Dornier Do 24

[2][3] Up to 1,200 kg (2,600 lb) of bombs could be carried under the aircraft's wings, while defensive armament consisted of three gun turrets, one each in nose, dorsal and tail positions.

Test results were good, with the new flying boat proving capable of operating from extremely rough open seas and the Dutch placed an order for a further 12 Do 24s on 22 July 1937.

[2] Do 24 V1, the first of the two aircraft for Germany, powered by three 450 kW (600 hp) Junkers Jumo 205C diesel engines, flew on 10 January 1938 but after evaluation, the two German boats were returned to Dornier for storage.

[5] With the German occupation, production was paused, however while the Luftwaffe Küstenfliegergruppen Maritime reconnaissance branch was uninterested in the partially completed aircraft as they had already chosen the Blohm und Voss Bv 138 for the role, the Dutch production line resumed, to provide aircraft for the otherwise poorly equipped Seenotdienst (Sea Emergency Service), which was still operating Heinkel He 59 biplanes.

The plaque states that the flying boat was destroyed by an attack of 9 Japanese Zeros in Roebuck Bay and Broome Airport on 3rd March 1942.File:Broome_Airport_Engine_Display_Plaque.jpg The two prototypes were used during the invasion of Norway to transport troops to Narvik.

They were also used as transports, notably for keeping contact with the troops left behind on the Aegean Islands and Crete, and for supporting the Kuban bridgehead in early 1943.

A Dutch Dornier Do 24 is credited with sinking the Japanese destroyer Shinonome on 17 December 1941 while the ship was escorting an invasion fleet to Miri in British Borneo.

[8] After the Japanese invasion of the Netherlands East Indies, six surviving Do 24s were transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force in February 1942.

On 31 October 1944, a German Do 24 (CM+RY of Seenotgruppe 81) made a forced landing in neutral Sweden, was impounded and eventually bought, and remained in Swedish service until 1952.

Dornier Do 24 V3 prototype in Dutch markings
Diesel-powered Luftwaffe Do 24 V1 trials aircraft being used as an air-sea rescue aircraft
Luftwaffe Do 24 in Romania, 1941
Restored Do 24 ATT re-engined with Pratt & Whitney PT6A-45 turboprop engines
Dornier Do 24 on display
Dornier Do 24T fuselage on display at the Technik Museum Speyer