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The Dornier Do J ''Wal'' ("
whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...
") is a twin-engine German
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 ...
of the 1920s designed by ''
Dornier Flugzeugwerke Dornier Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturer founded in Friedrichshafen in 1914 by Claude Dornier. Over the course of its long lifespan, the company produced many designs for both the civil and military markets. History Originall ...
''. The Do J was designated the Do 16 by the
Reich Air Ministry The Ministry of Aviation (, abbreviated RLM) was a government department during the period of Nazi Germany (1933–45). It is also the original name of the Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus building on the Wilhelmstrasse in central Berlin, Germany, which ...
(''RLM'') under its aircraft designation system of 1933.


Design and development

The Do J had a high-mounted
strut-braced In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of struts, which act in ...
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 ...
with two
piston engines A reciprocating engine, more often known as a piston engine, is a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common features of all ...
mounted in tandem in a central
nacelle A nacelle ( ) is a streamlined container for aircraft parts such as Aircraft engine, engines, fuel or equipment. When attached entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached with a Hardpoint#Pylon, pylo ...
above the wing; one engine drove a
tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...
and the other drove a
pusher propeller In aeronautical and naval engineering, pusher configuration is the term used to describe a drivetrain of air- or watercraft with propulsion device(s) after the engine(s). This is in contrast to the more conventional tractor configuration, whic ...
. The hull made use of
Claudius Dornier Claude (Claudius) Honoré Désiré Dornier (14 May 1884 – 5 December 1969) was a France–Germany relations, Franco-German airplane designer and founder of Dornier GmbH. His notable designs include the 12-engine Dornier Do X flying boat, f ...
's patented
sponson Sponsons are projections extending from the sides of land vehicles, aircraft or watercraft to provide protection, Instantaneous stability, stability, storage locations, mounting points for weapons or other devices, or equipment housing. Watercra ...
s on the hull's sides, first pioneered with the earlier, Dornier-designed Zeppelin-Lindau Rs.IV flying boat late in World War I. The Do J made its maiden flight on 6 November 1922. The flight, as well as most production until 1932, took place in Italy because of the restrictions on aviation in Germany after World War I under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Dornier began to produce the ''Wal'' in Germany in 1931; production went on until 1936. In the military version (''Militärwal'' in German),Das Flugzeug im Zeppelin-Konzern und seinen Nachfolgebetrieben, Ernst Wasmuth Verlag Tübingen, Berlin & Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen 2006 a crew of two to four rode in an open
cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, on the front part of an aircraft, spacecraft, or submersible, from which a pilot controls the vehicle. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the controls th ...
near the nose of the hull. There was one machine gun position in the bow in front of the cockpit and one or two amidships. Beginning with Spain, military versions were delivered to Argentina, Chile and the Netherlands for use in their colonies; examples were also sent to Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union and to the end of production Italy and Germany. The main military users, Spain and the Netherlands, manufactured their own versions under licence. Several countries, notably Italy, Norway, Portugal, Uruguay and Germany, employed the ''Wal'' for military tasks. The civil version (''Kabinenwal'' or ''Verkehrswal'') had a cabin in the nose, offering space for up to 12 passengers, while the open cockpit was moved further aft. Main users of this version were Germany, Italy, Brazil and Colombia. The Do J was first powered by two 265 kW (355 hp)
