Play War Thunder for FREE on PC, PS®5 and Xbox Series X|S: playwt.link/rexhangar_ Follow the link to download the game to get a premium tank, aircraft AND ship, along with a seven day account boost just for downloading. F.A.Q Section Q: Do you take aircraft requests? A: I have a list of aircraft I plan to cover, but feel free to add to it with suggestions:) Q: Why do you use imperial measurements for some videos, and metric for others? A: I do this based on country of manufacture. Imperial measurements for Britain and the U.S, metric for the rest of the world, but I include text in my videos that convert it for both. Q: Will you include video footage in your videos, or just photos? A: Video footage is very expensive to licence, if I can find footage in the public domain I will try to use it, but a lot of it is hoarded by licencing studies (British Pathe, Periscope films etc). In the future I may be able to afford clips :) Q: Why do you sometimes feature images/screenshots from flight simulators? A: Sometimes there are not a lot of photos available for certain aircraft, so I substitute this with digital images that are as accurate as possible.
From reading a book owned by a friend, I had understood the origin story to be the third variation. As that is a single source, it cannot be considered to be the whole story. With the degree of bad feeling toward almost all other countries, and the desire to show that they were still a great nation rampant in Germany around that time of the Do-17's genesis, I could see the second variation as being possible.
Variant 3 sounds to fit right in with "Grosstraktor" and whatever codename nonsense the Navy used... DO-217? Didn't that one also have a nickname? Flying lighter/zippo? Does not sound too confidence infusing...
Speaking as a history Ph.D., I am impressed by the quality and persistence of your research. I will assume in advance that much of the audience/market for your products is gamers, rather than historians - but you seem to have done an honest job for both markets, and I commend you for that. Which is in keeping with other videos you have posted on UA-cam.
Very nice post to Rex. As a history student of some 40 years, I find these videos both entertaining and informative as they provide an accurate and unbiased perspective. I do not play video games and fear with such quality work, we will lose Rex to mainstream media. Our loss.
No offense but people with college degrees aren't necessarily smarter than others anymore. Sadly the university system is failing many people these days. Not about critical thinking or breaking new barriers, instead it's an indoctrination factory using revisionist history or flat out lies
nothing wrong with finding out what you know is wrong. No one knows everything. We learn, and update our understanding as we go, as we acquire new information. It's when a person fails to update their thinking in light of new information and facts that is a problem.
@@BlackMasterRoshi sadly it is, and it's only getting worse, especially in the US. It's now become a calling card of "truth seeker" conspiracy nuts, fundamentalist evangelicals, and ultra right wingers in general ( and there's plenty of overlap between all those groups ). The more evidence there is for something, the more they see signs of conspiracy or persecution and stick to their irrationally even more staunchly.
'The production of this video has been physically, emotionally and spiritually draining'. My exact experience with a Do 17K model that I'm building right now.
Relax. Dark Skies blurts out obviously incorrect nonsense with mismatched footage twice a month without the slightest remorse, and you're worried about getting the precise origins of one German light bomber slightly wrong? Chill, my friend.
The third origin story is the one I'd always heard and is the most logical. It was a bomber design called a transport as a cover story. Nobody designs a transport aircraft with a pencil thin fuselage that limits it's carrying capacity. The increased speed that design might allow at the cost of carrying capacity could cost revenue and isn't productive in air transport over relatively short distances in Europe.
Actually, the version i've read about is that it was always intended as a clandestine bomber, but in order to circumvent the Treaty of Versailles, it was OFFICIALLY ordered as a MAIL CARRIER, and actually was used for this purpose to avoid suspicion.
@@kimraudenbush615 Aircraft that carry mail are called transports, but the need less internal volume than those carrying less dense loads such as human passengers.
@@gort8203 I'm aware of that. My point was that it was OFFICIALLY designed for a specific role, and as such the higher speed would be a benefit, while the loss of revenue wouldn't be as much of a factor, compared to a commercial transport role.
My first ever Airfix kit was a "flying pencil" I got it at Christmas. I was a bit too young (5) to build it on my own so my brother helped me with it. That was 54 years ago and I remember it clear as a bell. My collection grew from that one model to a huge dust magnet my mum used to hate lol!
Yes, the Airfix Do17E/F was also one of my first kits I built alone. I painted it in the Spanish delivery. I made the mistake to not paint the interior of the model which was horrible with its light blue plastic. Lesson learnt, all next models I built (more than 100) would be painstakenly painted and detailed inside. Also almost 50 years ago.
the Do-17 was the 3rd Airfix (plane) Kit i built , the first was a Mirage IIIC (didnt have platic glue at the time she fell apart after few weeks) , 2nd was the two plane Dogfightseries MiG-15 and MirageIII , half arab and half german i changed the Decals , the MiG-15 got the Star of David and the superior MirageIIIC the Egyptian markings. Built Army too Tanks Trucks, a lot of Centurions because i like Centurions saw them every autum during the big manouvres and because i liked Trucks 3 Matador Trucks, i wished Airfix had modern BAOR Trucks , Bedford RL, Antars, Landrovers at the time, so i had to go with Matadors and Scammel Tank Transporters, the Landrover came later with the Big C-130 Hercules i buyed two of them because of the Landrovers. Spend lot of money as a Kid for Airfix models, had / owned over 60 Tanks plus Trucks nearly 30 Planes and over 1000 Soldiers before i switched to Tamiyas , ESCI`s 1:35 kits.
I think we all have that one first model that dragged us down this rabbit hole of modelling. For me though the Do-17 in 1/48 scale, a MonoGram kit if I recall, was probably my most beautifully painted aircraft model. I was never great at painting up my kits but I tried my best of course and I always recall in my mind that Do-17 Z was the point of pride for my aircraft collection.
The first bomber model kit I ever got was a B-29, but it came with two wings from the same side and I could not finish it. I ended up making it a "crashed plane" diorama.
The Lufthansa was pretty much Germany's civilian Luftwaffe, thus circumventing the Versailles Treaty. Besides regular business, it served as cover for procurement of "civilan" aircraft so the air ministry wasn't compromized. Another major role was training pilots and ground crews. Civilian glider schools/clubs provided basic pilot training.
@@ottovonbismarck2443 Every country in the world's aviation industry relied on subsidized airlines and mail contracts to keep its aviation industry going as well as the Military. The Versailles treaty tried to destroy Germany's aviation industry with complete bans on engines over 100hp and then forced them to build motorists. I have no issue with them finding a way around the Versailles treaty. Aviation could not make a profit till aircraft like the DC-3 and Boeing Model 247 and maybe the Ju 52. Seaplanes like the Dorniers eg Do 26 and Fw 200 were all needed. The Do 17 probably did carry mail quite fast and well.
The FW 200 Condor was built as a civilian aircraft. It had exceptional range but was compromised as a fighting machine so “only” saw service as maritime reconnaissance and submarine hunter. Dornier did away with the civilian bit.
Flying Pencils, Suitcases, Panhandles, Barn doors, Fortresses, even Prostitutes... some quite remarkable flying objects in an interesting era. Thank you very much for this audiovisual masterpiece.
After WW1, Germany was prohibited from making certain advanced military equipment until the mid-1930s. That is why the Germans opened military factories in the European part of the USSR as early as 1928 and thus circumvented the ban. Military exercises between Germany and the USSR were held from 1928 to 1939 in the European part of the USSR.
I did not know about the opening of military factories in the European part of the USSR, but that would answer some questions that nagged at me, but just wasn’t smart enough to ask. I ‘heard’ of the joint training, but nothing substantial. I’m not certain if Hitler had intended on invading the USSR at this point, but I am almost positive he was prejudiced against people he considered Slavic - I think he demonstrated a lot of forethought here, regarding the Soviets. I had assumed he was acting impetuous when he invaded, but maybe he had been letting things stew in his mind for over a decade.
