Aviation of World War II

Dornier Do-24 - multipurpose three-engine flying boat designed for maritime patrol and rescue operations. First flight on July 3, 1937.

The Dornier Do 24 was commissioned by the Dutch Navy to replace the Dornier Wal aircraft. However, before the German occupation of Holland, only 25 aircraft were built at the Aviolanda factories (Aircraft in Holland were produced with the "K" index). After that, the Luftwaffe showed interest in the aircraft, and production continued under the supervision of German specialists. All subsequent Do 24s were produced under the Do 24T designation.

Structurally, the Do 24 was an all-metal monoplane with a wide fuselage and stabilizing sponsons. Three radial engines located on the leading edge of the wing were used as the power plant. At various times, various air-cooled radial engines were used, eventually the power of the power plant was brought to 3000 hp.

A total of 2797 units of all modifications were produced.

Armament. One 7.9 mm machine gun MG-15 in the bow and a tail turret and one 20-mm Hispano-Suiza-404 cannon in the middle turret. Suspension of bombs weighing up to 600 kg is possible.

Combat work. The Black Sea turned out to be the place of the most intensive use of Do.24, which first appeared here in May 1942 as part of the command "Varna", which had two He.59 and three Do.24. When the situation permitted, they conducted reconnaissance and escorted convoys to Odessa and Sevastopol. At the end of February 1943, when the spring thaw did not allow the use of land aircraft to supply the Kuban group, seaplanes were used. Do.24t were assembled from all parts and combined into two Sevastopol shipping squadrons of 11 vehicles each. Between March 5 and 25, 1943, they delivered 1,000 tons of cargo to the Kuban. They were unloaded on the shoals of the Kuban, and on the way back were loaded with the wounded.

When the Soviet offensive on Crimea began, the XII Sea Rescue Command transferred part of Do.24T to Constanta, and then to Varna. The flying boats that remained in the Sevastopol and Sultan-Eli commands were used for rescue operations and transportation. At the end of April 1944, before the liberation of Odessa by Soviet troops, Do.24T carried out the supply and evacuation of troops from the Odessa harbor to Galati on the Danube. The last Luftwaffe aircraft to leave Crimea was the Do.24T, which took off on two engines with no less than 40 evacuees on board. In August, eight Do.24Ts from the 8th Rescue Squadron of the XI Command were hastily transferred from Mamai in Romania to Varna, and then via Thessaloniki to Athens, where on September 1 they joined the 6th and 7th Maritime Rescue Squadrons. On their base, another unit with 19 aircraft was formed, mainly for the evacuation of German troops from Crete and the islands. Usually they took on board 24 passengers with 30 kg of cargo each. In mid-October, the evacuation of Athens demanded that the unit be transferred to Thessaloniki, from where these flights continued. When the six remaining Do.24s were transferred to Vienna, they evacuated 3,000 people from the islands.

According to Dornier's records, during the entire operation of the Do-24, about 12,000 people were rescued during rescue operations.

Photo	Description
	Drawing Do 24T
	Do 24 K on water

Variants

• Do 24K-1. Switzerland and Holland licensed, 36 copies
• Do 24K-2. Holland under license, three Wright R-1820-G102 746 kW (1,000 hp) engines, 1 piece
• Do 24N-1. Holland for Luftwaffe, naval rescuers. Three 746 kW (1,000 hp) Wright R-1820-G102 engines, 11 pcs.
• Do 24T-1. France, 48 vehicles
• Do 24T-1. Holland for the Luftwaffe. Three BMW Bramo 323R-2 engines, 159 copies. (including T-2 and T-3).
• Do 24T-2. Do 24T-1 with minor modifications.
• Do 24T-3. Do 24T-1 with minor modifications.
• Do 24 ATT. Post-war modification with three Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-45 turboprop engines, 1 piece

Bibliography

• "Aviation of Luftwaffe" /Viktor Shunkov/
• " Combat aircraft of the Luftwaffe " / edited by David Donald /
• "Encyclopedia of military engineering" /Aerospace Publising/