Dornier Do 335 Pfeil: The Best Plane of WWII?

[@rockhopper7645]

I was bitten by the aviation bug at the age of 12, when I found a Time life picture book in my school library entitled, "The Luftwaffe". My first glance into the book was a double page spread of the Do 335. I was hooked for life. Thank you for producing this short doc!

[@billymania11]

I finally saw the Do 335 at Hazy near Dulles. I was amazed at how large the fighter actually was. It's huge! It made other fighters of World War II look tiny in comparison.

[@dallesamllhals9161]

Big gals = ♥ here

[@darrenjpeters]

It wasn't a fighter....

[@dallesamllhals9161]

@@darrenjpeters Oh, Like '262?

[@darrenjpeters]

@@dallesamllhals9161 You must be trolling. 262 was the most formidable fighter of the war, according to Winkle Brown, who would have known.

[@dallesamllhals9161]

@@darrenjpeters ..but,but Adolf said... 😛

[@Mike7O7O]

Very informative. Had never heard of this aircraft, until now. As a British vet, I thought that I'd seen almost everything, produced in WWII. Well presented. Thank you.

[@TK-1103]

thank you for ur service Mike

[@flintsky7706]

Yikes

[@tysonristau4995]

Cessna built the successors, 336 and 337

[@garrymartin6474]

It never flew a combat mission , so not surprising you never heard of it. A design cul-de-sac, if it had been any good the concept would have been developed after WWII

[@tysonristau4995]

@@garrymartin6474 it was developed after world war 2 by Cessna

[@thetuguar]

I absolutely love this plane. There is a 1/32 scale kit of it that I would love to build, but I don't have enough skill and money to do it. Still it would be so awesome

[@chrisanderson6204]

About a hundred years ago, it seems, I built a Monogram 1/48 scale into a diorama with several vehicles, crew and cammo netting. One of my best pieces.

[@javierpatag3609]

You're not the only one. It's a weird plane- but it's not hard to see that it would work- and it did.

[@KateLicker]

I remember the old Lindbergh-line kit of it in 1970s....LLs were model kits which were what kits would be like if designed/cut by retards....lol.Aurora, almost as bad...

[@mikemontgomery2654]

If you ever get the chance, it's worth it! I built the Zerstorer.

[@57hound]

Tamiya make a 1/48 scale kit, as did Monogram. Having built both of them, IMHO the Tamiya is the best due to its superb fit-it falls together like a dream. The Monogram is also quite buildable, built you will need to be a bit more comfort table with test fitting, puttying and sanding.

[@HarborLockRoad]

As someone who makes handmade cardboard sheet models, this aircraft was always a favorite, as a simple kitchen paper towel cardboard roll makes an excellent basis for a fuselage. Simply add a " hump" over the rear section for the 2 seater version. Ive built both so far, and when painted properly, look great! 😉👍

[@bluephoenix8470]

When Dornier was restoring the 335 they found the explosive bolts used to eject the rear propeller were still active.

[@williamzk9083]

The upper fin could also be jettisoned to assist ejection and the lower fin to assist in a belly up. The Do 335 was a rare in that it had hydraulically boosted controls.

[@bluephoenix8470]

@@williamzk9083 Replace the radials with turboprops and it would be a formidable ground attack platform even by today's standards. Crazy ahead of its time.

[@dougrobinson8602]

@@bluephoenix8470 Not radial engines. Daimler V-12's. The nose cowls do look like they belong on a radial. though.

[@bluephoenix8470]

@@dougrobinson8602 Thanks for the correction. Looked at the Wiki stats. Compared to the A-10, the 335 has higher max speed, higher cruise speed and 4 times the range. However, bomb load is roughly 2K lbs where the A-10 can carry more or less 6K lbs in bombs. What the heck was the U.S. Army doing with the Skyraider - which had heavy losses in Vietnam - when they had the plans for 335? U.S. should have fixed the production line in Germany and started cranking them out. Also, would have been much more effective for the Allies in Korea than using the P-51in the ground attack role. I am sure politics played a big part in what equipment was used. Regardless, might have turned the tide if the Allies had these flying overhead at the Chosin Reservoir.

[@davidtroutman1556]

I read that when the Air and Space Museum sent their sole surviving 335 back to Dornier plant for reconstruction, some of the very same workmen who originally built the plane were still there to work on the reconstruction.

[@aurigo_tech]

My favorite airplane of them all and of all times. I wish there were more build and some flying examples left. Imagine Do 335s competing at Reno or being frequent appearances at air shows.

[@patrickw8302]

They should remake them at the factory new

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

@@patrickw8302 No-one is stopping you from writing the cheque.

[@chonqmonk]

I love it too.

[@williamzk9083]

@@patrickw8302 Push-Pull is a very safe configuration. In the event of an engine failure there is no sudden asymmetric forces that have lead to many serious and deadly crashes.

[@AndrewBlacker-wr2ve]

​@@patrickw8302 You going to pay "they" to build them?

[@zerstorer335]

This is one case where I find “too little, too late” hits differently. Many times when that phrase is used, it’s referencing weapons where the technology wasn’t ready for prime time until later in the war (like figuring out and sourcing alloys needed to get the most out of jet engines). But the push-pull configuration had been explored since WWI. The tech was (and is) still a bit of a challenge; but something like this could have been ready much sooner in the war if someone said “you know that Me-110 we're developing? What could we do if we revisited the push-pull idea and put both engines in the fuselage, so we don’t have two engines and a fuselage creating drag?”. Just having that spark of inspiration at the right time could have seen the Luftwaffe start the war with notably different capabilities. IIRC, there was a point in the Battle of Britain where the Luftwaffe started putting bombs on fighters and sending them on raids because they weren't being intercepted as much as their bombers. That battle might have gone differently if the Germans had something resembling the 335 to add those bombs to. (I can't say they would have won it; but a fighter-bomber that could outrun most fighters might have left Britain feeling a little more sore than they wound up feeling in reality.)

[@chgr7025]

That's a really good observation!

[@seanmalloy7249]

The Do335 had its own touch of "too little, too late", as the design program for the DB603L engines that Dornier intended to fit it with for the A-2 and later variants never reached production; even without the Allied bombing of its production factories, it would never have reached the full functionality that the RLM wanted, and it became another of the fading forlorn hopes of the Luftwaffe, albeit one that came closer than most of them.

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

@@zerstorer335 The available in 1939 DB 601 would not have been enough for a successful twin of any configuration and all the later nazi twins used larger and larger engines all of which had a remarkably poor power output until equipped with the last minute, last gasp induction additives. This Dornier and the He 219 had two 44.5 litre DB 603s each producing an underwhelming 1,770 hp. The Bf110 and the Dornier had fat draggy wings from a lack of fuel storage space in the fuselage and where would the obligatory German rear gunner go in the Dornier and how would he avoid shooting his rear propeller off? The rear view of the Dornier was abysmal. Did any other wartime country produce a useful tandem twin? Was the tandem Cessna 337 light aircraft, cramped and with practically no storage space a commercial success (dropped in 1982)?

[@samhunt9380]

Experienced German pilots were light on by the time it would have entered service in useful numbers. Beautiful aircraft just the same...

[@McLarenMercedes]

Never mind experienced German pilots. Even if they had them *where* are they going to get the *fuel* from? Had it not been for synthetic oil production (and that was nowhere near enough) Nazi Germany would have ground to a halt by the second half of 1944. The fuel situation was bad even when the war was going well for Germany and Romanian oil made Operation Barbarossa possible in the summer of 1941. But since they failed to seize the oil wells in Baku the war was lost. Another thing. The Allies had five times the amount of aluminium the Axis had. What are they going to build all those planes with? Happy thoughts?? Btw, aircraft engine manufacturing was also not comparable to the British, never mind the Americans. Delivering enough engines for each fighter was also a net loss as it meant regular single-engine fighters would have been produced in less numbers. "by the time it would have entered service" By the time it would have entered service *the war was long lost anyway* And it most certainly wasn't an issue of "lack of experienced German pilots".

[@chonqmonk]

Okay, but suppose that they had 10.000 of them in 1940 while they still had all their best pilots; would that had made for total air dominance?

[@williamzk9083]

@@McLarenMercedes The Germans had a source of aluminum from salvaging shot down allied aircraft. The German synthetic oil industry was repeatedly bombed in early 1944 in the lead up to Operation Overlord and this destroyed much of its capacity, The Edmund Geilenberg plan was to build dispersed fischer-tropsch plants, underground bergius hydrogenation plants (Cuckoo project) and develop the shale oil industry (project desert)

[@bluephoenix8470]

@@McLarenMercedes The Germans should have put everything in to Operation Sea Lion. French battleships combined with the German fleet would have made crossing the channel possible. Lost the Battle of Britain and then decided to invade the Soviet Union. Maybe the Abwer knew something at that time we still don't know now but from this vantage point, the High Command made some really stupid moves.

[@bluephoenix8470]

@@chonqmonk Definitely, I would say so. The problem is that you can't develop things like the 262 or 335 during a war. It must be in production before hand or have two big oceans on either side, so your enemy can't get at you.

