#dornierdo215

The Soviet Union purchased two Dornier Do 215 B-3 long range reconnaissance aircraft for evaluation. Originally ordered as Do 215B-2s by the Luftwaffe, which had cancelled its order in favour of the Junkers Ju 88 and Heinkel He 177, they were redesignated Do 215B-3s. They were not equipped with either defensive armament of cameras when delivered.

The Dornier Do 215 was designed as an export version of the successful Do 17 bomber. Three prototypes were built: The V1 was essentially the same as the Do 17Z ans ws powered by Bramo 323 Fafnir radial engines; The V2 was powered by Gnome-Rhône 14-NO radial engines, while the V3 was powered by Daimler-Benz DB 601 Ba inline engines. With the more powerful engines, the V3 was faster and attracted interest from Sweden, who ordered 18 aircraft.

Due to deteriorating international conditions leading up the Second World War, Germany embargoed the Swedish aircraft and they were used by the Luftwaffe, where they were designated Do 215 B-1.

Official figures indicate that 105 Do 215s were produced between 1939 and 1941 by Dornier. The last machines were retired in late 1944.

In 1942, the Royal Hungarian Air Force received ten used Dornier Do 215 aircraft for use as reconnaissance aeroplanes. These consisted of three B-1 and seven B-4s. They were only used for a short time before being relegated to training units towards the end of 1942.