Dornier Do 12

The Dornier Do 12 Libelle III ("Dragonfly III") was the third of a line of small German flying boats of the 1930s. It started with the Dornier A Libelle I and the Dornier A Libelle II, though the Do 12 was not a continuation, but an entirely new aircraft.

The aircraft was amphibious and would carry three to four passengers. It was powered by a single Argus As 10 engine initially, then a Gnome-Rhône 5Ke Titan engine, mounted above the wing. It first flew in 1932 and went on to be used by the DFS to tow gliders.

Design

The Do 12 was a high-wing monoplane, of the usual Dornier all-metal construction, with a two-spar, trapezoidal wing, whose trailing edge was very strongly rounded at the root. The fuselage was of rectangular cross section.

In the nose was a storage area where equipment, including anchors, could be kept. Behind it, the open cockpit had two side-by-side seats, with optional dual control. In the cabin, there were two more seats and a storage area, which could also be fitted with bunks for sleeping. Between the cockpit and cabin were nacelles which accommodated the retracted undercarriage wheels, a first for Dornier, which were lowered or raised manually by a crank. The engine sat on a stand high above the wing, alongside two fuel tanks, in the pusher configuration.