Book Review of
Dornier Do-335 Pfeil A
Author: Marek Rys
Kagero Top Drawings no. 124
Polish-English Publication
ICBN: 978-83-66673-78-6
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2021
MSRP: $24.95
Polish-English Publication
ICBN: 978-83-66673-78-6
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2021
MSRP: $24.95
HISTORY:
The Dornier Do 335 Pfeil ("Arrow") was a heavy fighter built by Dornier for Germany during World War II. The two-seater trainer version was called Ameisenbär ("anteater"). The Pfeil's performance was predicted to be better than other twin-engine designs due to its unique push-pull configuration and the lower aerodynamic drag of the in-line alignment of the two engines.
It was Nazi Germany's fastest piston-engined aircraft of World War II. The Luftwaffe was desperate to get the design into operational use, but delays in engine deliveries meant that only a handful were delivered before the war ended.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Fighter-bomber
National origin: Nazi Germany
Manufacturer: Dornier Flugzeugwerke
First flight: 26 October 1943
Introduction to service: 1944
Retired: 1945
Status: Retired
Primary user: Luftwaffe
Produced: 1944–1945
Number built: 37[1]
Crew: 1
Length: 13.85 m (45 ft 5 in)
Wingspan: 13.8 m (45 ft 3 in)
Height: 5 m (16 ft 5 in)
Wing area: 38.5 m2 (414 sq ft)
Airfoil: root: NACA 23018-630; tip: NACA 23012-635
Empty weight: 7,260 kg (16,006 lb)
Gross weight: 9,600 kg (21,164 lb)
A-6 10,085 kg (22,234 lb)
Fuel capacity: 1,230 l (320 US gal; 270 imp gal) main fuel tank (single-seat) with various extra tankage in the weapons bay and wings, depending on variant
Powerplant: 2 × Daimler-Benz DB 603 E-1 V-12 inverted liquid-cooled piston engines, 1,342 kW (1,800 hp) each for take-off, 1,417 kW (1,900 hp) at 1,800 m (5,900 ft)
Propellers: 3-bladed VDM, 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in) diameter constant-speed tractor and pusher propellers
Maximum speed: 763 km/h (474 mph, 412 kn) at 6,500 m (21,300 ft)
A-6 690 km/h (430 mph; 370 kn) at 5,300 m (17,400 ft)
Cruise speed: 685 km/h (426 mph, 370 kn) at 7,200 m (23,600 ft)
Economical cruise speed: 452 km/h (281 mph; 244 kn) at 6,000 m (20,000 ft)
Range: 1,395 km (867 mi, 753 nmi) on full internal fuel at max. continuous power
2,060 km (1,280 mi; 1,110 nmi) at economical cruise power
Service ceiling: 11,400 m (37,400 ft)
Time to altitude: 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in 55 seconds ; 8,000 m (26,000 ft) in 14 minutes 30 seconds
Armament
Guns: 1 × engine mounted 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 103 cannon with 70 rounds plus 2 × 20 mm (0.79 in) MG 151/20 cowl-mount, synchronized autocannon with 200 rpg
Bombs: Up to 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) bomb load in internal weapons bay and two underwing pylons.
THE BOOK:
Kagero is based in Lublin, Poland.
This book is staple-bound and soft-cover of 20 pages in 8 ¼”x 11 ¾” page format.
It comes packaged in a self-sealing clear cello envelope.
The cover art is split in two diagonally. The top half is bright red and has a black and white photo of an actual Do-335 sitting on a runway on it.
The lower black half of the cover has a white line drawing of the top of the aircraft. On top of that is 3 color side view illustrations of the Do-335.
All three are in a wide wave pattern camouflage of 2 shades of green, over light-blue undercarriages and large white skeletal type German fuselage crosses and black crosses, outlined in white under the wings.
The top one has a white no. 113 over a white outlined swastika.
The second one down has a bare metal panel behind the cockpit, a white no. 2/1 on the sides of the rudder over a white outlined swastika.
