OSP-XP9 Osprey Publications X-Planes: Dornier Do335 Book

Product Description

• OSP-XP9 Osprey Publications X-Planes: Dornier Do335 Book.
• Softcover.
• Dornier Do 335 is presented through 80 pages in Six chapters.
• If the adage concerning aircraft states ‘if it looks good, it flies good’, then Dornier’s Do 335 ought not to have performed well at all. However, this large and strange-looking type – even more bizarrely known as the Pfeil (arrow) – was one of the world’s fastest piston-powered air-combat machines and is the subject of Osprey’s ninth X-Planes book, highlighting its status as a highly experimental type. The engaging text explains how the Do 335 intended to reap the benefit of two engines without the performance deficit associated with twin fairings, so utilized the unusual tractor-pusher configuration with a propeller at each end. Unfortunately, issues with cooling the rear powerplant, undercarriage retraction systems plus development varying between fighter and bomber requirements – including variants intended for a combination of these roles, for training and night-fighting – meant the type wasn’t ready for combat during World War Two. As such, airframes fell into Allied hands – legendary test pilot Captain Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown suggested the type had been produced before its issues were “wrung out”, yet it remained a high-potential night-fighter. Supporting the text, period photos and diagrams, plus full-color profiles, cutaway drawings and digital artwork add greatly to this highly engaging study.