Do 335 A-1
Contents
| This page is about the German twin-engine fighter Do 335 A-1. For other uses, see Do 335 (Family). |
Description
The Do 335 A-1 is a rank III German twin-engine fighter
with a battle rating of 4.0 (AB), 4.3 (RB), and 5.0 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.57 "Battle March".
The Do 335 is a difficult plane to fly. It has good armament, however, lacks anything else of substance. Sub-par climb, bad turning, and handling, as well as the lack of armor and a propensity to catch fire make this aircraft a very difficult grind. Pilots should utilize the air spawn, then climb as high as possible and go after bombers. Once available, the air belts are devastating against bombers; however, as the plane lacks armor and catches fire quickly, tailing should be avoided. It is also possible to Boom & Zoom with, however, the plane tends to veer off target in prolonged dives.
Contrary to popular belief the Do 335 Pfeil is not a super prop. The initial design was a Schnellbomber (speedy bomber), but with the start of the emergency fighter program, most bomber contracts were shelved to increase fighter production. At Dornier, the idea arose to reconfigure the current bomber design into a heavy fighter to exploit the failure of Focke Wulf's Ta 154 Moskito.
Consequently, flight agility is mediocre, lending itself in feeling to Dornier's previous heavy fighters: Do 17 Z-7 and Do 217N. Both of which were coincidentally bombers by birth too. The exception to this trait is the fantastic roll-rate, accomplished by boosted ailerons as seen on the Ta 152H-1.
General info
Flight Performance
| Characteristics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stock | |||||||
| Max Speed (km/h at 7,000 m) |
Max altitude (meters) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (meters/second) |
Take-off run (meters) | |||
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | ||
| 737 | 721 | 11400 | 30.7 | 31.3 | 10.3 | 12.3 | 464 |
| Upgraded | |||||||
| Max Speed (km/h at 7,000 m) |
Max altitude
(meters) |
Turn time
(seconds) |
Rate of climb (meters/second) |
Take-off run (meters) | |||
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | ||
| 784 | 755 | 11400 | 24.8 | 26.0 | 16.9 | 12.9 | 464 |
Details
| Features | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flap | Take-off flap | Landing flap | Air brakes | Arrestor gear |
| ✓ | X | ✓ | X | X |
| Limits | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wing-break speed (km/h) |
Gear limit (km/h) |
Combat flap (km/h) |
Max Static G | |
| + | - | |||
| 940 | 270 | 450 | ~7 | ~4 |
| Optimal velocities | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons (km/h) |
Rudder (km/h) |
Elevators (km/h) |
Radiator (km/h) |
| < 380 | < 380 | < 380 | > 285 |
| Compressor (RB/SB) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Setting 1 | ||
| Optimal altitude | 100% Engine power | WEP Engine power |
| 7,070 m | 2,880 hp | 3,880 hp |
Survivability and armour
- 8 mm Steel - Plate behind the pilot seat
Armaments
Offensive armament
The Do 335 A-1 is armed with:
- 1 x 30 mm MK 103 cannon (70 rpg)
- 2 x 15 mm MG 151 cannon (200 rpg = 400 total)
The two 15 mm cannons and 30 mm cannon are all nose mounted in the aircraft.
Suspended armament
The Do 335 A-1 can be outfitted with the following ordinance:
- 2 x 250 kg SC250JA bombs (500 kg total)
- 1 x 500 kg SC500K bomb (500 kg total)
- 2 x 250 kg SC250JA bombs + 1 x 500 kg SC500K bomb (1,000 kg total)
Usage in the battles
Boom & Zoom: While it does not have the capability to turn, accelerate or climb (sustained) quickly as might an energy fighting aircraft, it can be used to make quick, swooping attacks on enemy bombers, and in a limited capacity, fighters. Advantaged by its swift dive acceleration, Boom & Zoom is a viable tactic; however, it should be noted that prolonged engagements with enemy aircraft should be avoided, as energy fighters will quickly deplete its momentum, and turn-fighting aircraft will easily outmanoeuvre this lumbering aircraft. Instead, diving on a target with a lower energy state (it is permissible to engage some slower aircraft in level flight as the 335 can reach speeds well in excess of 450 km/h within seconds of levelling the aircraft out of a climb) and then simply running away and zoom climbing out of range if the target is not killed on the first run is a significant advantage for DO-335 pilots who wish to return home alive. It may take several runs to kill a target, even with the heavy armament possessed by this aircraft, however momentum conservation is a key advantage of the 335, and multiple swooping attack runs disallow slow, "walking" adjustment of fire by bomber turrets, and can deny a turn-fighter an opportunity to attack, and potentially significantly drain them of energy. Targets in a higher energy state (More altitude and/or speed) should not be engaged unless you can ensure that once you have followed through with the attack run, you will be moving fast enough to avoid retaliation by the target.
Made a problematic aircraft to master by its poor manoeuvrability, both anti-bomber operations and ground strafing are a challenging task in this aircraft; however, it does have bomb capacity for 1,000 kg of ordnance and considering its speed, it is moderately capable in the role of a medium or strategic bomber aircraft. Subsequently, the ability to disrupt soft (20 mm) and hard (30 mm) ground targets far away from the initial fighter onslaught does provide some redemption for its poor anti-aircraft capabilities.
The Do 335’s design flaws make it particularly inept at chasing other planes. It is nigh-impossible to try to aim while performing a dive since the nose dances around in all directions and provides no stability to the aiming reticle. Indeed, aiming at the enemy while climbing is prone to the same inaccuracy. Trying to roll the wings to enter a quick dive, e.g. to escape an approaching enemy, is more akin to turning a ship than a heavy fighter. During ground attacks, its inability to aim properly makes more of a “spray and pray” than an accurate firing platform. The most useful approach would be to dive on bombers and attempt to hit with the 30 mm cannon at a distance.
Counter-Tactics
The Do 335 is fast in a dive but flies like a brick. Out-turning it is easy in almost all aircraft it will face. Due to the centre-mounted cannons, it is best to avoid head-ons.
Manual Engine Control
| MEC elements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mixer | Pitch | Radiator | Supercharger | Turbocharger | ||
| Oil | Water | Type | ||||
| Controllable | Not controllable | Not controllable | Not controllable | Separate | Not ontrollable | Not controllable |
Modules
| Tier | Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Fuselage Repair, Radiator | Offensive 15 mm | |
| II | Compressor | Airframe | Offensive 30 mm, ETC 250/II |
| III | Wing Repair, Engine | New 15 mm Cannons | |
| IV | Engine | Cover | New 30 mm Cannons, ETC 500/III |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Excellent top speed at very high altitudes
- Great armament
- Great dive top speed
- Great roll rate
- Internal bomb bay for second payload drop
Cons:
- Bad acceleration
- Sub-par climb rate compared to other twin-engine fighters
- Sub-par top speed at sea level
- Tends to over-steer with mouse control on rudders and elevators, resulting in worse manoeuvrability overall as you either will have to turn more gently in order to avoid over-steering, or wait for the instructor to compensate
- Steering in a dive results in very poor accuracy.
- Alignment of the engines along the centre axis makes it extremely easy for either one or both to get damaged when attacked by enemy fighters and potentially set on fire
- Heavily reliant on it's 30 mm Mk 103 with limited ammo to do the damage dealing as the 15 mm MG 151's won't be able to suffice considering the aircraft's handling.
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 big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to an article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ historical reference" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/Name-vehicles/historical reference) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to include links to sources at the end of the article.
Media
An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.
Read 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.
Sources
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- page on aircraft encyclopedia;
- 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 |