Rolls-Royce Eagle The Rolls-Royce Eagle was the first aircraft engine to be developed by Rolls-Royce Limited. Introduced in 1915 to meet British military requirements during World War I, it was used to power the Handley Page Type O bombers and a number of oth ...
IX engines. Later versions used nearly every available engine on the market from makers like
Hispano-Suiza Hispano-Suiza () is a Spanish automotive company. It was founded in 1904 by Marc Birkigt and as an automobile manufacturer and eventually had several factories in Spain and France that produced luxury cars, aircraft engines, trucks and weapons. ...
,
Napier & Son D. Napier & Son Limited was a British engineering company best known for its luxury motor cars in the Edwardian era and for its aero engines throughout the early to mid-20th century. Napier was founded as a precision engineering company in 1 ...
,
Lorraine-Dietrich Lorraine-Dietrich was a French language, French automobile and aircraft engine manufacturer from 1896 until 1935, created when railway locomotive manufacturer ''Société Lorraine des Anciens Etablissements de Dietrich et Cie de Lunéville'' (k ...
,
BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
, and even the US-built Liberty V-12 engine. The ''10 to-Wal'' used by ''
Deutsche Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), trading as the Lufthansa Group, is a German aviation group. Its major and founding subsidiary airline Lufthansa German Airlines, branded as Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. It ranks second in Europe by ...
'' for their mail service across the South Atlantic from 1934 to 1938 had a range of , and a ceiling of 3,500 m (11,480 ft). Over 250 ''Wals'' were built by CMASA and
Piaggio Piaggio Group () is an Italian motor vehicle manufacturer, which produces a range of two-wheeled motor vehicles and compact commercial vehicles under five brands: Piaggio, Vespa, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi and Derbi. Its corporate headquarters are ...
in Italy, CASA in Spain, Kawasaki in Japan, Aviolanda in the Netherlands and Dornier in Germany. Numerous airlines operated ''Wals'' on scheduled passenger and mail services with great success. The source Robert L. Gandt, in 1991,Gandt, Robert L. China Clipper – The Age of the Great Flying Boats, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis Maryland 1991 (pages 47–48) lists the following carriers: SANA and Aero Espresso of Italy; Aero Lloyd and Deutsche Luft Hansa of Germany; SCADTA of Colombia; Syndicato Condor of Brazil; Nihon Koku Yuso Kaisha of Japan. According to ''Nicolaou, 1996'' Stéphane Nicolaou. Flying Boats & Seaplanes – A History from 1905, Bay View Books Ltd Bideford Devon 1998 (English translation, originally published in french – copyright ETAI, Paris 1996) the Dornier ''Wal'' was "easily the greatest commercial success in the history of marine aviation". The
Colombian Air Force The Colombian Aerospace Force (FAC, ) is the air force of the Republic of Colombia. The Colombian Aerospace Force is one of the three institutions of the Military Forces of Colombia charged, according to the 1991 Constitution, with working to exe ...
used ''Wals'' in the Colombia–Peru War in 1932–1933. The
Dornier Do 18 The Dornier Do 18 was a development of the Do 16 flying boat. It was developed for the ''Luftwaffe'', but '' Deutsche Luft Hansa'' received five aircraft and used these for tests between the Azores and the North American continent in 1936 and o ...
was a completely updated successor to the Wal but shared little more than the general configuration.