@@ronjon7942 "I’m not certain if Hitler had intended on invading the USSR at this point, but I am almost positive he was prejudiced against people he considered Slavic - I think he demonstrated a lot of forethought here, regarding the Soviets. I had assumed he was acting impetuous when he invaded, but maybe he had been letting things stew in his mind for over a decade." Hitler didn't become reich chancellor until 1933 and fuhrer until August 1934. So that means that the German plans of secret re-armament "as early as 1928" were already conducted by the *Weimar Republic* . In other words these plans existed years before Hitler came to power. In the 1928 German general elections the nazis just got 2,6% of the votes and were the 9th largest party. Any thoughts of a war or invasion was definitely not on his mind at this point because Germany was his sole focus. Before Hitler came to power he had two goals: 1) To support a "traditional, strong man" who represented how Germany was before 1918, which is why he backed Ludendorff in the failed in 1923 coup, and 2) Make himself and his party come to power and "set Germany straight again" by removing anything "non-German". The way Hitler saw it Germany itself was perfect and pure but had become "infested by foreign ideas, art, music and entertainment". Jazz clubs were popular in the 1920's Germany and fact is several American black jazz musicians both performed and intermingled with the locals. French style cabarets appeared too and quite a few of them were operated by distinguished German jews. Young people began to consume foreign culture in the 1920's. Now this happened all over the world in the 1920's and is nothing strange at all today but back then Hitler (and many like him) didn't like this development at all. Why listen to black swing music when you could listen to Wagnerian symphonies and why admire modern art from Picasso and surrealists from all over the world when those were clearly (in Hitler's mind) degenerate and damaging to the German public who should look up to "classical art". In a hypothetical scenario in which allied countries didn't impose sanctions and trade embargoes on Nazi Germany it's possible Nazi Germany becomes like North Korea is today. Highly dictatorial and sealed off from pretty much all over the world. So what exactly set Hitler on a different path to start a war? Well, it was well-known in world media that the nazis were very harsh against the German Jews. Powerful Jewish bankers (the Rothschild family possessed the largest private fortune in the world at the start of the 1900's) and businessmen began boycotting business with Nazi Germany (who can blame them?) so Hitler was enraged and thus they imposed the 1935 Nuremberg Laws which stripped Jews of their rights as German citizens. At this stage *segregation* of Jews was the policy with plans of future deportation of all Jews. By making more and more enemies in the world Hitler realized Germany might find itself at war in the future and that it was nowhere near ready to go to war with the tiny army they had at this point. Fact is that during the German invasion of the de-militarized Rheinland (which the Versailles Treaty clearly stipulated was off-limits) in 1936 Hitler had order his generals to immediately retreat if the French attacked as the few regiments the Wehrmacht had and no heavy-weapons meant they'd be obliterated. Unlucky for us but lucky for Hitler the French did nothing. With access to the manufacturing industry in the Rheinland Hitler could finally start re-building a huge German army. *That is* he still wanted to avoid war as long as possible to make sure Germany was strong enough. The army naturally took priority however a strong navy was also on Hitler's mind. Unfortunately building a strong enough navy would take until 1944 if things went to Hitler's plan. Here's what really started the war in 1939. Nazi Germany's rapid re-armament had resulted in such a huge trade deficit for Nazi Germany foreign banks were filled to the absolute limit with Reichsmarks. They could accept no further payment in Reichsmarks. This meant that the market was oversaturated with this currency and it was beginning to lose its value. Economic historians have revealed that Nazi Germany was facing an economic collapse in late 1939 (this was btw already obvious to some Germans in the high command who planned an assassination of Hitler in 1938). War therefore had to start in September 1939 with the invasion of Poland so that Nazi Germany could switch to a war economy... There was no other option. Btw, the fragile German economy actually would have faced a collapse *before* if not for the seized gold reserves of Austria (by anschluss) and Czechoslovakia (which Hitler got without a fight thanks to Neville Chamberlain) which provided the economy with a steroid boost. That was the problem - the inefficient economy of Nazi Germany couldn't sustain *itself* so Nazi Germany "solved" that by occupying countries and pillaging their resources. Needless to say this made them extremely unpopular wherever they went and made them several times more enemies. Eventually it dawned on Hitler that there really was one huge countrie which sat on enough natural resources and invading it was the logical next step. The Soviet Union. However in the mid 1930's neither Hitler nor anybody else thought much of the Soviet Union because it was widely believed to be a poorly-industrialized country stuck in the 1800's way of living. As such it was not seen as a threat. The Soviet Union had also lost the Polish-Soviet war of 1919-1921 and pretty much sealed itself off from the rest of the world. European communist parties got support from Stalin but none of those ever had a majority of followers. The Soviet Union super power was *after* WWII. In the 1920's and 1930's very few considered it a potent military power. Unbeknownst to Hitler (and everybody else outside the Soviet Union) Stalin was well aware of this too and decided (wisely) to start a rapid and vast industrialization of the Soviet Union in the mid 1930's. That was one of the reasons for the Ukrainian famine too for Stalin took any peasant or local he could to both build these giant factories and to work in them. So when Nazi Germany launched Operation Barbarossa in 1941 they faced a Soviet Union far better armed and with far larger industrial capability than they knew. In short Hitler hated communism but wanted it cleansed from Germany first and foremost. Once it became clear the economy of Nazi Germany was being blockaded and boycotted as well as the very costly re-armament program it became imperative to invade other nations and seize their resources. Obviously the Soviet Union became the final target for the nazi ideas of "living space". This ruthless pillaging meant Nazi Germany gained enemies everywhere it went.
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before or not, but I’ll say it again if I have. Your channel scratches that itch that History and Discovery used to before they went on to make stuff about aliens and tornadoes. I am reminded most strongly of Wings, but also the Modern Marvels series on various aircraft and military equipment. Well done! Just superb work.
Great video as usual👍 I think it would be worth to mention the use of Do-17Zs in Finland. Göring donated 15 examples in 1941 and they were used by the lentolaivue 46 throughout the Continuation War. Only four examples survived the war in flying condition but they were scrapped later because of the peace treaty (that didn't allow planes with internal bomb carrying capability)
Excellent video! Although I would have greatlly appreciated if you had mentioned something about the Do17's in Finnish use (one picture at the end, though). My father, who was a radist in Finnish Army in the 50s, bought a FuG radio from a dismantled Finnish Do17. I still have some hazy memories of it.
No wonder completing this piece was driving you up the wall - thank you for sticking with it (and keeping your sense of humour!) and reconciling the vaguries and conflicting information for us. A very impressive and fascinating piece of work.
Excellent review of the Do-17. I especially enjoyed your concise review of its quixotic development during the proto-Luftwaffe period. Thanks so much for this and your other aircraft reviews.
Great coverage of this aircraft and marvelous commentary with your hilarious quips - congratulations and keep them coming. Your comment about the quality of the models used is well deserved as they are extremely good and well integrated into the real footage and stills.
Ah yes, the Do 17. I'm glad that you covered it, it's an often overlooked plane (everyone always talks about the Ju 88). Have you tried to reach out to the Dornier Museum in Friedrichshafen? Perhaps they could help you to clarify some details of the development, after all they have a dedicated library and archive.
Dornier was trained by Graf von Zeppelin. It lead to the first smooth skinned all metal aircraft. The Do 215 was the export variant of the Do 17 with DB601A liquid cooled engines instead of Bramo radials. A version with DB601N with 1175hp (1275 for 3 minutes) could manage 510kmh/316mph. Had the Nazi regime subsidized Daimler Benz Geisingham Engine plant the DB601 Dorniers would have been nearly impossible to intercept by the Hurricane. Food for thought.
i didn't think you had a chance of making this video about this subject for this amount of time and for it to still be interesting, but here i am 70 minutes deep
Great video, lots of interesting facts. One dispute however, the Poles shot down two E model Do-17’s early on Sept 1. Wladek Gyns, flying a PZL P.11c caught two near Krakow, damaged one and apparently it collided with the other, downing both. The first Allied air victory of WW2
Excellent video Rex! I would love to see a followup about the Do 217. I just read the Book "Mosquito Mayhem" and was surprised how intense the night operations of the Luftwaffe in 42-44 over Britain were and how many 217s were involved. Plus, the later versions look really cool
'A cockpit entering the realms of claustrophobia'...OMG, this channel is not only amusing on learning on old aircraft but also a major enlargement of spicy English language. Priceless!
It makes more sense too and in line with other measures that the German military was taking to develop new weapons without obviously breaking peace treaty.
Thank you for making this fascinating story. I LOVE the long form videos. Thank you for keeping your sense of humor. Hope the quest for a house goes well.
Yes! Ever since playing the computer game Their Finest Hour: The Battle of Britain from 1989 I have been oddly fascinated with the Do 17. But compared to the ju 88 in he 111 there's not a lot of out there about the do 17, be it video documentaries like on UA-cam or even books Squadron Publications of all publishers never did a do 17 book. You made my Saturday morning!
@@showandtell4265 oh yes, definitely. it even had details on like the difference between like the BF 109 and 110s that were The fighter versus fighter bomber. You can still find scannrd copies of it on line, I looked it up once a few years ago.
@@showandtell4265 I still have mine 😎 A boxed air sim was a wonderful think in those days - squinting at pixels as they wriggled across the acres of space on your 13" CRT while you brought your Hurricane in to bear down on them. Hilarious now, but incredibly immersive 😁😁
Question for u guys... The hundreds of hours i put into leveling up my german pilots in channel raids, ive only been hit by an aa round once... Despite the impressive graphics of my stukka dive bomber being enveloped by flak... Did anyone else have a similar experience?
