Dornier, Claudius

In 1907 he graduated from the Higher Technical School in Munich .

He began his career in aviation, joining the company "Zeppelin Lyufshifsbau" in 1910, worked in the experimental department of the airship enterprise F. Zeppelin . Dornier studied aerodynamics of an all-metal rigid airship. Soon he designed the airship for the transatlantic routes. This made an impression on Count von Zeppelin, and in 1914, in order to construct aircraft according to original ideas, Dornier, Count Zeppelin, established in Friedrichshafen a Zeppelin subsidiary to Verke Lindau GmbH.

From 1915 to 1918 Dornier headed the production of all-metal aircraft, including large flying boats.

The first Dornier plane was a large flying boat Rs.I, which was distinguished by its size and the aluminum alloy used for the first time in Germany - duralumin. The boat was launched in October 1915, but was broken before the first flight. It was followed by three more all-metal flying boats Rs.II, III, IV, built in the next three years.

In 1916, the Dornier Design Bureau was transferred to Simos near Friedrichshafen, where it conducted work not only on seaplanes. In 1917, a CL.I double fighter attack aircraft took off, built to test Dornier’s developments in the field of working skin. The DI single-seat fighter built in 1918 had a fuselage with working skin, a cantilever wing with a torsion box and a dumped fuel tank under the fuselage. But the Dornier development aircraft were more likely to experience technology than serious attempts to create production models. None of them was put into mass production.

After the end of World War I, Dornier switched to commercial aircraft. July 31, 1919 flew six-passenger passenger boat Gs.I. It was distinguished by a stable wide body with sponsons - “Stummels”, which became the hallmark of Dornier for many subsequent years. The flying boat was a great success, but after the demonstration in Holland, the Allies demanded its destruction as an aircraft falling under the prohibitions of the Control Commission. Gs.I was sunk by Carina on April 25, 1920, and the work on the completion of two 9-seat Gs.II was not completed.

At the factory in Manzel, where Dornier continued to work, small planes began to be produced, matching the standards set by the allies. These aircraft were the small five-seat Cs.II Dolphin, which flew on November 24, 1920. The following year was followed by his land version C.III Comet and the double flying boat Libella-I.

In 1922, the Zeppelin Werke Lindau GmbH became known as the Dornier Metalbauten GmbH. Since the production of large aircraft in Germany after World War I was banned, Claudius Dornier launched the production of the flying boat Gs.II, which he called “Wal” (“Whale”) in Italy at the CMASA subsidiary established in Marina di Pisa. The first flying boat flew on November 6, 1922. These boats were used for postal and passenger traffic in the years 1920-1930, the number of cars built during that period exceeded 260 copies. The aircraft was built under license in Japan, Holland and Spain.

Meanwhile, work in Manzella was limited mainly to the release of small commercial Dolphins and Comets, and since 1925 the six-seat “Merkur”. They also secretly worked on military aircraft, including the Do.N Falke and Seefalk - an all-metal free-carrying monoplane fighter with a float and wheeled chassis, the prototype of which took off on November 1, 1922. The fighter license was acquired by Kawasaki , although she did not use it.

Another military aircraft created in the mid-1920s was Do.D, a two-float torpedo bomber that first flew in July 1926 and entered service with the Yugoslav Naval Aviation.

In 1926, Dornier moved to Switzerland, where he founded a new company, AR Für Dornier Flugtsoyg, and began designing the 12-engine Do X, the largest flying boat of that time. The Do X had a takeoff weight of more than 50 tons and lifted 170 passengers. In 1931, she made a demonstration flight across four continents.

Since 1932, Dornier again worked in Germany, heading the Dornier Werke GmbH company (Dornier Werke GmbH).

Before World War II, Dornier created the Medium Do-17 bomber, then refined and used in military operations under the designation Do-217 .

After the Second World War, the Dornier company was engaged in the manufacture of aircraft for private use.

Claudius Dornier resumed his activities in Spain in 1949, and in June 1954 the first flight of the Do 25 aircraft took place, which had one ENMA Tiger engine with a capacity of 150 liters. since .. 50 similar aircraft appeared later under the designation CASA C-127. Developed on the basis of this aircraft experienced Do 27 took off on April 8, 1955. Production of Do 27A was carried out in Germany at the Dornier Verke plant.

Dornier himself in 1962 abandoned the management of the company and went to Switzerland.

• W. Green. Dornier // [1] = “Wings of the Luftwaffe (Warplanes of the Third Reich)” / Translation by Andrey Firsov. - Issue # 4. - Moscow: ONTI TsAGI , 1994-1996. - ("History of aviation technology" (supplement to the bulletin Technical information)). Archived April 25, 2012. Archived copy of April 25, 2012 on Wayback Machine