| Artikelnummer:: | 25206 |
With front and rear engines and propellers, a cruciform tail and ejector seats the Do335 was a revolutionary design, backed up with serious performance evidenced by its top airspeed of 760km/h. Work on that design had begun in 1942 and culminated in the maiden flight by Do335V-1 in October 1943. It showed promise from the outset and production began in earnest with the A-1 in September 1944. Both the A-1 and its A-0 prototype predecessor were fitted with a 30mm cannon and two 20mm machine guns in the nose, and the catalog of Do335s was even joined by a single-seater fighter-bomber version in the later days of the war, although it transpired that the Do335 was never to see live combat.
A true all-rounder, the versatile Kubelwagen was employed by German WWII forces on all fronts, in a variety of roles including transportation, communications and even reconnaissance. It used as a base the "people's car" that had originally been designed for civilian use, and its simple, lightweight design - in combination with exemplary reliability - was underpinned by an air-cooled engine and a forgiving 4-wheel independent suspension setup.
