5 Facts About The Fastest Prop Plane Of WW2

In the last hours of WWII, German engineers created a ground-breaking plane that defied conventional design—the Dornier Do 335 Pfeil, ‘Arrow.‘ With propellers at the nose and tail and a distinctive push-pull arrangement, this innovative fighter had unheard-of speed and performance.

1. The Do335 is among the most advanced piston-engine aircraft

The ultimate design of the Do335 resulted from both need and imagination. Although the dual engines offered unheard-of power, its simplified fuselage and fan wings were tuned for high-speed performance.

Although the back engine generated more thrust, the front engine drove a tractor propeller pushing the plane forward.

2. Dornier offered the Do-335 as a solution in 1942 as the Luftwaffe looked for quicker and more flexible fighters to offset Allied gains

The Luftwaffe saw the promise of a multi-role platform capable of interceptor, ground attack, and reconnaissance missions. The plane’s speed, range, and weaponry were promised to exceed those of current aircraft.

3. The Do-335’s cockpit is a wonder of its own

With great visibility and sophisticated instruments, the cockpit allows the pilots to maximize the plane’s capabilities. It was abundantly evident that the aircraft, sometimes nicknamed “Arrow,” was more than just an experiment. Instead, it was a daring stride into the feature of aviation.

4. For the Allies, the Do-335 was a technological curiosity, a window into the superior engineering Germany had pursued insurmountable challenges

Many of the Do-335s that Allied ground troops seized on airfields were incomplete or grounded due to a lack of fuel and spare parts. They were captured on airfields when Allied ground forces surged across Germany. Set for testing, these planes arrived in the US and Britain where their creative design and performance were much appreciated.

Recognizing it as a great accomplishment in aviation, pilots and engineers marveled at its speed, stability, and unusual engine layout.

5. While it was a case of too little too late, the Dorner Do-35 entered service as one of the fastest piston-engine aircraft ever built

Its brief and fractured operating history was a victim of the anarchy defining the last days of the Third Reich. Still, it proved to be a machine ahead of its time in the short time it spent flying.

Its design was a radical advance in aeronautical design that shaped the next generation of aircraft and motor systems. While military aviation didn’t embrace the idea of push-pull widely, its ideas have been explored in experimental designs and studies.