WW2 German Luftwaffe Wartungklappe – AIRCRAFT FUEL FILLING HATCH – Do17 P – RARE

The first prototype made its maiden flight on 23 November 1934; it entered regular service with the Luftwaffe three years later. Sometimes referred to as the Fliegender Bleistift (“flying pencil”) or the Eversharp, the Do 17 was a relatively popular aircraft among its crews due to its handling, especially at low altitude, which made the type harder to hit than other German bombers of the era.

Production of the Do 17 ended in mid-1940 in favour of the newer and more powerful Junkers Ju88. The successor of the Do17 was the much more powerful Dornier Do217, which started to appear in quantity during 1942. The type was not withdrawn at this point; instead, the Do17 continued to serve with the Luftwaffe during the latter years of the conflict in various secondary roles, including as a glider tug, research, and trainer aircraft. A considerable number were transferred to other Axis-aligned nations, including the Finnish Air Force, Bulgarian Air Force and the Spanish Air Force amongst others.

The Do 17P-1 was powered by two BMW 132N radial engines with a maximum performance of 865 PS (853 hp (636 kW) each. Similar to the Do17 M-1, it featurd and added blind flying and camera equipment for reconnaissance work…as well as several radio variations – the FuG IIIaU radio (Funkgerät), the PeilG V direction finder (PeilG – Peilgerät) and the FuBI 1 radio blind-landing device (FuBI – Funkblindlandegerät). The crew of three communicated with each other via the EiV intercom (EiV -Eigenverständigungsanlage). The P-1 was equipped with either Rb 20/30 and Rb 50/30 or Rb 20/18 and Rb 50/18 cameras. The P-1/trop was fitted with filters and protection for the cameras. The cameras were controlled remotely by the crew from the cockpit.