Do 217 E-4

This page is about the German bomber Do 217 E-4. For other uses, see Do 217 (Family).

Do 217 E-4

Do 217 E-2

Do 217 K-1

Do 217 E-4

Do 217 E-2

Do 217 K-1

Germany

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
5.0	4.7	4.3

Class:

Bomber

Frontline bomber

Research:17 000

Purchase:105 000

Description

The Do 217 E-4 is a rank III German bomber with a battle rating of 5.0 (AB), 4.7 (RB), and 4.3 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.29.

General info

Flight performance

Max speed

at 5 100 m482 km/h

Turn time31 s

Max altitude7 500 m

Engine2 х BMW 801 ML

TypeRadial

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight17 t

Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 5,100 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	464	448	7500	32.2	33.4	6.1	6.0	850
Upgraded	500	482		29.9	31.0	10.2	8.0

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
X	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
0	300	N/A	351	270	~7	~5

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 290	< 360	< 360	> 315

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
1,000 m	1,460 hp	1,522 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
4,200 m	1,300 hp	1,355 hp

Survivability and armour

Crew5 people

Speed of destruction

Structural0 km/h

Gear300 km/h

• 8.5 mm steel - pilot's seat
• 8.5 mm steel - around the dorsal gunner
• 8.5 mm steel - aft of ventral gunner
• 5 mm steel - below ventral gunner

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB1 184 → 1 542

RB3 082 → 4 015

SB5 067 → 6 602

Total cost of modifications29 600

58 200

Talisman cost1 200

Crew training30 000

Experts105 000

Aces590

Research Aces360 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

80 / 200 / 350 %

148 / 148 / 148 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Research: 1 200 Cost: 2 400 155 Radiator Research: 1 200 Cost: 2 400 155 Compressor Research: 1 100 Cost: 2 200 145 Wings repair Research: 1 500 Cost: 2 900 195 Engine Research: 1 500 Cost: 2 900 195 Engine injection Research: 1 900 Cost: 3 700 250	Airframe Research: 1 100 Cost: 2 200 145 Cover Research: 1 900 Cost: 3 700 250	mg_turret_belt_pack Research: 1 200 Cost: 2 400 155 mg131_turret_belt_pack Research: 1 200 Cost: 2 400 155 Flamm C 250 Research: 1 200 Cost: 2 400 155 mg15_turret_new_gun Research: 1 100 Cost: 2 200 145 mg131_turret_new_gun Research: 1 100 Cost: 2 200 145 ITC PVC I Research: 1 100 Cost: 2 200 145 Flamm C 500 Research: 1 100 Cost: 2 200 145 mgff_turret_belt_pack Research: 1 500 Cost: 2 900 195 mg15120_belt_pack Research: 1 500 Cost: 2 900 195 ITC PVC II Research: 1 500 Cost: 2 900 195 mgff_turret_new_gun Research: 1 900 Cost: 3 700 250 mg15120_new_gun Research: 1 900 Cost: 3 700 250 SC 2000 Research: 1 900 Cost: 3 700 250

Armaments

Offensive armament

Weapon 120 mm MG 151 cannon

Ammunition225 rounds

Fire rate700 shots/min

The Do 217 E-4 is armed with:

• 1 x 20 mm MG 151 cannon, chin-mounted (250 rpg)

Suspended armament

List of setups (12)

Setup 14 x 250 kg SC250JA bomb

Setup 228 x 50 kg SC50JA bomb

Setup 38 x 250 kg SC250JA bomb

Setup 42 x 500 kg SC500K bomb
2 x 250 kg SC250JA bomb

Setup 54 x 500 kg SC500K bomb

Setup 62 x 1000 kg SC1000L2 bomb

Setup 74 x 1000 kg SC1000L2 bomb

Setup 84 x Flam C 250 incendiary bomb

Setup 94 x Flam C 500 incendiary bomb

Setup 108 x Flam C 250 incendiary bomb

Setup 114 x 500 kg PC500 armor-piercing bomb

Setup 124 x 1000 kg PC1000 armor-piercing bomb

The Do 217 E-4 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• 4 x 250 kg SC250JA bombs (1,000 kg total)
• 26 x 50 kg SC50JA bombs (1,300 kg total)
• 8 x 250 kg SC250JA bombs (2,000 kg total)
• 2 x 500 kg SC500K bombs + 2 x 250 kg SC250JA bombs (1,500 kg total)
• 4 x 500 kg SC500K bombs (2,000 kg total)
• 2 x 1,000 kg SC1000L2 bombs (2,000 kg total)
• 4 x 1,000 kg SC1000L2 bombs (4,000 kg total)

Defensive armament

Turret20 mm MG FF/M cannon

Ammunition240 rounds

Fire rate560 shots/min

2 х Turret13 mm MG 131 machine gun

Ammunition1000 rounds

Fire rate900 shots/min

Turret7.92 mm MG 15 machine gun

Ammunition450 rounds

Fire rate1000 shots/min

Turret7.92 mm MG 15 machine gun

Ammunition525 rounds

Fire rate1000 shots/min

The Do 217 E-4 is defended by:

