IL2

Dornier Do-217N NJG2.2 (DS+HM) Hageunau France 1943 00

Profile 00: Dornier Do-217N-2 'DS+HM' of 4./NJG3, Hageunau, France, 1943. Following the realisation that black camouflage was unsuitable for night operations, this Do-217 coded 05+HM was finished blue-grey 76 overall. Note the small Geschwader code 'OS' ahead of the Balkenkreuz which appears to be black, whereas the individual aircraft letter and Staffel letter are in Grey 75. The spinners and propeller blades were green 70 and the machine carried the 'Englandblitz' badge on the forward fuselage. Note the vertical tail units which were heavily discolored by carbon deposits from the engine exhausts.

Dornier Do-217N NJG2.2 (DS+HM) Hageunau France 1943 01

Photo 01: Another Do-217, this machine belonging to 4./NJG3. Although this Gruppe's permanent base from September 1941 to March 1944 was Schleswig, the 4. Staffel was detached to Westeriand for most of this time. This photograph, however, is reported to have been taken at Haguenau in France. For a night fighter, the Do-217 was a large machine with a wingspan of more than 19 metres and a length, including the FuG 202 aerial array, of 19 metres.