Awesome job Rex! I think this may be your best yet. The D0-17 may be one of my favorite German aircraft. That unique profile from straight on and above (with the flared virtually shoulder mounted wing) is so aesthetically pleasing (at least to my eye). I've got a 1/48 model in my "stash" (part of my evil twins series). I wish I were talented enough to build a large scale RC version...who knows I might try it some day. Thanks again. FANTASTIC JOB by the aviation equivalent of Drachinifel.
Another excellent video. But you forgot the Do 17 Sq variant - needing extra defensive weapons, a rear gun was added in the tail. But because of the lack of room for a gunner, The luftwaffe concluded on training Squirrels to man .. errr.. the tail gun would be needed. Crews would lace the tail with nuts to keep the gunner happy. Of course training the squirrel to only fire on the enemy, and not anyone who scares you , took time. In the end, this never was satisfactory , apart from cute Squirrels in flying outfit....
Fascinating work as always, and always appreciative of those who "don't spare the horsepower," to get us following along a most accurate as possible historical review of such things.
I'm 70 years old and have been studying WW2 aviation, especially German, and I have an extensive library (some of which is out of publication) and I can confirm the third origin story. The real limiting factor of the D0-17 was it's wing design as the obsolete thick blended airfoil was extremely draggy. I was a USAF pilot and restored my first antique aircraft, a 1940 Taylorcraft BC-65, in 1975 at the age of 22. Since then I have owned 6 Bellancas, from 1946 to 1959 and a 1958 Piper Comanche. I currently own another 1940 BC-65 which is under restoration.
The attack by 9th Staffel of Kampfgeschwader 76 on Kenley is easily the most dramatic passage in Alfred Price's 'The Hardest Day' so, in that respect, the Dornier Do 17-Z is the star of the show, so thanks for covering this type, Rex. I sort of think of that raid as a German, daylight 'answer' to the Dams Raid, if an 'answer' can happen previously! I was going to suggest that its use by the Ilmavoimat as a front-line bomber after it had been relegated by the Luftwaffe may have been a useful thing to have mentioned, but I see somebody has got there before me!
Alfred Price's "The Hardest Day" has always been my favourite Battle of Britain book since reading it years ago aged 12 in 1981. Read it many times since then and the 9th Staffel attack on Kenley is beautifully researched. 12 year old me suddenly became fascinated with the Dornier 17Z as a consequence and didn't rest until I'd built the old Frog model of the aircraft. As a side note, I picked up a hardback copy of "The Hardest Day" a couple of years back. Unbeknown to me, inside was a newspaper clipping about the 1978 reunion at Kenley and the book was signed by Harry Newton and Gunther Unger. It's now become my favourite possession.
@@fightersweep Thanks for this excellent reply. That's quite something to have a signed copy by those erstwhile opponents over Kenley. I'm very struck, by the way, in that photo of Günther Unger, Harry Newton and Franz Bergmann facing page 129, that Günther and Harry are wearing matching shirts! In the Remembrance Sunday spirit of reconciliation between nations it's a perfect illustration that we're all the same, after all. Regarding Franz, I know that they were the enemy and all, but one has to take one's hat off to what the air gunners equipped with just a single, hand-trained Rheinmettal M 15 could achieve, defending their aircraft in broad daylight against some of the best fighter types on the planet at the time.
@@christopherbentley7289 Added respect also for facing off those attacking fighters while all grouped together in those flimsy looking glasshouse cockpits. It must have been very scary at times. I had another look at "The Hardest Day" today. I was taken by the photo of Unger's Dornier flying at 60 feet on the left wing of the photographer's aircraft just after they had crossed the coast. To look at that photo and realise the book is signed by Gunther makes it very special. The 12 year old me that read the paperback version all those years ago would have been very pleased. To scratch another itch, I picked up a 1/48 Do 17Z from Eduard. Lovely model and I would love to build Unger's aircraft, but as of yet, finding the individual aircraft letter of his aircraft seems impossible. None of my references seem to know. Shame, as I had plans to build Newton's Hurricane too to go with it as I thought it would make a nice display. I think I'm going to have to read the book again.
@@fightersweep Yes, it was a work of prescient genius to have Rolf von Pebal accompanying the 9th Staffel on that raid and it was also fortunate that his photos survived as they must be one of the greatest selections of photographic record of the conflict around. Your remarks on the possible pairing of those kits puts me in mind of the 'Dogfight Doubles'. I'm not sure if they're still made but a 'Special' on that theme would be superb. I don't know if you've knocked around my UA-cam profile but if you have you will have seen that my real current field of expertise is in the 'lost world' of the female Pop music of the Satellite Nations of the former Soviet Bloc. Part of the back story that led there was the discovery in the attic of my former address of a photo of a singer called variously Carene Cheryl and Karen Cheryl - she shares my birthday! - whose real name is Isabelle Morizet in an old 'Paris Match' magazine. She was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye and lived in Hodent, near Magny-en-Vexin, then the Île de Migneaux in Poissy. Hodent is very near Cormeilles-en-Vexin so it might be good to go, one day, to her erstwhile place of residence and to the former airfield, having already visited Kenley.
Excellent work but it took a lot of facts I thought I knew about the Do-17 and scrambled them. So now after watching this video all I seem to care about these days is finding a way to steer all conversations into discussions of the Bramo Fafnir 323 radial engine….anyone else feel this compulsion too ?
After all the work that you’ve done on this project, you, sir, are an academic expert. Might not have all the rivets properly formed, but your work is exceptional.
Your description of how learning about the origins of the Do 17 was confusing and full of errors is pretty much my learning process about anything I try to research myself... I genuinely thought you got yourself that much of a headache every time you made a video. Well, on the bright side, next time the sources are pepega you should be a bit numb to the suffering... Thank you for your work! ^^
I know it's probably somewhere on 'The List', but would love to see a video on the He-111 (as it's the only Axis aircraft I've seen in person/been aboard.)
I remember watching a show many years ago that claimed the Dornier 17 was originally envisaged as a high speed mail courier, but rapidly converted into a bomber, but the explanation in the video makes better sense.
Just came across this video and your channel for the first time. What immediately caught my attention is your research and your admission that most of what you knew was wrong prior. This is nothing to be ashamed of, on the contrary you should be proud for being able to admit such and do your due diligence. This right here is exactly why I just liked and subbed to your channel. Honest, humble people who do their proper research are rare.
Thank you Rex - an excellent video as always! I agree that the aircraft was almost certainly intended as a military aircraft from the outset. The He111 was also supposedly a civil airliner turned bomber (and maybe the Ju86 as well? not sure) but I think that was merely the RLM's cover story rather than actual fact. Ulf Balke wrote a very good book on the history of Kamfgeschwader 2: "Der Luftkrieg in Europa: Die operativen Einsätze des Kampfgeschwaders 2 im Zweiten Weltkrieg (Beiträge zur Luftkriegsgeschichte) " - it's in 2 volumes, covering the early and mid to late war years resectively. NB: the book is in German; I don't know if there was ever an English translation printed. Added in edit: if my experiences in virtual WW2 combat sims is anything to go by, German twin-engined bombers were all horribly underpowered compared to their US counterparts. Nice to fly once in the air, but needed to be flown more like an Allied 4-engined bomber to actually get them into the air at anything close to full load.
Thank you Rex for this fantastic and unfortunately exhausting effort for you. It has told me a lot of what I did not know about one of my favourite aircraft. I understood their crews regarded them kindly. I wish I could help you as I understand I live in the same city. If I can please let me know. Your standard of production is most impressive. It's amazing what a flying pencil could achieve.
Well war thunder is meant to be as realistic as possible. They even once considered making tanks just randomly break down. I’m not saying it’s perfect but it is a better representation then other games.
It was my perception that the Do.17 was a bomber design under the guise of transport aircraft to circumvent the Versailles treaty. Just like the first panzers were called "agricultural tractors".
Your channel is one of the best things about the internet age. To discover what you have researched for me when I was your age, I would have had to 1. Travel to Germany ( East And West) learn German, probably been accused as a spy by Both sides and spent mind numbing hours in a dusty archive. Now I just sip coffee and scroll back to anything I missed.
Thank you for bringing so much of my youth to life. A brother and me put together and meticulously painted the whole Airfix range of planes, back in the 70’s. Also did all the galleons, tanks and thousands of the soldiers. Unfortunately, zero remains of our autism 😜
Being wrong is part of life; it is part of being human. That's how we learn and develope. Those who never admit being wrong are flat out liars! Still love your episodes, my friend. Keep them coming. The DO-17 was a sleek, striking aircraft. I've always loved its look... especially the wing design, and it's overall success.