Pioneering flights

The Norwegian polar explorer
Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegians, Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Am ...
accompanied by
Lincoln Ellsworth Lincoln Ellsworth (May 12, 1880 – May 26, 1951) was an American polar explorer, engineer, surveyor, and author. He led the first Arctic and Antarctic air crossings. Early life Linn Ellsworth was born in Chicago, Illinois on May 12, 1880. His ...
, pilot
Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen (7 June 1890 – 3 June 1965) was a Norwegian aviation pioneer, military officer, polar explorer and businessman. Among his achievements, he is generally regarded a founder of the Royal Norwegian Air Force. Background ...
, and three other team members used two Dornier
seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...
s in his unsuccessful attempt to reach the
North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...
in 1925. His two aircraft, ''N-24'' and ''N-25'', landed at 87° 44' north. It was the northernmost latitude reached by any aircraft up to that time. The planes landed a few miles apart without radio contact, yet the crews managed to reunite. One of the aircraft, the N-24, was damaged. Amundsen and his crew worked for over three weeks to prepare an airstrip to take off from the ice. They shoveled 600 tons of ice while consuming only one pound (454 g) of daily food rations. In the end, six crew members were packed into the N-25. Riiser-Larsen took off, and they barely became airborne over the cracking ice. They returned triumphantly after widely being presumed dead. On 18 August 1930,
Wolfgang von Gronau Hans Wolfgang Gronau, as of 1913 von Gronau (25 February 189317 March 1977), was a German aviation pioneer and Luftwaffe general. During World War II he was the German air attaché and the chief of the Luftwaffe liaison staff in Japan. Biography ...
started on a transatlantic flight in the same Dornier ''Wal'' (D-1422) Amundsen had flown, establishing the northern air route over the Atlantic, flying from
Sylt Sylt (; ; Söl'ring North Frisian: ) is an island in northern Germany, part of Nordfriesland district, Schleswig-Holstein, with a distinctively shaped shoreline. It belongs to the North Frisian Islands and is the largest island in North Fris ...
(Germany)-Iceland-Greenland-Labrador-New York ) in 47 flight hours. In 1932 von Gronau flew a Dornier ''Wal'' (D-2053) called the "Grönland Wal" (Greenland Whale) on a round-the-world flight. In 1926 the captain
Ramón Franco Ramón Franco Bahamonde (2 February 1896 – 28 October 1938) was a Spanish pioneer of aviation, a political figure and brother of later caudillo Francisco Franco. Well before the Spanish Civil War, during the reign of Alfonso XIII, both brot ...
became a national Spanish hero when he piloted the ''Plus Ultra'' on a trans-Atlantic flight, following the route pioneered by Portuguese aviators Sacadura Cabral and
Gago Coutinho Carlos Viegas Gago Coutinho, GCTE, GCC (; 17 February 1869 – 18 February 1959), generally known simply as Gago Coutinho, was a Portuguese geographer, cartographer, naval officer, historian and aviator. An aviation pioneer, Gago Coutinho and ...
in the first flight across the South Atlantic in 1922. His co-pilot was Julio Ruiz de Alda Miqueleiz; the other crew members were Teniente de Navio (Navy Lieutenant) Juan Manuel Duran and the mechanic Pablo Rada. The ''Plus Ultra'' departed from
Palos de la Frontera Palos de la Frontera () is a town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the southwestern Spain, Spanish province of Huelva (province), Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is situated some from the provincial capi ...
, in the
Province of Huelva Huelva () is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by Portugal, the provinces of Badajoz, Seville, and Cádiz, and the Atlantic Ocean. Its capital is Huelva. Its area is ...
, Spain, on 22 January and arrived in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
, Argentina, on 26 January. It stopped over at
Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, a Spain, Spanish archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa. the island had a population of that constitut ...
,
Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...
,
Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...
,
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
and
Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
. The journey was completed in 59 hours and 39 minutes. The event appeared in most major newspapers worldwide, although some of them underlined the fact that the airplane itself, plus the technical expertise were foreign. Throughout the Spanish-speaking world, the Spanish aviators were wildly acclaimed, particularly in Argentina and Spain where thousands gathered at Plaza de Colón in
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
. In 1929 Franco attempted another trans-Atlantic flight, this time crashing the airplane in the sea near the
Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...
. The crew was rescued days later by the aircraft carrier HMS ''Eagle'' of the British
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
. The Portuguese military aviator major Sarmento de Beires and his crew (captain Jorge de Castilho as navigator and lieutenant Manuel Gouveia as flight engineer) made the first aerial crossing of the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
by night in a Dornier J named ''Argos''. The crossing was made on the night of the 16 to 17 March 1927, from the Bijagós Archipelago in
Portuguese Guinea Portuguese Guinea (), called the Overseas Province of Guinea from 1951 until 1972 and then State of Guinea from 1972 until 1974, was a Portuguese overseas province in West Africa from 1588 until 10 September 1974, when it gained independence as G ...
to
Fernando de Noronha Fernando de Noronha (), officially the State District of Fernando de Noronha () and formerly known as the Federal Territory of Fernando de Noronha () until 1988, is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, and ...
island in
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. Two Dornier ''Wals'' (D-ALOX ''Passat'' and D-AKER ''Boreas'') also played an important role in the Third German Antarctic Expedition of 1939.


