Early metal aircraft
Dornier specialised in metal when aircraft were wood and fabric.
Lorenz Walthert from Schweiz — CC BY 2.0 · Clemens Vasters from Viersen, Germany, Germany — CC BY 2.0 · Clemens Vasters from Viersen, Germany, Germany — CC BY 2.0 · Clemens Vasters from Viersen, Germany, Germany — CC BY 2.0
An aviation museum beside Friedrichshafen airport, devoted to the Dornier company founded by Claude Dornier on Lake Constance in 1914. Dornier began as an engineer working for Count Zeppelin, then specialised in metal flying boats at a time when most aircraft were wood and fabric. His best-known design is the Do X of 1929: the largest aircraft in the world in its day, with twelve engines and capacity for around a hundred passengers. It crossed the Atlantic to New York on a journey that took more than ten months with many stops and repeated breakdowns — a publicity success and a commercial failure at once. The museum shows original aircraft and full-size replicas in a modern hall, and also covers the company's later work in space technology. Something that is not always stated should be: the company produced bombers for the Nazi regime and used forced labour during the war, and the museum addresses that period in its display.
Dornier specialised in metal when aircraft were wood and fabric.
The Do X's Atlantic crossing: a publicity success and a commercial failure.
The firm built bombers and used forced labour, and the museum addresses it.
Beside Friedrichshafen airport
The Zeppelin Museum is stronger and broader and sits in the town centre on the lake, and is the first choice if you have time for one. The Dornier Museum suits those specifically interested in aircraft rather than airships. The two are about four kilometres apart and combine easily in one day.
Germany's largest lake, shared between Germany, Switzerland and Austria and fed by the Rhine flowing down from the Alps. Around it are towns, villages and islands — among them Mainau with its gardens and the UNESCO-listed Reichenau. It is crossed by ferries and circled by a cycle route running all the way round, and is a major summer destination in southern Germany.
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