[@jimdaniel3503]

This aircraft was also equipped with a cartrige-powered ejection seat

[@seanmorris]

​@@HarborLockRoad the canopy moreso than the seat. Iirc the pilot needed to grab two handles overhead and turn them to jettison the canopy. The slipstream tore the canopy away and the hands/arms if the pilot hadn't managed too let go. (Eric 'Winkle' Brown's book?)

[@williamzk9083]

The Do 335 and He 219 both used compressed air ejection seat. Heinkel was in charge of all ejection seat development in Germany. Heinkel developed a pyrotechnical ejection seat for the He 162 which was much lighter than compressed air. If you've ever watched 1950s news real or movies you sometimes see an ejection seat rocket rail in use in the United States. That rocket rail for testing ejection seats was war booty the US took back to the USA.

[@dukecraig2402]

Yea, when you have a propeller in the back that's kind of a necessity unless you want your pilots turned into raspberry slushies when they try bailing out.

[@truthseeker9454]

@@dukecraig2402 The videographer specifically addresses that subject at 5:44. It's worth rewatching.

[@MWM-dj6dn]

A thousand greetings, great respect and admiration for your esteemed and wonderful channel, which provided accurate and useful information. I wish you lasting success. A wonderful work and a great effort that deserves pride, appreciation and pride. My utmost respect and appreciation to you

[@nocloo6829]

Thanks for this interesting and well narrated video, I just found your channel in my timeline, so here’s a follow!

[@artawhirler]

Excellent video! Thanks! I've loved this aircraft ever since I first saw a picture of it years ago (on a Hasegawa model kit box!)

[@DIREWOLFx75]

Did you find any information about the issues the Do-335 supposedly had with corkscrewing(due to engines countering each others torque unevenly along the axis of flight) and whether that was fixed or not? I have read several conflicting accounts on the matter and anything additional would be appreciated.

[@andrewclayton4181]

It was a killer, of the German test pilots. Eric Brown who flew a captured example after the war was lucky to survive a trip in it, and was very critical. It crashed and killed one of his colleagues shortly after. See Wings on my sleeve, Brown's autobiography.

[@davidjames-rp6oi]

they who survived bailing out lost their arms if i remember right

[@Schlipperschlopper]

....only because the engines were prototypes and unreliable due to shortage of good metal ores like Molybdenum and Chrome.

[@raypurchase801]

@@Schlipperschlopper Similarly, I could've been as famous as Tom Cruise if I had better looks and massive talent. De Havilland grafted a single-seat cockpit to the Mosquito, make a thousand other detail improvements, built it from plywood on an established production line. The Hornet was shelved because it couldn't be in service before D-Day, but became the Sea Hornet after the war. A far better design.

[@miskatonic6210]

So what revolutionary prototype didn't kill test pilots, genius?

[@raypurchase801]

@@miskatonic6210 Meteor, Vampire, Canberra, Mosquito, Wellington / Wellesley... On the other hand - Horten, Gnatter, Pfeil, Me163... Seems like the Germans recklessly endangered the lives of brave test pilots with ludicrous prototypes which didn't fly right.

[@petersims7162]

love your clip.I spent 4 years building a 100inch scale model of this plane from scratch. molded canopy glazing for a two place trainer.rotary cast exhaust pipes and air intakes marked out 20,000 rivets and panel lines.now hangs in my work shop along with all my large models never learnt how to fly rc planes .cheers

[@Apollyon-er4ut]

Got to see this when staying a couple of weeks near DC and visited most of the Smithsonians. Very impressive, though it had a lot of bugs to be worked out to truly have become operational.

[@ethancollins3789]

I think it's funny how the majority of the issues Germany faced logistically were due to personal hubris, arrogance, pride, and just all round not listening sometimes.

[@davidmartyn5044]

That can be said about every war there has been.

[@waltermodel9730]

Nope They did lack the resources That's the main reason they lost

[@siler7]

@@waltermodel9730 They lacked the resources for a long war of attrition. They had what they needed to make the UK and the USSR sue for peace, if they had hit them hard enough, soon enough, in the right places.

[@darrenjpeters]

@@siler7 Hindsight is easy. Early in the war, Hitler still believed that he could win the British over, and not have to fight them at all. Clearly he was wrong, but it's easy to sit here 80 years later and say what they should have done. He was right about one thing, they were going to have to fight the Russians at some point.

[@AKUJIVALDO]

​@@siler7 ever looked at WW2 country maps?

[@Sonofdonald2024]

Eric Brown discussed the DO335 in 'Wings on my sleeves' he discussed the Germans having several of them crashing and the Germans finding the pilots without arm's. Turned out the handles to blow off the cockpit roof to activate the ejection seat had a nasty habit of tearing the pilots arms off as the hatch was blown off

[@timcoffey5927]

This

[@raypurchase801]

@@timcoffey5927 Check out Winkle's words about the DH Sea Hornet. Designed contemporaneously with the Pfeil. Could've seen wartime service, but shelved until after hostilities had ceased. A similar intention for a high-performance strike-fighter, but the DH design was greatly superior.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

@@raypurchase801 The de Havilland Hornet was not contemporary with the Do-335.. The Hornet was a POSTwar aircraft that didn't enter operational service until 1946.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

@@raypurchase801 Brown makes a specific note regarding the final Hornets stability, deadly instability problems plagued the planes development at the end of the war which ultimately caused the RAE to reject the plane, it would not pass acceptance testing until well after the war ended.

[@jacktattis]

@@sandervanderkammen9230 Hornet FIRST FLIGHT 28 Jul 44 Dornier Oct 43 pretty close

[@hazchemel]

Hey thanks; great pictures and for mention, of the restored Do 335. I hadn't realised what an attractive plane she is.

[@d.o.g573]

As a child I would sift through all the aircraft available and stop at this one. It’s simple push pull concept combined with a absolutely overpowered armament was breathtaking

[@stephenkalatucka6213]

Inspired by Dr. Dolittle's pushme-pullme animal.

[@kenbobca]

Great video! The Do335 is my favorite aircraft of WWII.

[@George_M_]

In the museum the huge Do 335 is displayed next to the tiny Ho 229 and Ar 234. Jets really were the future, but I do love this plane. We need dome crazy rich person to recreate one like they did with the Me262

[@tsegulin]

Last I saw the Ho-229 was still in pieces in the restoration department, but the Ar-234 and Me-164 were nearby. Maybe by 'tiny' you mean the Me-163 Komet?

[@paint4r]

@@tsegulinThe Ho 229 is in pieces, but it is on display, just without wings. Hopefully they get around to restoring it eventually, along with that Ta 152 somewhere in the bowels of their storage that we aren't allowed to see pictures of.

[@tsegulin]

@@paint4r When I visited the Suitland Restoration Facility in 1995 it looked pretty much the same as the last time I saw it in 2015 from the catwalk over the restoration floor at the Udvar-Hazy campus. I appreciate that the NASM has many important projects under way at any given time and limited resources, but it's disappointing that restoring the sole example of this unique and extraordinary aircraft has still not made the cut almost 30 years later.

[@renesagahon4477]

Really liked this content. Well done research

[@opposed2logic]

the limited vision from that cockpit surely would have affected the planes performance as a fighter

[@gort8203]

It was not meant to be a dogfighter. It was designed as a high speed bomber-intruder and the role was expanded to bomber interceptor.

[@74KU]

Another advantage would be (I dunno if it is) running the propellers in opposite directions would help counteract torque

[@thomasneedham1512]

Then the issue would be severe twisting forces on the fuselage. Metal fatigue would be a large issue.

[@steffenjonda8283]

@@thomasneedham1512 nope-.

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

The cruciform tail would counteract slipstream swing at low speeds, from the front propeller. The top and bottom vertical stabilisers would have slipstream from opposite directions.

[@bobmetcalfe9640]

Given that it was never tested against any opposition, it's a bit of a stretch to suggest it the was the best propeller driven fighter of World War II.

[@lqr824]

4:38 why was the body so tall and long? Why not a bubble canopy or similar?

[@PhillipBirmingham]

This is one of the first airplane models I built as a kid.

[@williamforbes5826]

Me too, in 1975!

[@leonasmith6180]

Thank you, simple and concise. Well done. Leona

[@iffracem]

I have read that it had a significant overheating problem with the rear engine, overcoming that meant larger and/or more air intakes which increased drag. If it went into serial production that *might* have been able to be sorted I guess. Also, personally I doubt if one plane, or even a couple of good planes would have changed the course of the conflict by then. Germany was being effected by fuel shortages way before this saw the light of day, and what fuel they could produce was of quite poor quality, this didn't only effect supply, but also the longevity of the engine. If it had appeared earlier.. like early '43 maybe? It could have had a greater effect. But of course if it appeared earlier, and in numbers, the Allies would have copied it, or produced something similar, or accelerated their jet programs.. All maybe's and what if's. Besides, no one "miracle" machine has every won a major conflict.