Surprised that you did not mention that the Do-17Z had the lowest loss rate of the German bombers in the Battle of Britain. Also that it was the most popular of the bombers among the crews. On high altitude missions it could dive faster than any of the British fighters, allowing it to easily escape pursuit. It's short range and light bombload led to its demise more than anything else.
considering its crapy general performance where is the surprise that British and other allied fighters prefered to take different plane as a target? Why chase Do-17 when you can shot down Heinkel He 111 instead?! One can take 1000kg other can take 2500kg so it is no brainer that you gonna waste your ammo on the more juicy target... And the fact that you can run awey is not as important as your ability to deliver the payload. Also from wikipedia: "Battle of Britain Main article: Battle of Britain During the Polish campaign, the Do 17Z could use its 427 km/h (265 mph) maximum speed to stay away from most enemy fighters, and its light armament was effective. It also fought with success during the Battle of France and losses were relatively light, although when facing modern fighters like the Hawker Hurricane, the bomber proved slow in comparison and more vulnerable. When it faced British fighters during the Battle of Britain, it was shown that fast, well-armed monoplane fighters had changed the balance between bomber and fighter decidedly in favour of the latter. The Do 17 suffered in early raids." And there is this problem that two first air victories in WW2 were two Do-17E shot down over Poland by sergant W. Gnyś -> reported by Germans as an air colision caused by the AA fire -> when in reality the Do-17E was reported to have 7.92mm type of holes and the angles of fire sugest strongly that they were made by Gnyś P.11 machine guns. That is why we can hear in this video about them being shot mostly by AA fire in Poland when the reality is that Germans pilots could not just dive down at full speed all the time -> that trick you can make once and only if you manage to spot the fighter before he is on your 6.
There was an 'export' variant of the Do 17 refereed to as the Do 215 which had the more powerful and streamlined DB601A and a speed of 292mph. Some Do 215 had their DB601A engine removed and replaced by DB601N which in latter forms had 1275hp with war emergency power at higher altitude and drove the Do 215 to an impressive 316mph. There seems to have been 68 of these impressive bombers in service. On the Generalluftzeugmeister meeting on the 22nd January 1941, the Generalstab pointed out the following figures on the number of 'active' DB 601N installed, referring to reports from the units on 1st of January, thus giving us a good picture on the number of Bf 109E-../N types in frontline service on the 1st of January : 2 in Bf 109s Bf 109E-1 : 16 pcs, Bf 109E-3 : 1 pc, Bf 109E-4 : 54 pcs, Bf 109E-6 : 1 pc, Bf 109E-7 : 34 pcs, Bf 109E-8 : 2pcs. Bf 109F-1 : 5 pcs. Total 112 Bf 109E with DB 601N present in service, plus 5 Bf 109F. in Bf 110s Bf 110C-1 : 4 pcs, Bf 110C-4 : 40 pcs, Bf 110C-5 : 12, Bf 110C-7 : 14 pcs, Bf 110D-0 : 18 pcs, Bf 110D-2 : 20 pcs, Bf 110D-3 : 8 pcs, BF 110E-1 : 176 pcs, Bf 110E-2 : 14 pcs. Total : 306 engines, ie. 153 Bf 110s with DB 601N present in service. in Misc. types He 111P : 8 pcs, Do 215 : 68 pcs.
@@Bialy_1 maybe you should look up the performance of the equivalent British bombers, Blenheim I wasn't as good with equivalent payload. Even the Bf110 was able to catch and shoot it down. Nobody mentions the RAF bomber poor performance but exactly the opposite, they are celebrated.Also Wikipedia is not your friend.
Bravo for taking the time and trouble to do a proper job on this video. And your sponsor message was pure gold: yours is the only such I can remember being truly entertaining.
I love the way the DO17 looks with the round engine’s not sure what they were using but it was the very first model I ever built. Good ole flying pencil ✏️.
The prototypes and reconnaissance versions show its moniker of flying pencil very well. It is much easier to see. The more well known versions are more like a pencil with a gonk stuck on the end! My guess is that it was designed as a bomber from the start and it's purpose was hidden under the subterfuge of the time. It wouldn't work very well as a cargo plane as the fuselage is too thin and constricted for a reasonable load or easy loading and the stance on the ground is also too high to be an easy load/unload. If the fuselage is cramped for one military radio operator, then several civil (at the start of the journey!) passengers and cargo are not going to be a good fit. Excellent video, I look forward to your follow up on the 217.
I would give an arm, a leg and three kidneys to have and run a Bramo Fafnir from this era. Such a nice engine, beautifully built and machined like a jewel.
Incredible video! Thanks for all the research! I remember making a model of the DO17 when I was a teenager but never knew that much of its history until this video, thanks again Sir!
Your pronunciation of that word that is the RLM is effortless. I always sound like I'm describing someone leaving an air biscuit in some large building.
You should do a video on the swedish B-18 light bombers which I believe are based on the Do-17 and maybe a video on the J-21 and A-21 which are 2 swedish push props
Danke für die tolle Dokumentation. Bin ein großer Fan der Do 17 und habe ein Maschine in 1:72 gebaut. Kennung U5 +HA , eine Do 17 Z2 geflogen vom Österreicher Franz Edler von Remiz von der Stabs Staffel KG 2. Verlust am 24.6.41 bei Minsk. Warte schon auf die nächste Doku! Viele Grüße von Bernd
Thank you Rex for an entertaining extended endeavour. I found this both entertaining and informative and watched it uninterrupted so it is now 4:20am in Ontario but no harm done to this retired septuagenarian insomniac nighthawk. Good luck with the house hunting and my sincere sympathies about the migraines. I know how painful and damaging they can be, my wife suffered from them. Best of all things forward to you and I am anticipating more of your hard work. Thank you and Cheers from Ottawa, ON!
Marvelous research and video. Most interesting. I would never have the patience to tease all of these facts out.... I love history. Your work is appreciated by myself and hubby.
Play War Thunder for FREE on PC, PS®5 and Xbox Series X|S: playwt.link/rexhangar_ Follow the link to download the game to get a premium tank, aircraft AND ship, along with a seven day account boost just for downloading.
F.A.Q Section
Q: Do you take aircraft requests?
A: I have a list of aircraft I plan to cover, but feel free to add to it with suggestions:)
Q: Why do you use imperial measurements for some videos, and metric for others?
A: I do this based on country of manufacture. Imperial measurements for Britain and the U.S, metric for the rest of the world, but I include text in my videos that convert it for both.
Q: Will you include video footage in your videos, or just photos?
A: Video footage is very expensive to licence, if I can find footage in the public domain I will try to use it, but a lot of it is hoarded by licencing studies (British Pathe, Periscope films etc). In the future I may be able to afford clips :)
Q: Why do you sometimes feature images/screenshots from flight simulators?
A: Sometimes there are not a lot of photos available for certain aircraft, so I substitute this with digital images that are as accurate as possible.
From reading a book owned by a friend, I had understood the origin story to be the third variation. As that is a single source, it cannot be considered to be the whole story.
With the degree of bad feeling toward almost all other countries, and the desire to show that they were still a great nation rampant in Germany around that time of the Do-17's genesis, I could see the second variation as being possible.
Variant 3 sounds to fit right in with "Grosstraktor" and whatever codename nonsense the Navy used...
DO-217? Didn't that one also have a nickname? Flying lighter/zippo? Does not sound too confidence infusing...
❤
@@Ugly_German_Truths The flying lighter was the Heinkel He 177.
most accurate wt sponsorship
Speaking as a history Ph.D., I am impressed by the quality and persistence of your research. I will assume in advance that much of the audience/market for your products is gamers, rather than historians - but you seem to have done an honest job for both markets, and I commend you for that. Which is in keeping with other videos you have posted on UA-cam.
Very nice post to Rex. As a history student of some 40 years, I find these videos both entertaining and informative as they provide an accurate and unbiased perspective. I do not play video games and fear with such quality work, we will lose Rex to mainstream media. Our loss.
Also aviation aficionados and interested in military history, as me and many others following.
That sir is a commendation of absolute gold. Well done!
No offense but people with college degrees aren't necessarily smarter than others anymore. Sadly the university system is failing many people these days. Not about critical thinking or breaking new barriers, instead it's an indoctrination factory using revisionist history or flat out lies
I have never played computer games but fully appreciate this channel for quality research.
nothing wrong with finding out what you know is wrong. No one knows everything. We learn, and update our understanding as we go, as we acquire new information. It's when a person fails to update their thinking in light of new information and facts that is a problem.
It's a shame that willful ignorance seems to be considered a virtue of these days.
@@BlackMasterRoshi sadly it is, and it's only getting worse, especially in the US. It's now become a calling card of "truth seeker" conspiracy nuts, fundamentalist evangelicals, and ultra right wingers in general ( and there's plenty of overlap between all those groups ). The more evidence there is for something, the more they see signs of conspiracy or persecution and stick to their irrationally even more staunchly.
"When I learn something new, I change my mind. What do you do?". Attributed to Gandhi.
Tuba skinny
Thanks, captain understanding. Well said.
'The production of this video has been physically, emotionally and spiritually draining'. My exact experience with a Do 17K model that I'm building right now.
