The Dornier ''Libelle'' (en:"Dragonfly I"), also designated Do A, was a German open-cockpit, all-metal,

parasol wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

flying boat A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy. Though ...

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

, with partly fabric-covered wings. There was three versions of the seaplane version; the prototype, first version, and improved version (the Libelle 2). A landplane version, built without

sponsons Sponsons are projections extending from the sides of land vehicles, aircraft or watercraft to provide protection, stability, storage locations, mounting points for weapons or other devices, or equipment housing. Watercraft On watercraft, a spons ...

and fitted with a fixed

tailwheel Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

undercarriage was produced as the Dornier Spatz.

Variants

;Do A :Two prototypes of the Libelle ;Libelle I :The standard production model, five built, fitted with

Siemens-Halske Sh 4 The Siemens-Halske Sh 4 was a five-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft built in Germany in the 1920s. First run in 1921, it was rated at 40 kW (55 hp). Applications * Albatros L 59 * Albatros L 71 * Caspar U.1 * Dietr ...

engines and two built with

Siemens-Halske Sh 5 The Siemens-Halske Sh 5 was a seven-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft built in Germany in the 1920s. First run in 1921, it was rated at 60 kW (80 hp). Applications * Albatros L 60 * Dietrich DP.IIa * Grulich S.1 * Jun ...

engines. ;Libelle II :The improved Libelle II was powered by

Siemens-Halske Sh 11 The Siemens-Halske Sh 11 was a seven-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft built in Germany in the 1920s. First run in 1925, it was rated at 75 kW (100 hp). Applications * Albatros L 68 * Bach 3-CT-2 Air Yacht * Bach 3-CT ...

engines. Other engines fitted to Libelle II aircraft include the

Bristol Lucifer The Bristol Lucifer is a British three-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft. Built in the UK in the 1920s by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, it produced 100 horsepower (75 kW). The Lucifer was originally a Cosmos Engineering en ...

and the

ADC Cirrus The ADC Cirrus is a series of British aero engines manufactured using surplus Renault parts by the Aircraft Disposal Company (ADC) in the 1920s. The engines were air-cooled, four-cylinder inline types. They were widely used for private and l ...

. Three built.

Accidents

A Dornier Libelle crashed into the sea off

Milford Milford may refer to: Place names Canada * Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia * Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia * Milford, Ontario England * Milford, Derbyshire * Milford, Devon, a place in Devon * Milford on Sea, Hampshire * Milford, Shro ...

beach in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

on 12 December 1929, killing both crewmen.

Survivor

A Libelle II ''VQ-FAB'', manufacturers number 117 built in 1925, which operated in

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

, is displayed in the

Deutsches Museum The Deutsches Museum (''German Museum'', officially (English: ''German Museum of Masterpieces of Science and Technology'')) in Munich, Germany, is the world's largest museum of science museum, science and technology museum, technology, with a ...

in the centre of

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

.Ogden, 2006. p. 202

Specifications (Libelle I)

References

* * *

External links

*
Dornier “Libelle" at http://www.jadu.de/luftfahrt
{{Dornier aircraft 1920s German civil utility aircraft Flying boats Libelle Single-engined tractor aircraft Parasol-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1921