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Dornier Do-24K
| Crew | 6 |
| Dimensions | 88'7" by 72'2" by 18'10" 27.0m by 22.0m by 5.74m |
| Wing area | 1160
square feet 107.8 square meters |
| Weight | 17,011-28,600 lbs 7716-12,970 kg |
| Maximum speed | 190
mph (306 km/h) at 5800 feet (1770 meters) 174 mph (280 km/h) at sea level 67 mph (108 km/h) landing |
| Cruising speed | 137
mph 220 km/h |
| Climb rate | 10 feet per second 3.0 meters per second |
| Service ceiling | 17,390 feet 5300 meters |
| Power plant | 3 760 hp (567 kW) Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9-cylinder radial engines driving three bladed propellers |
| Armament | One nose 7.7mm
machine gun One rear 7.7mm machine gun One dorsal 20mm Hispano-Suiza cannon |
| External stores | Up to 2642 lbs (1200 kg) of bombs. A typical loadout was 12 50kg (110 lb) bombs |
| Capacity | 50 passengers? |
| Range | 2048 miles (3300 km) on 1140 gallons (4315 liters) internal fuel |
The Do-24 was built to Dutch
requirements, but production continued for the Luftwaffe
after the fall of the Netherlands in 1940. By then some 28 aircraft had
been sent to the Netherlands
East Indies. Of these, six survived the debacle in southeast
Asia to escape to Australia. One
of these made regular clandestine flights between Australia and New Guinea.
The plane had
excellent flying qualities and the capability of operating from rough
seas, due
to the "Stummel" floats on both sides of the plane. It was also a rugged
and reliable design, much liked by its crews, and a Do-24 once made it
into the air with over 70 passengers during a desperate air-sea rescue operation. However, the occupation of the Netherlands by the Germans meant that spare parts were in short supply, and the aircraft were in the process of being replaced with PBY-5 Catalinas when war broke out.
A handful remained
in service in Spain until 1970.
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007 by Kent G. Budge. Index
