He 177 was finally safe enough to use. Do 217s sank the Italian battleship Roma with Fritz X PGM bombs as she steamed to the Allies after Italy’s capitulation. Do 217s were phased out of combat use in mid 1944.
Like the Do 17 and the Ju 88, the aircraft was used in a variety of roles, including that of the night fighter – a sign that Germany desperately needed fighters far more than it needed bombers. Production was stopped in April 1944 in favor of single-engine fighters. Operational use of the Do 217 as a night fighter was restricted in 1943 to NJG 4. The only capability in which the Do 217 was used up to the end of the war was as a night reconnaissance plane. Like the Do 17, this important type of service in the Luftwaffe is frequently overlooked.

The Do 217 was built in series from November 1940 to May 1944. In 1943, 395 aircraft could not be delivered to the Luftwaffe due to shortages of the DB 603 engines used in the M-1 and N-1 versions. These aircraft were stored, and while some were refitted in 1944 when the engines became available, the remainder (around 125) were scrapped. The Do 217 was only built by the three Dornier companies :
- Dornier Friedrichshafen (DWF) : 316 aircraft
- Dornier München (DWM) : 985 aircraft
- Norddeutsche Dornier-Werke (NDW) : 602 aircraft

Production stopped in Friedrichshafen in December 1942, and in Wismar (NDW) in October 1943
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Wartime production

- Prototypes : DWF – 4
- A-0 : DWF – 9
- C-0 : DWF – 9
- E-1 : DWF – 44 & DWM – 50
- E-2 : Dornier – 169
- E-4 : Dornier – 527
- J-1 : DWF – 130
- K-1 : Dornier – 220
- M-1 : DWM – 258 & NDW – 180
- N-1/N-2 : DWF – 10 & DWM – 315
- H (Conversion) : DWF – 3
- P (Conversion) : DWF – 4
- R (Conversion) : DWF – 4
- Total : Dornier – 916, DWF – 206, DWM – 623, NDW – 180 (1925)

Dornier Variants

• Do 217 A-0 : Pre-production series with two 1100-HP (809-KW, 1085-HP) DB 601B inline engines, used for reconnaissance missions. Only eight aircraft were built
• Do 217 C-0 : Pre-production bomber, DB 601B engines, increased defensive armament. Only four built
• Do 217 E-0 : Pre-production bomber with deepened fuselage and powered by two 1560-HP (1147-KW, 1539-HP) BMW 801A engines.
• Do 217 E-1 : Production bomber with five 7.92-MM MG-15 machine guns and one 15-MM MG-151 cannon for defense
• Do 217 E-2 : Bomber with dive bombing capabilities, with three 7.92-MM MG-15, two 13-MM MG-131 machine guns, one 15-MM MG-151, and a 4000-KG (8820-LB) bombload
• Do 217 E-3 : Level bomber, seven 7.92-MM MG-15 and one forward-firing 20-MM MG-FF cannon
• Do 217 E-4 : BMW 801L engines
• Do 217 E-5 : E-4 with extended wingspan, modified on production line to launch Henschel Hs 293 missiles
• Do 217H : Conversion of a Do 217E with DB 601 engines fitted with experimental turbo-superchargers
• Do 217K : Bomber with redesigned forward fuselage with stepped windscreen eliminated, a common WW II German bomber cockpit design concept adopted just before the start of WW II initially on earlier Heinkel bombers (He 111P and 177A). Two 1700-HP (1250-KW, 1677-HP) BMW 801G-2 radial engines
• Do 217 K-1 : Standard bomber version
• Do 217 K-2 : Extended wingspan to carry Fritz X bombs on under wing racks
• Do 217 K-3 : Similar to K-2, but capable of carrying both Henschel Hs 293 or Fritz X
• Do 217M : Bomber; Do 217K with 1750-HP (1287-KW, 1726-HP) DB 603A in line piston engines
• Do 217 M-1 : Equivalent to the K-1
• Do 217 M-3 : DB 603A-engined equivalent to the K-3
• Do 217 M-5 : Henschel Hs 293 carrier with a single missile mounted semi-externally beneath the fuselage
• Do 217 M-11 : Similar to the K-2 with extended wingspan and Fritz X missiles
• Do 217J : Night fighter based on the Do 217E. Solid nose with four 7.92-MM MG-17 machine guns and four 20-MM MG FF
• Do 217 J-1 : Night intruder version
• Do 217 J-2 : Dedicated night fighter. Bomb bays removed
• Do 217L : Modified version of the Do 217K with rearranged cockpit and defensive armament. Only two built
• Do 217N : Night fighter based on the Do 217M. Armament similar to Do 217J but with improved 20-MM MG-151/20 cannons replacing the 20-MM MG FF plus the addition of four 20-MM MG-151/20s as Schräge Musik
• Do 217 N-1 : Similar to J-2
• Do 217 N-2 : N-1 with defensive gun turret removed to reduce weight.
• Do 217P : High-altitude reconnaissance aircraft with two 1860-HP (1368-KW, 1834-HP) DB 603B supercharged by a DB 605T in the fuselage (the Höhenzentrale, or “HZ” system) with a ceiling of 16.155-M (53.000-FT). Three Do 217 P-0 pre-production aircraft only
• Do 217R : Redesignated Dornier Do 317 prototypes used as Henschel Hs 293 carriers

Battlefield Relics

Here are the photos of the remains of one of these Dorniers. This set (not all show) is coming from a Dornier downed over England, probably during the Battle of Britain. I am not willing to keep these items and if you are interested (Museum) please contact me.

(For Sale – 265 euros)

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