The Do-17 was developed, like the He-111, as a bomber, but the world was told the fantasy that it was to be a high speed passenger plane. The design was amazingly aerodynamic for the time with a slim fuselage where the forward section, shaped like an upside down triangle, blended into the underside of the wing. Thanks to the two large wing spars crossing the fuselage, putting in seats was a challenge and any passengers would have been quite uncomfortable. They would have also had to have been fairly agile to be able to crawl over the wing spars in an area where they probably could not stand upright.

The initial plane had a single vertical fin, but this soon gave way to twin fins, something that became a bit of a signature for future Dornier bombers. The plane was also one of the first German aircraft that put all of the crew into the same area of the plane. This also seemed to be a trait of German bombers after this, providing the thought that when the crew was all together, the camaraderie and care for each other increased. Unfortunately, it also meant that a well placed AA shell would kill everyone. An interesting aside is that some Do-17 versions had no fewer than seven machine guns, making the gunner(s) very busy people.

Powering the aircraft became a bit of an issue as the available horsepower of engines of the time meant that the airframe was not always able to reach its full potential. The aircraft also had somewhat limited range and while a bomb bay fuel tank was often fitted, it decreased the payload. Even then, the Do-17 could not carry very large bombs, with 50kg weapons being about it. This was, of course, improved in later versions

The early Do-17E/F aircraft were powered by liquid cooled BMW V1 engines. Later BMW radials were installed, offering more power. The early Do-17 was exported to a number of countries, recipient nations often specifying Gnome Rhone 14 cylinder radials. Yugoslavia's planes were so powered and a license to build the aircraft was obtained as well.

The Do-17 saw action in Spain with the Condor Legion where it proved to be quite fast and effective against Nationalist targets. It was also widely used during the Polish campaign, the invasion of France, Belgium and the Netherlands as well as against the UK during the Battle of Britain. By this time it was obvious that the type had reached obsolescence and while it was effective in the early part of the war against the Soviet Union and in the Balkans, it was pretty much out of front line service by 1942.

An improved version based on the later Do-17 airframes was the Do-215. This was powered by Daimler Benz DB 601 engines, offering increased performance. Both the Do-17 and Do-215 were used as night fighters and for night interdiction, but by the end of 1941, they were increasingly ineffective and worn out.

Like other Kagero Monographs, this edition covers the initial development of the aircraft along with the modifications made to the airframe to produce the different variants. Its war history is also provided, giving a good feel for how well the aircraft did in different situations. One of the major draws to this series are the large number of scale drawings of the aircraft. These include fuselage sections and views of the sides, upper and lower images and fore/aft drawings. Add to this a large number of good size period photos as well as several pages of full color profiles and you have a book that thoroughly covers the subject. A great addition to this series and a book that I have no trouble recommending to you.