The third one at the bottom has black fuselage code VO + PH and white no. 102 over the white outlined swastika on the rudder.
The book contains 4 color photos of a Do-336A-0 on display at the National Air & Space museum. It is in a wave pattern camouflage of sand and green, with a light-blue undercarriage and a black spinner. Only marking visible is a black German cross, outlined in white on the fuselage sides.
There are 13 pages of line drawings. All of them are in 1/72nd scale:
A 6-view of a Do-335-V1, a 5-view and a 4-view of a Do-335V-4 and a 3-view of a Do.335A-11/A-12, a 3 and a 7-view of a Do-335A-0/A-1 and a that all include fuselage-bulkhead illustrations and their locations, a 4-view of a Do-335A-1, a side-view of a Do-335-M10, two 3-views of a Do-335A-6 that includes the bulkheads and wing spar shapes, and two 3-views of a Do-335A-5 that includes the bulkhead illustrations.
There is a 4-view color illustration in the center of the book of the Do-335A-1 shown on the cover with the white no. 113 on its rudder (already described)
It was serial no. 740113 and no unit is mentioned.
The other two side profiles on the cover art are repeated on the back cover.
Do-335A-1 with white no. 7/1 on the rudder was found at Oberpfaffenhofen.
Do-335A-0 with white no. 102 on the rudder is serial no. 240202. No unit mentioned.
There are 3 sheets of line drawings inserted in the book. All 3 are printed on both sides in 16” x 25” page format and folded twice each to fit the book.
The first sheet is to 1/48th scale. On the face side there is a 6-view of a Do-335A-11/A-12 and a side-view of a Do-335A-0/A-1, on the reverse side a 5-view of a Do-335A-12.
The second sheet is to 1/32nd scale. It shows a 4-view of a Do-335A-O/A-1 with bulkheads and wing spars illustrated spread across both sides.
The third sheet is also to 1/32nd scale. It shows a 4-view of the Do-335A-O/A-1 spread across both sides.
This is a neat book on the Do-335. It will be of great interest to modelers who plan to build a model of this aircraft and to aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Kagero Books and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
The Dornier Do 335 Pfeil ("Arrow") was a heavy fighter built by Dornier for Germany during World War II. The two-seater trainer version was called Ameisenbär ("anteater"). The Pfeil's performance was predicted to be better than other twin-engine designs due to its unique push-pull configuration and the lower aerodynamic drag of the in-line alignment of the two engines.
It was Nazi Germany's fastest piston-engined aircraft of World War II. The Luftwaffe was desperate to get the design into operational use, but delays in engine deliveries meant that only a handful were delivered before the war ended.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Fighter-bomber
National origin: Nazi Germany
Manufacturer: Dornier Flugzeugwerke
First flight: 26 October 1943
Introduction to service: 1944
Retired: 1945
Status: Retired
Primary user: Luftwaffe
Produced: 1944–1945
Number built: 37[1]
Crew: 1
Length: 13.85 m (45 ft 5 in)
Wingspan: 13.8 m (45 ft 3 in)
Height: 5 m (16 ft 5 in)
Wing area: 38.5 m2 (414 sq ft)
Airfoil: root: NACA 23018-630; tip: NACA 23012-635
Empty weight: 7,260 kg (16,006 lb)
Gross weight: 9,600 kg (21,164 lb)
A-6 10,085 kg (22,234 lb)
Fuel capacity: 1,230 l (320 US gal; 270 imp gal) main fuel tank (single-seat) with various extra tankage in the weapons bay and wings, depending on variant
Powerplant: 2 × Daimler-Benz DB 603 E-1 V-12 inverted liquid-cooled piston engines, 1,342 kW (1,800 hp) each for take-off, 1,417 kW (1,900 hp) at 1,800 m (5,900 ft)
Propellers: 3-bladed VDM, 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in) diameter constant-speed tractor and pusher propellers
Maximum speed: 763 km/h (474 mph, 412 kn) at 6,500 m (21,300 ft)
A-6 690 km/h (430 mph; 370 kn) at 5,300 m (17,400 ft)
Cruise speed: 685 km/h (426 mph, 370 kn) at 7,200 m (23,600 ft)
Economical cruise speed: 452 km/h (281 mph; 244 kn) at 6,000 m (20,000 ft)
Range: 1,395 km (867 mi, 753 nmi) on full internal fuel at max. continuous power
2,060 km (1,280 mi; 1,110 nmi) at economical cruise power
Service ceiling: 11,400 m (37,400 ft)
Time to altitude: 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in 55 seconds ; 8,000 m (26,000 ft) in 14 minutes 30 seconds
Armament
Guns: 1 × engine mounted 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 103 cannon with 70 rounds plus 2 × 20 mm (0.79 in) MG 151/20 cowl-mount, synchronized autocannon with 200 rpg
Bombs: Up to 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) bomb load in internal weapons bay and two underwing pylons.
