Why the Dornier 335 Could Have Changed the Course of WWII

[@jcmount1305]

Engineering point of order. Crankshafts are inside the engine and translate linear piston motion into rotational motion. The driveshaft is the "long" shaft between the engine and the propeller.

[@ONEDVSDVIT]

YeaH! The Cranky Shaft 'tis inside the goosh Ya Boomer. Driveshaft or "Tailshaft" ON The Outside and comes in all lengths and diameters. Long as you know how to use aye

[@swj719]

You are technically correct, the best KIND of correct...

[@patwentland6191]

Drive shaft…..the thing that goes thunk under the truck in the middle of the night……

[@drewski5730]

That’s what she said.

[@nitramnitram1966]

Or a Prop Shaft

[@eroche12]

It was my dad's favorite airplane, being an engineer. I saw the plane in Germany 3 months ago in an exhibition. It had just been renovated. I was surprised how big it was but also being a beauty. Not trying to glorify the war but this was a technical wonder. You can see it at the Aviation Technical Museum Rechlin, Germany

[@maxg4304]

I saw one at the Smithsonian museum in DC. It was much bigger than I expected! It was also next to the Arado 234, which was much smaller lol.

[@DavidSmith-ss1cg]

It IS a Beauty. According to the old adage, "If it LOOKS good, it IS good," this plane "could've been a contender." Another reason that Adolf Hitler was actually one of the Allies greatest assets, for interrupting vital technical developments, AND for his very real bungling of important strategic moments - like when his flunkies refused to wake him on June 6th, 1944, delaying the vital redeployment of the armored reserves, which might have made a difference in Normandy.

[@jeggred8611]

Thanks for the info about the museum in Rechlin, didn't know about it and I live 2,5 hours by car from it. My dad is really interested in WW2 planes and his birthday is soon... didn't have a gift yet, now I do. A few years ago we flew in a Junkers Ju-52 over Hamburg, too bad they don't fly anymore (I think after a crash with one in Switzerland).

[@keithad6485]

@@maxg4304 Was the Do 335 you saw in air worthy flying condition? I hope so. I would love to see an 335 in flight.

[@superwout]

​@@keithad6485none are in airworthy condition, alas

[@imperialmodelworks8473]

The only way the 335 could have changed the course of WWII is if Germany could have produced them in useful numbers, and produced the fuel to fly them in useful numbers, and produced enough pilots to fly them in useful numbers, and they had made it 3 years sooner. After the fall of North Africa, and the loss at Stalingrad, nothing short of an atomic bomb would have changed the outcome of WWII. But, now that I'm done on my soapbox, the 335 is still a damn cool plane.

[@lepeejon2955]

As the German Ace Gunther Rall said about the ME-262: "Great plane but it didn't change the scenery".

[@Angl0sax0nknight]

Germany also had a serious shortage of fuel and trained pilots. The ME-262 might have made a serious difference if it was available earlier in the war along with their best pilots. The main reason that Germany lost was the not stop bombing of factories.

[@imperialmodelworks8473]

@@Angl0sax0nknight the main reason Germany lost the war is it began a 2 front war against 2 sides with the largest industrial power on the planet, while most of their logistics were still handled by horses. I mentioned the fuel and pilots, but even then, it wouldn't have changed the inevitable.

[@TinyBearTim]

But the original plane was planned years earlier goring said no

[@imperialmodelworks8473]

@@TinyBearTim hence why I said they'd have had to make it years earlier for it to have any hope of impacting the war.

[@moffjerjerrod1579]

I have seen this plane at the National Air and Space Museum Annex in D.C. It is HUGE and just damned impressive up close.

[@wilhelmvonn9619]

Huge is the right word! I saw one in the Deutsches Museum in Munich. It towers over every other WW2 fighter.

[@blchamblisscscp8476]

The Udvar-Hazy Annex is one of my favorite sights in DC area.

[@panther105]

Would love to see it in all its glory. There seem to be many WWII German aircraft still flying in private hands. Too bad this is one that got overlooked...

[@phhdvm]

the Greg's airplanes and automobiles channel does a deep dive on what was the fastest prop driven plane of WW2. The Do 335 is in the mix , but definitely not the fastest. I highly recommend his channel for (very) in depth looks at WW2 aircraft.

[@SoloRenegade]

exactly. the D0335 consumed 2x the engines, fuel, and aluminum to do what existing single engine fighters could already do, and you could build 2x as many of them with the same resources as a single Do335. literally nothing the Do335 could do to forestall or change the outcome of the war. in fact, it would have accelerated the end if put into mass production by consuming precious resources twice as fast.

[@nunya___]

Yes. His analyses are truly mesmerizing. I'm not a WW or plane buff but he makes it interesting and has a great voice. (General History is my interest).

[@williamzk9083]

@@SoloRenegade The Do 335 had a bomb bay for 2 x 500kg bombs, could carry 2 crew to operate radar or navigation equipment and it had a range of 2400 miles with 2 x 900L drop tanks and bomb bay fuel. When carrying internal bombs it wasn't slowed down. Range with 2 x 900L drop tanks and internal bombs was probably around 2000 miles.

[@SoloRenegade]

@@williamzk9083 weight slows any airplane, even with no external drag added. More weight = more lift required = more angle of attack at a given airspeed = more lift induced drag for a given airspeed = lower top speed. But not enough to haggle over. De Havilland was doing this with the Mosquito for much of the war. Do335 was nothing special. Mosquito wasn't a war winning super weapon for the Allies. Then there is the P-61, the F-82. Many aircraft were equipped with radar like the TBM, F4U, F6F, etc. Don't forget the A-1 Skyraider and Martin Mauler and their payload capabilities. A-1 even scored jet kills post-WW2.

[@williamzk9083]

@@SoloRenegade The weight has only a little effect on speed. induced drag (the drag that comes out of creating lift) is a small portion of an aircraft drag. The L/D ratio of a wing is typically 50:1 to 70:1. So a 1000kg bomb load would add about 20kg of drag and absorb about 40kW. (P=F.v) Since the aircraft would have about 3000kW in total at that altitude its the same as about a 1.33% reduction in power or a 0.45% reduction in speed following a cube root law.. So we loose about 1.5mph.