Relax. Dark Skies blurts out obviously incorrect nonsense with mismatched footage twice a month without the slightest remorse, and you're worried about getting the precise origins of one German light bomber slightly wrong? Chill, my friend.
Relaxing is what gives us complete schlock in the first place.
I say never relax.
Dark skies, dark seas and dark bullsh!t!
The Dark bods get it wrong time and again, you try to point out basic errors and it's just ignored so I have blocked them, only answer.
@@owen368 :)
@@GeneralJackRipper You'll give yourself an ulcer! :)
The third origin story is the one I'd always heard and is the most logical. It was a bomber design called a transport as a cover story. Nobody designs a transport aircraft with a pencil thin fuselage that limits it's carrying capacity. The increased speed that design might allow at the cost of carrying capacity could cost revenue and isn't productive in air transport over relatively short distances in Europe.
Not to mention they'd done similar things before, calling tanks "tractors".
Actually, the version i've read about is that it was always intended as a clandestine bomber, but in order to circumvent the Treaty of Versailles, it was OFFICIALLY ordered as a MAIL CARRIER, and actually was used for this purpose to avoid suspicion.
@@kimraudenbush615 Aircraft that carry mail are called transports, but the need less internal volume than those carrying less dense loads such as human passengers.
@@gort8203 I'm aware of that. My point was that it was OFFICIALLY designed for a specific role, and as such the higher speed would be a benefit, while the loss of revenue wouldn't be as much of a factor, compared to a commercial transport role.
Built this model as a kid. Putting in all the windows was a pain in the ass.
My first ever Airfix kit was a "flying pencil" I got it at Christmas. I was a bit too young (5) to build it on my own so my brother helped me with it. That was 54 years ago and I remember it clear as a bell.
My collection grew from that one model to a huge dust magnet my mum used to hate lol!
Yes, the Airfix Do17E/F was also one of my first kits I built alone. I painted it in the Spanish delivery. I made the mistake to not paint the interior of the model which was horrible with its light blue plastic. Lesson learnt, all next models I built (more than 100) would be painstakenly painted and detailed inside. Also almost 50 years ago.
Since retirement, I'm enjoying my second childhood. I completed one about a month ago.
the Do-17 was the 3rd Airfix (plane) Kit i built , the first was a Mirage IIIC (didnt have platic glue at the time she fell apart after few weeks) , 2nd was the two plane Dogfightseries MiG-15 and MirageIII , half arab and half german i changed the Decals , the MiG-15 got the Star of David and the superior MirageIIIC the Egyptian markings.
Built Army too Tanks Trucks, a lot of Centurions because i like Centurions saw them every autum during the big manouvres and because i liked Trucks 3 Matador Trucks, i wished Airfix had modern BAOR Trucks , Bedford RL, Antars, Landrovers at the time, so i had to go with Matadors and Scammel Tank Transporters, the Landrover came later with the Big C-130 Hercules i buyed two of them because of the Landrovers.
Spend lot of money as a Kid for Airfix models, had / owned over 60 Tanks plus Trucks nearly 30 Planes and over 1000 Soldiers before i switched to Tamiyas , ESCI`s 1:35 kits.
I think we all have that one first model that dragged us down this rabbit hole of modelling. For me though the Do-17 in 1/48 scale, a MonoGram kit if I recall, was probably my most beautifully painted aircraft model. I was never great at painting up my kits but I tried my best of course and I always recall in my mind that Do-17 Z was the point of pride for my aircraft collection.
The first bomber model kit I ever got was a B-29, but it came with two wings from the same side and I could not finish it.
I ended up making it a "crashed plane" diorama.
In the words of Claude Dornier the Do 17 was build from the begin as military plane, the DLH was only used as smokescreen.
The Lufthansa was pretty much Germany's civilian Luftwaffe, thus circumventing the Versailles Treaty. Besides regular business, it served as cover for procurement of "civilan" aircraft so the air ministry wasn't compromized. Another major role was training pilots and ground crews. Civilian glider schools/clubs provided basic pilot training.
@@ottovonbismarck2443 Every country in the world's aviation industry relied on subsidized airlines and mail contracts to keep its aviation industry going as well as the Military. The Versailles treaty tried to destroy Germany's aviation industry with complete bans on engines over 100hp and then forced them to build motorists. I have no issue with them finding a way around the Versailles treaty. Aviation could not make a profit till aircraft like the DC-3 and Boeing Model 247 and maybe the Ju 52. Seaplanes like the Dorniers eg Do 26 and Fw 200 were all needed. The Do 17 probably did carry mail quite fast and well.
The FW 200 Condor was built as a civilian aircraft. It had exceptional range but was compromised as a fighting machine so “only” saw service as maritime reconnaissance and submarine hunter.
Dornier did away with the civilian bit.
@@Dave5843-d9m Dornier had no choise, the airministry said you build warplanes or you loose the factorys.
Source?
Flying Pencils, Suitcases, Panhandles, Barn doors, Fortresses, even Prostitutes... some quite remarkable flying objects in an interesting era. Thank you very much for this audiovisual masterpiece.
Which one was the prostitute?
You missed the PANCAKE!... how dare you?! 😂
Wait what was that last one?
@@spacecatgaming3304the B-26 Marauder
@@SebPaez you learn something new everyday don't you. thank you good sir.
After WW1, Germany was prohibited from making certain advanced military equipment until the mid-1930s. That is why the Germans opened military factories in the European part of the USSR as early as 1928 and thus circumvented the ban. Military exercises between Germany and the USSR were held from 1928 to 1939 in the European part of the USSR.
I did not know about the opening of military factories in the European part of the USSR, but that would answer some questions that nagged at me, but just wasn’t smart enough to ask. I ‘heard’ of the joint training, but nothing substantial.
I’m not certain if Hitler had intended on invading the USSR at this point, but I am almost positive he was prejudiced against people he considered Slavic - I think he demonstrated a lot of forethought here, regarding the Soviets. I had assumed he was acting impetuous when he invaded, but maybe he had been letting things stew in his mind for over a decade.
@@ronjon7942 "I’m not certain if Hitler had intended on invading the USSR at this point, but I am almost positive he was prejudiced against people he considered Slavic - I think he demonstrated a lot of forethought here, regarding the Soviets. I had assumed he was acting impetuous when he invaded, but maybe he had been letting things stew in his mind for over a decade."
Hitler didn't become reich chancellor until 1933 and fuhrer until August 1934. So that means that the German plans of secret re-armament "as early as 1928" were already conducted by the *Weimar Republic* . In other words these plans existed years before Hitler came to power. In the 1928 German general elections the nazis just got 2,6% of the votes and were the 9th largest party. Any thoughts of a war or invasion was definitely not on his mind at this point because Germany was his sole focus.
Before Hitler came to power he had two goals: 1) To support a "traditional, strong man" who represented how Germany was before 1918, which is why he backed Ludendorff in the failed in 1923 coup, and 2) Make himself and his party come to power and "set Germany straight again" by removing anything "non-German". The way Hitler saw it Germany itself was perfect and pure but had become "infested by foreign ideas, art, music and entertainment". Jazz clubs were popular in the 1920's Germany and fact is several American black jazz musicians both performed and intermingled with the locals. French style cabarets appeared too and quite a few of them were operated by distinguished German jews. Young people began to consume foreign culture in the 1920's. Now this happened all over the world in the 1920's and is nothing strange at all today but back then Hitler (and many like him) didn't like this development at all. Why listen to black swing music when you could listen to Wagnerian symphonies and why admire modern art from Picasso and surrealists from all over the world when those were clearly (in Hitler's mind) degenerate and damaging to the German public who should look up to "classical art".
In a hypothetical scenario in which allied countries didn't impose sanctions and trade embargoes on Nazi Germany it's possible Nazi Germany becomes like North Korea is today. Highly dictatorial and sealed off from pretty much all over the world.
So what exactly set Hitler on a different path to start a war? Well, it was well-known in world media that the nazis were very harsh against the German Jews. Powerful Jewish bankers (the Rothschild family possessed the largest private fortune in the world at the start of the 1900's) and businessmen began boycotting business with Nazi Germany (who can blame them?) so Hitler was enraged and thus they imposed the 1935 Nuremberg Laws which stripped Jews of their rights as German citizens. At this stage *segregation* of Jews was the policy with plans of future deportation of all Jews.
By making more and more enemies in the world Hitler realized Germany might find itself at war in the future and that it was nowhere near ready to go to war with the tiny army they had at this point. Fact is that during the German invasion of the de-militarized Rheinland (which the Versailles Treaty clearly stipulated was off-limits) in 1936 Hitler had order his generals to immediately retreat if the French attacked as the few regiments the Wehrmacht had and no heavy-weapons meant they'd be obliterated. Unlucky for us but lucky for Hitler the French did nothing.
