Dornier, Claude

Dornier, Claude 

Born May 14, 1884, in Kempten, Germany; died Dec. 5, 1969, in Zug, Switzerland. German aircraft designer and entrepreneur.

Dornier graduated from the Higher Technical School in Munich in 1907, joined the experimental department of F. Zeppelin’s dirigible building enterprise in 1910, and founded his own aircraft firm in Friedrichshafen in 1914. Dornier created the all-metal flying boat “Wal” and the Do-18, Do-24, and Do-26, which were used for passenger transport on the south and north Atlantic routes before World War II (1939-45). In 1929 his firm built the 12-engine flying boat Do-X, which had a flying weight of over 50 tons and could transport 170 passengers. Before World War II, Dornier built the medium bomber Do-17, which was later improved and used in combat under the designation Do-217. After World War II, Dornier’s firm built private planes. In 1962, Dornier resigned from his post as director of the firm and went to Switzerland.

REFERENCE

Deutscher Aerokurier, 1969, year 13, no 5; 1970, year 14, no. 1.

E. I. SUKHOTSKII