[@sufianansari4923]

So glad people are rediscovering this beauty

[@kodosdh]

a minor note on details, the Panther II was not the successor of the Panther G, it was an alternative prototype configuration before the Panther D went into production (most of the differences were incorporated into the Panther G production model), the successor late into the war were companies fought for resources was the Panther F, armed with the same gun as the Tiger II and therefore in direct competition the companies producing those

[@Imnotyourdoormat]

When the Smithsonian 335 was first shipped to Dornier for full restoration engineers were shocked and horrified to find after inspecting the Pfeil, it was discovered both ejection explosives in the tail and prop hub were not only still operational but operable. Workers around the craft were totally unaware as they were climbing around the cockpit if anybody bumped the wrong switch activating the system it would have thrown deadly chunks of shrapnel all around its circumference.

[@kkteutsch6416]

Workers that don't know nothing about the plane they're working.....

[@steffenrosmus9177]

Well, Smithsonian, need it more to say?

[@notreallydavid]

Bet that would've picked up loads of likes if there'd been YT then.

[@powerbuoy]

The battery was long dead by then ...

[@Imnotyourdoormat]

@@powerbuoy It would not need battery power to become deadly. The system could be accidentally charged by any outside supplemented source even a simple power tool malfunction in the right place. Plus, the Mercury Fulminate used in the charges could easily be inadvertently compressed or concussed beginning their chain reaction. Even focused or concentrated heat could do the job. Smokeless Powders become extremely sensitive to outside influences as they age, thats what makes exploring combat ship wrecks so dangerous. If theirs 1 thing that's predictable about explosives especially old explosives is that they can be quite..."Unpredictable."

[@steverusso1517]

The Republic P-47M Thunderbolt was also capable of 473 mph (761 kph). There were also 130 built and they served with the 56th Fighter Group, far exceeding the number of Do-335 built. Despite the technical difficulties with their use, they scored 7 kills against Luftwaffe jet aircraft with no air to air losses.

[@edwardpate6128]

An awesome aircraft as was the N model designed for use against Japan in the Pacific and used the same 2,800 hp engine.

[@williamzk9083]

The Do 335 had a different role to the P-47M. It had a bomb bay for instance for 2 x 500kg bombs and could carry a second crew member. Whereas the P-47M could achieve its speed at 25,000ft-30,000ft it was quite slow at sea level. It was useless at chasing V1 bombs and much slower than the P-51, Tempest, Spitfire XIV or even Mosquito. The wonderfull turbo came at a cost at low altitude. -Engines for the Do 335 are a complicated affair. Most flew with the DB603A engine. This engine had been in service since 1943 on Me 410 and Do 217M. On the Do 335 it seems to have had water methanol injection, which is probably how it obtained its top speed. There was also the more capable DB603E which apart from engine improvements had a much better single stage supercharger though not used. The DB603L engine was in use in a small number of Ta 152C and with this engine the Do 335 was expected to achieve 491mph. It had 2400hp and featured a two stage supercharger. The 2800hp DB603N with 2800hp was bench testing. -So this aircraft would have given the Germans a high speed night fighter (using a microwave radar in the wing leading edges), an ultra long range reconnaissance aircraft (likely 2400 miles at least) and a high speed bomber.

[@andrewmorse4324]

​@@williamzk9083 . You're overlooking the fact that the Tempest was used as a low to medium level tactical machine and spitfire XIV's were used as top cover at times. These planes still suffered significant losses against the 190D . It wasn't just German flak (good though it was) . The "long nose" was a stopgap and on paper should have been trounced by the tempest and the XIV . As for a mosquito.... At night against a V1 or at times night flying FW190 fighter bombers maybe... In daylight .. Pickard was shot down by FW190's and killed in a daylight operation in 43 .. even with a Typhoon escort Once the French V1 sites had been overrun and the Tempests were freed up.. Great! The P47 of all marks gets a raw deal about it's capability as a fighter Bit like the 4th fighter group never being happy with it . Many of their pilots had flown the spitfire in the "Eagle" squadron so you can understand them loving the Mustang. I think it's interesting that an F51 pilot in Korea wished he flew a P47 because he knew it would get him home safe. There's plenty of footage of P47' s shooting down 109's and 190's at low level ... Bear in mind that changes to the propeller in later D marks (but still Razorbacks) and water injection pretty much sorted the climb problem out. I'm pretty certain once the reliability of the M's engine has been sorted it was one of the greats. Plus it looked cool as f**k in those late war paint schemes with the red cowling .

[@williamzk9083]

@@andrewmorse4324 The Tempest was confined to low level work because of developmental problems with the Sabre Engine. It needed a two stage super charger.

[@kkteutsch6416]

In a deep way the P47 was capable to reach 761 Km/h, not at a horizontal flight...

[@sharkfixation]

Simon, you just Doug Demuro-ed with quirks and features. Love it.

[@jetsons101]

One major target of the allied bombers was ball bearing factories, "no ball bearings--no military equipment."

[@brealistic3542]

Actually the Germans found satisfactory devices as work arounds. The bombing of oil facilities had no such equivalents.

[@thomaslinton5765]

But it did not work out that way. Bombing the fuel-production facilities worked.

[@ltcterry2006]

That was the idea, but it turned out there was never a shortage of ballbearings.

[@tsbrownie]

And in all aircraft with the inline, push-pull configurations, from the 335 to the Skymaster, the rear engine overheats (and is often a maintenance nightmare).