• 1 x 20 mm MG FF/M cannon, nose turret (240 rpg)
• 1 x 13 mm MG 131 machine gun, dorsal turret (500 rpg)
• 1 x 13 mm MG 131 machine gun, ventral turret (1,000 rpg)
• 1 x 7.92 mm MG 15 machine gun, 2 x frontal beam turrets (500 rpg)

Usage in battles

The Do 217 E-4 spawns at a significantly lower altitude than long-range bombers making it easier prey for fighter and attacker aircraft. Climbing to high altitude takes a long time which makes it difficult to avoid enemy fighters in the process. The high speed of the plane and high wing-break speed allows for more aggressive moves at the start of a match. Diving for enemy bases instead of climbing can be a surprisingly effective tactic, especially since many fighter pilots don't want to give up their altitude advantage to drop down and scrape the deck just to hunt a low flying bomber.

The defensive armament is adequate to hold off a single fighter and the 20 mm cannons often cause critical hits forcing the attacker to wave off and retreat.

The plane can perform surprisingly tight elevator turns which can take an attacker by surprise and can give you the chance to use your offensive 20 mm cannon. Performing these manoeuvres at low altitude however, is not recommended as the aircraft loses a lot of speed when performing tight turns and has difficulty to regain the speed risking the Do 217 E-4 of stalling.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Not controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Not controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Combined	Not controllable 2 gears	Not controllable

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good and accurate defensive armament
• Having an offensive 20 mm autocannon is really good
• Good max speed and acceleration
• Engines rarely overheat when upgraded
• Very nice climb rate and turn rate
• Can carry up to 4 x 1000 kg bombs, which can be used to destroy 3 bases
• Easy to land
• Always WEP when you have upgraded the engine parts
• Can compete with some bombers at high altitudes, so after the bombing runs, you can search for bombers and stop them

Cons:

• Very loud engines
• Flaps easily get damaged at +250 km/h. You will lose the landing flaps really easy
• The gunners can easily be knocked out by the enemy fire
• Oil leak and fuel leak for just a few shots (even with 12.7 mm bullets)
• The plane gets uncontrollable at high speeds
• Any damage to the central area of the plane body will cause loss of speed
• Any damage to flaps makes the aircraft really hard to land
• When stock, about 10s of WEP will cause overheating (may differ in altitudes)

History

In-game description

Dornier Do 217 E-4 medium twin-engine bomber

Late 1941 saw the start of production of Do 217 E-4 variant bombers, which differed from the E-2 mainly in their new BMW 801C engines, with a takeoff power of 1,560 hp, and in their wings' reinforced leading edge, which could cut through the cables of barrage balloons. In addition, the fixed Mauser MG 151/15 cannon was removed, and a mobile 20 mm Oerlikon/Ikaria MG FF drum-fed cannon with a total 240-round magazine capacity was installed instead. This cannon earned a reputation as a more effective weapon against surface targets.

Originally, all Do 217E planes were equipped with an umbrella-shaped dive brake located in the tail section and designed to reduce diving speed. However, since the brake was unreliable, every factory-produced machine was packaged with a removable tail cone fairing, placed in the bomb bay. After the aircraft reached the front lines, the mechanics would, as a rule, immediately remove the lattice umbrella and install the cone fairing instead.

In this form, the Do 217E could only be used as a horizontal bomber. But since the dive brake control circuit remained in place, the possibility to convert it back to a dive bomber remained.

Beginning with the Do 217 E-4 variant, no dive brake was installed on the aircraft at all, since the Luftwaffe command eventually rejected the idea of turning the Do 217E into a dive bomber.

Initially, British cities and ships were top-priority targets for the Do 217Es. The KG 2 bomber squadron was given the task of striking cities, and the specially formed KG 40 was to carry out anti-ship missions. Both units were to be based on airfields in France and the Netherlands.

The Do 217E's combat début over Great Britain took place in the middle of July 1941, when KG 2 and KG 40 aircraft bombed London targets and factories in Birmingham.

In the spring of 1942, the Do 217Es of both squadrons participated in the so-called Baedeker Raids, a series of raids over provincial British cities with a large number of architectural monuments. This was a kind of revenge for the RAF's bombing of German cities.

Clear or moonlit nights were usually chosen for the raids, and the crews planned to fly out towards the target at about one o'clock a.m. The smaller cities without strategic importance had poor air defence systems, which allowed the bomber crews to drop their bomb load from a height of about 3,000 m, with comparatively high accuracy for horizontal bombers.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• Official data sheet - more details about the performance

Dornier Aircraft Corporation (Dornier Flugzeugwerke)
Fighters	Do 17 Z-7
	Do 217 J-1 · Do 217 J-2 · Do 217 N-1 · Do 217 N-2
	Do 335 A-0 · Do 335 A-1 · Do 335 B-2
Bombers	Do 17 E-1 · Do 17 Z-2
	Do 217 E-2 · Do 217 E-4 · Do 217 K-1 · Do 217 M-1
Jet Aircraft	Alpha Jet A**
Helicopters	◄UH-1D*
	*Licensed
	**Jointly manufactured with Dassault Aviation