Dornier was a German aircraft and aerospace manufacturer that developed from Claude Dornier's work within the Zeppelin organisation. It became internationally associated with metal aircraft and flying boats, subsequently producing landplanes, helicopters under licence and experimental vertical-take-off aircraft. Its industrial history forms part of the consolidation that produced Deutsche Aerospace.[1][2]
Origins and flying boats
Claude Dornier joined Luftschiffbau Zeppelin in 1910 and was given a department for experimental engineering. Dornier-Metallbauten emerged from this activity, and he became its sole owner in 1932. During the 1920s the company developed aircraft built largely from metal, including the Merkur and Wal. The Wal flying boat gained recognition through long-distance and exploration flights, including Roald Amundsen's Arctic expedition in 1925. The much larger Do X extended the company's ambitions in flying-boat transport. Overseas manufacture helped give Dornier an international industrial presence early in its development.[1]
Post-war aircraft and research
Dornier's post-war range included the Do 27 and Do 28 utility aircraft. Its industrial work also encompassed the Alpha Jet and licence production of the Bell UH-1D helicopter. An especially ambitious research programme was the Do 31 jet transport, developed to meet military requirements for vertical take-off and landing. Two flying prototypes were used for experimental work from 1967 to 1969. Lift came from a combination of two engines with swivelling nozzles and eight dedicated lift engines; the aircraft did not enter series production.[3][4]
Aerospace consolidation
Daimler-Benz acquired a majority holding in the Dornier group in 1985. Dornier subsequently formed part of Deutsche Aerospace, established in 1989 together with MTU and aerospace-related AEG activities. This restructuring connected Dornier's aircraft and systems work with a larger German aerospace organisation. The earlier family enterprise had itself passed into shared inheritance after Claude Dornier's death in 1969. These ownership changes distinguish the founder's company from later businesses and programmes carrying the Dornier name.[2][1]