[@chrisanderson6204]

A lot of factors inhibiting production included much aircraft and rocket manufacturing being moved into tunnels due to constant allied bombing of factories. The Me-262 could have been more effective had the Germans been able to obtain exotic alloys for turbine engine use. The had to settle for Stainless steel alloys, which led to TBO of the Junkers engines somewhere around 15 hours. Much past that and the blades could fail resulting in engine failure. Likely, the 335 would have gone after bomber streams, where, like the 262, their big guns could have done some real damage while outrunning contemporary Allied fighters.

[@theprojectproject01]

*Stares in Oppenheimer* You sure about that?

[@Enthropical_Thunder]

@@theprojectproject01 To be fair, the nuclear bomb never won the war, it just increased civilian casualties in a very cruel way, in order to reduce the time and money it took to win the it with conventional means.

[@theprojectproject01]

@@Enthropical_Thunder So... it was *using* the super-weapon that won the war, not the super-weapon itself? Gotcha. That's a real important distinction.

[@Enthropical_Thunder]

@@theprojectproject01 Nope, read carefully buddy, they were using "a superweapon", they were not using "a superweapon that won the war".

[@MWM-dj6dn]

A wonderful channel that deserves a thousand thousand greetings, great admiration and greater respect. Your esteemed channel is full of very accurate and useful information. Your effort is remarkable and great. I wish you lasting success. And I write to you with the utmost frankness and respect, and in the form of hope ((translate into Arabic)) The number of your followers will increase greatly. I am absolutely confident that you are interested in providing benefit to everyone without exception. My utmost respect, appreciation and pride to you, gentlemen

[@enscroggs]

The history of combat aviation is replete with aircraft designs with world-beating performance expectations that ended in failure once the plans and blueprints were realized in actual aircraft. This "cursed by design" phenomenon is perhaps not as prevalent today as it was in the mid-20th century thanks to advanced technologies, such as computer-assigned design and manufacturing, and the much slower pace of peacetime aircraft development when measured against the pace of desperate Nazi Germany facing imminent destruction. Nevertheless, such unrealized expectations still occur, Boeing's 737 Max being a prime example. While undoubtedly fast, the Pfeil may have had other, less-desirable characteristics that prevented it from becoming even a marginal factor in the air war over the Reich, which in turn rendered it a low-priority project compared to jet-powered projects. We may never know the full story since the USAAF was generally unimpressed by the captured example it had available for testing and evaluation compared to other German Wunderwaffen. Regarding the built-in explosive charge used to sever the pusher prop in a bailout emergency, when the National Air & Space Museum's Do-335 was sent for restoration, the technicians discovered that the explosive was still intact, and coupled to a functional detonator!

[@chuckschillingvideos]

You're bursting the fantasy bubble. Shame on you.

[@mattislindehag3065]

@@chuckschillingvideos You say as he is fantazising about about completely unspecified bad qualities that no one ever hinted at... The Do 335 is different from many other german wunderwaffe in one important way. Instead of being the first iteration of a new system it was a new application of fully matured and well understood technologies. Neither the piston driven fighter nor the push-pull aircraft were crazy new fangeled gizmos that were going to have teething problems. No matter how capable it was it was still a machine that wasn't going to be of great interest to a country well under way to putting their own jet fighters in to the air. In the post war era it was clear to everyone that piston driven fighters were not the future.

[@gort8203]

All aircraft have less than desirable characteristics, and you deal with them. If this aircraft had been produced in numbers it would have been formidable in the shnellbomber and intruder roles and even the night fighter role. They cancelled the He-219 to expend those precious resources on the 335 because it would have been more versatile and effective (if not as elegant in appearance). It was more comparable to the Mosquito than to the P-38.

[@chuckschillingvideos]

@@gort8203 You're completely missing the point. Germany's critical issue was NOT a lack of advanced fighter aircraft. It was a lack of skilled, experienced pilots, and, more importantly, OIL. OIL OIL OIL. It can't be made more simple than that. I don't know why you geek out over the aircraft when the aircraft itself was completely irrelevant to the war posture Germany was in. Germany could have had 10,000 F-22's and would still have been crushed.

[@gort8203]

@@chuckschillingvideos No, you're completely missing the point. Some of us are commenting on the aircraft itself, not the overall state of the German war effort. You're so busy yelling about your own pet peeve that you can't do basic reading comprehension. We all know Germany was doomed and that's not at issue here. Ask a stupid question and you get a stupid answer. The relevant question is whether this aircraft was an advancement that offered improved performance and capability over types already in Luftwaffe service.

[@edwardmorriale9358]

Fascinating aircraft. It's performance similar to the Ta152.

[@stanislavczebinski994]

To the "what if" question: In sufficient numbers - it would have made a difference. But - as was seen with tanks - numbers were more important than top-notch quality.

[@chuckschillingvideos]

Not a valid comparison at all. Fighters simply don't win wars. They do not allow you to project power, no matter how many you have.

[@stanislavczebinski994]

@@chuckschillingvideos Fighters alone win no wars - bombers do. And fighters will either protect them - or shoot them down.

[@altaccount4697]

​@@chuckschillingvideosfighters allow you to gain air superiority, which is arguably the most important aspect of warfare. The Gulf war demonstrated how useful air power can be. Tanks can't do much if they're getting bombed into oblivion.

[@michaelpielorz9283]

And why are all western tanks since WWIIbuild to high quality than to sheer numbers ? the germans did it right !!

[@stanislavczebinski994]

@@michaelpielorz9283 Modern western tanks are technologically way more advanced than ruzzian ones. Fully stabilized guns, high-quality nightvision/thermal optics and composite armor - to name a few. They don't combine an oversized gun with oversized armor and a whimpy engine with an undersized, breaky gearbox. Comparing peace time production to war time production doesn't add up, either. With no production time and resource restraints you can afford to build better quality. Plus - it is cheaper to maintain fewer high quality tanks than a lot of cheap tanks. During war time when many tanks get lost quickly that is no concern. And tanks are only a small part of the equasion. Ridiculously oversized artillery guns, gigantic bunker systems and things alike didn't help the strained German economy. If nazi Germany would have invested all those resources in regular-sized weapons the effect on the war would have been much more positive.

[@TheOsfania]

Superb presentation! Thank you.

[@desubtilizer]

The Do335 Pfeil (arrow) is somewhat similar to the Fokker FXXiii which first flew in 1939

[@k9killer221]

The performance numbers you mention are actually a bit conservative. I've seen speeds at high altitude where the engines give their best power, at over 500 MpH, as officially reported by Dornier and the RLM. The Ta152 had an official top speed of 478 MpH at 42,000 ft for example, and the Do 335 had a better power/weight ratio than that plane.

[@barryervin8536]

If the war had gone on long enough for the Do-335 to go into mass production and front line service it would have met the P-47N and P-51H and Hawker Fury ll in much greater numbers, possibly the DeHavilland Hornet too. Not to mention the P-80 and the Gloster Meteor. All of which would perform comparably or better than the 335. Allied designers weren't sitting on their hands, but at this point it was obvious that the war was lost for Germany and desperate measures with experimental "wonder weapons" weren't going to change that in the face of tens of thousands of more conventional airplanes.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

All rendered obsolete by the Messerschmitt Me-262

[@mpetersen6]

Plus in all likelyhood in addition to the P-47N the P-72 being present. But in reality the Germsns had too many irons in the fire. For which we should be thankful.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

@@mpetersen6 The Americans developed far more aircraft designs that never saw combat service or even flew before the war ended. There is a long list of forgotten Allied flops.

[@glennquagmire1747]

And they in turn would've been shot down like flies with the newer German jet fighters !!!

[@mpetersen6]

@@sandervanderkammen9230 But they could afford it.

[@S1nwar]

so how would the 335 have perfomed in comparison to the J7W Shinden in a interceptor role? the performance values seem pretty similar. the 335 just seems to be double the mass with double the power.

[@williamzk9083]

The Do 335 had a bomb bay. It also could easily carry a second crew member to act as navigator for ultra long distance, night time or bad weather operations or to operate radar. I think range was well over 2400 miles with drop tanks and the twin versions Do 635 was even more..

[@firemedic5100]

I had seen an image of this aircraft , and thought it was a prototype that never was produced. It looks like it would have been a handful to fly. Could have changed the air superiority of the war had they been mass produced. Thank you for this video.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

For a twin engine propeller aircraft it was an excellent handling plane, it was immune to all of the problematic asymmetric flight characteristics that were found on conventional twins with wing mounted engines.

[@raywhitehead730]

It was produced, but in very small numbers, and never went into combat. Most were captured by the Americans at the very end of the war. It had many problems. And was Not the fastest piston engined plan of the war.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

@@raywhitehead730 Sorry but you are very confused and misinformed. The Do-335 entered operational service with the Luftwaffe in September 1944 and flew combat missions. Reports by British and American aircraft evaluation experts confirmed that it was a well developed design with excellent performance. The Do-335 had an absolutely blistering continuous cruise speed of 425 mph and a top speed with WEP of 477 mph for up to 20 minutes per flight. The Allies had absolutely nothing comparable to the Arrow.

