Conceptually, the Do E was very similar to the successful Dornier Wal, but smaller and single-engined. It was of all-metal construction, with a parasol wing that was attached by struts to a wide, shallow hull. The hull had a single step and stability on the water was ensured by the characteristic Dornier sponsons. The single engine was installed on top of the wing centre section, driving a tractor propeller.
The crew accommodation consisted of an open cockpit with two seats side by side, and a position for an observer in the aft fuselage. The Do E could be equipped with a defensive gun or photographic equipment, operated by the observer.
Only four are known to have been completed. Two aircraft with Rolls-Royce Eagle IX engines, known as Do E Is, were exported to Japan and Chile. Two more were built as the Do E II, with Gnome-Rhone Jupiter air-cooled engines. The Do E I was distinguished from the Wal and the Do E II by having a wing covered with metal panels, instead of fabric.
Dornier registered the two Do E II aircraft for the 1926 German contest for seaplanes, but cancelled their participation shortly before the start.
Specifications (Do E/II)
Data from Wasserflugzeuge - Flugboote, Amphibien, Schwimmerflugzeuge,[1] Die deutschen Flugboote : Flugboote, Amphibien-Flugboote u. Projekte von 1909 bis zur Gegenwart[2]
^Becker, Hans-Jurgen (1994). Wasserflugzeuge - Flugboote, Amphibien, Schwimmerflugzeuge (in German). Germany: Bernard & Graefe Verlag.
^Gütschow, Fred (1978). Die deutschen Flugboote : Flugboote, Amphibien-Flugboote u. Projekte von 1909 bis zur Gegenwart (in German) (1. Aufl ed.). Stuttgart: Motorbuch-Verlag. pp. 97–99. ISBN3879435650.
Further reading
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dornier Do E.
Dornier GmbH (1996). Dornier: Die Chronik des ältesten deutschen Flugzeugwerks (in German). Oberhachingen: Aviatik Verlag.
