On September 9, 1943, a squadron of Dornier Do 217s roared into the skies with a merciless objective: annihilate the defecting Italian fleet sailing from La Spezia. Italy had just inked an armistice with the Allies, and their prized Regia Marina fleet was scrambling to surrender to American and British forces. Germany’s intent was simple but brutal—stop that surrender at any cost.
Equipped with the first precision-guided munitions in history, the Dornier Do 217s sliced through the Mediterranean air, their ominous domes and massive wingspans heralding doom. They were on a collision course with destiny.
As the Italian battleships loomed into view, the German bombers initiated their deadly descent. Veterans in dive bombing and maritime strikes, these aviators knew the Italian defenses stood little chance. They bore down, unrelenting.
In an instant, the German bombers’ shadows enveloped the decks of the Battleships Roma and Italia, the twin titans of the Regia Marina. Unleashed from the sky, Fritz X radio-controlled bombs found their prey with unnerving precision. Metal screamed, and firestorms erupted on the Roma. Panic surged among her crew. Already, a second lethal pass from the Do 217s was imminent.
The fate of the Italian Navy teetered on the brink. For the pilots of one of Nazi Germany’s most terrifying flying machines, it was just another day at the office.
—
Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, top-secret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between.
As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible.
All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.
source
Good thing they did not have cluster bombs.
Chicken nuggets.
Good video, but 12:20 …. Warspit?? I think you are missing an E in that name! Warspite!
Another dialogue written by a five year old.
I think this guy just reads a script that someone else has written, and doesn't really know what he is saying.
It's WarspitE.
Good movie again, love your video’s! 😊👍
Looks like they took the B17s wings, and the B24s tail, and shipped it. Didn't know about the Fritz bomb tho, that's a new one.
The invention of proximity fuses in flack guns smashed these that were too small to be really effective!
It's amazing how superior of a plane this was compared to the B-25 Mitchell, which was introduced at the same time.
The Do217 and B17 and 24 were designed around the same time and similar problems lead too similar solutions. The 217 was a medium bomber but somewhat a heavy for the Germans
Now the germans sell us poorly engineered cars which are listed at the bottom of the list in terms of quality and reliability.
Please get the facts right , The 12:57 min pilot is not German he is a British mosquito pilot Charles Pickard who was in the British propaganda film Target for Tonight and sadly lost his life on the Amiens prison raid
Still lost the war.
The British did similar to the French navy when they surrendered to the Germans.
Saturday airframes??? (13:04) Were they better than Monday airframes? You might want to poofreed your skripz betterer.
this is how you invent jet engines
5:55 Putin flew for the Germans😮
Is that likes Donalds?
So where was the Do with the ramjet on top? NOWHERE!
I expected more than useless clickbait, Hoss.
The X on fritz x actually stood for experimental
It's Fritz X, not Fritz 10. There was no Fritz 1-9
Some would find this boring “my wife” but it is very interesting to me
I enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up
More than the usual, dozen mistakes in this one.
Every comment section gives you the actual story, incorrectly told by the many dark channels.
They are consistent, I’ll give them that! 😂
^^^
Aw, bless = It's NOT = "H.M.S War Spit" = It's HMS WARSPITE, rhymes with Right, Night, Flight, Tonight
Always liked the Dornier 17 / 217 series, despite it being an enemy a/c & causing damage & pain to my nation
To me, the German Dornier 17 / 217 series of Bombers is like "Count Dracula" – Feared but intriguing
Man people are fussy about their free entertainment.
I was impressed with the smart bomb invention. Didn’t know the Germans invented that too.
Wow, ME-262 fighter jets, modern submarines that today’s subs are patterned after, and the V-2.
If these guys would have waited a year or more to start their war, the world would look more like “The Man in the High Castle.”
In your footage you show several Heinkel He 111’s, not very convincing when your subject is the DO 217.
Much of "the eastern front" was in fact in Europe . . .
Never forget the USS Liberty
A bit wordy this one… 👋
The original design philosophy of the Do17 was as a "schnellbomber" or fast bomber. But by the time of the Battle of Britain it was nowhere near "schnell" enough to evade fighters. It was the British Mosquito that made the concept of the "schnellbomber" work.
Putting nearly all the flight crew within touching distance of each other was good for morale and workload but a bit of a bugger when a spitfire puts a burst of 20mm cannon fire straight into the cockpit. Aint nobody getting out of that mess.
Typical Italians!
Could you do the F101 voodoo and f102 delta dagger
The first radio controlled guided bomb. The Fritz X caused massive damage but unfortunately the bomber it was dropped from had to fly straight and steady while the operator was guiding it which made them sitting ducks to any nearby allied fighters.
What is a "Saturday airframes"? Was it supposed to be sturdy?
So, the Germans decided to sink the Italian Navy rather than let it go to the allies?. Sounds like the Royal Navy targeting the French fleet atter the fall of France.
God, how I hate the breathless, over flowery, portentous, commentary at times. For me it distracts from the content, which is pretty good.
Fritx ex r.c. guidedglide bombnot Fritz tenthi is an in Vorrede script ion just sayin!😮
🇺🇸
it's " Warspite" not warspit
All the modern warfare technology today has German origins no doubt about it. Too bad America and Britain supported the USSR regime which eventually led to the Cold war post WW2.
First time that I hear about " schräge Musik" Do 215.
Nice flowery documentary.
The Do was generally unterpowered and had few range…a handycsp. And he 7.92 mm guns just a joke.