South Atlantic air mail

The biggest and last versions of the ''Wal'', the eight and ten tonne variants (both versions also known as ''Katapultwal'' ), were operated by ''Lufthansa'' on their South Atlantic airmail service from Stuttgart, Germany to Natal, Brazil. On route proving flights in 1933, and a scheduled service beginning in February 1934, ''Wals'' flew the trans-ocean stage of the route, between Bathurst,
the Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...
in West Africa and
Fernando de Noronha Fernando de Noronha (), officially the State District of Fernando de Noronha () and formerly known as the Federal Territory of Fernando de Noronha () until 1988, is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, and ...
, an island group off South America. At first, there was a refueling stop in mid-ocean. The flying boat would land on the open sea, near a converted merchant ship. This vessel was equipped with a "towed sail" onto which the aircraft taxied. From there it was winched aboard by a crane, refueled, and then launched by catapult back into the air. However, landing on the big ocean swells tended to damage the hull of the flying boats, especially the smaller ''8-tonne Wal''. From September 1934 a second merchantman was available, so that ''Lufthansa'' now had a support ship at each end of the trans-ocean stage, providing radio navigation signals and catapult launchings. When they did not have to take off from the water under their own power, the flying boats could carry more fuel. Once the incoming mail from Europe had arrived in West Africa (also by ''Wal'' from the Canary Islands), the support ship would steam out to sea in the direction of South America for 36 hours before using its catapult to launch the airplane. On the return trip a ''Wal'' would fly the stage from Natal to Fernando de Noronha, and then be carried out to sea overnight. The same airplane was then catapulted off to fly to West Africa the following morning, ''i.e.'', after twelve hours travel on the ship. From April 1935 the ships no longer carried the flying boats out to sea. The ''Wal'' was launched offshore, and flew the entire distance across the ocean. This cut the time it took for mail to get from Germany to Brazil from four days down to three. The first ship converted to a mid-Atlantic refueling stop was the ''SS Westfalen'', a freight and passenger liner that became out-dated for carrying mail and passengers shortly after World War I due to its small size and low cruising speed. The second vessel was the MS ''Schwabenland''. In 1936 a new support ship went into service, the MS ''Ostmark'', which Lufthansa had purpose-built as a seaplane tender. ''Wals'' made over 300 crossings of the South Atlantic in regular mail service (Gandt, 1991, pages 47–48). The ''8-tonne Wal'' was not a success, only two being built. The six ''10-tonne Wals'' flew the South Atlantic from 1934 until late 1938, although aircraft of more recent design began replacing them from 1937. From 1925 the French airline '' Compagnie Générale Aéropostale'' operated an airmail service on much the same route, from France to Brazil. The mail was flown only as far as
Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...
in Senegal, West Africa, and then shipped across the South Atlantic to Natal aboard converted
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
s. The ocean crossing alone took five days, the whole trip eight days. From 1930 ''Aéropostale'' began trying to make the ocean crossing by air, but kept losing planes and crews and suffered from a lack of political support. ''
Air France Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...
'', of which ''Aéropostale'' had become a part, only began operating an ''all air'' service between Europe and South America in January 1936,Harold G. Dick with Douglas H. Robinson "The Golden Age of the Great Passenger Airships" Smithsonian Institution Press Washington D.C 1985 Page 166 nearly two years after ''Lufthansa''. That the Germans had succeeded in establishing the world's first regular intercontinental airline service before their competition was due, in no small part, to the sturdy and seaworthy ''Wal'' and its reliable BMW engines. (This section is based on "Graue & Duggan",James W. Graue & John Duggan "Deutsche Lufthansa South Atlantic Airmail Service 1934–1939", Zeppelin Study Group, Ickenham, UK 2000 Gandt and Nicolaou.)


