Editing Dornier Do 335 (section)

==Operational History==

Delivery commenced in January 1945. When the [[United States Army]] overran the Oberpfaffenhofen factory in late April 1945, only 11 Do 335 A-1 single-seat [[fighter-bomber]]s and two Do 335 A-12 [[Trainer (aircraft)|trainers]] had been completed.  The two-seater trainer version was called ''Ameisenbär'' ("anteater").

French ace [[Pierre Clostermann]] claimed the first Allied combat encounter with a ''Pfeil'' in April 1945. He described leading a flight of four [[Hawker Tempest]]s from [[No. 3 Squadron RAF]] over northern Germany when they came across an unknown aircraft whose description matched the Do 335's, flying at maximum speed at treetop level. Detecting the British aircraft, the German pilot reversed course to evade. Two pilots fired on the Dornier but Clostermann, despite the Tempests' considerable low altitude speed, decided not to attempt to chase it as it was obviously much faster.<ref>{{Citation | last = Clostermann | first = Pierre | author-link = Pierre Clostermann | title = The Big Show | pages = 273–74}}</ref>

On 26 April 1945, the Do 335 V9, which was still at [[Rechlin]], was test-flown by [[Oberleutnant]] Heinrich Schild. Later that day he escorted [[Hanna Reitsch]] and General der Flieger [[Robert von Greim]]'s  flight to [[Berlin-Gatow]]. After arriving at Gatow, Reitsch and von Greim commandeered a [[Fieseler]] [[Fi 156]] Storch and flew to Hitler's bunker.{{sfn|Creek|Smith|2018|p=168}} Also on 26 April, Fliegerstabsing. Heinz Fischer attempted to fly Do 335 V9 from Rechlin to [[Switzerland]]. Due to a compass failure, he strayed over [[France]] and ran out of fuel. Both the ejector seat and the tail jettison mechanism failed and he had to bail out over the [[Vosges]] mountains.{{sfn|Creek|Smith|2018|p=95}}