Dornier Do 215

The Dornier Do 215 was a light bomber, aerial reconnaissance aircraft and later night fighter produced by Dornier, originally for export though most served with the Luftwaffe. Like the Do 17 it inherited the nickname the Flying Pencil from its slim fuselage. The designation came from a Do 17Z sent to Yugoslavia for demonstration in 1937, and the first prototypes tried different engines, the third using a Daimler-Benz DB 601 inline. Series production of the Do 215 A-1 began in 1939 for the Swedish Air Force, but the order was stopped in August 1939 and the 18 aircraft were pressed into Luftwaffe service. Its successor was the Do 217.