Dornier Do 27

Do 27
Do 27 in Swiss Air Force markings
Role STOL light utility aircraft
Manufacturer Dornier Flugzeugbau GmbH
First flight 27 June 1955
Status In civilian use
Primary user German Air Force
Produced 1955-1965
Number built 628
Developed from Dornier Do 25
Developed into Dornier Do 28
Dornier Do 29

The Dornier Do 27 was a German single-engine STOL utility aircraft, manufactured by Dornier GmbH (later DASA Dornier, Fairchild-Dornier). Configuration was a classic high-wing, "tail-dragger" aircraft with fixed landing gear.

History

Dorniers facilities in Spain designed the Do 25, to a Spanish military requirement for a light utility aircraft, as a precursor to the production Do 27. Powered by a single 110 kilowatts (150 hp) ENMA Tigre G.V engine, the Do 25 was not selected for production.

The Do 27 seated four to six and the original prototype first flew in Spain on 27 June 1955.[1] Most production aircraft were built in Germany, the first German built aircraft taking flight on 17 October 1956, 50 more were manufactured in Spain by Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA as the CASA-127.

The German Air Force and German Army ordered a total of 428 of the Do 27A and Do 27B (with dual controls).[2]

A later version with the same basic specifications but equipped with wider track landing gear was known as the Do 27Q-5. The aircraft was offered as a twin-float seaplane, the Do 27S-1, and with a larger engine (254 kW/340 hp Lycoming GSO-480-B1B6) and a three-blade propeller as the Do 27H-2.

In addition to the military operators in Germany and Spain, Portugal received 40 new build and 106 ex-German aircraft. The Portuguese Air Force used these extensively in the colonial war in Portuguese Africa during the 1960s-70s. In the Portuguese Guinea, in April 1973, two Do 27s were shot down by SAM-7 Grail shoulder-launched AAMs.[3]

The Do 27 was notable for being the first mass-produced aircraft in Germany after World War II. It was appreciated for its relatively wide, comfortable cabin and excellent short-field performance.

Variants

Do 27B-2 used by Bernhard Grzimek
Do 25
Precursor aircraft designed to a Spanish requirement and powered by a 110 kilowatts (150 hp) ENMA Tigre G.V engine.[4]
Do 27
Prototype, two built.
Do 27A-1
Military five-seat single-engine STOL utility transport aircraft, 177 built
Do 27A-2
Do 27A-1 with minor modification inside, two built.
Do 27A-3
Do 27A-1 with increased Take Off Gross Weight, 88 built.
Do 27-A4
Variant with wide landing gear and increased Take Off Gross Weight, 65 built.
Do 27B-1
Dual-control version of the A-1, 86 built.
Do 27B-2
Do 27B-2 with minor modification inside, five built.
Do 27B-3
Do 27B-2 with increased Take Off Gross Weight, 16 built.
Do 27B-5
Conversions of 27B-3s to 27A-4 standard.
Do 27H-1
Do 27B-2 powered by a 254 kW (340 hp) Avco Lycoming GSO-480 piston engine with a three-bladed propeller and a larger tail, one built.
Do 27H-2
Do 27H-2
Variant of the H-1 for the Swiss Air Force with some modifications as applied to the Do 27Q-1
Do 27J-1
Production of the Do 27A-4 for Belgian Army, 12 built.
Do 27K-1
Production of the Do 27A-4 for Portuguese Air Force, 16 built.
Do 27K-2
Similar to K-1 with minor modifications for Portuguese Air Force, 14 built.
Do 27Q-1
Six-seat variant of the A-1 for civil market, 16 built.
Do 27Q-3
Four-seat variant of the Q-1 with a 230 hp Continental O-470K engine, one built.
Do 27Q-4
Improved Q-1 with auxiliary fuel tanks, 34 built.
Do 27Q-5
Improved Q-4 with internal modifications, 12 built.
Do 27Q-5(R)
Restricted category version of the Do 27Q-5.
Do 27Q-6
Variant of the Q-5 with internal changes for Guinea Bissau and Brazil, 2 built.
Do 27S-1
Floatplane version with enlarged rudder and a ventral fin, one built.
Do 27T
One Do 27Q-4 converted with a Turbomeca Astazou II turboprop engine.

Operators

Civil operators

 Turkey

Military Operators

Do 27
 Angola
 Belgium
 Belize
 Burundi
 Cyprus
 Republic of the Congo
 Germany
 Guinea-Bissau
 Israel
 Lesotho
 Malawi
 Mozambique
 Nigeria
 Portugal
Portuguese Air Force's Do 27.
 Rwanda
 South Africa
 Spain
 Sudan
 Sweden
  Switzerland
 Turkey

Specifications (Do 27Q-5)

German Air Force Do 27 on display in the Deutsches Museum

Data from Macdonald Aircraft Handbook [8]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Related lists

References

Notes

  1. Jackson 1976, p. 10.
  2. Donald 1997, p. 341
  3. Canongia Lopes, Mario High Winged Workhorses: Broussards and Dorniers in Portuguese Service Air Enthusiast #75 May–June 1998 p.44
    • Bridgman, Leonard (1955). Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1955-56. London: Jane's Publishing Company.
  4. Air International February 1993, p. 104.
  5. Air International December 1985, p. 282.
  6. http://www.saairforce.co.za/the-airforce/aircraft/149/do-27a
  7. Green 1964, p. 31.

Bibliography

  • Bridgman, Leonard (1955). Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1955-56. London: Jane's Publishing Company. 
  • Donald, David, ed. (1997). The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Aerospace Publishing. p. 341. ISBN 1-85605-375-X. 
  • "FAPA - A force alone". Air International. Vol. 44 no. 2. February 1993. pp. 103–105. ISSN 0306-5634. 
  • Green, William (1964). Macdonald Aircraft Handbook. London: Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd. 
  • Jackson, Paul A. (1976). German Military Aviation 1956-1976. Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK: Midland Counties Publications. ISBN 0-904597-03-2. 
  • "A West African Rarity". Air International. Vol. 29 no. 6. December 1985. p. 282. ISSN 0306-5634. 
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