Late in 1942 Dornier began work on theP 222. a new single engined dive bomber which would seem to have been a competitor for the JunkersJu 187 as a potential replacement
for the Ju 87, which by now was ageing very badly.P 222appears to have been a very lengthy design series but only a few examples of it are known
The best drawing from the series is probably P 222/9 09. This showsa rather bizarre aircraft which embodies many of the same features as the Ju 187 though not the rotating tail
but wraps them up in a decidedly unusual package.Rather than seating the crew in tandem or even back to back in thefuselagebehindtheengine they sit back to back in their
cockpit on the port sideof the forward fuselage while directly to starboard is the types single DB603engine.This arrangement would certainly have i mproved visibility for the pilot
when attackinggroundtargets
Positioning the engine right beside the cockpit had another benefit it meant that in addition to the pair of fixed forward firing 20mm MG 151 cannon in the wingroots. the DB603
could befitted with a 30mm MK 103 motorkanone firing through the propeller huh This combnation of heavy weapons would potentially have made the P 222 an effective tank
destmyer.
Thiswas not the end of the P 222 s arsenal however. Thesecond crewman is pictuicd operating theaireraftsremote controlled defensive turiet and theaircraft was capable of
carrying a substantial bombload on fourexternal haid points. Therewaseven an intern al bomb bay just behindthe turret forsmaliermunitions.
In terms of general structure, the P 222 had a fixed underearriage, which would have made it slow. and a laige dive brake mounted at the end of its t ail. It was 1.535 m long
with a wingspanof 16,5m.Drawing P 222/9 12 shows essentially thesame aircraft but the turret is moved back to sit paralell with the undercarriagelegs and
the overall length is reduced to 15,25m While the P 222 seems to have been a failure thesame basic design was reused shortly thereafterasthebasisof a new bomber design the
P 223 This took the basic premise of positioning the single engine nex t to the cockpit