[@fritzwrangle-clouder6033]

@@sandervanderkammen9230 But all the additional problems of a heavy poorly cooled and easily targeted engine in its rear end.

[@fritzwrangle-clouder6033]

@@sandervanderkammen9230 Sandyboy you do talk shite. The Do 335 was only ever allocated to a test squadron and only in small numbers. It never saw any combat operations. I'll quote from the Smithsonian (whose word I'll take over the word of a proven liar such as yourself) - "Although combat conversion units received several pre-production aircraft about 10 months before the war ended, *no pilots flew Do 335s in combat* ". As for British evaluations, Eric Winkle Brown (who you sometimes like to quote) noted that like all Luftwaffe aircraft, "the Do 335's brakes were unreliable, prone to overheating and sometimes caught fire" he also noted "the Do335 would not have been a match 'out in the open' for the late-war Allied fighters". I note that you have become fond of the word 'blistering', something to do with your palms perhaps. As for your claim of 20 minutes of continuous WEP I know you won't be providing a source for that since it's just another of your inventions from your drbimmer identity. And of course the allies had the De Havilland Hornet which was not only faster than the Do 335 but had a higher service ceiling, and a much higher climb rate.

[@notreallydavid]

Really interesting - thanks for posting. 'Fully completed' - just 'completed' Best regards!

[@hmk8996]

The German machines are so beautiful.

[@maultasche668]

Cool video! Can you also make one on the Me262?

[@ice9snowflake187]

P-47M? De Havilland Hornet? Both these allied late-war piston-engined fighters could have kept up with the Do335. The P-47M was even in combat, some.

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

The DH Vampire and Lockheed P-80 jets would have been in service long before that _years out of date_ 335. The Meteor jet was already operating over German territory in early Spring 1945. The wehraboos always imagine that allied equipment development would not have progressed in their _what if_ fantasies.

[@michaelpielorz9283]

could have (:-)

[@raypurchase801]

The Hornet was designed for the same tasks but was superior, easy to manufacture on the Mosquito's production line, easy to convert to for any Mosquito pilot, built from readily-available plywood, could be assembled by semi-skilled woodworkers and would've kicked the Pfeil's arse if ever they'd met in combat.

[@raypurchase801]

@@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935 The Hornet could've been built in 1944, but was shelved because the British Air Ministry was already scaling-down its orders in preparation for ending the war. The Royal Navy needed a long-range carrier-borne strike fighter for after the war. So the design was dusted-off, given folding wings and a stronger undercart.

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

@@raypurchase801 Where did the Balsa Wood composite-core material come from? The ply-balsa-ply construction was in use building up stocks of the far more advanced DH Vampire jet.

[@StevenHoman]

Although the Dornier had a hand pump for lowering the landing gear, the pilot could fire explosive charges to remove the lower fin if belly landing. The height of the landing tricycle landing gear were necessitated by the two enormous propellers for ground clearance. In addition, the ground clearance also gave the best view when landing and taking off. The cockpit was very large and comfortable, and the ejection seat. (a feature which became more important, as the attrition rate for German pilots had become a significant bottleneck for training) If any of you have flown a flight sim which featured this craft, the cockpit visibility was astounding for its time, with the low set wing also acting as an aid.

[@KateLicker]

a squadron of NZ Tempests spotted one below them, and nosed down on it to investigate.. this Jerry spotted them and stood on gas, pulling away from them like they were standing still, before they could get into a firing position.

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

That was Pierre's flight operating over the _thousand year reich._ There was nowhere safe for the Dornier test flying, a few more miles to the east there would have been Soviet fighters.

[@paulbantick8266]

@@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935 There is no evidence that it happened. There's no reports made about this supposed encounter by any of the pilots, including Clostermann.

[@greenflagracing7067]

so much for being a fighter

[@KateLicker]

@@paulbantick8266 my anecdote was an NZ-manned squadron...was this also Closterman? I read his book, but too long back to remember all his stories..

[@paulbantick8266]

@@KateLicker It's Clostermann's. He reckons that two of his flight tried to persue said Do.335. None of them mentioned this incident in the after mission reports. Even Clostermann.

[@tsegulin]

A pretty decent account of the Do-335 from what I know of it. Yet another example of how the "we don't need to fund anything long term because the war will be won in six months" high command thinking in the early stages of the war and legendary RLM mismanagement may have deprived Germany of an excellent aircraft that might have been very useful had it been available when needed.

[@brianwarden7250]

The designers were living in a dream world of massive state funding and a rudderless leadership. They were allowed to think outside the box and be pretty eccentric in their proto-type development.

[@jacktattis]

Useful to have a go at the Bombers useless against fighters and by 44 The sky was full of allied fighters that would do to it what they did to the Me262

[@tsegulin]

@@jacktattis The Me-262 usually couldn't be touched by allied fighters except on takeoff and landing owing to the jets. The D0-335 didn't have that problem. It could take off and land quickly and had the potential to reach the bombers while leaving the fighters behind. It was yet another victim of poor planning by the RLM.

[@lqr824]

2:50 no, not less weight. Less ANGULAR MOMENTUM. Holding two barbells in line with your torso (as the 335's engines are) allows you spin around quickly (same as a plane's roll). Hold the same weight at arm's length and it takes far longer.

[@chumanho]

Precisely so. 👍

[@gort8203]

I've always thought this was the most inspired design to emerge during WWII. But I think a more comparable allied aircraft was the Mosquito rather than the P-38. The P-38 was a heavy fighter intended for air to air combat. The Do 335 design originated as a high speed bomber-intruder much like the Mosquito FB variants. Unlike the P-38 these aircraft had a bomb bay. Like the Mosquito the 335 would have made a great Schnellbomber and a great bomber interceptor, but it was not really cut out for a swirling dogfght.

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

Look at the basics, it didn't give that much considering that it had two of the huge yet underwhelming fuel guzzling 44.5 litre V12 1,700 hp DB603 bomber engines _and_ it *might* have entered minimal production and service in the early winter of 1945/1946 when there would have been two more allied jet types well established in service _and_ there was well coordinated forward radar cover right behind the allied front lines as Nazi Germany was overrun. The 335s would have been hunted down, the 335s would have had no fuel or living proficient pilots _and_ the 335s would have had nowhere safe to operate from. A large proportion of the 335 test flying was done in the hands of the only mildly curious allied airforces.

[@gort8203]

@@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935 LOL. Your logic seems to be that the airplane was a bad design because it couldn't save Germany from defeat. That's not looking at the basics, that's confusing them. The basics is that this airplane was very fast on two bomber engines due to its innovative configuration. It was an improvement in performance over the other aircraft the Luftwaffe was using in the high-speed bomber role. If you want to comment on my comment please stick to the subject and don't try to goad me into arguing about something else.

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

@@gort8203 If it was inspired it wasn't exactly inspired usefulness. Heinkel almost got his cheap last gasp jet into service. Claude Dornier might have been a hidden anti-nazi?

[@unclestuka8543]

​@@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935 😊 7:02

[@unclestuka8543]

It's amazing how advanced the German third Reich aircraft industry designs were, even Winkle Brown admitted what a shock it was.

[@dogit1840]

Have you seen the curtiss wright xp-55 I don't know I guess we had it since the 1930s didn't go into production because test pilot stall speed almost 400 MPH plane and we give up on it

[@PikaPilot]

The Me 262 was also a plane that outmatched every allied example during the war. It didn't change the outcome of the war, but with a kill ratio of 4:1, it certainly came close to winning German air superiority. IMO, the Do 335 likely could have extended the length of the war considerably if it had been produced as planned

[@Lassemalten]

Yeah but development of Dornier was stopped in 1940. It could have been produced in 1942 I guess. 2 years before ME 262. And would have been produced in way larger number then ME 262. But yes outcome of the war would have been no diffrent. Except that Usa might have been forced to nuke Germany as well.

[@bledaraliaj9269]

The me262 it comes to late almost at the end of war that's why it didn't change if it was from the beginning probably we both could have this conversation in German

[@friedemannhuettner6156]

The me262 was built in 1939 and its maiden flight in 1940. Hitler wanted a bomber so it was put on hold.

[@Lassemalten]

@@friedemannhuettner6156 Maiden flight as 18 of April 1941, but that wasn't with a jet engine. First time with jet engine was 18 of July 1942. So I would say July 1942 is the maiden flight 2 years after your claim

[@usernamesreprise4068]

Fortunately for the Germans AND us the war WASNT prolonged any further............as is now coming to light, the Americans had EVERY intention of nuking Germany once the Japanese were dealt with. Vast tracts of central Europe would STILL be uninhabitable even today.

[@michaelhoffmann2891]

You can see a 2-seater version at the Deutsches Museum in Munich. Or you could, until they closed the department for major reconstruction a few years ago. I'm not sure if they moved that one to the secondary exhibit at the Flugzeugwerft in Oberschleissheim.

