Schmeelke, Michael Dornier Metallflugzeuge 1914-1919

Immediately after the outbreak of war in August 1914, Count Zeppelin gave the head of his experimental department, Claude Dornier, the task of building aircraft for the navy, which were to be made mainly of metal. At the time, this was an entirely unusual idea, as until then aircraft construction had been almost exclusively wood and fabric, with occasional use of steel. Dornier and his colleagues, who later included such famous names as Hanns Klemm, Anton Flettner, Richard Vogt and Alexander Lippisch, designed and built the world's first all-metal aircraft by 1919. Their pioneering work was to determine aircraft construction until well into the 1930s. In addition to the giant flying boats, the book also describes Dornier's aircraft for the Army Air Corps, including the Zeppelin Jaray C aircraft. Also the engines and radiators of these early Dornier aircraft. Chapters on working conditions, especially women's work due to the war, as well as the revolution and the end of the war in Dorniers round off the book.