Do-215 ¿B-1 or B-4?

[Lurberri]

I've noticed that in the game, the Dornier Do-215 reconnaissance aircraft in 1941 are of the B-1 version, although based on the information I've read, they should primarily be the B-4. According to records from the Dornier plant in Oberpfaffenhofen, production of new fuselages officially ended in January 1941, after the construction of a total of 101 complete aircraft (apparently, there are 4 more that were never finished). Below is the production breakdown for each version of Do-215:

- W.Nr. 0001-0003: V1, V2, and V3 prototypes.
- W.Nr. 0004-0021: B-0/B-1 series (18 units). Original Swedish order (as A-1), which was embargoed and converted for the Luftwaffe. The first 3 (W.Nr. 0004-0006) were used as pre-series B-0s. The remaining 15 (W.Nr. 0007-0021) were completed as B-1s.
- W.Nr. 0022-0030: Existence of a small B-2 series or pre-production prototypes (9 units).
- W.Nr. 0031-0039: B-3 series (9 units). Two were sent to the USSR (W.Nr. 0031 and 0032) and seven to the Luftwaffe.
- W.Nr. 0040-0095: B-4 series. This series of 56 units (approximately 69 if we include transitions) represents the bulk of production.
- W.Nr. 0096-0101: B-5 series (6 units). The only newly manufactured B-5 units. These units were completed in January 1941. As they were the last in the production line, it was decided to equip them directly with the solid nose and night fighter armament instead of finishing them as B-4 reconnaissance aircraft.

The approximately 14-15 remaining B-5s that operated in units such as II./NJG 1 were conversions carried out in maintenance workshops or by Dornier itself from B-1 and B-4 airframes that had already been in service.

Therefore, the totals would be (not counting conversions):
- 3 prototypes
- 3 B-0
- 15 B-1
- 9 B-2
- 9 B-3
- 56 B-4
- 6 B-5

In the reconnaissance units operating in the Luftwaffe in June 1941, the vast majority of aircraft of this model were therefore B-4s, not B-1s. In fact, the game clearly models a B-4, the high-altitude strategic reconnaissance version (the B-1 has a bomber-reconnaissance configuration, being more modular).

The standard fuel capacity of both models is approximately 1,550 liters, are the two wing fuel tanks. The B-4 also typically carried a 900-liter fuel tank in the bomb bay (where the B-1 carried bombs), leaving space only for cameras in the rear section.

Furthermore, given the similarity between the two models, and to be more accurate in the designation, it seems more appropriate to rename them all as B-4s, since this version more faithfully represents the total production.

Source: Mikael Olrog (2017), "Dornier Do 215: From Reconnaissance Aircraft to Nightfighter. Luftwaffe and Other Operators 1938-1945". Crecy Publishing. ISBN-13: ‎978-1906537524 (pages 251-260, production appendix)