[@young749Au]

The allied forces bombed the factories where the Do 335 was being manufactured before they could start cranking them out. Allied command had enough information to decide to make sure it was not manufactured. This pretty well answers the question of what would have happened if 2000 of them had been manufactured. Thanks to Hermann Goering for delaying its production 2 years.

[@StevenHoman]

The colour photographs you shown, were of the exact plane he was flying at the time hostilities had ceased, and had been fully restored, and the same pilot attended the ceremony at its unveiling. Some of the test pilots seemed to live by luck and coincidence, it seems to me now. As a curiosity, I believe it was in fact, Pierre Cloesterman's fighter wing, which did attempt to engage the Dornier Arrow, This, according to the German Pilot (who's book I am unable to locate, for the full details) An unusual camaraderie exist between combatant forces of each respective nation, post-war, since WWI, and this has continued, including Vietnam. Each pilot was tasked with a mission, and performed their respective missions, without ill will, it seems?

[@JohnFrumFromAmerica]

I think we can know the answer to the question. It would not have made much of a difference. If it was introduced the Allies would have invested to develop a counter and Germany would have still lost.

[@siler7]

Yeah, this was far too little, far too late. You'd have to add in some crazy stuff like, you instantly have 5,000 of them with elite pilots and all the parts and fuel you need. If, in some fever dream scenario, the Luftwaffe had been able to retake the skies, there's no telling what might have been possible. Without bombing from Britain, Germany would have had the opportunity to rebuild some infrastructure. Without fighter cover, the USSR would not have been able to stand toe-to-toe with the Germans for long.

[@monza1002000]

Allies already had the answer in the Gloster Meteor jet

[@raypurchase801]

@@monza1002000 Allies had the Hornet. The design was shelved because it couldn't be in service before D-Day. Dusted off and produced postwar as the Sea Hornet. Easy to produce and fly. None of the Pfeil's problems. The Germans always wanted insane, unflyable mega-weapons. The British approach was that the plywood Mosquito with a single-seater cockpit would be better.

[@monza1002000]

@raypurchase801 They also had the Vampire, the MB5, in fact a whole load of aircaft to compete/beat it.

[@barryervin8536]

The US already had a squadron of P-80s (100 mph faster than a Do-335) in Italy at the end of the war. They weren't used in combat because they weren't needed. There were P-51Hs (comparable in performance to the Do-335) in Europe too but they hadn't seen combat yet when Germany surrendered.

[@fireballxl5328]

love it. Had a 1/72 of this plane as a kid

[@robertmiller2173]

Yes this is my favorite aircraft from WW2, followed by the Me 262, Fw 190-D, P-51 D, then the De Haviland Mosquito, Arado 234.... Avenger, B-24, Sunderland Flying Boat, Catalina......bla bla, I just love aircraft especially from WW2

[@peterlee4682]

A great plane but the rear engine had a tendancy to overheat and catch fire. I think temperature activated ventilation ducts might have been able to solved that issue.

[@michaelpielorz9283]

So you know more than it`s designers, outstanding (:-)

[@schaddenkorp6977]

@@michaelpielorz9283 As in he knows about the overheating engine or his idea on a potential solution? Because one is knowing about a problem which is documented the other is an idea on what might have been able to resolve the problem.

[@MarkBarlow-bc1ys]

Definitely an interesting plane. Assuming it had been operational by mid-1943 in numbers like the Fw-190, it certainly could have prolonged the war. The persistent and generally effective bombing campaign by the Allies still would have led to lack of production capacity and fuel shortage. But it might have delayed the inevitable. Could it have won a dogfight with a F8F Bearcat?

[@GordonDonaldson-v1c]

In his book "Wings on my Sleeve", Eric "Winkle" Brown concludes that the Do 335 "was too stable and heavy on the elevators for a day fighter." It was, in his words, "essentially an all-weather/night fighter."

[@casematecardinal]

It would have been murdered by p47s. The p47m could do 473mph in level flight at 32,000 feet and had a max dive speed in excess of 600mph. The do335 could not run from a p47 especially at higher altitudes and it could not out turn it at any speed. I can also guarantee it did not have as good of a max aoa and much less nose authority due to its high weight.

[@williamzk9083]

@@casematecardinal -As far as I know the Do 335 was to have hydraulic boosted controls so Winkel's criticism of a heavy elevator criticism is puzzling. Perhaps he tested a version without the boost installed. -The P-47 (all versions including the P-4M) was a very slow aircraft at low and medium altitudes. It only had superior speed once above 25,000ft. Below this the bulk of the turbo-supercharger installation added so much drag it was much slower than even a 1942 Spitfire V or Me 109G1. About 330 mph. The P-47M was of no use against V1 buzz bombs for this reason. -The First generation of Do 335 were to be powered by the DB601A engine modified with water injection (MW50) and a speed of around 474mph was expected. It was at about 21000ft. The P-47M achived its speed at much higher altitude. -The DB601E engine and the two stage super charged intercooled DB603L/LA was to be installed. It was already available for the Ta 152C. It allowed a speed of around 490mph. This was with bomb bay. -The Do 335 was equipped with EGON and Neuling blind bombing. -What I'm saying is the P-47 would have had a hard time getting an intercept. Impossible at night.

[@casematecardinal]

@@williamzk9083 @williamzk9083 @williamzk9083 hydrologic boost or not the do335 was not a fighter. The p47 had the best high speed turn performance of any piston engine aircraft of the war. As for performance its myth that the p47 performed poorly at low and medium altitude. It performed just fine. At low altitude its speed was still above average at low altitude. The myth comes from the fact that it usually got caught while performing cas which means it was sitting well bellow even its low altitude top speed. At medium altitude it was already one of if not the fastest fighters you could encounter and once you got to higher altitude it pulled away from everything else. As for your comment about V1s, of course it wasn't useful against them, thats not what it was for. It was meant to counter the me262 and was never even in a position to be used against v1 bombs. And even if it was, unlike the spitfire it wasn't an interceptor. It had middling climb performance. It was an escort and fighter bomber. As for your assertion that newer engines would have done anything, its worth noting the p47m could achieve recorded speeds of 473mph with a stock engine. If it was hot-rodded which we are aware at least some were we could see a significant increase in performance. We have reports from pilots achieving upwards of 500mph in level flight(that was is in a p47d btw). And of course with good utilization of manual engine control this could be done relatively easily. In the end I think interception would have been a fairly simple proposition. However I do think it would require diving on the target. And I am honestly confused why you even brought up night operations. Thats not the perview of p47s anyway.

[@barrierodliffe4155]

@@casematecardinal While the Do 335 had many issues which were never sorted out do did the P 47 M which had serious engine problems, a low rate of climb and a low dive speed, kust like the Do 335 the P 47 was too heavy.

[@markhansen3111]

An impressive design. I wonder how it flew/handled.

[@aldenconsolver3428]

A really great aircraft. I would call it the best fighter of WW2 but with a production of 2 units I don't think you can call it best. If you are going to consider 2 unit aircraft you will end up with the US Pogo and the British Gloster and lots of other low-production aircraft. Clearly, the Germans would have been better off shutting down the ME163 and building these instead. If it could have gotten started at mid 44 like the ME262 it would have been probably more effective than the 262. I like the airplane a lot, and have considered building an RC plane of it.

[@michaelpielorz9283]

If you try hard enough you will be able to count further than two!!

[@Hunter12396]

Apparently 2 and 37 are the same number

[@ivanthemadvandal8435]

More effective than the 262, what a joke. The western allies already had planes that met or exceeded the capabilities of the 335 using single props. The 335 looks cool but would've been outmatched from the start.

[@chpet1655]

I always though they'd have major overheating issues in the rear engine

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

That's a popular but completely false myth... that radiators have to be mounted up front to work properly... the P-51 Mustang used a very similar rear mounted design incorporating the "Meridith Effect" and completely destroys this myth.

[@fritzwrangle-clouder6033]

They did have overheating issues in the rear engine. They sought to improve the situation with some effect by increasing the venting but that of course increased drag and also had a tendency to induce porpoising.

[@fritzwrangle-clouder6033]

@@sandervanderkammen9230 Sandyboy your "false myth... that radiators have to be mounted up front to work properly" is an aunt sally of your own invention. Aircraft with water cooled engines had been fitted with radiators aft of the engine since the 1920s and there was no general belief that radiators had to be at the front. What you fail to understand is that even in an aircraft with a water cooled engine their is additional cooling by airflow (either directly over the engine or even only over the cowling) especially beneficial to ancillary components. The overheating issues which the Do 335's rear engine are well known, again from the Smithsonian - "Serious flaws also plagued the design. *The rear engine overheated often* and the landing gear was weak and prone to failure."

[@stanislavczebinski994]

The mentioned top speed of Hawker Tempest of 430 mph is at 5,200 meters. At ground level it's closer to 390 mph. Hence the reported massive speed difference.

