Dornier Do.19

The Luftwaffe's most serious shorcoming was the lack of an efficient heavy-bomber fleet. The Dornier Do.19 was an intriguing possibility that, due to several causes, never panned out.

Generalleutnant Walther Weaver, the Luftwaffe's first Chief of Staff was the most persistent advocate of a German long-range strategic bomber fleet, like the ones being developed in Britain and the USA.
Largely because of Weaver, the RLM Technisch Amt issued a specification for a four-engine heavy bomber.

Both Dornier and Junkers were competitors for the contract, and each received an order for three prototypes in late 1935. The Dornier design was given the project number of Do.19, while the Junkers prototype became the Ju.89.

The Dornier Do.19 was a mid-wing cantilever design, and was mostly metal in construction. It had a rectangular-section fuselage and a tail unit with braced twin fins and rudders. These were mounted on the upper surface of the tail plane. It also had retractable landing gear, including the tailwheel.

The powerplant was four Brano 332H-2 radial engines, that were mounted in nacelles at the leading edges of the wings.

It had a crew of nine, which would have consisted of a pilot, co-pilot, navigator, bombardier, radio operator and five gunners.

The V1 prototype flew on the 28th of October, 1936. When Generalleutnant Weaver died in an airplane crash, the heavy bomber program lost it's momentum, and was not to recover. When the Luftwaffe was given it's heavy blow over the skies of England, the error of not having heavy bombers became apparent. But by then it was too late in the day to develop the bombers required.

Albert Kesselring, Weaver's successor, believed that what Germany required was more fighters and tactical bombers. Therefore the V2 and V3 prototypes were scrapped. The original V1 became a transport in 1938.

The Dornier Do.19 was only built in prototype form , yet it was a promising design that could have yielded not only a useful long-range bomber, but the desperately needed experience in a field where the Luftwaffe failed to shine.

Technical Data

Origin: Dornier Flugzeugbau

Type: Long-range Strategic bomber

Powerplant: Four 533-kW (715hp) Brano 332H-2 radial piston engines

Performance: Maximum speed at sea level 315km/h (196mph); service ceiling 5600m (18,370ft); range 1600km (994 miles)

Weights: Empty 11850kg (25,125lb); maximum take-off weight 18500kg (40,786lb)

Dimensions: Span 35.00m (114ft 10in); length 25.45m (83ft 6in); leight 5.77m (18ft 11in); wing area 162.00m squared (1,743.81 sq ft)

Armament: Two 7.92mm (0.31in) MG 15 machine guns, one each in nose and tail positions; and two 20mm cannon (one each in two-man operated ventral and dorsal turrets.) Also, up to 1600kg (3,527lb) of bombs in internal bays.