With access to the manufacturing industry in the Rheinland Hitler could finally start re-building a huge German army. *That is* he still wanted to avoid war as long as possible to make sure Germany was strong enough. The army naturally took priority however a strong navy was also on Hitler's mind. Unfortunately building a strong enough navy would take until 1944 if things went to Hitler's plan.
Here's what really started the war in 1939. Nazi Germany's rapid re-armament had resulted in such a huge trade deficit for Nazi Germany foreign banks were filled to the absolute limit with Reichsmarks. They could accept no further payment in Reichsmarks. This meant that the market was oversaturated with this currency and it was beginning to lose its value. Economic historians have revealed that Nazi Germany was facing an economic collapse in late 1939 (this was btw already obvious to some Germans in the high command who planned an assassination of Hitler in 1938). War therefore had to start in September 1939 with the invasion of Poland so that Nazi Germany could switch to a war economy... There was no other option.
Btw, the fragile German economy actually would have faced a collapse *before* if not for the seized gold reserves of Austria (by anschluss) and Czechoslovakia (which Hitler got without a fight thanks to Neville Chamberlain) which provided the economy with a steroid boost. That was the problem - the inefficient economy of Nazi Germany couldn't sustain *itself* so Nazi Germany "solved" that by occupying countries and pillaging their resources. Needless to say this made them extremely unpopular wherever they went and made them several times more enemies. Eventually it dawned on Hitler that there really was one huge countrie which sat on enough natural resources and invading it was the logical next step. The Soviet Union.
However in the mid 1930's neither Hitler nor anybody else thought much of the Soviet Union because it was widely believed to be a poorly-industrialized country stuck in the 1800's way of living. As such it was not seen as a threat. The Soviet Union had also lost the Polish-Soviet war of 1919-1921 and pretty much sealed itself off from the rest of the world. European communist parties got support from Stalin but none of those ever had a majority of followers. The Soviet Union super power was *after* WWII. In the 1920's and 1930's very few considered it a potent military power.
Unbeknownst to Hitler (and everybody else outside the Soviet Union) Stalin was well aware of this too and decided (wisely) to start a rapid and vast industrialization of the Soviet Union in the mid 1930's. That was one of the reasons for the Ukrainian famine too for Stalin took any peasant or local he could to both build these giant factories and to work in them.
So when Nazi Germany launched Operation Barbarossa in 1941 they faced a Soviet Union far better armed and with far larger industrial capability than they knew.
In short Hitler hated communism but wanted it cleansed from Germany first and foremost. Once it became clear the economy of Nazi Germany was being blockaded and boycotted as well as the very costly re-armament program it became imperative to invade other nations and seize their resources. Obviously the Soviet Union became the final target for the nazi ideas of "living space". This ruthless pillaging meant Nazi Germany gained enemies everywhere it went.
@@McLarenMercedesnice essay
1:30 total lol, thanks for seeing the project through to the end though!
That you gave a reasonable disclaimer around 2:20 is a big reason I subscribed.
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before or not, but I’ll say it again if I have.
Your channel scratches that itch that History and Discovery used to before they went on to make stuff about aliens and tornadoes. I am reminded most strongly of Wings, but also the Modern Marvels series on various aircraft and military equipment.
Well done! Just superb work.
Ahhh Wings. I loved that programme, I still pop it on now and then, it does however send me to sleep…
I am waking up to a 1hr Rex's Hanger....this is a great Saturday morning!
My grandad gave me his Airfix model of a Do-17E when I was 7. Got me into basically all my hobbies! Model making, WW2, and combat flight sims.
Excellent Rex. Your deep dive into the " Flying pencil" was both informative and fascinating. Thank you, sir.
Great video as usual👍 I think it would be worth to mention the use of Do-17Zs in Finland. Göring donated 15 examples in 1941 and they were used by the lentolaivue 46 throughout the Continuation War. Only four examples survived the war in flying condition but they were scrapped later because of the peace treaty (that didn't allow planes with internal bomb carrying capability)
Gotta say, best Wart Chunder advert evar
Excellent video! Although I would have greatlly appreciated if you had mentioned something about the Do17's in Finnish use (one picture at the end, though). My father, who was a radist in Finnish Army in the 50s, bought a FuG radio from a dismantled Finnish Do17. I still have some hazy memories of it.
0:50 low altitude, high speed strike aircraft aren't associated with twin engine bombers during that period?
* quietly looks at the mosquito *
Now that was _schnell_ ...
To be fair to Rex, the DO 17 first flew in 1934, the Mosquito in 1940...
No wonder completing this piece was driving you up the wall - thank you for sticking with it (and keeping your sense of humour!) and reconciling the vaguries and conflicting information for us. A very impressive and fascinating piece of work.
Funnily enough, the narrative I grew up with was the third narrative - that the Do-17 was always intended to be a bomber.
Me too.
amazed how long propaganda could work.
i mean thats kinda true, DHL was just used as a coverup
Just looking at it, it seems implausible it was honestly meant to ever carry passengers.
@@j.f.fisher5318Agreed
The day Rex tackles the Sm79 will be a national holiday for me
Another terrific video, Rex. Thanks as always for all the research you do, which make your videos so polished!
Excellent review of the Do-17. I especially enjoyed your concise review of its quixotic development during the proto-Luftwaffe period. Thanks so much for this and your other aircraft reviews.
Great coverage of this aircraft and marvelous commentary with your hilarious quips - congratulations and keep them coming. Your comment about the quality of the models used is well deserved as they are extremely good and well integrated into the real footage and stills.
Ah yes, the Do 17. I'm glad that you covered it, it's an often overlooked plane (everyone always talks about the Ju 88).
Have you tried to reach out to the Dornier Museum in Friedrichshafen? Perhaps they could help you to clarify some details of the development, after all they have a dedicated library and archive.
Dornier was trained by Graf von Zeppelin. It lead to the first smooth skinned all metal aircraft. The Do 215 was the export variant of the Do 17 with DB601A liquid cooled engines instead of Bramo radials. A version with DB601N with 1175hp (1275 for 3 minutes) could manage 510kmh/316mph. Had the Nazi regime subsidized Daimler Benz Geisingham Engine plant the DB601 Dorniers would have been nearly impossible to intercept by the Hurricane. Food for thought.
i didn't think you had a chance of making this video about this subject for this amount of time and for it to still be interesting,
but here i am 70 minutes deep
Thank you for the mighty effort to compile this great video. I know that the Do-17 history is a complex one and this story is just what I needed.
The early models were really slick-looking ships, especially with the early blended wing appearance. They look like they should have been much faster.
They weren’t ships.
@@rovercoupe7104 'Ships' was also a common slang term for aircraft.
Great video, lots of interesting facts. One dispute however, the Poles shot down two E model Do-17’s early on Sept 1. Wladek Gyns, flying a PZL P.11c caught two near Krakow, damaged one and apparently it collided with the other, downing both. The first Allied air victory of WW2
Excellent video Rex! I would love to see a followup about the Do 217. I just read the Book "Mosquito Mayhem" and was surprised how intense the night operations of the Luftwaffe in 42-44 over Britain were and how many 217s were involved. Plus, the later versions look really cool
'A cockpit entering the realms of claustrophobia'...OMG, this channel is not only amusing on learning on old aircraft but also a major enlargement of spicy English language. Priceless!
2:35 strong lazerpig vibes here!!!
Excellent presentation on a plane that i never completely understood. Thank you for your hard work on the subject!
The third narrative is the one I am most familiar with. Good job on this difficult video Rex.
It makes more sense too and in line with other measures that the German military was taking to develop new weapons without obviously breaking peace treaty.
@@Hiznogood Rheinmettall just happened to have unwanted armoured half-track prototypes lying around ...
@@jeffkeith637
don't we all?
Thank you for making this fascinating story. I LOVE the long form videos. Thank you for keeping your sense of humor. Hope the quest for a house goes well.
Yes! Ever since playing the computer game Their Finest Hour: The Battle of Britain from 1989 I have been oddly fascinated with the Do 17. But compared to the ju 88 in he 111 there's not a lot of out there about the do 17, be it video documentaries like on UA-cam or even books Squadron Publications of all publishers never did a do 17 book. You made my Saturday morning!
Do u remember the fantastic historical manual the game came with? All before the time information was readily avaialble on the net....
@@showandtell4265 oh yes, definitely. it even had details on like the difference between like the BF 109 and 110s that were The fighter versus fighter bomber. You can still find scannrd copies of it on line, I looked it up once a few years ago.
@@showandtell4265 I still have mine 😎 A boxed air sim was a wonderful think in those days - squinting at pixels as they wriggled across the acres of space on your 13" CRT while you brought your Hurricane in to bear down on them. Hilarious now, but incredibly immersive 😁😁
Oh man that brings me back. I absolutely loved that game must have put thousands of hours into it.
