The Dornier Delphin (en: Dolphin) was a 1920s German single-engine commercial flying boat built by Dornier Flugzeugwerke. As well as commercial users, single examples were acquired by the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy for evaluation.
Delphin | |
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Delphin III in 1928 | |
Role | Commercial flying boat Type of aircraft |
Manufacturer | Dornier Flugzeugwerke |
First flight | 1920 |
The Delphin I was developed in 1920. It was an all-metal single-engine high-wing monoplane flying boat. It had an enclosed cabin for four-passengers with the wing mounted above, and the nacelle-mounted engine above that. It was powered by a 138 kW (185 hp) BMW IIIa inline engine. The pilot had an open cockpit on the upper surface of the hull behind the engine, which gave him a limited view forward. It first flew on the 24 November 1920. Dornier first tested the design concept and spontoons in place of wingtip floats, with a small three-seater named the Dornier Libelle.[1]
An improved version, the Delphin II, first flew on 15 February 1924, and was powered by either a 186 kW (250 hp) BMW engine or a 194 kW (260 hp) Rolls-Royce Falcon III engine. The enclosed cabin now had room for two crew and five passengers.
Following the success of the Delphin II, a larger version, the Delphin III was developed from 1927. It was powered by a 447 kW (600 hp) BMW VI engine and had a separate flight deck for the two-man crew and a cabin for ten passengers.
A Delphin I was acquired by the United States Navy, and a Delphin III by the Royal Navy, both of whom were interested in evaluating the metal construction.
General characteristics
Performance
Related lists
Dornier and Zeppelin-Lindau aircraft | |
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Zeppelin-Lindau 1914-1919 | |
Dornier designations 1919-1933 | |
RLM designations 1933-1945 | |
Dornier designations post-1945 | |
See also Claude Dornier and Dornier Museum Friedrichshafen |