[@hlcdriver]

When it comes to aircraft speed you need to understand that the max speed most people quote is the Vne, ie velocity never exceed. This is not the typical flying speed of an aircraft, it is the speed beyond which the aircraft may suffer structural damage, typically from control surface flutter. It is a structural limitation, not a product of engine output. One of the problems of inline twin engine aircraft is that the rear propeller is working in disturbed air & is generally less efficient. Another is that raising the nose to take off or land can bring the rear propeller dangerously close to the ground. Note the Dornier's extended lower fin to protect the rear propeller. An over enthusiastic rotation or flare can lead to a prop strike, damaging the propeller & engine, or in the case of the Dornier the rear fin & fuselage. Because of this, rear engined aircraft usually need a nice long tarmac runway, common in the US but not so much in the rest of the world. The Adam A500 looked nice but never caught on, the Rutan Defiant (gorgeous looking aircraft) was only ever a homebuild aircraft & never went in to series production, the Rutan Voyager was a one off intended for a single purpose.

[@keithad6485]

Mitubishi Zero suffered from structural failure when in a dive. Allied pilots in aircraft such as the P40 (Royal Australian Air Force), exploited this weakness to evade them by diving away cos they could not out maneuvre the Zero.

[@montylc2001]

Every scale model builder....like me...is very familiar with this aircraft. It's one of our favorites. I have two completed models, one 1/48 scale and one 1/32 scale. Badass looking airplane.

[@christopherguy1217]

The Cessna Sky Master was also known as the widow maker as any impact would send the rear engine rushing to meet the forward engine eliminating everything in its way, namely the pilot and passengers.

[@michaelhunsinger8351]

Lol I never thought about it but that makes sense. Unlike the 335 the Skymaster is not easy on the eyes either. The counter rotating props must be nice though.

[@louisavondart9178]

And how many times did that happen?

[@straybullitt]

If you hit that hard in ANY aluminum can with wings full of aviation fuel, you don't stand much chance for survival....Engine breaking loose and bopping you in the back of the noggin or not! 🤷‍♂️

[@johnforsyth7987]

I grew up in Wichita, Kansas where the Sky Master was produced. It got the unfortunate nickname of "Sky Smasher." What made this plane a hazard was it could not fly for very long one just one engine.

[@damienmaynard8892]

Ask the Rhodesian pilots who flew them in combat against ground targets!?

[@DeAlpineBro]

I appreciate this reminder of a unique aircraft. I havent seen anything about this craft since I saw a drawing of it in third grade. (1963)

[@philiphumphrey1548]

Like all of the wonder weapons it was much too late. It might have made a big difference in 1940, but the axis had realistically lost the war by the end of 1941. With Germany fighting on two fronts and the economic might of the US against it, the Reich simply didn't have the resources to get enough of these weapons working and onto the battlefield.

[@solofilmproduction]

The Germans produced some truly impressive feats in engineering but wasted so many resources in the process. The V-projects alone were crippling and didn't deliver much effect in the end. The Germans lost the war but laid the foundation for many revolutionary designs to be exploited... a bitter legacy.

[@steffenjonda8283]

Absolutly. But the P59 was a 1937-variant. So yes, the Do335 with say 700km/h, 1650km range was doable in 1940 in mass production. You remove the Me110 and replace it with the Do335. From 1942 on you have the same plane as we know, 760km/h, heavy armament, superior to anything the british and americans have for 2 years. And the Twin-435 is a nightmare for long range operations... heck, the germans could build such plane, with 720km/h in 1940, at the price of a He177... and this plane even could attack allied airfields from Bengasi at Aden. And the normal Do335 could attack airfields at Cairo. That would be a nasty surprise, because now all allied planes in the african campagin always face the threat of been shot down after take off, a superior enemy plane, to fast (the fastest spitfire at this stage was around 640km/h, so basically 60-90km/h slower!) and heavily armed and could even drop up to 500kg of bombs (internal, but i do not know the range of this variant with 500kg of bombs, but at least alexandria is from Tobruk 600km. With a standard range of 1500km this should be done. So here the same as happened in the late war in germany (enemy fighter and fighter bomber roam freely and attack everything they want, could recon everything they want (so finding depots that get a visit by conventional bombers (Ju88 or He111) at night) is a possible solution. This make logistics and life ultra hard for the british... Again, no war winning move, but casulties for the allies skyrock and the german ones are reduced. And we haven´t talked about the huge advantage such long range fighter bombers mean for the russian campagin. The germans suffered terrible because their airstrips had to be near the frontline (in the mud, bad logistics) because of the short range of the fighter planes. With 200km behind the frontline and having GREATER penetration range this is again a huge advantage for the germans.

[@steventhoseby]

Quirks and features! Someone's been watching a little Doug!

[@Caldera01]

If you want suggestions for more unusual WW2 planes, I would put my ticket in for the French-German-Soviet-Finnish "Mörkö-Morane", or "Bogeyman-Morane" in English. Built on the French Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 chassis using the Soviet Klimov VK-105P 12-cylinder inline engine together with German 20mm MG 151 cannons being piloted by the Finns with great success. Turns out that you can make a succesful fighter by bolting a massive engine and a big cannon on just about any plane, so long as you have pilots crazy enough to tame such Frankenstein's monsters.

[@pmacca2967]

I love the channel Simon, always interesting 😊

[@SMDoktorPepper]

Its crazy how many odd designs Germany produced that actually worked

[@patrickcosgrove2623]

Interesting aircraft from WW2, well presented by Simon as usual. Thanks for sharing 👍

[@TheDarthSoldier]

You should do a megaprojects on the McLaren F1. Absolute mad lad of a car

[@wouteroosterhuis129]

Hi thanks for the nice video. There was also other push pull plane around that time. The Fokker D-23. It was still a prototype at 1939.

[@a.t._hall827]

Hey Simon, think we could get a video on the P-61 Black Widow? I believe it was the first aircraft the U.S. developed specifically as a night fighter. Mid 1940s if I remember correctly.

[@stoneylonesome4062]

Is that a Pontiac in your profile picture?

[@a.t._hall827]

@stoneylonesome4062 actually it is a '66 Ford Fairlane. Been in the family for 35 or so years now.

[@RJDKHS96]

Thank you @Simon, great review!

[@jacobhuff3748]

This could have been a more realistic solution. The problem with German jets was the engine. The engine life span was short due to lack of titanium meaning maintenance of a fleet would be difficult at best.