Variants

''Data from: ;Do J Kas ''Wal'' :2x Hispano-Suiza engines. Transport and military flying boat. ;Do J ''Wal'' :2x Rolls-Royce Eagle IX engines. Transport and military flying boat. Exported to Argentina, Chile and the Soviet Union. ;Do J ''Wal'' :2x
Rolls-Royce Kestrel The Rolls-Royce Kestrel (internal type F) is a 21.25 litre (1,295 in³) V-12 aircraft engine from Rolls-Royce. It was their first cast-block engine, and used as the pattern for most of their future piston-engine designs. Used during the interw ...
engines. Transport and military flying boat. Exported to Yugoslavia. ;Do J ''Wal'' :2x Lorraine-Dietrich engines. Transport and military flying boat. Used in the
Netherlands East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...
;Do J ''Wal'' :2x Renault engines ;Do J ''Wal'' :2x Farman 12Wer engines. ;Do J ''Wal'' :2x Napier Lion V engines ;Do J ''Wal'' :2x
Rolls-Royce Eagle The Rolls-Royce Eagle was the first aircraft engine to be developed by Rolls-Royce Limited. Introduced in 1915 to meet British military requirements during World War I, it was used to power the Handley Page Type O bombers and a number of oth ...
engines. Passenger carrying flying boat. ;Do J ''Wal'' :2x Isotta-Fraschini Asso ;Do J ''Wal'' :2x Fiat A.22 R engines. ;Do J Gas ''Wal'' :2x Gnôme-Rhöne Jupiter engines. ;Do J Bas ''Wal'' :2x
BMW VI The BMW VI was a water-cooled V-12 aircraft engine built in Germany in the 1920s. It was one of the most important German aero engines in the years leading up to World War II, with thousands built. It was further developed as the BMW VII and ...
engines ;Do J II ''Wal'' :2x
BMW VI The BMW VI was a water-cooled V-12 aircraft engine built in Germany in the 1920s. It was one of the most important German aero engines in the years leading up to World War II, with thousands built. It was further developed as the BMW VII and ...
engines ;Do J II ''Wal'' :2x Siemens Jupiter engines ;Do J II Bas ''Wal'' :2x
BMW VI The BMW VI was a water-cooled V-12 aircraft engine built in Germany in the 1920s. It was one of the most important German aero engines in the years leading up to World War II, with thousands built. It was further developed as the BMW VII and ...
engines. Passenger carrying flying boat. ;Do J IIa Bos ''Wal'' :2x
BMW VI The BMW VI was a water-cooled V-12 aircraft engine built in Germany in the 1920s. It was one of the most important German aero engines in the years leading up to World War II, with thousands built. It was further developed as the BMW VII and ...
engines. Post carrying flying boat. ;Do J IIaK Bos ''Wal'' :2x
BMW VI The BMW VI was a water-cooled V-12 aircraft engine built in Germany in the 1920s. It was one of the most important German aero engines in the years leading up to World War II, with thousands built. It was further developed as the BMW VII and ...
engines. Used for catapult-launched
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
crossings. ;Do J IIb Bos ''Wal'' :2x BMW VIIa engines. "Grönland"-Wal. ;Do J II Ses ''Wal'' :2x Siemens Sh 20 engines. ''Wal'' ;Do J IId Bis ''Wal'' :2x
BMW VI The BMW VI was a water-cooled V-12 aircraft engine built in Germany in the 1920s. It was one of the most important German aero engines in the years leading up to World War II, with thousands built. It was further developed as the BMW VII and ...
engines. ;Do J IId Bis ''Wal'' :2x Curtiss Conqueror To
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
;Do J II 16a Bis ''Wal'' :2x
BMW VI The BMW VI was a water-cooled V-12 aircraft engine built in Germany in the 1920s. It was one of the most important German aero engines in the years leading up to World War II, with thousands built. It was further developed as the BMW VII and ...
engines. – Dornier Do 16 ;Do J IId ''Wal'' :2x
BMW VI The BMW VI was a water-cooled V-12 aircraft engine built in Germany in the 1920s. It was one of the most important German aero engines in the years leading up to World War II, with thousands built. It was further developed as the BMW VII and ...
engines. – Militär-Wal ;Do J IIe 16 Bos ''Wal'' :2x
BMW VI The BMW VI was a water-cooled V-12 aircraft engine built in Germany in the 1920s. It was one of the most important German aero engines in the years leading up to World War II, with thousands built. It was further developed as the BMW VII and ...
engines ;Do J IIf Bos ''Wal'' :2x BMW VI U engines ;Do O ''Wal'' :"Atlantico" c/n 34 and "Pacifico" c/n 35 built by CMASA in
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. Used for an expedition to South America in 1924. Shipped to and assembled on the island of
Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...
. Sold to Sindicato Condor and later to
Varig VARIG (''Viação Aérea Rio-Grandense'', 'Rio Grandean Airways') was the first airline founded in Brazil, in 1927. From 1965 until 1990, it was Brazil's leading airline and virtually its only international one. In 2005, Varig went into judici ...
. Still in use, 1936. ;Do 16 :re-designation of J II military Wal aircraft


