The Dornier Do 335 Pfeil was a heavy fighter built by Dornier for Germany during World War II.
The two-seater trainer version was called Ameisenbär.
The Pfeil’s performance was predicted to be better than other twin-engine designs due to its unique push-pull configuration and the lower aerodynamic drag of the in-line alignment of the two engines.
It was Nazi Germany’s fastest piston engined aircraft of World War II.
The Luftwaffe was desperate to get the design into operational use, but delays in engine deliveries meant that only a handful were delivered before the war ended.
Variants
Do 335 A-0
10 pre-production aircraft.
Do 335 A-1
Single-seat fighter-bomber aircraft.
Specifications
Crew
1
Length
13.85 m (45 ft 5 in)
Wingspan
13.8 m (45 ft 3 in)
Height
5 m (16 ft 5 in)
Wing area
38.5 m2 (414 sq ft)
Airfoil
Root
NACA 23018-630
Tip
NACA 23012-635
Empty weight
7,260 kg (16,006 lb)
Gross weight
9,600 kg (21,164 lb)
A-6 10,085 kg (22,234 lb)
Fuel capacity
1,230 l (320 US gal; 270 imp gal) main fuel tank (single-seat) with various extra tankage in the weapons bay and wings, depending on variant
Powerplant
2 × Daimler-Benz DB 603E-1 V-12 inverted liquid-cooled piston engines, 1,342 kW (1,800 hp) each for take-off
1,417 kW (1,900 hp) at 1,800 m (5,900 ft)
Propellers
3-bladed VDM, 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in) diameter constant-speed tractor and pusher propellers
Performance
Maximum speed
763 km/h (474 mph, 412 kn) at 6,500 m (21,300 ft)
A-6 690 km/h (430 mph; 370 kn) at 5,300 m (17,400 ft)
Cruise speed
685 km/h (426 mph, 370 kn) at 7,200 m (23,600 ft)
Economical cruise speed
452 km/h (281 mph; 244 kn) at 6,000 m (20,000 ft)
Range
1,395 km (867 mi, 753 nmi) on full internal fuel at max. continuous power
2,060 km (1,280 mi; 1,110 nmi) at economical cruise power
Service ceiling
11,400 m (37,400 ft)
Time to altitude
1,000 m (3,300 ft) in 55 seconds ; 8,000 m (26,000 ft) in 14 minutes 30 seconds
Armament
Guns
1 × engine mounted 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 103 cannon with 70 rpg plus 2 × 20 mm (0.79 in) MG 151/20 cowl-mount, synchronized auto cannon with 200 rpg
Bombs
Up to 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) bomb load in internal weapons bay and two under wing pylons.