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

The 335 would not be able to use full 'throttle' either at that height. I presume the DB603 would have automatic supercharger revs boost limiting. Great point, people do not grasp that the Fieseler V1's speed was on the deck, it would need something like a single speed supercharger Griffon Spitfire XII to catch it.

[@stanislavczebinski994]

@@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935 Top speed of the 335 is at 6400m - lower air density. The supercharger runs full pressure at 5700m. Power rating of 335 varies: DB603E - 2000PS each starting power to 1740PS at 6000m. DB603A - 1750PS each starting - 1680PS @5700m.

[@williamzk9083]

The Tempest V with the Napier Sabre IIA engine only had a single stage supercharger so lost power at high altitude and the aircraft would slow down. Napier had been developing a two stage supercharger but the RAF told them to get the Sabre working properly first. The Do 335 had 4 engines available for it of which only 1 was installed the DB603A (prototypes accepted). There was the the DB603A of 1750hp, the DB603AA which just had different supercharger speeds and so had a higher critical altitude at cost of take off power, the DB603E which had slightly more power (1800hp) than the DB603A and slightly higher critical altitude due to better supercharger hydrodynamics and engine and I think water methanol injection so something like 2250hp possible -Finally there was the DB603L/LA which had two stage and inter cooler likely capable of 490mph. DB603N with 2800hp was bench testing so the aircraft might have reach 500mph. -There were spectacular projections for Sabres with 3000hp or even more. Not sure what is a projected production power and what was just a short term bench test.

[@jacktattis]

@@stanislavczebinski994 My info Do 355 455 mph @ 23295ft The Germans claimed 470mph and while Brown did not doubt it it only achieved the afore mentioned speed at Farnborough

[@stanislavczebinski994]

@@jacktattis According to German Wiki, 775 kph @6400m (482mls @20,997ft) for the A-1 version. Unlike the quite constant top speed of a car, results may vary quite a bit due to different temperatures, wind, humidity, weight and fuel quality. Therefore, it's plausible both results were measured at different places at different times.

[@lqr824]

3:33 I'm actually quite interested in the three prop/jet versions: this would have fixed the 262's Achilles' Heel, the fact it needed long runways for takeoff, had no power when landing, and needed two of the limited supply of jets. On the other hand I don't think the two engines could run off the same fuel, which would have been a major headache if you had to juggle the two kinds. (Jet fuel I think is almost like diesel, very thick, while gasoline is watery. But I think you can design a jet to be adjustable so that it can run fine on gasoline too.

[@gort8203]

Jets can easily run on gasoline. The J-47s on the B-36 ran on the same gasoline as its piston engines. You want to tune an engine for gasoline and watch the temperatures. The JP-4 fuel that most USAF jets used prior to the switch to JP-8 was technically a wide-cut gasoline rather than a kerosene. In most jets gasoline could be used as an emergency fuel for a limited time, but the engine would require inspection later. As I recall deposits from the additives in high octane gasoline left unwanted deposits in the engine.

[@dukecraig2402]

​@@gort8203 Yea, all that lead in high octane avgas back then would have coated everything just like it did the sparkplugs in piston engine's leading to them fouling at around 10 hours operational time.

[@stephenhancock1578]

​@@gort8203 Wide cut gasoline is a stretch. It's still more like kerosene than gas. Like diesel the fuel has to nearly be atomized and super pressurized to light. Also, I know my last aircraft swapped to JetA fuel, or JPA, whatever you want to call it. Not sure if that was insightful or not. With the way our igniter cans are set up to hold pressure, and the sensitivity of the turbine components, I don't know how well gasoline would hold up, I feel like it would cause a bad internal fire, but I'm not an engineer. I know you can hold a lighter over the top of JP8 and it will not light fire, You can be soaked in it and light a cigarette and not catch fire, and I've seen some hellacious electrical fires and wild arcing nearly next to open fuel and I've luckily never seen it catch. Just don't let it touch LOX, yikes.

[@gort8203]

@@stephenhancock1578 It may be more like kerosene than avgas, but it was listed in USAF technical orders as wide cut gasoline. This was apparently a chemical distillate designation, and to my knowledge it was never specified as a fuel for any type of gasoline engine. I recall being told there were two reasons USAF used JP-4 rather than Jet A (civilian) or JP-5 (Navy). JP-4 had a lower freezing point, which was important for long high-altitude flights. We were allowed limited use of Jet-A as an alternate fuel with some restrictions, but it had to have an anti-icing additive. JP-4 was lighter and more aromatic, so it would ignite and hold combustion under more difficult conditions such as hard maneuvering and airstarts or afterburner lights at altitude.

[@rpurdey]

Max speed at WEP was 474mph and max speed at combat power was 426mph. The aircraft suffered from prominent "snaking" and "porpoising" at high speed which would have rendered gunnery at those speeds problematic. Before use of the compressed air ejection seat the upper fin and prop could be jettisoned and before a gear up landing the lower fin (and prop?) could be jettisoned. Single engine max speed was 348mph rear engine and 300mph front engine in spite of the smaller rear prop. Each of the rear prop blades were shortened by about 3.9in (100mm) because the rear prop was operating in a higher ambient airspeed environment when both engines were running and suffered from supersonic tip speeds sooner than the front prop.

[@carol7311]

Got to see a 335 at the Hazy Center few dats ago, still a amazing plane

[@mikedearing6352]

Boings B-29 would have to qualify as the greatest aircraft, no other could claim such capabilities. From the firebombing of old Tokyo to the atomic bombs that ended WW2, these were extremely capable bombers like no other in it's day.

[@trav2SS]

Excellent presentation

[@tauncfester3022]

This would have been also made into a Ta152 analogue, the Do-435, with much longer fuselage and wings and a pair of 3500 hp Junker's Jumo 24 cylinder inline four x six "radial" 222, which would have been even faster at altitude.

[@shawns0762]

Yes, the Jumo 222 would have been the greatest piston engine of the war. It would have had close to 4,000 HP with nitrous, which all the late German fighters had. Unfortunately for the Germans the 8th air force wiped the factory of the face of the Earth just when it was about to go into production.

[@williamzk9083]

@@shawns0762 The Jumo 222 was a good engine but too much was expected of it in terms of development time (it takes 6 years to get an aero engine fit for service) and power on only 87 octane fuel. The Jumo 222A1/B1 had problems, the A2/B2 solved many but was not judged powerful enough for airframes such as the Ju 288 but the A3/B3 made it on the production list. The Jumo 222E/F was an Jumo 222A3/B3 with a two stage supercharger and inter-cooler. It was producing 2800hp with a full pressure altitude of well over 32,000ft at the end of the war. Both the Jumo 222A3/B3 and Jumo 222E/F were assigned to the Ju 388, Ju 488 and Do 335 and Ta 152. The problems were resolved and the engine was schedule for production. Apart from not quite having enough time and and quality fuel the engine was engineered to death by 2 strike and 3 bore changes in an attempt to meet its power requirements on 87 octane fuel. One of these engines was the Jumo 222C/D with a greatly increased capcity. Although this engine failed to become a viable alternative to the Jumo 222A1/B1 development did continue leading to a 3500-4000hp engine in the form of the Jumo 222G/H.

[@josephglatz25]

ASSUMING the Do-335 was all it was cracked up to be in combat, and when it comes to late war German super-planes, it's generally better to assume that their combat performance is greatly exaggerated, but just for giggles assume the Pfiel is a wonder plane, I don't see it getting to the front until late 1944, by which point German fuel production is mostly gone, along with nearly all experienced pilots. I don't think more than a couple hundred at most would make it to front line squadrons, and I 'd expect that number to be further reduced by spare parts shortages, the aforementioned fuel shortages and likely personnel shortages as well. So I don't think they'd alter the outcome of the war at all, really. But just suppose the Germans get the Do-335 to the front by, let's say, late 1943. That might throw a wrench in one of the big goals of the combined bomber offensive, which was to grind down the Luftwaffe in time for the invasion of Normandy. So that might be delayed. But it's not like the allied airplane manufacturers would have just sat on their ass and said "welp, we're never going to match that". We had our own super prop planes in the pipes, like the F7F Tigercat, the P-51H, the P-72 Superbolt, which were plenty competitive in performance and would have had superior build quality, and once they show up, the pendulum swings back in the allies' favor, and there's really nothing Germany can do about that. Maybe the war in Europe drags on into the summer of 45, maybe they play their cards better and hold the Russians at bay a bit longer, but at that point they end up taking Japan's place as the first country to get nuked. No changing the outcome. Germany is screwed once it picks a fight with the Soviet Union and United States, nothing outside of an asteriod obliterated North America gives Germany any chance in hell.

[@Imnotyourdoormat]

For its time period, the single-engine 350-mph cruise speed for the Do-335 was phenomenally incredible. The P-82 TWIN-Mustang was devised because the P-51's two existing cruise settings of 225 and 275 mph just couldn't keep up with the new B-29's 350-mph cruising speed.

[@garyboyd3255]

The P-51H had a cruise speed of 380mph. The P-82 was mostly about long range over-water flying with two pilots vice one

[@casematecardinal]

Most p47s had a cruise speed of 350.