[@CaptHollister]

The majority of Me262s never reached front line service, only about 300 of the 1400+ built did so. The problem Germany had was not the short lifespan of its early jet engines, but the logistics of keeping combat units resupplied.

[@philiphumphrey1548]

The jet engine was potentially better in the end because once you've overcome all the development problems, the jet can be simpler and cheaper to produce, with far fewer moving parts then a piston engine. But the Germans never had the time or the resources to get it to that stage, so the Dornier might have been a better short-term solution.

[@Dave5843-d9m]

Rolls-Royce had the expertise to develop the Whittle jet engine but they were fully occupied making good enough engines in huge numbers. The job was given to Rover (cars) who messed it up. RR eventually bolted a Griffon supercharger to a turbine and came up with the Nene turbojet and shortly after the turboprop version.

[@jamesricker3997]

2 engines = ½ as many fighters When severely out numbered, that is a problem

[@coachhannah2403]

⁠@@Dave5843-d9m- The Whittle was a dead end. Better with the materials of WWII, but far inferior and not developable once proper materials available post-war.

[@jiipeez]

A captured twin seat version crashed in Farnborough 1946 killing the pilot. The rear engine had evidently caught fire. With high-power engines this kind of powerplant arrangement causes major cooling problems.

[@ourshelties7649]

It had it's problems, especially with over heating in the rear engine. I recall the Luftwaffe brass not being too fond of it because the TA-152 performance was almost as good, but at considerably less cost.

[@johnlamarck2504]

Right. Many problems/flaws with the complicated hydraulic system too, the pitch trajectory, too heavy for a fighter, etc... Like the 262, the 163 and the 162 : not efficient.

[@williamzk9083]

@@johnlamarck2504 The Ta 152 had 1/3rd the range of the Do 335, Unlike the Do 335 the Ta 152 it also had no bomb bay and couldn't carry a second crew member to operate a radar or navigate or provide relief on a long flight. Martime reconnaissance versions of the Do 335 would have had a range of 3500 miles (I think some doubles up to 4500 miles). The Me 163 was a test aircraft. The next generation the Me 163C or Me 263 was to remedy the issues by having twice the endurance.

[@WilhelmKarsten]

The 335 didn't have overheating problems. It could fly 477 mph for up to 20 minutes per flight, the Allies had nothing comparable

[@WilhelmKarsten]

​@@johnlamarck2504 The Messerschmitt Me-262 completely outclassed anything that the Allies had.

[@ourshelties7649]

@@WilhelmKarsten I read that it did have overheating problems. That being said, it was not a fighter, it was an interceptor. It would have been decent against bombers, but the Luftwaffe preferred the cheaper TA-152 which could reach speeds of 469 mph. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focke-Wulf_Ta_152

[@Quandoquesto]

@3:01 Simon, the torque effect is not created by twisting airflow - that is a left (or right, depending on the direction in which the prop spins) turning tendency, also known as spiralling slipstream. The torque effect is directly related to rotary movement of the prop and associated engine components, and manifests opposite to the direction of the rotation of the prop.

[@Walterwaltraud]

Not on a twin, there are four forces at play. Cheers from a MEI with 40 k hours instruction in them who was my flight instructor...

[@Quandoquesto]

Could you expand on that please? Genuinely interested to learn if there's something I've missed. When you said "there are 4 forces at play", are you referring to the 4 left turning tendencies of single engine aircraft, or is there something more I'm missing for twins? Aside from the critical engine stuff I mean.

[@Walterwaltraud]

@@Quandoquesto Yes, you are. But I'm not wasting my time on the KZbin comment section with something that you can research in 60 secs max online. Enjoy!

[@WilhelmKarsten]

​@@WalterwaltraudThe Do-335 has contra-rotating propellers which effectively canceled the asymmetric torque or P-factor that is an issue with single single propeller aircraft. The Do-335 is also unaffected by the adverse handling characteristics of asymmetric thrust that is a serious problem for most twin engine aircraft with wing mounted engines. The Do-335 would have been a very influential design if propeller driven fighters had not been rendered obsolete by the introduction of the Messerschmitt Me-262.

[@Walterwaltraud]

@@WilhelmKarsten True, obviously, but just like with the C337 centerline thrust is not what I referred to.

[@brentboswell1294]

The original Cessna Skymaster (fixed landing gear) had the Cessna model number of Cessna 336. The final version, with retractable landing gear, was the Cessna 337. A nod to the Donrnier DO-335? Perhaps..😉

[@robertoroberto9798]

I doubt that heavily. Inline Push and Pull engine designs aren’t new and never exclusive to one country.

[@keithad6485]

Perhaps, but, more likely a response to customer demand.

[@lawrencefox563]

Dornier always was ahead of his time but never got full recognition in Germany being a Swiss French.

[@TMG-Germany]

It is always funny how Germany, the country of modern Blitzkrieg, did so much that hindered their own success, either denying great projects (Like the FW187, wich could have massively influenced the Battle of Britain) just so they can have their favorite child (Messerschmidt) be the front runner. Or by making things so complicated that an efficient production was hardly possible (thinking about dozens of different tank variants). And despite all that, they pretty much perfected the mass production of bunkers...

[@keithad6485]

Sounds like with the likes of Messerschmidt, there is the appearance of bribery, the most likely explanation for better aircraft to be passed over.

[@richardpayne2625]

Beautiful aircraft.

[@dudleysmith5111]

Enjoyed the video. What a great plane. However, the P-47M was deployed and in active combat with the 56th fighter group. Its published speed capability was over 760 km/hr and reported to be on the order of 784 km/hr with “war emergency power”.

[@WilhelmKarsten]

But the M was an unmitigated failure

[@steffenjonda8283]

That was an experimental P47J with a new engine. Overall the P47M was an impressive airplane, but it lacked range. 1100km isn´t impressive. And it couldn´t keep that high speed for long. The production was in 1944, i have no numbers at what month of 1944 it was build, but let us guess - in Mid/late 44? So you still have a gap from 1940 to Mid1944... sounds not so good, eh?

