×
Aircraft / Aviation Vehicles & Artillery Small Arms Warships & Submarines Military Ranks Military Pay Scale (2024) Special Forces

DOFLUG D-3802


Monoplane Fighter Aircraft


Switzerland | 1946



"The DOFLUG D-3802 was another French-originated fighter design taken on by the Swiss - only eleven pre-series aircraft and a single prototype were made."

Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the DOFLUG D-3802 Monoplane Fighter Aircraft.
1 x Saurer (Hispano-Suiza) YS-2 12-cylinder, liquid-cooled inline piston engine developing 1,250 horsepower driving a three-bladed propeller unit at the nose.
Propulsion
391 mph
630 kph | 340 kts
Max Speed
30,003 ft
9,145 m | 6 miles
Service Ceiling
404 miles
650 km | 351 nm
Operational Range
2,795 ft/min
852 m/min
Rate-of-Climb
Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the DOFLUG D-3802 Monoplane Fighter Aircraft.
1
(MANNED)
Crew
30.5 ft
9.31 m
O/A Length
32.9 ft
(10.02 m)
O/A Width
11.0 ft
(3.35 m)
O/A Height
5,512 lb
(2,500 kg)
Empty Weight
8,609 lb
(3,905 kg)
MTOW
Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the DOFLUG D-3802 Monoplane Fighter Aircraft .
PROTOTYPE:
1 x 20mm Hispano-Suiza HS-404 automatic cannon firing through the propeller hub.
4 x Machine guns in wings (two guns to a wing member).

PRE-SERIES:
1 x 20mm Hispano-Suiza HS-404 automatic cannon firing through the propeller hub.
2 x 20mm ispano-Suiza HS-404 automatic cannons in wings (one cannon to a wing member).
Variants
Notable series variants as part of the DOFLUG D-3802 family line.
D-3802 - Base Series Designation; single flyable prototype and eleven pre-series aircraft completed.
D-3803 - Offshoot variant of the D-3802 developed concurrently; revised fuselage with reworked canopy; fitted with Saurer YS-3 engine of 1,430 horsepower; 3 x 20mm cannon armament; not selected for production.
Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 09/18/2021 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

Following the production of several hundred units of the EKW D-3801 single-seat, single-engine monoplane fighter (based in the pre-World War 2 French Morane-Saulnier "MS.412" fighter design), the Swiss took to further development of another French-originated system in the Morane-Saulnier "MS.450". As the French were forced to end their involvement in the MS.450 program due to the June 1940 surrender at the hands of the invading Germans, Dornier-Werke AG, the Swiss-based arm of the same German company that produced the wartime Do 17 medium bomber and other solutions for the Luftwaffe, headed development of the new fighter - designated "D-3802" - in 1942.

Like other modern fighter mounts, the D-3802 was given all-metal construction with stressed skinning, a wholly-enclosed cockpit space, and fully-retractable undercarriage all centered around a streamlined, single-seat, single-engine monoplane configuration. Armament was similar to the proven Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter seeing a 20mm automatic cannon buried in the engine block and firing through the propeller hub at the nose. In addition to this, the fighter carried two machine guns to each wing mainplane for a formidable offensive punch.

The mainplanes were mounted low and ahead of midships. The cockpit sat just slightly ahead of center mass and aft of the engine installation at the nose. The D-3802 sported a canopy not unlike that of the German Bf 109, lightly-framed and boxy, while views to the rear were somewhat obstructed by the raised fuselage spine. The tail unit was capped by a single vertical plane with a pair of forward-set horizontal planes for the needed control. The undercarriage was of the typical "tail-dragger" arrangement, giving a pronounced "nose up" attitude of the aircraft when on the ground.

A first-flight of the D-3802 prototype was recorded on September 29th, 1944 and this form carried the Saurer YS-2 12-cylinder liquid-cooled engine of 1,250 horsepower - the engine a licensed, local copy of an original Hispano-Suiza design. From this spawned eleven pre-series airframes which featured reduced wingspans as well as modified outer panels. By this time, the armament suite was beefed up to encompass 20mm automatic cannons at each wing member in place of the original's machine guns. The resulting design (built by DOFLUG at Altenrhein in 1946) was designated as "D-3802A" and a first-flight was had on May 18th, 1946, the aircraft proving capable of exceeding 400 miles-per-hour.

By this time, however, World War 2 in Europe had ended in May of 1945 with Germany's formal surrender and, with an all-modern fighter solution no longer needed in the original numbers envisioned by the Swiss Air Force, the D-3802 existed only through the single prototype and eleven pre-series aircraft completed. These served with Fliegerstaffel 17 until retired in 1956.

At the same time that the D-3802 was seeing development, DOFLUG also funneled resources into a related variant known as the "D-3803". However, this aircraft also had its development cycle cut short by the end of the war and the subsequent glut of wartime surplus North American P-51D "Mustang" fighters becoming available worldwide - which the Swiss Air Force ended up purchasing in place of a local design. Thus ended the story of the D-3802 (and D-3803 for that matter).

Content ©MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.
Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the DOFLUG D-3802. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 12 Units

Contractor(s): Dornier-Werke AG (DOGLUF) - Switzerland
National flag of Switzerland

[ Switzerland ]
1 / 1
Image of the DOFLUG D-3802
Image from the Public Domain.

Going Further...
The DOFLUG D-3802 Monoplane Fighter Aircraft appears in the following collections:
HOME
AVIATION INDEX
AIRCRAFT BY COUNTRY
AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURERS
COMPARE AIRCRAFT
AIRCRAFT BY CONFLICT
AIRCRAFT BY TYPE
AIRCRAFT BY DECADE
COLD WAR AIRCRAFT
WWII AIRCRAFT
X-PLANE AIRCRAFT
Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2024 Military Pay Scale Military Ranks of the World U.S. Department of Defense Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols Breakdown U.S. 5-Star Generals List WWII Weapons by Country World War Next

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons. Special Interest: RailRoad Junction, the locomotive encyclopedia.


©2024 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2024 (21yrs)