Dornier Do P.254 (Do 535 / He 535)

Mixed-Propulsion Heavy Fighter Aircraft Proposal

Nazi Germany | 1945

"The Dornier P.254 project was a mixed-powerplant version of the Do 335 Arrow heavy fighter - it did not proceed beyond the paper stage."

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Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Dornier Do P.254 Mixed-Propulsion Heavy Fighter Aircraft Proposal.

1 x Daimler-Benz DB603A 12-cylinder inverted engine developing 1,725 horsepower and driving a three-bladed propeller at the nose; 1 x Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engine in aft fuselage developing 2,866lb of thrust.
Propulsion

525 mph
845 kph | 456 kts
Max Speed

40,026 ft
12,200 m | 8 miles
Service Ceiling

932 miles
1,500 km | 810 nm
Operational Range

2,300 ft/min
701 m/min
Rate-of-Climb

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Dornier Do P.254 Mixed-Propulsion Heavy Fighter Aircraft Proposal.

1
(MANNED)
Crew

45.4 ft
13.85 m
O/A Length

45.3 ft
(13.80 m)
O/A Width

14.9 ft
(4.55 m)
O/A Height

16,755 lb
(7,600 kg)
Empty Weight

22,267 lb
(10,100 kg)
MTOW

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Dornier Do P.254 (Do 535 / He 535) Mixed-Propulsion Heavy Fighter Aircraft Proposal .

ASSUMED (based on Do 335):
1 x 30mm MK 103 cannon firing through the propeller hub in nose.
2 x 20mm MG 151/20 cannons in engine cowling synchronized to fire through the spinning propeller blades.

OPTIONAL:
Up to 2,200lb of externally-held drop stores.

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Dornier Do P.254 (Do 535 / He 535) family line.

P.254 - Base Project Designation

Do 535 - Alternative project designation

He 535 - Revised designation

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 01/22/2017 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

The Dornier Do P.254 project existed as a short-lived outgrowth of the Do 335 "Pfeil" ("Arrow") heavy fighter program. In the Do 335, an engine was fitted to the nose of the aircraft in the usual way ("puller" arrangement) but the airframe also made room aft for carrying a second engine, driving a propeller unit at the tail in a "pusher" arrangement. The combined powerplants made the Do 335 the fastest prop-driven aircraft to come out of Germany in World War 2. However, engine delays led to limited operational examples before the end of the war in 1945 and only thirty-seven or so were delivered. The aircraft project was also eclipsed by the Focke-Wulf Ta 152 high-altitude fighter.

The P.254 (Do 535) was to benefit from the foundation laid in the Do 335 in keeping the nose-mounted Daimler-Benz DB603A piston engine at the nose but substitute the tail propulsion system for a Heinkel-Hirth HeS 011 turbojet engine for an additional thrust output of 2,866lb. Theoretically, the P.254 would become an even faster prop-driven system than the Do 335 but it lacked swept-back wings benefitting flight at higher speeds. With the German Air Ministry favoring the more conventional, competing Ta 152 high-altitude fighter, Dornier engineers hoped the addition of a jet engine to their Do 335 would keep the promising heavy fighter program alive for a time longer.

It is unclear what over-battlefield role the P.254 would have had upon reaching operation service but it may have been in line with the usual German late-war push for viable fighters, interceptors and night-fighters needed to content with the Allied day-night bombing campaigns. There was most likely a secondary role of high-speed bombing to be built in.

Despite the venture, no P.254 aircraft were built from the existing Do 335 design and the program was eventually dropped from serious consideration - but not before being passed on to Heinkel during October of 1944 and recast as the He 535.

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Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Dornier Do P.254 (Do 535 / He 535). Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 0 Units
Contractor(s): Dornier Flugzeugwerke / Heinkel - Nazi Germany

[ Nazi Germany (cancelled) ]

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Image of the Dornier Do P.254 (Do 535 / He 535)

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The Dornier Do P.254 (Do 535 / He 535) Mixed-Propulsion Heavy Fighter Aircraft Proposal appears in the following collections:

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