[@dudleysmith5111]

@@steffenjonda8283 I think if you check the published data for the”M” model, you’ll find the data I provided was correct. The , one off, experimental “J” model with the Chrysler V-16 was reported to be even faster.

[@steffenjonda8283]

@@dudleysmith5111 Not in my Wiki entry Also the 47m lacked the insane high cruise Speed of 427 Miles/h the do 335 Had. The p47 n was the best Version,because of the huge range

[@WilhelmKarsten]

@@dudleysmith5111 The P-47M never lived up to the performance claims made by Republic, the special M engines were all defective and were recalled from service, replaced with the standard D model engine. No version of the P-47 was ever faster than the Do-335.

[@ALL_OUT_OF_BUBBLEGUM]

Wasn't this the first aircraft with a pilot ejection system? You mentioned the tail engine jettison system, but I thought (at least one version of the Pfiel) employed a lateral ejection seat system to throw the pilot clear of the rear propeller arc. 🤔

[@mark-anthonyconti684]

Yes it was the first aircraft to have an operational ejector seat, from the off

[@damienmaynard8892]

The Fokker DXXIII was going to have one (ejector seat) and it was in design stage when Germany overran Holland...... Lucky, Germany?

[@WilhelmKarsten]

The Do-335 was also the first aircraft to have a fly-by-wire (analog) Horizontal Stabilator to counteract the effects of compressiblity in a transonic dive... a feature that would also appear on the Messerschmitt Me-262 but not found on any Allied aircraft.

[@stucar7677]

Actually simon !! Both the mk14 and mk21 spitfire was ocer 700km/h , what u said was speed of the mk9

[@at1970]

This sounds like what happens when you plan on a short war, then decide to keep picking up enemies.

[@thomaslinton5765]

Tell Putin.

[@JoaoSoares-rs6ec]

the 335 was a bomber hunter

[@WilhelmKarsten]

Yes, an excellent fighter for both the interceptor and attack roles... and a superb reconnaissance fighter aircraft.

[@JoaoSoares-rs6ec]

@@WilhelmKarsten it's on my models to acquire list

[@WilhelmKarsten]

@@JoaoSoares-rs6ec Excellent choice.. it is an absolutely fascinating aircraft.

[@pierrelahaie6359]

Aircraft trivia: The Dornier 335, push-pull. The Cessna 336, push-pull fixed gear, the Cessna 337, push-pull retractable gear. Wonder if the numbers were a tribute.

[@richiesalata5873]

You should do one on the Horton Brothers flying wing project. Mainly the ho 229. But also the planed superbomber and their gliders

[@jorgsobota2228]

Oh no, would be just another wehraboo wank-piece...

[@organickevinlondon]

The HO 229, was basically a stealth bomber, way before its time.

[@robertoroberto9798]

@@organickevinlondonHo-229 was never stealthy nor a bomber. It was simply an experimental design for a jet fighter.

[@jorgsobota2228]

@@organickevinlondon no it wasn't. It was an interceptor, not a bomber. Its designation was either Go 229 or, more correctly in 1945, Ho IX. It was out of steel tubes covered with plywood. It for sure was "stealthier" than any prop fighter but that's about it. But of course wehraboos wank on about that...

[@WilhelmKarsten]

@@jorgsobota2228 The Ho-29 was the world's first radar stealth aircraft

[@Walterwaltraud]

Thanks for the video, I had never seen the Schemp-Hirth pusher experimental demo plane.

[@SoloRenegade]

the D0335 consumed 2x the engines, fuel, and aluminum to do what existing single engine fighters could already do, and you could build 2x as many of them with the same resources as a single Do335. literally nothing the Do335 could do to forestall or change the outcome of the war. in fact, it would have accelerated the end if put into mass production by consuming precious resources twice as fast.

[@Andy-co6pn]

Germany didn't have the pilots for 2x the planes though, probably the shortage that handicapped them the most in the latter years of the war.

[@SoloRenegade]

@@Andy-co6pn they didn't have the fuel for 2x the engines, nor jets, either....but that never stopped them. Japan lacked the pilots as well, and that didn't stop them. But that just proves the point. There is no way these aircraft could have changed the outcome of the war. they never would have had enough of them. and even if they did, they lacked teh fuel, and even if they didn't lack the fuel, they lacked the pilots.

[@Andy-co6pn]

@@SoloRenegade yeah my point is that they couldn't just rely on numbers to make up for hardware deficiencies like the US or Red Armies , their only (forlorn) hope was wonder weapons

[@SoloRenegade]

@@Andy-co6pn true, but it's so much more than that. Russia lost 24mil dead fighting Germany, Germany lost 6mil dead total, fighting everyone. US lost 250k dead total in the entire war. So numbers alone weren't the issue. The real issue is Germany mismanaged so many things, has serious logistical issues that never were addressed, such as how material was allocated. Certain engines and airplane companies were given priority even when it made no sense. Germany struggled with thinking strategically except in a few cases (U-boats in the Atlantic). But even more so was the fact Germany was fighting a war on numerous fronts. They fought in the Channel, Med, Atlantic, Norway, Russia, Balkans, Italy, North Africa, air war over Western Europe, etc. You can't concentrate forces when spread so thin. And Germany lacked allies that amounted to much. Japan contributed nothing of value, Italy was almost useless as an ally of Germany. The allies had US, UK, Canada, France, Poland, Australia, and more. One fancy airplane wasn't going to change anything. it wasn't faster than other allied fighters, and it wasn't as maneuverable as them either. it never could have shot down enough bombers. They did get wrapped up in the super weapon idea though, to their detriment.

[@Andy-co6pn]

@@SoloRenegade maybe but despite logistical and numerical supremacy, ultimately the US used a super weapon to bring Japan to its knees , so one could argue that the Nazis reliance on wierd and wonderful ideas could have worked , they just didn't have enough conventional forces to buy themselves the time to find it.....

[@fredferd965]

The Dornier 335 could not have changed anything. The Allies were developing faster aircraft as well. The P-80 was in the works. The British had the Meteor, and the Vampire would soon be on line. The Tempest was not a slow aircraft either. It was just more give and take on the airplane front. And the Germans already had the ME-262 in production and the He-162 coming on line. The German industrial base was crumbling. Raw materials and fuel were hard to get. Do not forget that, for a while, when it came out the FW-190 was sweeping the Spitfires aside, but it didn't "change the course of the war" either.

