100 years of innovative technology

Heavier than air – Zeppelin RS II/III

Around the year 1900, the dream of flying becomes reality: Otto Lilienthal takes the first gliding flights, the Wright brothers make the first controlled motorised flights, and Graf Zeppelin experiments with the airship. At Zeppelin’s testing department, Claude Dornier’s technical creativity is actively promoted. Dornier puts a major conceptual shift – from »lighter than air« to »heavier than air« – into practice, as well as advanced, fully metal aircraft. In 1918, Dornier presents the first aircraft in which the thin metal panels on the ribbed fuselage and cantilever wings are load-bearing structures.
Influenced by shipbuilding, this design becomes standard in aircraft construction.

Higher, faster, farther – Wal, Merkur, Do X

Reliability, capacity and range are necessary conditions for the growth of air traffic following World War One. Dornier produces countless flying boats during this period: In 1926, one third of all flight service in Europe is provided by Junkers or Dornier aircraft. Spectacular long-distance and expedition flights bring worldwide fame to Dornier. A huge sensation in 1929 is the Do X flying boat, the world’s largest aircraft at the time.

Military aircraft – Do 17, Do 217, Do 335

Aerial rearmament policy starting in 1933 provides the weakened German aviation industry with extensive construction and development contracts, but also creates a growing dependency on the Nazi regime. On account of its leading technical expertise, Dornier is initially a preferred recipient of state contracts, but then falls back behind Junkers, Heinkel and Messerschmitt. During World War Two, a large number of forced labourers are used at the Dornier plants as well as by the other German aircraft manufacturers. Following heavy bombing of the company facilities by the end of the war, Claude Dornier’s life’s work lies in ruins.

Phoenix from the ashes – the Do 31 and new technologies

In 1955 the Federal Republic of Germany regains its sovereignty. Its aviation and aeronautics industries as well as other new technologies acquire considerable influence. The Cold War brings the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) back into focus. For strategic reasons, future aircraft are supposed to be able to function largely independent from the military infrastructure (e.g. air bases). Dornier sets a high standard for the competition with its development of the Do 31 – the world’s only jet transport plane capable of vertical take-off and landing.

When the Federal Ministry of Research and Technology (BMFT) is founded in 1972, the German government begins supporting a broad range of future-oriented technologies. With numerous innovations in the fields of marine, environmental, transport, energy and aeronautical engineering, Dornier plays a pioneering role in developing long-term systems solutions.

After Daimler-Benz AG becomes its majority shareholder in 1985, the Dornier Group is then acquired by EADS Deutschland, and with this many Dornier technologies are further developed or are still pursued.