Friday, August 26, 2005
Friday Night Airplane Blogging
Lacking the large industrial base of the US or USSR, the German sought to keep parity with cutting edge technology. One example is the Dornier Do 355 "Arrow". With two engines in a push-pull layout it was able to achieve the fastest speed of any propeller driven aircraft of WWII. Other novel elements were the ejection seat and explosive bolts on the tail section to allow a safe bailout for the pilot. With two 20mm cannon on the nose and two 30mm cannon in the wings, it would have been a formidable foe if it had come earlier in the war and in sufficient quantity. When the factory was overrun by US troops in April 1945, only 13 had been completed with another 85 in various stages of construction. Today, only one still exists in the National Aeronautics and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
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