Question for u guys... The hundreds of hours i put into leveling up my german pilots in channel raids, ive only been hit by an aa round once... Despite the impressive graphics of my stukka dive bomber being enveloped by flak... Did anyone else have a similar experience?
Awesome job Rex! I think this may be your best yet. The D0-17 may be one of my favorite German aircraft. That unique profile from straight on and above (with the flared virtually shoulder mounted wing) is so aesthetically pleasing (at least to my eye). I've got a 1/48 model in my "stash" (part of my evil twins series). I wish I were talented enough to build a large scale RC version...who knows I might try it some day. Thanks again. FANTASTIC JOB by the aviation equivalent of Drachinifel.
This plane is fun playing as a really heavy fighter in the low tiers of War Thunder. Especially the J Variant.
That is the Nightfighter version of its bigger brother the 217
Another excellent video. But you forgot the Do 17 Sq variant - needing extra defensive weapons, a rear gun was added in the tail. But because of the lack of room for a gunner, The luftwaffe concluded on training Squirrels to man .. errr.. the tail gun would be needed. Crews would lace the tail with nuts to keep the gunner happy. Of course training the squirrel to only fire on the enemy, and not anyone who scares you , took time. In the end, this never was satisfactory , apart from cute Squirrels in flying outfit....
Greetings: Jolly good presentation. Fine job. Thx 4 the share. Keep up the good work.
Fascinating work as always, and always appreciative of those who "don't spare the horsepower," to get us following along a most accurate as possible historical review of such things.
I'm 70 years old and have been studying WW2 aviation, especially German, and I have an extensive library (some of which is out of publication) and I can confirm the third origin story. The real limiting factor of the D0-17 was it's wing design as the obsolete thick blended airfoil was extremely draggy. I was a USAF pilot and restored my first antique aircraft, a 1940 Taylorcraft BC-65, in 1975 at the age of 22. Since then I have owned 6 Bellancas, from 1946 to 1959 and a 1958 Piper Comanche. I currently own another 1940 BC-65 which is under restoration.
Thanks for the video I appreciate the fact that you didn't give up even after what looks like a major test of from loz botw
My favorite. Loved flying it in War Thunder.
Awesome video as usual.
I wonder if we'll get a video covering the B-26 Marauder's nicknames...
The attack by 9th Staffel of Kampfgeschwader 76 on Kenley is easily the most dramatic passage in Alfred Price's 'The Hardest Day' so, in that respect, the Dornier Do 17-Z is the star of the show, so thanks for covering this type, Rex. I sort of think of that raid as a German, daylight 'answer' to the Dams Raid, if an 'answer' can happen previously! I was going to suggest that its use by the Ilmavoimat as a front-line bomber after it had been relegated by the Luftwaffe may have been a useful thing to have mentioned, but I see somebody has got there before me!
Alfred Price's "The Hardest Day" has always been my favourite Battle of Britain book since reading it years ago aged 12 in 1981. Read it many times since then and the 9th Staffel attack on Kenley is beautifully researched. 12 year old me suddenly became fascinated with the Dornier 17Z as a consequence and didn't rest until I'd built the old Frog model of the aircraft. As a side note, I picked up a hardback copy of "The Hardest Day" a couple of years back. Unbeknown to me, inside was a newspaper clipping about the 1978 reunion at Kenley and the book was signed by Harry Newton and Gunther Unger. It's now become my favourite possession.
@@fightersweep Thanks for this excellent reply. That's quite something to have a signed copy by those erstwhile opponents over Kenley. I'm very struck, by the way, in that photo of Günther Unger, Harry Newton and Franz Bergmann facing page 129, that Günther and Harry are wearing matching shirts! In the Remembrance Sunday spirit of reconciliation between nations it's a perfect illustration that we're all the same, after all. Regarding Franz, I know that they were the enemy and all, but one has to take one's hat off to what the air gunners equipped with just a single, hand-trained Rheinmettal M 15 could achieve, defending their aircraft in broad daylight against some of the best fighter types on the planet at the time.
@@christopherbentley7289 Added respect also for facing off those attacking fighters while all grouped together in those flimsy looking glasshouse cockpits. It must have been very scary at times. I had another look at "The Hardest Day" today. I was taken by the photo of Unger's Dornier flying at 60 feet on the left wing of the photographer's aircraft just after they had crossed the coast. To look at that photo and realise the book is signed by Gunther makes it very special. The 12 year old me that read the paperback version all those years ago would have been very pleased. To scratch another itch, I picked up a 1/48 Do 17Z from Eduard. Lovely model and I would love to build Unger's aircraft, but as of yet, finding the individual aircraft letter of his aircraft seems impossible. None of my references seem to know. Shame, as I had plans to build Newton's Hurricane too to go with it as I thought it would make a nice display. I think I'm going to have to read the book again.
@@fightersweep Yes, it was a work of prescient genius to have Rolf von Pebal accompanying the 9th Staffel on that raid and it was also fortunate that his photos survived as they must be one of the greatest selections of photographic record of the conflict around. Your remarks on the possible pairing of those kits puts me in mind of the 'Dogfight Doubles'. I'm not sure if they're still made but a 'Special' on that theme would be superb.
I don't know if you've knocked around my UA-cam profile but if you have you will have seen that my real current field of expertise is in the 'lost world' of the female Pop music of the Satellite Nations of the former Soviet Bloc. Part of the back story that led there was the discovery in the attic of my former address of a photo of a singer called variously Carene Cheryl and Karen Cheryl - she shares my birthday! - whose real name is Isabelle Morizet in an old 'Paris Match' magazine. She was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye and lived in Hodent, near Magny-en-Vexin, then the Île de Migneaux in Poissy. Hodent is very near Cormeilles-en-Vexin so it might be good to go, one day, to her erstwhile place of residence and to the former airfield, having already visited Kenley.
A strikingly advanced design for early 30's.
Excellent work but it took a lot of facts I thought I knew about the Do-17 and scrambled them. So now after watching this video all I seem to care about these days is finding a way to steer all conversations into discussions of the Bramo Fafnir 323 radial engine….anyone else feel this compulsion too ?
Your forays into longer episodes is much appreciated.
After all the work that you’ve done on this project, you, sir, are an academic expert. Might not have all the rivets properly formed, but your work is exceptional.
Besides the Heinkel twin engined bombers & Junkers 88 twin engined bomber of the luftwaffe.
Your description of how learning about the origins of the Do 17 was confusing and full of errors is pretty much my learning process about anything I try to research myself... I genuinely thought you got yourself that much of a headache every time you made a video. Well, on the bright side, next time the sources are pepega you should be a bit numb to the suffering... Thank you for your work! ^^
I know it's probably somewhere on 'The List', but would love to see a video on the He-111 (as it's the only Axis aircraft I've seen in person/been aboard.)
I remember watching a show many years ago that claimed the Dornier 17 was originally envisaged as a high speed mail courier, but rapidly converted into a bomber, but the explanation in the video makes better sense.
Just came across this video and your channel for the first time. What immediately caught my attention is your research and your admission that most of what you knew was wrong prior. This is nothing to be ashamed of, on the contrary you should be proud for being able to admit such and do your due diligence. This right here is exactly why I just liked and subbed to your channel. Honest, humble people who do their proper research are rare.
Thank you Rex - an excellent video as always! I agree that the aircraft was almost certainly intended as a military aircraft from the outset. The He111 was also supposedly a civil airliner turned bomber (and maybe the Ju86 as well? not sure) but I think that was merely the RLM's cover story rather than actual fact.
Ulf Balke wrote a very good book on the history of Kamfgeschwader 2: "Der Luftkrieg in Europa: Die operativen Einsätze des Kampfgeschwaders 2 im Zweiten Weltkrieg (Beiträge zur Luftkriegsgeschichte) " - it's in 2 volumes, covering the early and mid to late war years resectively. NB: the book is in German; I don't know if there was ever an English translation printed.
Added in edit: if my experiences in virtual WW2 combat sims is anything to go by, German twin-engined bombers were all horribly underpowered compared to their US counterparts. Nice to fly once in the air, but needed to be flown more like an Allied 4-engined bomber to actually get them into the air at anything close to full load.
I always liked the way it looks, even if it wasn't particularly good.
No doubt this must have been a very hard video to produce due to the incredible amount of detailed information. Very very well executed sir 💪🏻
"The Flying __________" sounds like a good series.
Thank you Rex for this fantastic and unfortunately exhausting effort for you. It has told me a lot of what I did not know about one of my favourite aircraft. I understood their crews regarded them kindly. I wish I could help you as I understand I live in the same city. If I can please let me know. Your standard of production is most impressive. It's amazing what a flying pencil could achieve.
I’ve played as the DO-17 z7 in war thunder. It’s actually really good for taking down bombers.
Well war thunder is meant to be as realistic as possible. They even once considered making tanks just randomly break down. I’m not saying it’s perfect but it is a better representation then other games.
