During the 1930s rearmament period for Germany, the country furthered many projects that went clearly against the Treaty of Versailles that appeared after World War 1 (1914-1918). The Luftwaffe bomber force ultimately received some attention and several designs were put forth including the Dornier Do 23. The Do 23 was a follow-up design to the Do 11 heavy bomber of 1932 because of persistent inherent issues in the earlier mark. The same period also saw the short-lived Do 13 model emerge but the Do 23 was the much more extensively modified form and managed to fix some of the problems.
The aircraft carried a straight high-wing monoplane planform with a conventional tail unit (single vertical fin, low-set planes), a fixed tail-dragger undercarriage (with spatted main wheels), and leading edge engine nacelles (one per wing). The fuselage featured slab sides and housed the cockpit at front, crew positions along its length and the internal bomb bay. 3 x 7.92mm MG 15 machine guns were fitted as defensive armament - one at the nose, another at a dorsal gun position and the final gun at a ventral position. The aircraft was cleared to carry up to 2,200 pounds of conventional drop stores. The typical crew arrangement numbered four.
The powerplant of choice became 2 x BMW VIU V12 liquid-cooled engines of 750 horsepower each. Performance specifications included a maximum speed of 160 miles per hour, a range out to 930 miles and a service ceiling of 13,780 feet. Empty weight was 12,345 pounds against a Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) of 20,282 pounds. Dimensions were a length of 18.8 meters, a wingspan of 25.6 meters and a height of 5.4 meters.
A prototype Do 23 saw its first flight during 1934 and brought along some improvements in handling though performance was clearly lacking for a bomber platform. Nevertheless, the type was ordered into serial production and managed a healthy pre-war total of 282 aircraft before the end of its run. Initial production models were designated as "Do 23F" and an improved version with better engines (featuring glycol cooling) appeared as the "Do 23G".
Despite their rather obsolete status at the start of World War 2 in September of 1939, the aircraft was still in circulation in some number and fell to the Luftwaffe arm of Czechoslovakia during the early phases. Some of the German fleet was also passed on to the Hungarian Air Force. By and large, the bomber was wholly outclassed by the time the war went into full swing and it was superseded in the Germany inventory by more appropriate players such as the Heinkel He 111, the Junkers Ju 88 and Dornier's own Do 17 - all detailed elsewhere on this site.
Specifications
Year: 1934
Status Retired, Out-of-Service
Crew 4
Production 282 Units
Dornier-Werke GmbH - Nazi Germany
Czechoslovakia; Hungary; Nazi Germany
- Ground Attack
Length:
61.68 ft (18.8 m)
Width:
83.99 ft (25.6 m)
Height:
17.72 ft (5.4 m)
Empty Weight:
12,346 lb (5,600 kg)
MTOW:
20,283 lb (9,200 kg)
(Diff: +7,937lb)
(Showcased weight values pertain to the Dornier Do 23G production model)
2 x BMW VIU liquid-cooled V12 engines developing 750 horsepower each.
Max Speed:
162 mph (260 kph; 140 kts)
Service Ceiling:
13,780 feet (4,200 m; 2.61 miles)
Max Range:
932 miles (1,500 km; 810 nm)
(Showcased performance values pertain to the Dornier Do 23G production model; Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database)
STANDARD:
1 x 7.92mm MG 15 machine gun in nose position
1 x 7.92mm MG 15 machine gun in dorsal position
1 x 7.92mm MG 15 machine gun in ventral position
OPTIONAL:
Up to 2,200lb of conventional drop stores held internally.
(Showcased armament details pertain to the Dornier Do 23G production model)
Do 23F - Initial Production Mark
Do 23G - Improved Do 23; fitted with 2 x BMW VIU series piston engines with glycol cooling.
General Assessment
Firepower
Performance
Survivability
Versatility
Impact
Values are derrived from a variety of categories related to the design, overall function, and historical influence of this aircraft in aviation history.
Overall Rating
The overall rating takes into account over 60 individual factors related to this aircraft entry. The rating is out of a possible 100.
18
Relative Maximum Speed
Hi: 200mph
Lo: 100mph
This entry's maximum listed speed (162mph).
Graph average of 150 miles-per-hour.
City-to-City Ranges
NYC
LDN
LDN
PAR
PAR
BER
BER
MSK
MSK
TKY
TKY
SYD
SYD
LAX
LAX
NYC
Dornier Do 23G operational range when compared to distances between major cities.
Aviation Era Span
Showcasing era cross-over of this aircraft design.
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Czechoslovakia; Hungary; Nazi Germany
