Dornier Do 17 Postcard

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Collotype post card depicting two Dornier Do 17 aircraft in flight sent from Nuremberg (Nürnberg), Germany, to Oberer Graben, Germany; the card, addressed to Anton Schmid, carries a 6 pfennig postage stamp with a December 6, 1940, cancelation mark "Stadt der Reichsparteitage Nürnberg [City of the Nazi Party Rallies Nuremberg]."

Initially designed in the mid-1930s by Dornier-Werke GmbH as a high-speed commercial transport aircraft for use by the German airline Lufthansa, the extremely slim fuselage of the twin-engine Dornier Do 17 (nicknamed the "Flying Pencil") proved impractical for use as a passenger airliner. The exceptional handling and performance of the aircraft caught the eye of the Luftwaffe, however, and the type was redesigned as a high-speed light bomber or long-range reconnaissance aircraft, with Do 17 E and F production models serving as combat aircraft during the Spanish Civil War (1936--1939). Several experimental models were produced to test various engines and bomber modifications. The Dornier Do 17 R V2 (r/n D-ATJU) pictured on this post card, powered by two 1,100 hp Daimler-Benz DB 601A engines, served as an engine testbed; the second Do 17 pictured may represent the only other R model built, Do 17 R V1 (r/n D-AEEE). Later production models, particularly the Do 17 Z, saw heavy service with the Luftwaffe in the early years of World War II.

Identifier

NASM.XXXX.1098

Date

1940

Provenance

Unknown, found in collection, 2011, NASM.XXXX.1098.

Extent

0.05 Cubic feet (1 folder, 3.5 x 5.5 inch collotype post card)

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

Collotype post card published by Kosmos Franckh-Verlag (Stuttgart) entitled "Flüg in Die Wolken [Flight in the Clouds] / Unfere Luftwaffe Kampfflugzeug Do 17 [Our Luftwaffe Fighter Plane]." The illustration is a heavily retouched composite photographic image of two Dornier Do 17 airplanes in flight through clouds. The near aircraft is Dornier Do 17 R V2 (r/n D-ATJU); the more distant aircraft (depicted without markings) may represent the only other R model built, Do 17 R V1 (r/n D-AEEE). The post card was sent December 6, 1940, by "Nesl" [sp?] from Nuremberg (Nürnberg), Germany, to Anton Schmid in Oberer Graben, Germany. The reverse of the post card, mailed inside Nazi Germany during World War II, carries a 6 pfennig postage stamp bearing a portrait of Paul von Hindenburg and the cancelation mark "Stadt der Reichsparteitage Nürnberg [City of the Nazi Party Rallies Nuremberg]." The handwritten message, addressed to "Herrn Anton Schmid, Gerberei, Illerstissen, Schwaben, Oberer Graben 56c" reads "Lieber Vater! Alles Gute zum Namenstag. Morgen schicke ich das Paket wieder ab. Viele Grüße von uns Allen [Translation: Dear father, All the best on your name day. Tomorrow I will send the package again. Many greetings from all of us"].

Arrangement note

Assigned NASM image number NASM-9A19786.

Rights

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.

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Citation

Dornier Do 17 Postcard, Acc. NASM.XXXX.1098, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Topics

Aeronautics
Airplanes
World War, 1939-1945
Dornier Do 17 Family

Type

Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Picture postcards

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