The Dornier Do-22 was developed as a continuation of successful Dornier water-borne aircraft. In this case, it was a reconnaissance aircraft and light bomber that was designed to be operated on floats or wheels. The type was of partial metal and fabric covered construction with the forward area around the engine, the tail section, and the floats being metal with the rest being cloth covered.

It was an in-house development that started with the Do-10 and then moved on to the Do-2A and Do-3A, though all of those were generally unsuccessful aircraft. The Do-22 was the culmination of that development and while it did not meet the specs of the Luftwaffe, was a minor success in foreign sales. When one considers that the plane was delivered in 1938/39, it is easy to see that it was obsolescent before it entered service. However, it was available and fairly inexpensive, which at the time was something to consider.

So who bought it. Well, we are talking about three nations. Initially Yugoslavia was the primary user and then Greece. There were four built for Latvia, but were not delivered as the country was invaded by the Soviets. These planes ended up in Finland where they saw the longest service.

All of these nations used their aircraft during war service. The ones with Yugoslavia probably saw the most action as many of these escaped to Egypt where they continued to be operated along with the British on coastal patrol and convoy protection. The Greek planes had a fairly short combat career, while the ones operated by Finland, despite losing half their number to accidents, lasted into the 1950s. These were not front line combat aircraft though they did carry out some light bombing duties. Any enemy fighters generally would make quick work of these planes.

In this book the author gives us a good background on Dornier in general and on the predecessors to the Do-22 in particular. Then we are given a run down of the aircraft and its systems along with the full service history with each of the nations that operated the type. There are tons of great photos of the aircraft in service as well as Kagero's usual superb full color profiles. As you'd expect from these folks, you get plans in all four major scales. The 1/32 and 1/24 ones are separate as they are simply too large for the book.

I don't think it would be too much hyperbole to say that this is the finest book on the subject that has yet been available. It certainly is the best that I've read. A great look into one of the lesser known types of WWII and one I can quite easily recommend.

February 2018

My thanks to Casemate Publishing for the review sample. Visit them at Casemate Publishing and order yours, or get them at your favorite hobbyist.

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