[@draytonkk]

@1:50 you circled the 30mm pods the 20mms were on the nose top, another 30mm thru the hub

[@richardmeo2503]

Interesting premise and thought. I wrote an extensive work called FATAL FLAWS Book 1 1914-1945 and did not come across that prototype. One thing I did find was that MIlch had cancelled the 262 in 1940 because it was felt they did not need it. It was resurrected in 43, but too late to make a difference by the time it was ready to fly in late 44. So many little things that added up to end the Nazi swine.

[@williamzk9083]

Really? Milch seems to have had a crusade against Messerschmitt stemming from the death of his test pilot friend in a Messerschmitt airliner. The Me 264/364 also seems to have been a victim of this.

[@richardmeo2503]

@@williamzk9083 That I did not know. When I did the research for my Fatal Flaws series it was incredible how much idiocy there was. Did you know the Jap Army and Navy had their own supply system. It was not uncommon for 2 supply ships to pass each other heading to the same spot.

[@thomaslinton5765]

Special note for Hitler declaring war on the U.S., eliminating the political downside of "Germany First."

[@abeeson86]

Loving the big burst of cool planes on the channel! Still waiting for the Lancaster vid though, it's criminal you haven't covered it yet

[@SoloRenegade]

it literally accomplished NOTHING existing single engine fighters couldn't already do. but consumed far more resources to do it.

[@WilhelmKarsten]

No Allied aircraft could match the Do-335 in top speed performance or endurance.

[@WilhelmKarsten]

The Allies wasted vast sums of money and resources on aircraft that were complete failures.

[@spitefulwar]

It should be added that the testbed the Göppingen Gö 9 was by design a scaled down Do-17 airframe. It reached 220 kph in level flight with a mere 80hp powerplant.

[@captainpinky8307]

wow!

[@paulmeredith2037]

Hi Simon can you please do a video Sir Nicholas George Winton MBE was named a British Hero of the Holocaust by the British Government. Winton was awarded the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Fourth Class, by the Czech President Václav Havel in 1998. he was a British humanitarian who helped to rescue jewish children who were at risk from Nazi Germany just months before the start of World War II he saved 669 children all of them would’ve probably have been killed by the Nazis if he hadn’t got them out please do a video on this man thank you Paul.

[@MachinecoMachines]

Nice video about a fascinating plane the German Arrow. Now point of order about diction. With your accent etc. the variation in inflection and volume throughout makes one miss words. e.g.at 6:29, the voice becomes inaudible! I regularly had to go to close captions so as to literally see- what you said.

[@johnjones4825]

Shew! I'm glad that's over. A very interesting and different view of a well known and peculiar aircraft, but I'm out of breath here. Don't speak so fast, or is it hard to detect jump cuts in the video? A short break for me, while I catch my breath.

[@JessWLStuart]

Well presented, as usual!

[@jonathanberner5501]

One of my favorite of all time

[@Humbertusmarius]

I remember when the Dornier from the NASM was sent to Germany for restoration by Dornier. Once it was beautifully restored for display they didn't want to give it back, saying it was rightfully theirs. I don't know what happened behind the scenes, but the NASM eventually got the plane back.

[@R0bobb1e]

You're making me want to play WarThunder!

[@benkramer3194]

Well seasoned story

[@geodkyt]

There are good reasons why Adolf Galland formally recommended in 1944 to the Luftwaffe that in terms of fighters, *only* FW-190 (propeller driven fighter) and the Me-262 (jet driven fighter) should be built, as those two aircraft had established production lines, had proven capability against Allied bombers (the chief threat the Luftwaffe had to stand off at the time), and he only recommended the Focke-Wulf be continued in production because while the Me-262 was still "spinning up" operationally, the FW-190 had a decent cadre of pilots already, had aircrew and maintainers for other types who could be transitioned over almost seamlessly, and it didn't really compete for much resources with the Me-262. However, he felt priority should be given, when prioritization between the two had to be made, to Me-262, due to logistics. By late 1943, early 1944, introducing a new piston engined aircraft didn't really make sense, primarily because of *fuel* . Contrary to "common sense", jet fighters had (and, outside a few edge cases today, have) a much wider tolerance for fuel quality and characteristics than do piston engined aircraft. Piston engined aircraft *required* (again, outside a few edge cases, like the troubled various diesel powered German bombers) very highly refined gasoline - AKA "avgas". Jet engines burn what are basically kerosene, and require far less refinement (current jet fuel blends are driven more by environmental effects, including extremely low temperatures far below what would be encountered by an Me-262). They can, in fact, run on fuels very far removed from "proper" jet fuel. Basically, Germany never really ran short on jet fuel, because it had far looser requirements than avgas. (Fun fact - diesel engines can generally burn jet fuel just fine, which is why the US military basically uses jet fuel for everything they can possibly use it in, in combat zones. It's just far easier logistically to run a single fuel chain than maintain separate "aircraft" and "ships or ground vehicles" fuel supply chains that, it's overall *cheaper* in combat to run tanks on jet fuel than to fund and maintain extra fuel handling vehicles, equipment, and units to handle the dissimilar fuels. Sure, jet fuel costs more per gallon than road grade diesel, but you *always* have the right kind of fuel if you have *any* fuel on hand, and you don't need to set up separate fuel handling companies to service different vehicles - *any* fuel unit can support *any* type of unit.

[@GrizzAxxemann]

Another fun fact for you: Aerodiesel piston engines run on Jet A. You can find them on Diamond aircraft out of Austria

[@christopherthrawn1333]

Great work here Sir. Fascinated with this unique plane. Well done here Sir.

[@duaneolson316]

You should look at the shinden fighter. Another great looking fighter that didn't get a chance during the war, fast as hell fir a prop plane.