THE BOOK:
Kagero is based in Lublin, Poland.
This book is staple-bound and soft-cover of 20 pages in 8 ¼”x 11 ¾” page format.
It comes packaged in a self-sealing clear cello envelope.
The cover art is split in two diagonally. The top half is bright red and has a black and white photo of an actual Do-335 sitting on a runway on it.
The lower black half of the cover has a white line drawing of the top of the aircraft. On top of that is 3 color side view illustrations of the Do-335.
All three are in a wide wave pattern camouflage of 2 shades of green, over light-blue undercarriages and large white skeletal type German fuselage crosses and black crosses, outlined in white under the wings.
The top one has a white no. 113 over a white outlined swastika.
The second one down has a bare metal panel behind the cockpit, a white no. 2/1 on the sides of the rudder over a white outlined swastika.
The third one at the bottom has black fuselage code VO + PH and white no. 102 over the white outlined swastika on the rudder.
The book contains 4 color photos of a Do-336A-0 on display at the National Air & Space museum. It is in a wave pattern camouflage of sand and green, with a light-blue undercarriage and a black spinner. Only marking visible is a black German cross, outlined in white on the fuselage sides.
There are 13 pages of line drawings. All of them are in 1/72nd scale:
A 6-view of a Do-335-V1, a 5-view and a 4-view of a Do-335V-4 and a 3-view of a Do.335A-11/A-12, a 3 and a 7-view of a Do-335A-0/A-1 and a that all include fuselage-bulkhead illustrations and their locations, a 4-view of a Do-335A-1, a side-view of a Do-335-M10, two 3-views of a Do-335A-6 that includes the bulkheads and wing spar shapes, and two 3-views of a Do-335A-5 that includes the bulkhead illustrations.
There is a 4-view color illustration in the center of the book of the Do-335A-1 shown on the cover with the white no. 113 on its rudder (already described)
It was serial no. 740113 and no unit is mentioned.
The other two side profiles on the cover art are repeated on the back cover.
Do-335A-1 with white no. 7/1 on the rudder was found at Oberpfaffenhofen.
Do-335A-0 with white no. 102 on the rudder is serial no. 240202. No unit mentioned.
There are 3 sheets of line drawings inserted in the book. All 3 are printed on both sides in 16” x 25” page format and folded twice each to fit the book.
The first sheet is to 1/48th scale. On the face side there is a 6-view of a Do-335A-11/A-12 and a side-view of a Do-335A-0/A-1, on the reverse side a 5-view of a Do-335A-12.
The second sheet is to 1/32nd scale. It shows a 4-view of a Do-335A-O/A-1 with bulkheads and wing spars illustrated spread across both sides.
The third sheet is also to 1/32nd scale. It shows a 4-view of the Do-335A-O/A-1 spread across both sides.
This is a neat book on the Do-335. It will be of great interest to modelers who plan to build a model of this aircraft and to aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Kagero Books and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Highly recommended.