[@garyboyd3255]

@@casematecardinal the P-47M could approach 500 mph at altitude

[@casematecardinal]

@@garyboyd3255 it could but its cruise speed is much lower for fuel economy

[@Imnotyourdoormat]

@@casematecardinal Right right...That's why General Curtiss LeMay threatened North American to rush-order the P-82 Twin Mustang as fast as possible or lose the contract because he already had the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt that would already do the job in his inventory, that's how he won the war right? Oh yeah, and "Jug" pilots didn't become exhausted during X-tra long escort missions over Japan right?

[@Cherb123456]

Great looking Fighter! Wow! Thank you!

[@taxsi]

what is 450 miles, what kind of technical depiction of specs of a plane. pounds miles, are we going to a mall in us to buy potato? use metric or just put some captions when you use your kind of people's units.

[@timwinn3904]

I've seen this plane at the Smithsonian would it have been a world beater we'll never know but it is impressive it really was large for a fighter of the time

[@monza1002000]

Not a fighter, it was a fighter bomber/reccon aircraft

[@moto.machine1]

Pretty sure a p47 could outclass it.

[@ivanthemadvandal8435]

The P47M was just as fast on a single engine, the P51H was faster, and if needed the US had the XP72 in the piepline (which is basically a P47 that grew up snorting protein powder and steroids, 490mph top speed, 2x 37mm autocannons, 4x M3 Browning 50's)

[@williamzk9083]

The P-47 was a fine aircraft but slow at low altitude because its speed came from the power its high altitude turbo supercharger gave it in thin air. Versions of the XP-72 with a turbo compounded engine that never flew were projected to exceed 500mph though it never flew with the turbo. The P-51 was unbeatable at low altitude managing 400mph on 150 PN fuel easily 40mph faster than the P-47 with the same fuel. -The Germans however weren't falling behind. The Fw 190 D12EB with 2350 hp Jumo 213EB engine was expected to achieve 488mph. The Do 335 with DB603L 2400hp engines was expected to achieve 490mph. The Jumo 213J (2700hp) and DB603N (2800hp) were already on the test benches so I would expect these aircraft to reach 500mph. -The Germans seriously fell beined in early 1944 when the P-51flew its first missions in january 44 nearly 40mph faster than Me 109G6 and Fw 190A8. It took the Germans months to slowly catch up in the speed department. (Me 109G6ASM May 1944, Me 109G14AS July 44, Fw 190D9 November 44 not castching up till Me 109K4 in October 44)

[@moto.machine1]

This plane never even saw combat. To say that it was even operational during ww2 is a stretch of the imagination. And yes, I would put a P 47 up against it any day of the week.

[@steffenjonda8283]

You are sure but wrong. Fine for me

[@steffenjonda8283]

@@williamzk9083 The most important thing, german figher planes got heavier because they carried more armor and heavier guns with slower rate of fire. So the already increasing gap between the newer P47 and P51 AND spitfires was increased, because the BF109G often had to carry 2 21cm thrower that reduced the spit by 30-40km/h. Add in all the armor another 40km/h reduced speed. There is a point why the germans had two variants attacking all the time, the BF109G2 that had limited firepower, to engage the nimble allied fighters and the slower sluggish armored gun carriers to engage the bombers,. Now think what happend to them if they were engaged by the superior (already) and then even more superior fighter? That caused most of the heavy losses on the german side. The same is true if you switch the pov. With the ME262 ready in 1942 with a full working (say 1945-technology-Jumo-engine, possible, with more attention to that from 1941 on) you face the dilemma from the other side of the fence. The protecting fighters are NO Match to the fast bomber killers, who could ignore them or kill them. Just like they want. And no allied plane could counter, they were 3 years behind in jet technology, closing to 2 years, the Meteor was a junk of sh1t in its early versions and lacked any range to be useful. So the bombers would be slaughtered by the german air force and the protecting fighters would have to dumb their fuel tanks to get to the targets. Think about a 1000 bomber raid to berlin, the P51 get fighters against them and have to drop their fuel tanks, forcing them to turn back, After that happens, the older fighters attack recentless the bomber boxes and destroy 10times more bombers, who belive the fighters betray them. The fighters suffer terrible losses against experienced Jet fighter pilots who use Speed to kill the fighters at any hight with easy approch. Heck, they could even use 20mm-cannons instead of the 4x MK108, so the chance to kill the fighters is improved.

[@clarencehopkins7832]

Excellent stuff bro

[@markr.1984]

This was fast plane and they hadn't even got to try one with MW50 (water/methanol injection) on both engines yet. It's doubtful that the one Closterman encountered had this injection, yet it still left them behind. They were going to build one with injection but ran out of time. There is a limit to how fast prop planes can go and I'm sure an injected MW50 Dornier 335 would have got to that speed easily.

[@Bhoenix]

please give us metric measurements as well

[@garrymartin6474]

Fact : The fastest propeller driven aircraft of WWII was the Republic XP-47 J Superbolt

[@michaelpielorz9283]

Uh an american heart is bleeding (:-)

[@ivanthemadvandal8435]

The fastest production prop to see combat in Europe P47M just as fast as the 335 on a single prop with longer range

[@ivanthemadvandal8435]

​ @Michael Pielorz nice response you got anything to back up your shit talking?

[@garrymartin6474]

@@michaelpielorz9283 Where ?👀 I'm not American 🙄

[@robertoroberto9798]

@@garrymartin6474 He’s a Wehraboo.

[@ErichBowers-b3i]

My favorite WW2 German plane also. Just one question. You do you get into the cockpit? Is there a ladder of some kind? 🤔 🇺🇲

[@shahrookhshroff3018]

The fastest piston - engined twin of the Second Wold War, with terrific firepower and superb performance! WUNDERBAR! 🔥🔥🔥💪💪💪👍👍👍🙌🙌🙌👌👌

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

You do realise it was not in use when the master race put their hands up?

[@ivanthemadvandal8435]

Meanwhile the US had 2 single engine piston that equaled or exceeded it. P47M P51H

[@paulbantick8266]

@@ivanthemadvandal8435 The DH Hornet.

[@ivanthemadvandal8435]

@@paulbantick8266 on of the most sexy plane for sure, still slower than the 47M and 51H

[@paulbantick8266]

Supermarine Spiteful? DH Vampire? The Hornet's speed was 473 mph P47M 473 mph and the P51H 474 mph.

[@lqr824]

11:00 There is no way to have changed the tide of the war. In fact, even without D-Day the war would have ended in 1945, probably with the atomic bombing of some military target in Germany instead of Japan. Further, even had the Pfeil been flying since 1941, it took 2-3x the material (at least) of a 109 or 190. Given the insane number of Thunderbolts produced, and the fact the Thunderbolt might have been faster at bomber altitudes (I never see a graph of 335 speed vs. altitude, maybe Greg will do it at some point) anyway, I don't think it was a wonder weapon. Also note that even if the plane was available earlier, the engines made far less power in 1941 than 1943 or 1945, didn't have methanol or water injection, etc. etc.

[@jacktattis]

Do 335 360mph @ sea level 437mph@21655ft 455mph @ 23295 ft [ SOURCE only shows this on engine] It did Not have a good service ceiling at 37400ft beaten by all Allied planes and its Climb rate at 4600ft/min was beaten by the Spitfire and Tempest So the allies had it covered

[@lqr824]

@@jacktattis > So the allies had it covered Well, more pertinently, the Allies had >5000 planes in-theater with better speeds and ceilings. Climb rate is critical for an interceptor but Germany didn't really have any bombers or recon we simply had to intercept. It's not as important for an escort as an escort has all the time in the world to gain higher altitude, and once up there it can dive, shoot, and zoom-climb back up. And in such a tactic pretty much anything can zoom-climb far faster than any interceptor can normal-climb.

[@Pwj579]

The F4U Corsair and P-38 Lightning were better aircraft that debuted in 1940 and only got better throughout the War….I know folks love to romanticize the Germans exotic weapons, but American aircraft were just more durable and reliable. I’ve seen the 335 at NASM Dulles Udvar-Hazy location, glad they were able to preserve the unique aircraft

[@michaelpielorz9283]

I hope you will survive your bleeding american heart! Please do not watch tank related videos !!

[@robertoroberto9798]

@@michaelpielorz9283 I hope you don’t watch any modern tank videos that aren’t History Channel “Documentaries” from 2011 (Or else you die).

[@steffenjonda8283]

The P38? Nope, had a nonimpressive combat record in europe, against the japanese, it was different. Think better. The F4U corsair was good, but no überplane either,. It was SLOW, if you want to move from A to B. In combat, it had its merits, but to move to german cities (as an escort) it lacks 200km/h of speed. So nope, not good at all for the job it is needed. In that it sucked. And - by the way, the allies thought the same, they never used it much in europe. They belived (rightfully) they had with the P51 and P47 much better planes. And they reduced the P38 with every long range P47... guess why?