[@trevcooper1983]

Hey Simon and crew great job with all interesting and informative videos! I have a suggestion for maybe a future video about the D.E.W. line in the Canadian arctic cold war "distant early warning" thanks

[@xgford94]

2:29 thanks Doug 😂😂

[@biggieb8900]

The torque effect has nothing to do with drag. It's not "drag caused by exerting twisting airflow on the aircraft." Torque is a consequence of Newton's third law: every action has an equal an opposite reaction. Torque is a twisting force, causing the aircraft to roll with a force equal and opposite to what the engine is inducing in the propeller. It makes it difficult to take off and land because if you throttle up (and even down sometimes) too quickly, your aircraft can roll out of your control. Really curious how that line was written and not corrected. Oh, and the reason the Do335 didn't have much of it was because one prop spun one way and the other spun the other way, cancelling each other's torques.

[@MrAndyBearJr]

The cruciform tail section was another novel design feature of the aircraft that helped with stability and control. It did however create special circumstances for landing and takeoff. It had to have shallow angles of liftoff and landing flare when near the ground to prevent dragging and damaging the lower vertical tail. This increased landing speed requirements. Special flight training for the pilots was thus initiated to address this.

[@WilhelmKarsten]

The Do-335 was certainly an accurate prediction of the future of military aircraft where top speed performance would outweigh the need for short rough airfield operations and low landing speeds...modern jet fighters require high speed low angle approaches and 10,000 ft concrete runways.

[@aldosam5317]

Couldn't have changed history, but it's an amazing bird

[@sumdumguy6449]

I need this man's music for the transitions

[@zerstorer335]

I think the key here is the CHANGE OF HEART is what was "too little, too late". That's what makes this different from a number of the other "wonder weapons". Jets and rockets had the issue of the technology really not being ready for prime-time until partway through the war (if even then, depending on how "ready" you feel your rocket fighter really is when it has a habit of burning or exploding on landing). Wanting them sooner wouldn't have helped much. This technology, however, had been used, before. While there might have had some refining to do, the fundamental aspects were there. Having enough people in the right places say we should give this a try earlier than they actually did (including Dornier, himself) might have had a dramatic effect. If Dornier had thrown his hat into the ring in response to the 1934 RLM request for a long-range bomber escort, something like this might have been flying during the early phases. Would it have changed the outcome of the war? Perhaps not. There are lots of things that would factor in. But events like the Battle of Britain might have looked different with something like the P.59 / Do-335 flying alongside or in place of the Bf-110. (With pilots discovering boom-and-zoom tactics becoming increasingly important early in the war, something that can boom even harder and zoom even faster could have been quite concerning.)

[@garyjust.johnson1436]

You could do a series of videos on exploding bolts! From the ground crewman killed by P47 wing tips to NASA space rockets! The complete history of exploding bolts!

[@Quandoquesto]

What you're showing there circa 3:00 are diagrams for a critical engine in twin engine aircraft which is, admittedly, related to torque, but what might be a more appropriate illustration is a diagram of a single engine prop aircraft, one of whose left-turning tendencies is directly related to engine torque.

[@bbnflpn]

Built three of these in 1 / 48 scale and one in 1 / 72 scale. Still got the 1 / 72 scale one in the box but really it is in a plastic envelope. Bought that one from a newspaper kiosk in Spain in 1996. Every time I go to a model or hobby shop and I see one I get it. Collection is up to four,a Revelle one Monogram and two Tamiya.

[@scarecrow8004]

Spring 1945 ... my father saw two mustangs and a 335 in a dogfight at tree top levels. Wasn't much of a fight really, though. The two mustangs were chasing the 335, they made about three loops and the third time around, the 335, which was outrunning them anyway, leveled out and just motored away from them. I can't imagine what aircraft were like to him back then. He was a model airplane nut growing up, soloed in 1942 and wanted to be a USAAF pilot but he was in the United States Army Air Corps training and then they kinda made the air force their own branch and the air force said no thanks to the Army trainees, and the Army put the whole group in a Field Hospital ( he said, in the end he was quite grateful for that ). He has one photo of a ME-262 in Hopertingen, It would almost have to be like if today, being used to modern jets and such, you came upon an enemy hangar with an X-Wing Star Wars fighter in it. The guys in his outfit were all flying nuts and flew quite a few airplanes while over there. They liked to say they brought down 3 enemy aircraft, unfortunately, they were flying them at the time. My father wrecked a Burgermeisters Biplane, hit a ditch when landing and while he and a friend were in a Bucker Bessmann, they were shot down by an American AA crew. I also have photos of an ME109 that he ALMOST flew. They found a serviceable unit, again in Hopertingen, they put in 5 gallons of gas, fired it up, and ( perhaps fortunately ) it had no canopy. Barreling down the runway at a high rate of speed, it got a bit breezy in the cockpit so he shut it down. It was certainly an interesting time, to say the least. RIP Daddy.

[@rainbowappleslice]

It's such a cool looking plane

[@AsterixVII]

Any plans to do a video on the P51 Mustang? Or perhaps the Hellcat?

[@cultureshock5000]

i use it in il-2 1946 all teh time and it is a banger

[@williamroberts1819]

That's the DML Dragon box art. I got mine years ago at the only freaking hobby shop in port Isabel tx. That shop lasted a couple years. RIP all south Texas hobby shops.

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

Only one Do 335 survives, the second preproduction Do 335 A-0, designated A-02, with construction number (Werknummer) 240 102, and factory radio code registration, or Stammkennzeichen, of VG+PH. In October 1974, VG+PH was returned to the Dornier plant in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany (then building the Alpha Jet) for a complete restoration. In 1975, the aircraft was restored by Dornier employees, many of whom had worked on the airplane originally. They were surprised that the explosive charges built into the aircraft to blow off the dorsal fin and rear propeller prior to pilot ejection were still installed and active 30 years later.

[@DylansPen]

If the jet had not been invented this configuration probably would have went on to dominate prop fighters for a good while.

