Dornier Do R

Do R Superwal
Role	Flying Boat Airliner
Manufacturer	Dornier
First flight	September 1926
Primary users	Deutsche Luft Hansa SANA
Number built	19

The Dornier Do R Superwal was a German flying boat airliner of the 1920s.

Development

The Do R was a larger development of the Do J, with a larger high-mounted strut-braced monoplane wing and longer fuselage. All but the first three built also had four engines in place of the Do J's two. The Do R could carry 19 passengers in two cabins; 11 in the forward cabin and eight in the rear.

Dornier R 2 Superwal

The first R 2 Superwal D-1115 made its maiden flight on 30. September 1926 Two 650-HP-Rolls-Royce Condor-III-engines were mounted in tandem in a nacelle above the wing and in line with the hull; one engine drove a tractor propeller and the other drove a pusher propeller. D-1115 was the big flying boat that could be built in the Dornier factory in Manzell after the war. The Superwal went into service with Severa and later DVS in List, both organisations of the German government to develop military Seaplanes ignoring restrictions of the Versailles treaty. 1927 built two more R 2 Superwale for Severa. D-1255 was sometimes used by Deutsche Luft Hansa and named Narwal and D-1385 with 800-HP-Packard-engines, which served until November 1936.

Dornier R 4 Superwal

Between 20 January and 5 February the Dornier Chief Pilot Richard Wagner established twelve world records for seaplanes with a new R4 Gas uperwal. This aircraft and eleven more with Gnome et Rhône Bristol-Jupiter-engines(R4 Gas) or 525-HP-Siemens-Bristol-Jupiter-engines (R4 Sas) came 1928/29 to Società Anonima Navigazione Aerea (SANA) and Luft Hansa.

Apart from their use by Luft Hansa, six Superwals saw regular service with Italian airline SANA into the early 1930s along the Italian west-coast and to Spain. Three aircraft were lost. The Superwal I-RUDO went into the service of the Italian Airministry in 1934 and became the last Superwal in Italian service. It had Isotta-Fraschini-Asso-500-engines.
At least one machine actually was assembled in Spain by CASA.

Variants

• R2 - early version with two Rolls-Royce Condor III inline engines (3 built)
• R4 - definitive version with four engines in two tractor-pusher pairs
  • R4 Gas - with Gnome et Rhône-built Bristol Jupiter radial engines (2 built)
  • R4 Nas - with Napier Lion inlines (2 built)
  • R4 Sas - with Siemens-built Bristol Jupiter radials (10 built)
  • R4 Cas - with Pratt & Whitney Hornet radials (2 built)

Operators

 Italy

• SANA

 Weimar Republic

• Deutsche Luft Hansa

Specifications (R4Gas)

General characteristics

• Crew: 4
• Capacity: 19 passengers
• Length: 24.60 m (80 ft 9 in)
• Wingspan: 28.60 m (93 ft 10 in)
• Height: 6.00 m (19 ft 8 in)
• Wing area: 137.0 m² (1,474 ft²)
• Empty weight: 9,850 kg (21,720 lb)
• Gross weight: 14,000 kg (30,900 lb)
• Powerplant: 4 × Siemens-built Bristol Jupiter VI, 360 kW (480 hp) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 210 km/h (130 mph)
• Range: 1,500 km (930 miles)
• Service ceiling: 1,500 m (4,900 ft)

References

• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 328. 
• World Aircraft Information Files. London: Bright Star Publishing. pp. File 892 Sheet 27. 
• "Berlin Aero Show 1928". Flight: 908–09. 18 October 1928. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
• "The New Dornier Super-Wal". Flight: 18. 12 January 1928. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
• "The Dornier Super-Wal". Flight: 817. 9 December 1926. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
• "A New Dornier Super-Wal". Flight: 199. 22 March 1928. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dornier R.

• German aircraft between 1919 - 1945
• Planes Planned For TransAtlantic Service article on Dornier R 2 Superwal September 1927 Popular Mechanics