It was my perception that the Do.17 was a bomber design under the guise of transport aircraft to circumvent the Versailles treaty. Just like the first panzers were called "agricultural tractors".
Your channel is one of the best things about the internet age. To discover what you have researched for me when I was your age, I would have had to 1. Travel to Germany ( East And West) learn German, probably been accused as a spy by Both sides and spent mind numbing hours in a dusty archive. Now I just sip coffee and scroll back to anything I missed.
Thank you for bringing so much of my youth to life. A brother and me put together and meticulously painted the whole Airfix range of planes, back in the 70’s. Also did all the galleons, tanks and thousands of the soldiers. Unfortunately, zero remains of our autism 😜
Being wrong is part of life; it is part of being human. That's how we learn and develope. Those who never admit being wrong are flat out liars! Still love your episodes, my friend. Keep them coming. The DO-17 was a sleek, striking aircraft. I've always loved its look... especially the wing design, and it's overall success.
Surprised that you did not mention that the Do-17Z had the lowest loss rate of the German bombers in the Battle of Britain. Also that it was the most popular of the bombers among the crews. On high altitude missions it could dive faster than any of the British fighters, allowing it to easily escape pursuit. It's short range and light bombload led to its demise more than anything else.
considering its crapy general performance where is the surprise that British and other allied fighters prefered to take different plane as a target? Why chase Do-17 when you can shot down Heinkel He 111 instead?!
One can take 1000kg other can take 2500kg so it is no brainer that you gonna waste your ammo on the more juicy target... And the fact that you can run awey is not as important as your ability to deliver the payload.
Also from wikipedia:
"Battle of Britain
Main article: Battle of Britain
During the Polish campaign, the Do 17Z could use its 427 km/h (265 mph) maximum speed to stay away from most enemy fighters, and its light armament was effective. It also fought with success during the Battle of France and losses were relatively light, although when facing modern fighters like the Hawker Hurricane, the bomber proved slow in comparison and more vulnerable. When it faced British fighters during the Battle of Britain, it was shown that fast, well-armed monoplane fighters had changed the balance between bomber and fighter decidedly in favour of the latter. The Do 17 suffered in early raids."
And there is this problem that two first air victories in WW2 were two Do-17E shot down over Poland by sergant W. Gnyś -> reported by Germans as an air colision caused by the AA fire -> when in reality the Do-17E was reported to have 7.92mm type of holes and the angles of fire sugest strongly that they were made by Gnyś P.11 machine guns.
That is why we can hear in this video about them being shot mostly by AA fire in Poland when the reality is that Germans pilots could not just dive down at full speed all the time -> that trick you can make once and only if you manage to spot the fighter before he is on your 6.
@@Bialy_1 Cope
@@Bialy_1 Messed up thinking. If the plane can evade defenses, it is far more effective than a killed bomber, which cannot deliver a heavy bomb load.
There was an 'export' variant of the Do 17 refereed to as the Do 215 which had the more powerful and streamlined DB601A and a speed of 292mph. Some Do 215 had their DB601A engine removed and replaced by DB601N which in latter forms had 1275hp with war emergency power at higher altitude and drove the Do 215 to an impressive 316mph. There seems to have been 68 of these impressive bombers in service.
On the Generalluftzeugmeister meeting on the 22nd January 1941, the Generalstab pointed out the following figures on the number of 'active' DB 601N installed, referring to reports from the units on 1st of January, thus giving us a good picture on the number of Bf 109E-../N types in frontline service on the 1st of January : 2
in Bf 109s
Bf 109E-1 : 16 pcs, Bf 109E-3 : 1 pc, Bf 109E-4 : 54 pcs, Bf 109E-6 : 1 pc, Bf 109E-7 : 34 pcs, Bf 109E-8 : 2pcs. Bf 109F-1 : 5 pcs.
Total 112 Bf 109E with DB 601N present in service, plus 5 Bf 109F.
in Bf 110s
Bf 110C-1 : 4 pcs, Bf 110C-4 : 40 pcs, Bf 110C-5 : 12, Bf 110C-7 : 14 pcs, Bf 110D-0 : 18 pcs, Bf 110D-2 : 20 pcs, Bf 110D-3 : 8 pcs, BF 110E-1 : 176 pcs, Bf 110E-2 : 14 pcs.
Total : 306 engines, ie. 153 Bf 110s with DB 601N present in service.
in Misc. types
He 111P : 8 pcs, Do 215 : 68 pcs.
@@Bialy_1 maybe you should look up the performance of the equivalent British bombers, Blenheim I wasn't as good with equivalent payload. Even the Bf110 was able to catch and shoot it down. Nobody mentions the RAF bomber poor performance but exactly the opposite, they are celebrated.Also Wikipedia is not your friend.
ah finally, one of my favourite planes from the early days of the Battle of Britain! Great video :)
26:44
Hahaha! "D-AFFY!"
Wonderful!
Bravo for taking the time and trouble to do a proper job on this video. And your sponsor message was pure gold: yours is the only such I can remember being truly entertaining.
I love the way the DO17 looks with the round engine’s not sure what they were using but it was the very first model I ever built. Good ole flying pencil ✏️.
The prototypes and reconnaissance versions show its moniker of flying pencil very well. It is much easier to see. The more well known versions are more like a pencil with a gonk stuck on the end!
My guess is that it was designed as a bomber from the start and it's purpose was hidden under the subterfuge of the time. It wouldn't work very well as a cargo plane as the fuselage is too thin and constricted for a reasonable load or easy loading and the stance on the ground is also too high to be an easy load/unload. If the fuselage is cramped for one military radio operator, then several civil (at the start of the journey!) passengers and cargo are not going to be a good fit.
Excellent video, I look forward to your follow up on the 217.
Beautiful vid bro congrats.
I would give an arm, a leg and three kidneys to have and run a Bramo Fafnir from this era. Such a nice engine, beautifully built and machined like a jewel.
I yearned for so long for Do-17 content. Absolutely amazing job
So we have a flying suitcase and pencil so when do we see videos on the flying legal pad and flying calculator?
What is a legal pad?
Something like a mouse pad but exclusively for lawyers?
Fantastic. You can be sure that the story of Do17 was worth it. I also had no idea.
On Kenley aerodrome today there is a painting of the attack, depicting the rocket AA parachute defence taking down a Dornier
Rocket AA parachute defence, please do tell?
a friend recommended me this channel, and i don't think i will ever move on now!, (doing a marathon of old video..)
Lovely work on the plane, always preferred the looks of the early models. 🙂
I have a soft spot for sleek designs. The V1 prototype looks neat!
Your use of the word penultimate was perfect. 👍👍👍👍👍
Incredible video! Thanks for all the research! I remember making a model of the DO17 when I was a teenager but never knew that much of its history until this video, thanks again Sir!
Your pronunciation of that word that is the RLM is effortless. I always sound like I'm describing someone leaving an air biscuit in some large building.
Enamored with yer work, Good Sir, impeccable job, as usual. Thank you.
Top video full of history on this iconic aircraft.
No problem when you delivery the video late, its ending in a masterpiece. Big respect
Reading the document presented at 7:00, and noting certain anomalies, if that is a forgery, it is incredibly sophisticated.
I am glad to see this video this plane is one of my favorites especially the early version with the BMW inline engines
I look forward to more collaborations between Rex and Drach. Navy and Airforce sarcasm curry!
You should do a video on the swedish B-18 light bombers which I believe are based on the Do-17 and maybe a video on the J-21 and A-21 which are 2 swedish push props
Danke für die tolle Dokumentation. Bin ein großer Fan der Do 17 und habe ein Maschine in 1:72 gebaut. Kennung U5 +HA , eine Do 17 Z2 geflogen vom Österreicher Franz Edler von Remiz von der Stabs Staffel KG 2. Verlust am 24.6.41 bei Minsk. Warte schon auf die nächste Doku! Viele Grüße von Bernd
Thank you Rex for an entertaining extended endeavour. I found this both entertaining and informative and watched it uninterrupted so it is now 4:20am in Ontario but no harm done to this retired septuagenarian insomniac nighthawk.
Good luck with the house hunting and my sincere sympathies about the migraines. I know how painful and damaging they can be, my wife suffered from them.
Best of all things forward to you and I am anticipating more of your hard work.
Thank you and Cheers from Ottawa, ON!
Marvelous research and video.
Most interesting. I would never have the patience to tease all of these facts out.... I love history. Your work is appreciated by myself and hubby.
The Netherlands before the war also ordered 18 D0-215's (sometimes mentioned as 215-B's); none however were delivered.
Cor. Yer a stout lad. Good on ya and thanks for your hard work and pain.
Such an informative video. My first built model was a Do17Z. And...my uncle was a Do217 night fighter pilot. Thanks!
“Forget everything you know about the DO-17.” Whew, I’ve been waiting my whole life to hear someone say that