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Dornier Do J Wal
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Dornier Do J Wal
The Dornier Do J Wal ("whale") is a twin-engine German flying boat of the 1920s designed by Dornier Flugzeugwerke and manufactured in five countries. The Do J was designated the Do 16 by the Reich Air Ministry (Reichsluftfahrtministerium – RLM) under its aircraft designation system of 1933.
The Do J had a high-mounted strut-braced parasol wing with two piston engines mounted in tandem in a central nacelle above the wing; one engine drove a tractor and the other drove a pusher propeller. The hull made use of Claudius Dornier's patented sponsons on the hull's sides, pioneered on the Dornier-designed Zeppelin-Lindau Rs.IV flying boat late in World War I. The Do J made its maiden flight on 6 November 1922. The flight, as well as most production until 1932, took place in Italy because of the restrictions on aviation in Germany after World War I under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Dornier began to produce the Wal in Germany in 1931; production went on until 1936.
In the military version (Militärwal in German), a crew of two to four rode in an open cockpit near the nose of the hull. There was one machine gun position in the bow in front of the cockpit and one or two amidships. Beginning with Spain, military versions were delivered to Argentina, Chile and the Netherlands for use in their colonies; examples were also sent to Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union and to the end of production, Italy and Germany. The main military users, Spain and the Netherlands, manufactured their own versions under licence. Several countries, notably Italy, Norway, Portugal, Uruguay and Germany, employed the Wal for military tasks.
The civil version (Kabinenwal or Verkehrswal) had a cabin in the nose, offering space for up to 12 passengers, while the open cockpit was moved further aft. Main users of this version were Germany, Italy, Brazil and Colombia. The Colombian Air Force used Wals in the Colombia–Peru War in 1932–1933.
The Do J was first powered by two 265 kW (355 hp) Rolls-Royce Eagle IX engines. Later versions used nearly every available engine on the market from makers such as Hispano-Suiza, D. Napier & Son (the Napier Lion), Lorraine-Dietrich and BMW (the BMW VI); even the US-built Liberty V-12 engine was used. The 10 tonne-Wal used by Deutsche Luft Hansa for their mail service across the South Atlantic from 1934 to 1938 had a range of 3,600 km (2,200 mi), and a ceiling of 3,500 m (11,500 ft).
Numerous airlines operated Wals on scheduled passenger and mail services with great success. The source Robert L. Gandt, in 1991, (pages 47–48) lists the following carriers: SANA and Aero Espresso of Italy; Aero Lloyd and Deutsche Luft Hansa of Germany; SCADTA of Colombia; Syndicato Condor of Brazil; and Nihon Koku Yuso Kaisha of Japan. According to Nicolaou (1996), the Dornier Wal was "easily the greatest commercial success in the history of marine aviation".
Over 250 Wals were built by CMASA and Piaggio in Italy, CASA in Spain, Kawasaki in Japan, Aviolanda in the Netherlands and Dornier in Germany. The Dornier Do 18 was a completely updated successor to the Wal but shared little more than the general configuration.
The Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen accompanied by Lincoln Ellsworth, pilot Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen, and three other team members used two Wals for his unsuccessful attempt to reach the North Pole in 1925. His two aircraft, N-24 and N-25, landed at 87° 44' north. It was the northernmost latitude reached by any aircraft up to that time. The aircraft landed a few miles apart without radio contact, yet the crews managed to reunite. One of the aircraft, N-24, was damaged. Amundsen and his crew worked for over three weeks to prepare an airstrip to take off from the ice. They shoveled 600 tons of ice while consuming only one pound (454 g) of daily food rations. In the end, six crew members were packed into N-25. Riiser-Larsen took off, and they barely became airborne over the cracking ice. They returned triumphantly after widely being presumed dead.
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Dornier Do J Wal
The Dornier Do J Wal ("whale") is a twin-engine German flying boat of the 1920s designed by Dornier Flugzeugwerke and manufactured in five countries. The Do J was designated the Do 16 by the Reich Air Ministry (Reichsluftfahrtministerium – RLM) under its aircraft designation system of 1933.
The Do J had a high-mounted strut-braced parasol wing with two piston engines mounted in tandem in a central nacelle above the wing; one engine drove a tractor and the other drove a pusher propeller. The hull made use of Claudius Dornier's patented sponsons on the hull's sides, pioneered on the Dornier-designed Zeppelin-Lindau Rs.IV flying boat late in World War I. The Do J made its maiden flight on 6 November 1922. The flight, as well as most production until 1932, took place in Italy because of the restrictions on aviation in Germany after World War I under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Dornier began to produce the Wal in Germany in 1931; production went on until 1936.
In the military version (Militärwal in German), a crew of two to four rode in an open cockpit near the nose of the hull. There was one machine gun position in the bow in front of the cockpit and one or two amidships. Beginning with Spain, military versions were delivered to Argentina, Chile and the Netherlands for use in their colonies; examples were also sent to Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union and to the end of production, Italy and Germany. The main military users, Spain and the Netherlands, manufactured their own versions under licence. Several countries, notably Italy, Norway, Portugal, Uruguay and Germany, employed the Wal for military tasks.
The civil version (Kabinenwal or Verkehrswal) had a cabin in the nose, offering space for up to 12 passengers, while the open cockpit was moved further aft. Main users of this version were Germany, Italy, Brazil and Colombia. The Colombian Air Force used Wals in the Colombia–Peru War in 1932–1933.
The Do J was first powered by two 265 kW (355 hp) Rolls-Royce Eagle IX engines. Later versions used nearly every available engine on the market from makers such as Hispano-Suiza, D. Napier & Son (the Napier Lion), Lorraine-Dietrich and BMW (the BMW VI); even the US-built Liberty V-12 engine was used. The 10 tonne-Wal used by Deutsche Luft Hansa for their mail service across the South Atlantic from 1934 to 1938 had a range of 3,600 km (2,200 mi), and a ceiling of 3,500 m (11,500 ft).
Numerous airlines operated Wals on scheduled passenger and mail services with great success. The source Robert L. Gandt, in 1991, (pages 47–48) lists the following carriers: SANA and Aero Espresso of Italy; Aero Lloyd and Deutsche Luft Hansa of Germany; SCADTA of Colombia; Syndicato Condor of Brazil; and Nihon Koku Yuso Kaisha of Japan. According to Nicolaou (1996), the Dornier Wal was "easily the greatest commercial success in the history of marine aviation".
Over 250 Wals were built by CMASA and Piaggio in Italy, CASA in Spain, Kawasaki in Japan, Aviolanda in the Netherlands and Dornier in Germany. The Dornier Do 18 was a completely updated successor to the Wal but shared little more than the general configuration.
The Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen accompanied by Lincoln Ellsworth, pilot Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen, and three other team members used two Wals for his unsuccessful attempt to reach the North Pole in 1925. His two aircraft, N-24 and N-25, landed at 87° 44' north. It was the northernmost latitude reached by any aircraft up to that time. The aircraft landed a few miles apart without radio contact, yet the crews managed to reunite. One of the aircraft, N-24, was damaged. Amundsen and his crew worked for over three weeks to prepare an airstrip to take off from the ice. They shoveled 600 tons of ice while consuming only one pound (454 g) of daily food rations. In the end, six crew members were packed into N-25. Riiser-Larsen took off, and they barely became airborne over the cracking ice. They returned triumphantly after widely being presumed dead.
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