Do 17 Z-7

Do 17 Z-7

Do 217 J-1

Do 17 Z-7

Do 217 J-1

Germany

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.7	1.3	1.3

Class:

Fighter

Air Defence fighter

Research:2 900

Purchase:700

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This page is about the German twin-engine fighter Do 17 Z-7. For other versions, see Do 17 E-1 and Do 17 Z-2.

Description

The Do 17 Z-7 is a rank I German twin-engine fighter with a battle rating of 1.7 (AB) and 1.3 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.53 "Firestorm".

General info

Flight Performance

Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 5,000 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
423	410	8500	35.7	37.3	6.5	6.5	350
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 5,000 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
477	448	8500	32.5	34.0	15.6	10	350

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flaps (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
		500	~5	~2

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 290	< 300	< 300	> 308

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
1,600 m	815 hp	1,118 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
4,300 m	780 hp	1,070 hp

Survivability and armour

• 8.5 mm Steel - Fore-cockpit plate
• 8.5 mm Steel - Pilot's seat
• 6 mm Steel - Belly gunner's plate
• 8.5 mm Steel - Rear cockpit plate
• 6 mm Steel - Rear gunner's upper plate
• 6 mm Steel - Rear gunner's window frame

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Do 17 Z-7 is armed with:

• 1 x 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon, nose-mounted (400 rpg)
• 3 x 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns, nose-mounted (1,000 rpg = 3,000 total)

Suspended armament

The Do 17 Z-7 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 10 x 50 kg SC50JA bombs (500 kg total)
• 1 x 250 kg SC250JA bomb (250 kg total)

Defensive armament

The Do 17 Z-7 is defended by:

• 1 x 7.92 mm MG 15 machine gun, dorsal turret (750 rpg)
• 1 x 7.92 mm MG 15 machine gun, ventral turret (375 rpg)

Usage in battles

The Do 17 Z-7 is the first twin-engine heavy fighter that is unlocked in a long line of German "Zerstörer" (German for "Heavy fighter") aircraft. Like all of its successors, the Do 17 Z-7 is a full-bred Boom & Zoom fighter, through and through. This means the Do 17 should, under any circumstances always strive to maintain an altitude advantage over enemy aircraft. Utilise the potential energy to dive on them and make a high speed pass while firing, then quickly make an escape. There is however, a couple of caveats for the Do 17 Z-7 that is worth considering when flying it. For starters, its energy retention and climb rate are mediocre at best. Immediately making a 2nd pass will generally be a bad idea, as it will attract a lot planes with ample opportunity to return fire. Instead, utilise the high air speed from the dive to gain as much horizontal distance from enemy planes as possible before starting to climb. Also, remember to never commit to chasing after a specific plane since the plane will lose too much speed and energy in doing so. Pick out a target from high altitude, roll over and dive down in a vertical position as soon as possible, in order to maximize the altitude-speed trade off. When at first possible moment get a gun solution on the target, and once the solution is lost, level the plane out and speed away at high speed, potentially destroying other players that may cross the path along the way with the same principle.

The Do 17 Z-7's primary source of damage comes with its single 20 mm MG 151 cannon. While not spitting as much lead downrange as the Bf 110's dual MG FF/M's do. It makes up for it by having access to the MG 151's air target belt, which contains a lot more minengeschoß, which is highly effective against unarmoured planes, which the Do 17 Z-7 will regularly face. While the MG 15's also can do some damage to biplanes, any aware fighter pilot will be able to move away from the gun sight and end up on the Do 17's tail, if solely using the machine guns.

Counter-tactics

The best way to deal with this plane is to fly fast and aim for the engines. Don't tail right behind the plane because then the gunner will have an easy target. If tailing behind the plane, dip down a little bit, the gunner at the top won't be able to hit the plane this way and the gunner at the bottom is pointed down to much. At this battle rating, there are a lot of newer players, who most likely haven't put crew xp into the gunners vitality. If the gunners are taken out, then the plane is a flying duck. Avoid a head-on at all cost, it has armour at the front and a 20 mm cannon which will shred any plane to bits. This plane cannot turn fight, if it's behind tailing the plane, then simply turn sharply to one direction. If in a bomber it's best to aim for the engines and not the cockpit, the cockpit has 58 mm of armour angled, it would be difficult for bullets to go through and snipe the pilot.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Not controllable	Controllable Auto control available	Not controllable Not auto controlled	Not controllable Not auto controlled	Separate	Controllable 2 gears	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Offensive 7 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe		Turret 7 mm	EHVC 500
III	Wings repair	Engine		New 7 mm MGs		Offensive 20 mm
IV		Engine injection	Cover		New 7 mm MGs (turret)	New 20 mm cannons

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Exclusively nose-mounted armament, resulting in very little need for convergence
• Can take a lot of machine gun fire before going down
• Armed with an 20 mm MG 151, capable of using the air targets belt, giving the plane absolutely devastating firepower
• 2 x rear gunners for covering both above and below the aircraft

Cons:

• Mediocre climb rate at best when upgraded
• Slow even when upgraded (Hurricanes will be able to outrun it in level flight)
• Horrible roll rate
• Overall poor handling characteristics
• Lousy energy retention
• Best performs as a Boom & Zoom aircraft, although its poor flight characteristics makes it inefficient at it
• Defensive armament has poor coverage and does not produce enough stopping power to reliably fend of attacking enemies
• Tends to burst into flames

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === Encyclopedia Info ===, also if applicable).

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the aircraft;
• other literature.

Germany twin-engine fighters
Messerschmitt	Bf 109 Z-1
	Me 410 A-1/U2 · Me 410 B-1/U2
Dornier	Do 17 Z-7 · Do 217 J-1 · Do 217 J-2 · Do 217 N-1 · Do 217 N-2
Focke-Wulf	Ta 154 A-1
Junkers	Ju 88 C-6 · Ju 388 J