[@robertbetz8461]

Another advantage would be no torque roll effect it the engine rotated in opposite directions? Unlike most single engine fighters of the day.

[@chrischamberlaine4160]

This is absolute nonsense and lacks critical research. The RLM rejected it in favour of the Ta153. It was not part of any 'emergency' programme. Engine overheating problems were never resolved. Its thick wing gave it a very low MachCrit. By 1945 it was obvious that the turbine generation made this complex machine obselete. If you want a comparison look at the de Havilland Hornet which was in full production at this time and outperformed the 335 in every way. As a published aviation historian I get fed up with all the nonsense about 'German secret projects' - which were not secret and were only projects. Rubbish !!!!

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

The wing looks fat, it would be useless in the cold at altitude. MB5 _best fighter never made_ fans don’t see how fat and crude its wing was, another wonder plane offering nothing that developments of existing planes couldn’t match for a tiny fraction of the cost.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

Its still the fastest propeller driven aircraft to see combat service during WW2, 425 mph continuous cruising speed was better than Allied jets! And 20 minutes of WEP power at 477 mph is 400% more than most Allied aircraft that were slower with WEP. The Hornet was plagued by serious instability problems and was not fully sorted until the war ended... it's a post war aircraft.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

The Messerschmitt Me-262 was vastly superior to any Allied or other Luftwaffe aircraft, it rendered everything before it, and many after it completely obsolete!

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

@@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935 Miles Aircraft company was a joke! it's designs were old and hopelessly outdated, most of the funds it received from the Ministry was embezzled by the crooks that ran the company.

[@chrischamberlaine4160]

@@sandervanderkammen9230 For reference read the first hand flight test reports on both aircraft by test pilot Winkle Brown. Wings of the Luftwaffe and Wings of the Weird and Wonderful. It's fashionable to perpetuate myths but the facts are irrefutable.

[@StevenHoman]

The inspired designer of Dornier aircraft wore spats, which should explain it all. The radical sweep of the wing's leading edge, with automatic slats, allowed for an appreciable increase in the onset of compressibility. This thing was a true embodiment of the necessary features developed by the German war machine. Which then led to the many improvements in the allied's future aircraft design. This led the USAF, the British and Soviets, with a treasure trove of data for their own Cold-War development.

[@danytalloen]

It's fantastic looking bird, I have build a 1/72 Dragon kit of it many years ago, it was the first kit I made with PE. However, I'm pretty sure the designers didn't use "feet" and "inches", nor do 90% of the world population, so please use real dimensions.

[@MGB-learning]

Outstanding video and presentation.

[@ivanthemadvandal8435]

The DO335 was in no way a super weapon, if anything it was a demostration of how Germany had fallen behind the western allies in prop technology. The P47M had the same top speed with a longer range and actually fired shots in anger in the ETO, the P47N was within 10mph with a much longer range and saw a fair amount of combat in the PTO, and the P51H was faster with a much longer range and came much closer to seeing combat than the DO335 and all of those did it with a single prop. Just another click bait video

[@steffenjonda8283]

at cruising speed? Nope. The Do335 was the best answer to the question "how can i use a long range fighterbomber with very high cruising speed". For limited range - the germans had already the Me262, faster - around 200km/h as all other planes around at the hight it needed to be. The Ta152 (the last FW190) was also very good, but at great hight (to counter eventual new allied high altitude fighters). Here it was especially superior because it had a very excellent manoverability at this great hight. Even with not build in WEP. But they lacked a heavy fighterbomber with the ability to destroy enemy bombers, they could reach with high cruising speed. So, with a cruising speed HIGHER then the max speed of most allied planes in this hight, it had HUGE advantages. See, 5min at 450milrd/h sounds good, but what after it? If you fall back to 240miles/h and the enemy cruise at 425... but if he needs, accellerate to 480miles, you look quite dumb. That plane also could be build as a two-seater, so a night fighter, with proven mass produced technology (the engines), space for a nice radar device (The FUMo240) and the night bombers have a VERY hard time, again. With more time the next Do335s will be better, even with the standard engines. And then the allies have a slightly inferior P80 (compared to the vanilla Me262) the new engine driven jets come online, if you replace the Jumo-engines with HS11s, the difference between a P80 and the new jet is similar to Zero2 versus a Bearcat.

[@ep1phany62]

Are these photos from Oregon?

[@jamesneiditch784]

What do you think was the best pusher plane of ww2 among all the countries. Each of the major countries had some form of pusher planes ... the DO is a push pull but I wonder if we compared only the pushers , who would come out on top

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

I can’t think of a Nazi German operational pusher?

[@ivanthemadvandal8435]

Only real pusher was the Saab 21

[@thorsbyguy5121]

At 2:45, you don't seem to explain the roll factor very well. This aircraft had a greater roll rate than other twins, i.e. it could enter and exit a roll more quickly. This was not a weight issue, it was an angular momentum issue. Search the internet for Moment of Inertia. That concept explained will make the roll rate factor more clear.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

The Arrow was also immune to the typical problems associated with twins, thrust balance and asymmetric flight characteristics.

[@lqr824]

4:55 ONE of the fastest: max speed is a useless parameter. max speed at various altitudes is what counts. At what altitudes WAS it probably fastest? At what other altitudes was it bested by what other aircraft?

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

Indeed, top speed can be very deceiving, it's continuous cruising speed was 425 mph, faster than many Allied aircraft with WEP which was usually limited to 5 minutes. The Arrow could fly at 477 mph for up to 20 minutes per flight making it essentially untouchable to any Allied aircraft.

[@lqr824]

@@sandervanderkammen9230 still at what altitude? Are you saying that no matter the altitude, there was no allied plane as fast? Or perhaps it was uncatchable where it had its greatest advantage, but could be caught up to by say P-47's at the P-47's optimal altitude? Also, not to take away from it too much as I really dig it, but Allied jets would have been in the air in numbers long before the 335 was in the air in numbers. Personally I hate to think how the Nazi's could have done better, but, as good as the 262 was, they should have made something like the He-162 first, which would have sufficient advantage over props despite needing only half the engines and airframe.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

@@lqr824 They will all exhibit a similar top speed performance curve based on altitude, with speed increasing with a reduction in air density, the exception to this rule is aircraft with Naturally Aspirated engines that lose horsepower output as air density decreases.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

@@lqr824 The Messerschmitt Me-262 was vastly superior to any other jet aircraft to see service in WW2, what makes it the most significant aircraft design since the Wright Flyer is its aerodynamic design which was a quantum leap in aircraft technology.. The Me-262 had the highest critical Mach number performance of any aircraft in WW2.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

@@lqr824 In terms of horsepower/thrust per unit cost the Jumo -004 Orkan engines were the most economical engines to see mass production during the war. Having a twin engine design in this case is much more of an overall advantage.

[@StevenHoman]

The Dornier Arrow, was a far-reaching revolution in Super Prop design. With twin pusher /puller in line engines of considerable power, an ejector seat and prop hub 30 mm cannot. I have a book written by the chief German test pilot at Rechlin (He was the German equivalent of Britain's Eric ;Winkle Brown) He was actually test flying this aircraft at the cessation of hostilities, yet was attacked by a P-51, and without any armament, he found the best course of action was to use the acceleration available to leave the Mustang in his dust. He loved the Dornier, and was later reunited with the very aircraft, following a full restoration, when he was awarded a prize by the Federation of International test pilots, in America. There was no question in his mind that the craft was the most powerful, quickest accelerating plane of WWII, having flown so many German and captured American and British and Russian aircraft, in familiarisation flights, which would show up the enemies weak spots in flight and their specific vulnerabilities. He was returning to Rechlin field to surrender, when bounced by the P-51. Much to his chagrin, without any defensive weaponry available to him.

[@joshmeads]

How would you see what was behind you?

[@0Turbox]

I don't see the case you could hit the rear prop, after jumping out of the plane.

[@streamofconsciousness5826]

you are moving over 300mph, that tail is in your back before your legs are out of the cockpit. But they had a ejection seat as well, I am surprised he did not mention it. And usually if it was someone shooting from behind that broke your plane that engine was taken out of commission anyways. It's probably why you are bailing and not running still.

[@0Turbox]

@@streamofconsciousness5826 You are as fast as the plane and I don't see any difference to other planes, when it comes to leaving it midair. The rear prop looks to me pretty much covered by the rudder.

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

Don't worry about hitting the fin or the rear prop on ejection. The only parts of you that will get close to either will be your hands. These will ripped off you when you attempt to jettison the canopy. You will then exsanguinate all over the cockpit as you aircraft plunges towards its final landing.

[@robertoroberto9798]

@@0Turbox But then you hit the rudder. Other planes had the same problem too, but the pilots bailed out from the side and mostly cleared the rudder by going around it. The Pfeil’s propeller made it so when they bailed out and cleared the rudder, now they’re in the path of the propeller.

[@proinseasokiellig4388]

Closterman also had one of the only engagements with a TA 152..iirc

[@raulerkiki3456]

Pounds, miles and feet. Well done

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

Great video...👍