Dornier Do 26 Flying Boat Part IV

When the Second World War began the Do 26s were impressed into Luftwaffe service as transports. Their civilian call letters were replaced with Luftwaffe codes – “P5” indicates the unit, in this case Kdo.d. Transportflieger Chief Norwegen. The first letter aft of the Balkenkreuze is the individual aircraft designation. These were assigned in the order of production A through F, so P5+AH is the former Do 26V1 “Seeadler”.

The Dorniers were repainted in the standard Luftwaffe maritime camouflage of RLM 72/73 splinter on the upper surfaces over RLM 65 lowers. The RLM 72/73 were dark greens with a subtle blue tint, they were very close in hue and the color separation is often difficult to see in black and white photos.

This is a useful series of photos taken of Gebirgsjäger (mountain troops) loading aboard a Do 26 during the Norwegian Campaign. As a miliary transport the Do 26 could carry two tons of cargo or eighteen personnel.

Same scene, slightly different angle. It is possible these are men of 3/Gebirgsjäger Regiment (GJR) 138 loading at Trondheim on 08MAY40.

Three branches of the Werhmacht represented in the same photo. A Kriegsmarine rating from the boat crew on the far left, a Gebirgsjäger Officer at the door supervising the loading of his men and their equipment, and a Luftwaffe pilot stands to the right.

A Dornier moored to a buoy in calm waters. P5+BH was shot down on 08MAY40 by Blackburn Skuas of 803 NAS from HMAS Ark Royal near the Narvik area. On 28MAY40 P5+AH and P5+CH were caught on the water at Rombaksfjord by three Hurricanes of 46 Squadron which sunk them as they were unloading field guns. Therefore, the first three Do 26s all met their fate during the Norwegian Campaign.

The standard method of boarding is demonstrated by the crew of Do 26V4, P5+DH. Obviously ferry service utilizing a proper boat would be preferred to rubber rafts, but these men are making do.

A chilly winter scene of the crew hauling rubber rafts up onto the fuselage, presumably these would be deflated and stowed inside.

P5+EH moored to a pier somewhere in Norway, 1940. Flying boats provide ample opportunities for the diorama maker, and these Do 26 photos are no exception! P5+EH was lost with her crew on 16NOV40 during a night launch from the catapult ship Friesenland in Brest, France.

Not the best photo quality, but an interesting subject. During the war the Germans maintained a series of weather stations in Greenland. After the British discovered on of these stations in 1943 P5+FH was assigned to “Operation Holzauge” to evacuate the men before they could be captured. All 22 men and their sledge dogs were rescued. Here the aircraft is seen with temporary white camo over her splinter scheme. Modelers should note her armament had been removed at this time.

Part V here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2026/01/21/dornier-do-26-flying-boat-part-v/