The Pfeil's performance was predicted to be better than other twin-engine designs due to its unusual push-pull configuration and the lower aerodynamic drag of the in-line alignment of the two engines.

[2][page needed] The Luftwaffe was desperate to get the design into operational use, but delays in engine deliveries meant that only a handful were delivered before the war ended.

It could reach speeds of around 800 km/h in level flight, and could outrun most of the military aircraft in service at the time, with only first generation jet fighters being faster.

The origin of the Do 335 goes back to World War I when Claude Dornier designed a number of flying boats with tandem engines.

In addition, a single engine failure does not lead to asymmetric thrust, and in normal flight there is no net torque, so the aircraft is easier to handle.

In 1940, he commissioned a test aircraft, closely modeled on the airframe of the early versions of the Dornier Do 17 bomber but only 40% of the size, with no aerodynamic bodies of any sort on the wing panels (the Do 17 had twin engine nacelles on its wings) and fitted with a retractable tricycle landing gear to validate his concept for turning the rear pusher propeller with an engine located far away from it, through the use of a long tubular driveshaft.

This aircraft, the Göppingen Gö 9,[6] showed no unforeseen difficulties with this arrangement, but work on the P.59 was stopped in early 1940 when Hermann Göring[citation needed] ordered the cancellation of all projects that would not be completed within a year or so.

In May 1942, Dornier submitted an updated version with a 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) bomb load as the P.231, in response to a requirement for a single seat, Schnellbomber-like high-speed bomber/intruder.

The Do 335 was scheduled to begin mass construction, with the initial order of 120 preproduction aircraft to be manufactured by Dornier-Werke Friedrichshafen (DWF) to be completed no later than March 1946.

On 23 May 1944, Hitler, as part of the developing Jägernotprogramm (Emergency Fighter Program) directive, which took effect on 3 July, ordered maximum priority to be given to Do 335 production.

The decision was made, along with the rapid shut-down of many other military aircraft development programs, to cancel the Heinkel He 219 night fighter, which also used the DB 603 engines (in well-unitized installations), and use its production facilities for the Do 335 as well.

It was similar to the A-0 but with the uprated DB 603E-1 engines of around 1,324 kW (1,776 hp) take-off power rating on 87 octane fuel,[9] and two underwing hardpoints for additional bombs, drop tanks or guns.

When the United States Army overran the Oberpfaffenhofen factory in late April 1945, only 11 Do 335 A-1 single-seat fighter-bombers and two Do 335 A-12 trainers had been completed.

3 Squadron RAF over northern Germany when they came across an unknown aircraft whose description matched the Do 335's, flying at maximum speed at treetop level.

Two pilots fired on the Dornier but Clostermann, despite the Tempests' considerable low altitude speed, decided not to attempt to chase it as it was obviously much faster.

Later that day he escorted Hanna Reitsch and General der Flieger Robert von Greim's flight to Berlin-Gatow.

After arriving at Gatow, Reitsch and von Greim commandeered a Fieseler Fi 156 Storch and flew to Hitler's bunker.

It was one of two Do 335s to be shipped to the United States along with other captured German aircraft, to be used for testing and evaluation under a USAAF program called "Operation Lusty".

They were surprised that the explosive charges built into the aircraft to blow off the dorsal fin and rear propeller prior to pilot ejection were still intact.

After the air show, the aircraft was loaned to the Deutsches Museum in Munich, where it was on display until 1988, when it was shipped back to Silver Hill, Maryland.

It can be seen today in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum alongside other unique late-war German aircraft, including the only known example of the Arado Ar 234 B-2 Blitz jet reconnaissance-bomber, and the fully restored fuselage and tail surfaces of the only complete surviving Heinkel He 219A Uhu (Eagle-Owl) night fighter.

[20][21] Data from Aircraft of the Third Reich Volume one,[22] Century of Flight : Dornier Do 335 Pfeil[23]General characteristics Performance Armament