Manufacturer: Airfix
Scale: 1/72
Additional parts: a second Airfix Do 217 kit plus parts from a Revell He 177
Model build: Oct 2014 - Jan 2015
Luftwaffe Dornier Do 218
Airfix
1/72
1/72
The Phoenix of the Luftwaffe: A Dornier Do 218A Tale
October 26th, 1938. A crisp autumn wind whipped across the tarmac of Rechlin Airfield, Germany. Among the sleek lines of Messerschmitts and Heinkels, a lumbering giant stood out. This was no ordinary bomber. The Dornier Do 218A, a Frankenstein's monster of German engineering, was about to take its first flight.
Born from the ashes of the failed Uralbomber project, the Do 218A was a gamble. Built on the bones of the Do 217, it boasted a stretched fuselage, enlarged wings, and a quartet of growling Jumo 211B engines. While unorthodox, it promised a longer range and heavier payload than any bomber in the Luftwaffe's arsenal.
Hauptmann Franz Schmidt, a grizzled veteran with a steely gaze, gripped the controls. His crew, a mix of seasoned veterans and eager rookies, watched his every move. This was their chance to prove the naysayers wrong.
The engines roared to life, sending a tremor through the massive aircraft. Schmidt eased the throttle forward, and the Do 218A lumbered down the runway, picking up speed with surprising alacrity. As the wheels lifted off the ground, a cheer erupted from the control tower. The "Phoenix," as the crew had christened it, had risen.
The test flight was a baptism of fire. The tail fins proved insufficient. The Do 218A danced precariously in the sky, a wild beast struggling for control. Schmidt, his knuckles white on the controls, fought to keep the aircraft aloft. His calm voice over the intercom reassured his crew as he nursed the bomber through a series of harrowing maneuvers.
Back on the ground, engineers huddled around telemetry data, their faces etched with concern. The Do 218A had the potential, but its stability issues were undeniable. Despite the near-disaster, Schmidt's skill had saved the flight and, perhaps, the future of the bomber.
News of the test flight reached Ernst Udet, head of the Luftwaffe's technical office. Impressed by the Do 218A's potential, he ordered modifications. The enlarged tail fins became a permanent feature, christened the "Schmidt Stabilizers" in the pilot's honor. With these changes, the Do 218B variant was born, a more stable and formidable bomber.
Fast forward to the summer of 1940. The Battle of Britain raged. While the Do 17s and He 111s pummeled southern England, a squadron of Do 218Bs, led by the now-famous Hauptmann Schmidt, embarked on daring nighttime raids. Their extended range allowed them to strike targets beyond the reach of other Luftwaffe bombers, wreaking havoc on vital industrial centers.
One night, on a mission to cripple a Royal Air Force airfield, Schmidt's squadron found itself intercepted by a flight of nimble Spitfires. The ensuing dogfight was a ballet of fire and steel. The Do 218Bs, with their heavier armament, fought back valiantly. Schmidt, ever the tactician, used his formation's firepower to devastating effect, taking down several Spitfires.
However, the Do 218Bs were not invincible. Their bulk made them cumbersome against the agile British fighters. One by one, they fell victim to concentrated attacks. By the time the last Spitfire limped away, only Schmidt's Phoenix remained, riddled with bullet holes but stubbornly airborne.
News of Schmidt's lone return, defying overwhelming odds, became a legend within the Luftwaffe. The Do 218A, the "Phoenix," had proven its worth. Though overshadowed by later bomber designs, it carved its niche in history, a testament to German engineering ingenuity and the courage of its crew.
A bit history:
In the 1930s, the German "Uralbomber" project resulted in two bomber prototypes, the Dornier Do 19 and the Junkers Ju 89. Of both of the four-engined bombers only one prototype was build and tested before the project was stopped.
After this first attpemt, no futher plans were made to build a strategic bomber in German until the second half of World War II. Instead, Germany concentrated on larger numbers of medium bombers like the He 111 or Ju 88.
The Plane:
While constructing the Dornier Do 19, it got obvious to Dornier technicans that this plane would not have the perfomance to survive against the threads of modern air warfare. Therfore - without having a construction order of the RLM - Donier investigated how a more capable bomber could be build based on the current mdeium bombers being under development.
The base model choosen was the Dornier Do 217. With enlarged wings and hull, the new model - designated Dornier Do 218 - was equipped with four Jumo 211B engines. The enlarges hull allowed to add additional defensive armamamnet, more fuel and a slightly higher bomb load than the original Do 217 model.
Construction of the Do 217 and Do 218 prototypes were made in paralell and while the Do 217 had its maiden flight on October 4th 1938, the Do 218 followed two and a half weeks later.
Test flights showed that the Do 218A model lacked a bit in flight stability due to the original tail fins, therefore those were enlarged for the Do 218B variant. Besides this, flight performance a a bit better than the smaller Do 217, combined with a higher range and 25% bigger bomb load.
The common usage of many construction parts speeded up development of the Do 218 and production started in smaller numbers in early summer of 1939.
The first operational Bomber Gruppen in the Luftwaffe used the Do218A by spring 1940. In summer, about 30 of those planes were ready to be used during the Battle of Britain. Due to their longer range, the Do 218 wasm ainly used to attack targets which were beyond the range of other Luftlotte 2 aircraft. However, they were also used for attacks to Royal Airforce airfields in southern England.
With its heavier armament, the Do 218 was not so vulnerable to attacks of British fighter planes, but the operations during the Battle of Britain showed that the pölane would run into trouble when engaged by larger numbers of modern fighter planes.
The production of the Do 218 was continued until late 1942 then the Heinkel He 177 was introduced. Until then, 837 Dornier Do 218A, B and C were build. For a short time it was considered to re-start production when the engine problems of the He 177 got too obvious, but as the original design of the Do 218 was too outdated by that time, production was not re-opened.
At the end of the war, most existing Do 218 were put out of service or scrapped to re-use the material.
The model shows a Dornier Do 218A in a retro camo scheme in October 1938.
The model was made using two old Airfix 1/72 scale Do 217 kits. The wings were enlarged by adding the inner wings of the second Do 217 kit to it. The hull itself was streched with plastic parts and a lot of putty.
The second gun position on the hull was made using parts of a Revell He 177 kit. Cockpit, landing gear and tail fins were made using the original Do 217 parts.
The model was airbrushed with Revell Aqua Color colors and the decals were taken from an old Italieri Ju 86 kit.
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