Dornier, Claude (1884-1969)

Aircraft engineer, born in Kempten, Germany. He studied at Munich Technical College, and began work (1910) at the Zeppelin factory at Friedrichshafen. In 1911 he designed the first all-metal plane, and with the backing of Zeppelin opened an aircraft division at Friedrichshafen and Altenrhein, where he made seaplanes and flying-boats, including the famous 12-engined Do X (1929). The Dornier 17 twin-engined bomber was a standard Luftwaffe type in World War 2.