Dornier Do 217

The Dornier Do-217 is a German bomber, recon and heavy/night fighter aircraft. It was in service from 1942 to the end of the war in 1945. In-Game only one variant appears: the Dornier Do 217 N-2 Night Fighter.

Description
The Dornier Do 217, sometimes also called the "Fliegender Bleistift" (Ger. for flying pencil), is a German multiple-role aircraft and the successor to the Dornier 17. It was used and fitted as a medium bomber, heavy bomber, reconnaissance aircraft, and heavy/night fighter aircraft. It has got, like most heavier German bombers, only two engines. The appearing Do 217 N-2 is a special night fighter aircraft being equipped with "Schräge Musik" (Ger. for odd/angled music), being four 20mm machine guns mounted upwards so the fighter can attack any bomber from below. Historically this went unnoticed for a couple of years and caused confusion and doubt on the allies end because bombers just seemed to get destroyed out of nowhere with no enemy ever being seen.

In Combat
In combat, the Dornier Do 217 is a very dangerous foe, especially when you don't have any ventral turrets or you are lightly armored. It will always try to get directly below you to get as many precise shots as possible on you and can cause great damage to the crew. In the heat of battle, the 217 also may go unnoticed, even when attacking the player. This is especially the case when the player hasn't met the 217 yet. The only ways to properly fight it off is by manning the ventral turret if installed, or if that is not the case doing corkscrews and emergency dives to shake him off your belly and get the gunners an opportunity to open fire onto the enemy. If you have spare bombs after your mission is complete, however, it is possible to drop bombs directly on the 217.

Appearance
The aircraft has a unique appearance in the game, being one of the only few two-engine enemy aircraft, and also being very large compared to the Focke-Wulf FW 190s and Messerschmitt BF 109s. It is painted white and has got the "Matratze" (ger. for mattress) 36-dipole of the "Lichtenstein" UHF radar.

Trivia

 * In real-life the Do 217 N-2 actually had 12 guns: 4x7.92mm MG 17s and 4x20mm MG 151s nose-mounted facing forward and 4x20mm MG 151s aft-mounted facing upwards angled forward.
 * It also had 3 crew members: 2 Pilots and one Gunner for the "Schräge Musik".