Designed to a Royal Netherlands Navy requirement for a replacement of the Dornier Wals being used in the Dutch East Indies, the Dornier Do 24K first flew on 3 July 1937. The Netherlands planned to operate up to 90 Do 24K flying boats, however when Germany invaded in 1940, only 37 had been delivered to the East Indies.

Post-invasion the Dutch production line was resumed and an additional 159 Do 24s were built in addition to 16 incomplete airframes at the factory. A second production line was started at the CAMS factory at Sartrouville, France, during the German occupation. This line was operated by SNCAN and produced 48 Do 24s during the war and another 40 after the liberation of France, which served with the French Navy until 1952.

The two prototypes were used by the Luftwaffe during the invasion of Norway to transport troops to Narvik.

The aircraft captured and produced in the Netherlands were pressed into service with Seenotstaffeln (air-sea rescue) and deployed in the Arctic, Baltic, North Sea, Bay of Biscay, Mediterranean, and Black Sea. They were also used as transports, notably for keeping contact with the troops left behind on the Aegean Islands and Crete, and for supporting the Kuban bridgehead in early 1943.

After the Japanese invasion of the Netherlands East Indies, six Dornier Do 24K aircraft were evacuated to Australia. All the Dornier’s were in poor condition and required several months of repairs and modifications after reaching Australia. The aircraft were given RAAF Serials A49-1 through A49-6 consecutively.

One of the machines (A49-6) served the majority of its remaining career with the Netherlands Forces Intelligence Service flying between Australia and the NEI, while the other five (A49-1 thru A49-5) served with No 41 Maritime Transport Squadron based in Townsville, Queensland. Maintaining the aircraft proved to be very difficult as spares were virtually non-existent because the aircraft arrived without support equipment, servicing manuals or tools. All 41 Squadron aircraft spent long periods of time unserviceable awaiting repair to the troublesome engines; electrical systems or the hull. For these and other reasons the aircraft were only used for a relatively short time and by June 1944 five were placed into long term storage and one had been destroyed in an accident. Sometime during 1945 the remaining five aircraft were scrapped by No 1 Flying Boat Repair Depot at Lake Boga, Victoria.