[@TheCarlious]

“Quirks and features.” I see what you did there 😎

[@888johnmac]

lol , my first thought was pilot ejecting .. glad to see the designer thought of this

[@akdjssjsk6031]

nice vid keep it up

[@Brownyman]

LOL Good Doug Demuro reference 😂

[@matsv201]

The reason why the 262 was push was not (only) due to nepotism. Germany did during that time have a chronic shortage of high grade aircraft fuel. They lacked the capacity to produce sufficient amount of octane boaster, and they also lacked cracking capacity to convert diesel and kerosene to gasoline. That was the main reason why they pushed for jet that hard. At this time it was not known if jets would be good in the fighter role, but Germany didn´t have a choice bot was forced to take a leap of faith due to the fuel shortages.

[@williamzk9083]

Nepotism is when a parent gives promotion, political appointments etc to children and nephews. It wasn't really an issue.

[@matsv201]

@@williamzk9083 well.. that is true. Maybe more of a political bias. Still. Germany needed the jets.

[@knoll9812]

I think a plane faster by 100km is an important factor

[@rb1179]

Please do a video on the Lockheed L-133.

[@amandastevenson4948]

I was around twelve years old I came to the conclusion that this layout was the most efficient airacobra was the proof-of-concept with the long propeller shaft

[@benjaminsande8711]

Sometimes my mind wanders and thinks up weird stuff like what if you took this design and put it into a P-38? Like 2 engines in the front and 2 in the back, I think that would be really interesting

[@luizfernandolessa1889]

Na minha humilde opinião, esse aparelho foi um dos melhores aviões à pistão já fabricados. Saudações do Brasil.

[@stevenbreach2561]

Coming from Brazil,I,m not surprised you think that

[@werre2]

In the old IL-2 sim DO-335 climbed like a rocket at sustained speed. You could decide when and how to fight then zoom out

[@hugobroch8837]

I doubt it (although I am german). The Do 335 had a big problem: the gyroscope for the compass was normally installed in the fuselage, as far away as possible from the engine, which disturbed the gyroscope. In this plane, this was not possible, so the engineers put it in one of the wings (the right one, as far as I can remember). This led to serious malfunctions, and as you can imagine, for orientation, this is the worst thing that can happen. In the report of a pilot who had to evacuate such a plane in the last weeks of the war, he said he had to fly along a motorway for orientation. At the end of the war, we had plenty of good planes (especially the FW 190 D-9, which was at least as good as a P-51; their pilots often created black smoketrails when they had to get the last out of their planes, as they had to compete with the Doras). What broke the neck of our Luftwaffe was the bombing of our hydration factories - we simply had not enough fuel (and also bad educated, unscilled pilots). It was simply a mistake to show the number of kills on the rudder. By doing this, the enemy pilots knew whom they had to shoot down at all costs (and if they managed to bail out, they got shot while hanging in the parachute).

[@David-wk6md]

I have one. I love it.

[@jordancapps9521]

I have serious doubts for the 335 speed claims. The P-51 and P-38 were already pushing the limits for prop technology for both materials and fixed prop technology in terms speed. This is part of why "pusher" configurations were mostly a novelty. The prop materials and technology could not accommodate the enhanced speeds possible and needed to validate the radical change to airframe architecture. The advent of adjustable props(blade angle) and materials to handle higher speeds would not come until the jet age was properly kicked off. Even with modern technology for props, the 335's claimed speed is towards the upper end of what is possible for this mode of propulsion.

[@WilhelmKarsten]

The Hawker Tempest was as fast as the P-51 and the P-38, Pierre Clostermann said he slammed the throttle forward to Emergency Power and watched a Do-335 vanish into the horizon.

[@WilhelmKarsten]

The Allies had absolutely nothing comparable to the Do-335 in terms of top speed performance and endurance The Arrow had an absolutely blistering continuous cruising speed of 425mph and a staggering top speed of 477mph for up to 20 minutes per flight.

[@thomaslinton5765]

@@WilhelmKarstenSo you post.

[@WilhelmKarsten]

@@thomaslinton5765 Just the facts here little Tommy... the Do-335 was the fastest propeller driven aircraft in operational service during WW2. The Allies had absolutely nothing comparable to the Arrow

[@Jholladay10]

The fahpah was exceptional😊

[@barrybristow4646]

The do- 335 works on the centreline thrust theory , which worked . on fighters also .

[@thomaslinton5765]

it was a "fighter," the bomber version having been cancelled.

[@beachboy0505]

Excellent video 📹 What if...?

[@DanielChaves1984]

Please do a video on the Locheed P-38 Lightning

[@zillsburyy1]

first plane with a ejection seat

[@avrolancaster6987]

Impossible to say 'the Spitfire did X mph' due to incredible plethora of versions. Probably same can be said for the (similarly engined to Spitfire) Mustang...and do you include the Twin Mustang? Not saying they were faster than the 'Arrow' ....but some versions may well have approached it's too speed. The specially lightened souped up clipped wing recon versions of Spitfires in particular. Or the post war monstrously over engined versions . Well I'm sure I'm about the 1000th person to make this comment, so I'll take my prize and bid you good day. (Love the series)

[@travis_thompson]

There is gun camera footage that shows a 2 seat 335 in a mustangs sights. It was captured by the 357th Fg and tested in mock combat post war.

[@usonumabeach300]

Do a video on the B-17?

[@scifidude184]

Only aircraft I think that "could" have had an impact would be a further development of the Heinkel 176. The concept called for an all metal, rocket powered, recon aircraft. Due to this being a pre WW2 design, and having a "safe" rocket motor the photo reconnaissance and interceptors could be useful. Fuel would not be much of an issue leading to better operational availability as well as being cheap to manufacture. The prototype was successfully flown and documented, however the RLM said they had no need of an aircraft of that type so the project was shelved.

[@WilhelmKarsten]

All rendered obsolete by jets...

[@Revener666]

You also need 2 engines per plane and germany already had trouble producing enough DBs throughout the war. Alot of planes that had planned to use the engine had to use something else. And then we have the fuel issue, germany had fuel shortages .

[@crazyforblues1967]

♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️. THis channel and these topics! I've seen this huge fighter at the Smithsonian a long with other amazing German planes. 😁