Operators

; *
Argentine Naval Aviation The Argentine Naval Aviation (', COAN) is the naval aviation branch of the Argentine Navy and one of its four operational commands. Argentina, along with Brazilian Navy, Brazil is one of two South American countries to have operated two aircraft c ...
; *
Varig VARIG (''Viação Aérea Rio-Grandense'', 'Rio Grandean Airways') was the first airline founded in Brazil, in 1927. From 1965 until 1990, it was Brazil's leading airline and virtually its only international one. In 2005, Varig went into judici ...
* Syndicato Condor ; *
Chilean Air Force The Chilean Air Force () is the air force of Chile and branch of the Chilean military. History The first step towards the current FACh is taken by Lieutenant Colonel, Teniente Coronel training as a pilot in France. Although a local academy was c ...
*
Chilean Navy The Chilean Navy () is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense (Chile), Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Ori ...
; *
SCADTA Sociedad Colombo Alemana de Transportes Aéreos (SCADTA; ), was the world's second airline, and the first airline in Latin America, operating from 1919 until World War II. After the war, SCADTA merged with Colombian regional carrier Colombian Air ...
*
Colombian Air Force The Colombian Aerospace Force (FAC, ) is the air force of the Republic of Colombia. The Colombian Aerospace Force is one of the three institutions of the Military Forces of Colombia charged, according to the 1991 Constitution, with working to exe ...
; *
Royal Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy (, ) is the Naval warfare, sea-based branch of the Danish Armed Forces force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Denmark, Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and ...
; * Condor Syndikat * Deutscher Aero Lloyd *
Deutsche Luft Hansa ''Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G.'' (from 1933 styled as ''Deutsche Lufthansa'' and also known as ''Luft Hansa'', ''Lufthansa'', or DLH) was a German airline. It served as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and t ...
; * Aero Espresso Italiana *
Società Anonima Navigazione Aerea Società Anonima Navigazione Aerea (abbreviated SANA) was an Italian airline established 1925 in Genoa, concentrating on flying boat routes in the western Mediterranean area. History The initial route, Genoa, Rome, Naples, Palermo was started o ...
; ; * Netherlands Naval Aviation Service ; ; *
Portuguese Air Force The Portuguese Air Force () is the air force, aerial warfare force of Portugal. Locally it is referred to by the acronym FAP but internationally is often referred to by the acronym PRTAF. It is the youngest of the three branches of the Portuguese ...
; *
Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...
; * LAPE *
Spanish Republican Air Force The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939. Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics () and Naval Aeron ...
* Spanish Republican Navy ; *
Spanish Air Force The Spanish Air and Space Force () is the aerial and space warfare branch of the Spanish Armed Forces. History Early stages Hot air balloons have been used with military purposes in Spain as far back as 1896. In 1905, with the help of Al ...
*
Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy, officially the Armada, is the Navy, maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation ...
; ; *
Yugoslav Royal Navy The Royal Navy ( sh-Latn, Kraljevska mornarica; sh-Cyrl, Краљевска морнарица; КМ), commonly known as the Royal Yugoslav Navy, was the naval warfare service branch of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (originally called the Kingdom ...


Aircraft on display

* ''Plus Ultra'', at Lujan, Argentina. * ''Plus Ultra'' replica at Museo del Aire de Cuatro Vientos in Madrid, Spain. * Dornier Museum Friedrichshafen, at Friedrichshafen airport, Germany (full scale replica)


Accidents and incidents

*3 December 1928: a Syndicato Condor Dornier ''Wal'' registration P-BACA, crashed in
Guanabara Bay Guanabara Bay (, , ) is an oceanic bay in Southeast Brazil in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro. On its western shore lie the cities of Rio de Janeiro (city), Rio de Janeiro and Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, Duque de Caxias, a ...
while attempting to avoid a collision with another aircraft of the same company, during a celebratory flight upon the arrival of Alberto Santos Dumont in Rio de Janeiro. Ten passengers and four crew members died. This was the first accident with an aircraft registered in Brazil that had victims other than the crew and that received wide media coverage. *11 September 1931: a Syndicato Condor Dornier ''Wal'' registration P-BALA, while taking-off from Potengi river in Natal, collided with a boat. Three crew members died.


Specifications (Do J Wal RR Eagle engines)


See also


References

* *


Further reading

* * * M. Michiel van der Mey: "Dornier Wal a Light coming over the Sea". LoGisma editore, 2016, English, * M. Michiel van der Mey: "Dornier Wal Vliegboot". 1986, Dutch, * M. Michiel van der Mey: "Der Einsatz der Heinkel Katapulte". 2002, German *


External links


Dornier Wal Documentation Center



"Flyers Of The Sea", October 1931, Popular Mechanics
*
Дорније Do J
{{Authority control Do J 1920s German airliners 1920s German mailplanes 1920s German patrol aircraft Flying boats Twin-engined push-pull aircraft Parasol-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1922