Re: Do 335 A-1 Air Ministry AM225 --> W.Nr. 240161?
 

Ed

You make me curious. Can you elaborate with regard to your block number theory?

Cheers
Stig

Re: Do 335 A-1 Air Ministry AM225 --> W.Nr. 240161?
 

You will have to wait, just as anyone else on that matter.

Re: Do 335 A-1 Air Ministry AM225 --> W.Nr. 240161?
 

Thank you all for your input and thoughts. So, in summary:

• The most likely candidates for the British single-seater are 14/18 and 16/20

• However, according to EdNorth, the x/x codes do not directly relate to the aircraft's serial number and therefore it is hardly possible to say which W.Nr. 14/18 and 16/20 were.

The only possibility would be to have a wartime document that translates the x/x codes to W.Nr. Ed, is that correct? Does such a document exist?

Roger

Re: Do 335 A-1 Air Ministry AM225 --> W.Nr. 240161?
 

I don't think so. 14/18 and 16/20 were both B-3 models. (However see below.) The British mystery aircraft was clearly an A-1.


Bronc

Re: Do 335 A-1 Air Ministry AM225 --> W.Nr. 240161?
 

There is a chart on page 94 of the Smith, Creek and Roletschek text: Dornier Do 335 Pfeil/Arrow, (13/Classic, 2006, Chevron Publishing) which contains the following data that contradicts the 1983 data {post 14 above} from the Smith, Creek and Hitchcock, Monogram Monarch 2:

W.Nr. 240159 = A-1 likely numbered 14/18
W.Nr. 240160 = A-1 possibly numbered 15/19
W.Nr. 240161 = A-1 recovered at Oberpfaffenhofen
W.Nr. 240162 = A-1 Smith and Creek say this was numbered 2/1
W.Nr. 240163 = A-1 numbered 16/20. The Smith and Creek Monogram Monarch 2 text has a photo on page 116, that clearly shows "163" written on the top rudder of 16/20.
W.Nr. 240164 = A-1 No info
W.Nr. 240165 = A-1 numbered 1/3 - went into the American program via the HMS Reaper.

The British mystery ship was an A-1, so W.Nr. 240159-64 seems quite likely! If the 2006 work by Smith, Creek and Roletschek is accurate...

Bronc

Re: Do 335 A-1 Air Ministry AM225 --> W.Nr. 240161?
 

Hi Bronc,

Thanks for the info, especially for the reference to the Monogram Monarch 2, p.116 that shows 163 on the tail of 16/20. I don't have that book, but hopefully the referenced photo was also published in more recent publications. That was new to me.

So, it indeed seems that the xx/xx codes were not abbreviations of the aircraft's serial number. I am wondering why they changed from the W.Nr. last 3 digits to the xx/xx coding.

In summary, I now have:

The 2 that went to the US:
- Single-seater W.Nr. 240102 (now at NASM), coded 102
- Single-seater W.Nr. ?, coded 1/3 --> Classic 2006 gives W.Nr. 240165, but what is the basis for this statement? Is there a photo that shows 165 on the tail?

The 2 that went to the UK:
- Two-seater W.Nr. 240112, coded 112
- Single-seater W.Nr. ?, coded ? --> Possibly 14/18, 16/20

15/19: ?
2/1: camouflaged and therefore probably not a candidate for the single-seater that went to the UK

In the well-known photo of the Do 335 collection in front of the hangars at Oberpfaffenhofeon, the top left one may have been the one that went to the UK. It is fairly complete, but doesn't carry any visible markings. However, the engine cowlings appear to be aluminum as well. The one that went to the UK had camouflaged cowlings.

Quite a mistery....

Roger

Re: Do 335 A-1 Air Ministry AM225 --> W.Nr. 240161?
 

Maybe an interesting report, the fate of the two seater in January 1946, ended up in school.

http://www.airsciences.org.uk/FASTPr...Jan%202016.pdf

Regards

Harry

Re: Do 335 A-1 Air Ministry AM225 --> W.Nr. 240161?
 

No 163 number in the photo shown on page 116 in my edition of the book.

14/18 doesn't have any other number either.

Re: Do 335 A-1 Air Ministry AM225 --> W.Nr. 240161?
 

These photos shows 121, 14/18, and 16/20 in the hangar. On 121, there is also a "121" painted just below and forward of the windscreen.
http://s533.photobucket.com/user/mjf...ivfdu.jpg.html
http://s533.photobucket.com/user/mjf...8nywc.jpg.html

This photo taken from another angle shows 14/18 and 16/20.
http://s533.photobucket.com/user/mjf...cd9k0.jpg.html

This close up of the upper vertical stab/rudder shows the 163 written on it.
http://s533.photobucket.com/user/mjf...iex9r.jpg.html

This is a close up of the lower vertical stab of 16/20. You can see the number 15 or 115 written on it in four different places.
http://s533.photobucket.com/user/mjf...rnwhp.jpg.html

Re: Do 335 A-1 Air Ministry AM225 --> W.Nr. 240161?
 

I don't know, if this can help, because I don't know how this knowledge was gained. But it seems to fit, if we follow the info given in post #15: "W.Nr. 240161 = A-1 recovered at Oberpfaffenhofen"
This site states:
Do 335A-1 - [No code] - WNr.240161 - Captured by US [in Oberpfaffenhofen]. To RAE, but w/o on delivery flight 13 Dec 1945 at Merville?

Another photo that matches edNorth's photo in post #4 in the way it was painted/ left in bare metal showing a singele seater with american insignia:

Link to an older thread here at TOCH and the therein linked photo:

http://www.skylighters.org/photos/le...s/dornier1.jpg
Source: http://www.skylighters.org/photos/le...s/dornier1.jpg

And at LEMB (also seeking for the identity of AM225) are two photos of a similarly looking Do335, but with RAF roundels (with underlaying remains of former US insignia) and collapsed nose wheel. And a link at the end of this article points to a variation of the photo posted above.