Walk up to the Dornier Do 335 and something looks wrong. There is a propeller on the nose, as expected — and then a second propeller on the tail, spinning behind the fin. The Germans called it the Pfeil, the Arrow. It was the fastest piston-engined fighter the Third Reich ever built, and one of the fastest the world has ever seen.
It was also one of the strangest-looking machines of the war, and it arrived far too late to matter.
| Aircraft | Dornier Do 335 Pfeil (“Arrow”) |
| Layout | Push-pull: one engine in the nose, one in the tail |
| Engines | Two Daimler-Benz DB 603, ~1,750 hp each |
| Top speed | ~765 km/h (474 mph) claimed in level flight |
| Built | Roughly a dozen completed before war’s end |
Two engines, one straight line
Most twin-engined fighters hang their engines on the wings, and pay for it in drag and in the vicious handling that follows if one engine quits. Dornier took a different path. It placed one Daimler-Benz DB 603 in the nose, driving a conventional tractor propeller, and a second DB 603 buried in the fuselage behind the cockpit, driving a pusher propeller at the tail through a long shaft. Both engines sat on the aircraft’s centreline.
The payoff was aerodynamic. Two engines’ worth of power — around 3,500 horsepower combined — with the frontal area of a single-engined fighter. The Germans claimed a level speed of about 765 km/h (474 mph), faster than the official world speed record of the day, and a climb rate of roughly 20 metres per second. For a piston fighter, those numbers were extraordinary.
The problem with a propeller behind you
A pusher propeller at the tail solved one problem and created another. Bail out of a conventional fighter and you leap clear; bail out of a Do 335 the same way and the rear propeller would kill you. Dornier’s answer was pure engineering pragmatism: before jumping, the pilot could jettison both the rear propeller and the upper tail fin using explosive bolts, and the aircraft carried one of the earliest ejection seats fitted to a production fighter. It is a detail that tells you how seriously the design was taken.
What defeated the Pfeil was not its engineering but the calendar. It first flew in 1943, but development dragged, and deliveries only began in January 1945. By the time American troops overran the Dornier plant at Oberpfaffenhofen that April, only around eleven single-seat fighters and a pair of two-seat trainers had been finished. The Arrow never reached the fight in numbers.
The one that got away — and the one that survived
It did leave a mark, though. In April 1945 the French ace Pierre Clostermann, leading a flight of Hawker Tempests over northern Germany, spotted an unfamiliar aircraft racing along at treetop height. It matched the Pfeil’s silhouette, and it was simply too fast to chase — the Tempest, itself no slouch at low level, could not close the gap. After the war, Britain’s legendary test pilot Eric “Winkle” Brown flew a captured example and came away impressed by the big fighter’s speed and handling.
Today a single Do 335 survives anywhere in the world: airframe 240102, the aircraft in these photographs, captured in April 1945 and now preserved at the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center outside Washington. It is the last of a design that was, in the end, a small masterpiece delivered to the wrong war at the wrong time.
Sources: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum; Pierre Clostermann, The Big Show; Eric Brown, Wings of the Luftwaffe.
Related Questions
What was the Dornier Do 335 Pfeil?
The Dornier Do 335 Pfeil (Arrow) was a German World War II heavy fighter and the fastest piston-engined aircraft the Third Reich ever built. Its unusual push-pull layout placed one engine in the nose and a second in the tail, giving it exceptional straight-line speed. It first flew in 1943 but arrived far too late to affect the war.
Why did the Do 335 have two propellers?
The Do 335 used a push-pull configuration: one Daimler-Benz DB 603 engine drove a conventional propeller on the nose and a second DB 603 drove a pusher propeller at the tail. Placing both engines on the centreline, rather than on the wings, cut drag and avoided the dangerous handling that plagued conventional twin-engined fighters when one engine failed.
How fast was the Dornier Do 335?
The Dornier Do 335 reached a claimed top speed of around 765 km/h (474 mph) in level flight, making it the fastest piston-engined fighter Germany produced. Its twin DB 603 engines, each about 1,750 hp, and low-drag centreline layout gave it performance that outran Allied fighters. A captured example later impressed British test pilot Eric 'Winkle' Brown.
How many Dornier Do 335s were built?
Very few. Development dragged on after the 1943 first flight, and deliveries only began in January 1945. By the time American troops overran the Dornier plant at Oberpfaffenhofen that April, only around eleven single-seat fighters and two two-seat trainers had been completed. The Arrow never reached front-line service in meaningful numbers.
Did the Do 335 have an ejection seat?
Yes. The Do 335 carried one of the earliest ejection seats fitted to a production fighter, a necessity because a normal bail-out risked throwing the pilot into the rear pusher propeller. Before jumping, the pilot could jettison both the rear propeller and the upper tail fin using explosive bolts, then eject clear of the aircraft.
Why did the Do 335 never see combat in numbers?
The Do 335 was defeated by the calendar, not by its engineering. It first flew in 1943, but development delays meant deliveries only started in January 1945, and barely a dozen were finished before the war ended. Germany's late-war fighters, like the rocket-powered Me 163 Komet, increasingly reflected desperation rather than a coherent air strategy.
Are there any surviving Dornier Do 335s?
Just one Do 335 survives anywhere in the world: airframe 240102, captured in April 1945 and now preserved at the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center outside Washington, D.C. It is the sole remaining example of a design often described as a small masterpiece delivered to the wrong war at the wrong time.
What other advanced fighters did Germany build late in WWII?
Germany fielded several radical designs in its final years, driven by desperation and dwindling resources. Alongside the Do 335 came the rocket-powered Me 163 Komet interceptor and the hastily built Heinkel He 162 Volksjäger, a jet fighter designed in weeks and meant to be flown by barely trained pilots. Most arrived too late to change the war's outcome.
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