For the first three years of the Second World War, the Dornier Do 17 was
the Luftwaffe's principal light bomber. Designed to be fast enough to
outrun contemporary fighter aircraft, the Dornier helped to spearhead
Germany's Blitzkrieg as Hitler's armies raced through Poland and then
France and the Low Countries. Until its withdrawal to secondary duties
in 1941, the Dornier Do 17 served in every theater of war involving
German forces. This included the invasion of the Balkans and Greece as
well as the battle to capture Crete.
After suffering heavy losses at the hands of Fighter Command in the
Battle of Britain, the Do 17 was employed in Operation Barbarossa, the
invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. The Do 17 was withdrawn from
front-line service later in 1941 but continued to be used by the German
Air Force in various roles until the end of the war, including seeing
service as a glider tug and in the defense of the Reich in 1944 as a
night fighter.
In this compilation of unrivaled images collected over many years, and
now part of Frontline's new War in the Air series, the widespread
deployment of the Dornier Do 17 is portrayed and brought to life.