Editing Dornier Flugzeugwerke (section)

==History==
[[File:Dornier Do J N25 Roald Amundsen.jpg|thumb|left|[[Dornier Wal]] flown by [[Roald Amundsen]] on his first attempt to reach the [[North Pole]].]]
[[File:Dornier Do-X (15136810048).jpg|thumb|[[Dornier Do X]] - largest and heaviest aircraft of its era.]]
[[File:Dornier Do 17 early (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Dornier Do 17]] "flying pencil" bomber]]
Originally '''Dornier Metallbau''', Dornier Flugzeugwerke took over [[Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen]] production facilities ([[Weingarten, Württemberg|Weingarten]], [[Warnemünde]], and the former [[Luftschiffbau Zeppelin|Zeppelin]] shed at [[Airship hangar#Early hangars|Manzell]]) when it failed in 1923.<!--Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen wikipage-->

Dornier was well known between the two world wars as a manufacturer of large, all-metal [[flying boat]]s and of land based airliners. The record-breaking 1924 [[Dornier Wal|Wal]] ({{langx|en|Whale}}) was used on many long distance flights and the [[Dornier Do X|Do X]] set records for its immense size and weight. Dornier's successful landplane airliners, including the [[Dornier Komet|Komet]] (''Comet'') and [[Dornier Merkur|Merkur]] (''Mercury''), were used by [[Lufthansa]] and other European carriers during the 1920s and early 30s. Dornier built its aircraft outside Germany during much of this period due to the restrictions placed on German aircraft manufacturers by the [[Treaty of Versailles]]: locations included [[Altenrhein]], [[Switzerland]], 12&nbsp;km from Zeppelin's [[Lindau (Bodensee)]] location. Foreign factories licence-building Dornier products included [[CMASA]] and [[Piaggio]] in [[Italy]], [[Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA|CASA]] in [[Spain]], [[Kawasaki Heavy Industries|Kawasaki]] in [[Japan]], and [[Aviolanda]] in the [[Netherlands]]. Once the [[Nazism|Nazi]] government came to power and abandoned the treaty's restrictions, Dornier resumed production in Germany.

[[File:dornier do 28 d2 sky 04.jpg|thumb|Dornier Do 28 D-2 Skyservant]]
[[File:Do-31 1.jpg|thumb|Do 31]]
[[File:alpha jet zj646 arp.jpg|thumb|right|[[Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet|Dassault-Breguet/Dornier Alpha]] Jet of the UK defence technology organisation [[QinetiQ]]]]

The success of the Wal family encouraged the development of derivatives, and of more advanced successors, such as the [[Dornier Do 18|Do 18]], and [[Dornier Do 24|Do 24]] which saw service in several armed forces, including German, into [[World War II]].

Dornier's most important World War II military aircraft design was the [[Dornier Do 17|Do 17]], nicknamed ''The Flying Pencil''. It first flew in 1934 as a [[mailplane]] for Lufthansa but due to its narrow fuselage (hence its nickname) it was not commercially viable and was passed over. Dornier then developed it further as a military aircraft, with a prototype bomber flying in 1935, and in 1937 it was used in by the German [[Condor Legion]] during the [[Spanish Civil War]]. Production continued in Germany and it was developed to fill multiple roles for the [[Luftwaffe]]. As a medium [[bomber aircraft|bomber]] it saw service during the early part of [[World War II]], particularly during the [[Battle of Britain]]. It was later developed into a [[nightfighter]] to counter the [[RAF]] bomber offensive. Dornier developed the similar looking [[Dornier Do 217|Do 217]] from the Do 17 but it was a larger and completely new design. Dornier also developed the fastest piston-engined [[fighter aircraft|fighter]] of the war, the twin-engined [[Dornier Do 335|Do 335]], which was too late to see service.

After WWII, aircraft production was again forbidden in Germany, and Dornier relocated to [[Spain]] and then to [[Switzerland]] where the firm provided aeronautical consultancy services until returning to Germany in 1954. Post-war, Dornier re-established itself with successful [[STOL]] [[Dornier Do 27|Do 27]] and [[Dornier Do 28|Do 28]] [[utility plane]]s. In 1974 it joined a joint venture with [[France|French]] aircraft manufacturers [[Dassault Aviation|Dassault-Breguet]] to develop the [[Dassault Breguet Dornier Alpha Jet|Alpha Jet]].

In 1983, [[Hindustan Aeronautics Limited]] (HAL) acquired a production licence for the [[Dornier 228]] and manufactured the aircraft for the Asian market. By 2013 a total of 117 Dornier 228 aircraft had been produced by HAL with plans to build 20 more during 2013-14.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/india-to-present-dornier-aircraft-to-seychelles-for-surveillance-anti-piracy-missions/articleshow/18167688.cms?intenttarget=no|title=India to present Dornier aircraft to Seychelles for surveillance, anti-piracy missions|date=3 August 2017|newspaper=The Economic Times}}</ref> [[Pushpindar Singh Chopra]] was the agent of Dornier to India during this contract.

In 1985, Dornier became a member of the [[Daimler-Benz]] group, integrating its aeronautic assets with the parent company. As part of this transaction, [[Lindauer Dornier]] GmbH was spun off, creating a separate, family-owned firm, concentrating on textile machinery design and manufacturing. The rest of the company was split into several subsidiaries for defence, satellites, medtech{{clarify|date=October 2021}} and aircraft.

In 1996, the majority of Dornier Aircraft was acquired by [[Fairchild Aircraft]], forming '''Fairchild Dornier'''. This company became insolvent in early 2002. Production of its 328 Jet was acquired by US company [[Avcraft]]. Asian groups continued to show interest in its 728 version in August 2004, but production was not restarted. Dornier 228 production was taken over by Swiss manufacturer [[RUAG]], who then sold it off to [[General Atomics]] in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |title=General Atomics buys RUAG's Dornier 228 programme and German MRO business |author= |work=Flight Global |date= |access-date=16 January 2022 |url= https://www.flightglobal.com/aerospace/general-atomics-buys-ruags-dornier-228-programme-and-german-mro-business/140648.article |quote=RUAG acquired the rights to the Dornier 228 after former owner Fairchild Dornier went into insolvency in 2002 }}</ref> Other subsidiaries became part of the [[EADS]].

The medtech division was sold to an investment company and now bears the name '''Dornier MedTech'''. Dornier Medtech manufactures medical equipment, such as the ''Dornier S [[Extracorporeal shockwave therapy|lithotripter]]'', HM3, Compact Delta to treat [[kidney stone]]s. Dornier MedTech also manufactures laser devices for a wide range of applications.<ref>{{cite news |title=India to present Dornier aircraft to Seychelles for surveillance, anti-piracy missions |url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-01-24/news/36527149_1_aircraft-maritime-surveillance-hal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928031034/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-01-24/news/36527149_1_aircraft-maritime-surveillance-hal |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 28, 2013 |work=[[India Times]] |date=January 24, 2013}}</ref>

===Dornier Seaplane Company===
The Dornier family have a spin-off company and project, the [[Dornier Seastar]]. It is a [[turboprop-powered]] [[amphibious aircraft]] built largely of composite materials. This was developed by {{ill|Claudius Dornier Jr.|de|Claudius Dornier}}, and later by his son Conrado by Dornier Seawings.

===Dornier Technologie===
Claude's grandson, {{ill|Iren Dornier|de}}, founded Dornier Technologie in 1996 to manufacture the [[Dornier S-Ray 007]].