Do 217M-1

WWII RAF Bomber

The German Do 217M-1 bomber was a variant of the Do 217 series, equipped with DB 603A engines producing 1,750 horsepower. Combined with four-blade propellers, this significantly improved the bomber’s flight performance and increased its maximum speed to 557 km/h, though at the cost of reduced range. The Do 217M-1 served with Luftwaffe bomber and reconnaissance squadrons until the end of World War II. In spring 1945, the Allies captured one such bomber in Beldringe, Denmark. The aircraft received RAF markings and flew to Schleswig in September 1945. In October, it was relocated to Farnborough airfield in Great Britain. On October 18, it made its first test flight, and on November 4, 1945, it participated in a demonstration flight as part of a special squadron of captured Luftwaffe aircraft. The aircraft remained in Britain until the mid-1950s.