During the middle thirties the need emerged within the Royal Netherlands Navy's MLD to find a successor for the effective but aging Dornier Do-J "Wal" flying boats for use in the vast archipelago of the Netherlands East Indies. Credited to the extensive experience with the Wal flying boats the MLD was capable of drawing up well defined and worked out specifications for the new aircraft which were submitted to the aircraft factories Dornier, Fokker and Sikorsky.
The Sikorsky design however didn't meet the specifications and the Fokker design would take too long to be completed so that the choice was in favour of the Dornier design which according to MLD specifications would be fitted with Wright Cyclone engines and be designated Do-24 K. At the same time a variant was developed for the German Luftwaffe that was fitted with Junkers Jumo diesel engines which were replaced later on by BMW Bramo Fanfir engines and was designated Do-24 T. The prototype made its maiden flight on 2 July 1937 and appeared to be an aircraft with outstanding performance and exceptionally good seaworthiness.

Orders were placed at Dornier's and in the following years a total number of 29 aircraft of the type Do-24 K-1 (X-1 to X-29) and one aircraft of the improved type Do-24 K-2 ( X-37) were delivered. Also licence building was started in the Netherlands in June 1938 at the Aviolanda/De Schelde factory combination which delivered another seven aircraft of the type Do-24 K-1 (X-30 to X-36) to the MLD until the war broke out and production was continued for the Luftwaffe during the occupation of the Netherlands.

X-30
The X-30 was the first Do-24 built by Aviolanda/De Schelde and was completed on 15 June 1939 after which the aircraft was shipped to the Netherlands East Indies on 29 July.

On 17 december 1941 the X-30 became involved in a remarkable incident.
The aircraft had only recently landed at the small MLD auxiliary base Ternate in the Moluccas after a long patrol flight from the base of GVT 5 at Lake Tondano in Celebes. The crew was on shore enjoying a well deserved rest in the local colonial administration accommodation while the Dornier was floating at the buoy a few hundreds of meters away when suddenly the hum of engines was heard coming from sea direction. The approaching four engined aircraft was recognized as a Japanese Kawanishi H6K flying boat and the crew decided to go after it without hesitation and ran to the jetty where the engine of the motor launch was already started up in order to bring them to the Dornier.

During those confusing early days of the war in Asia information on the enemy often was outdated or based on misconceptions. Flying skills of enemy pilots was underestimated, enemy fighter aircraft popped up at places that were considered beyond range or information on aircraft armament was outdated. Such was the information on the defensive armament of the Kawanishi H6K. Three machine guns distributed over nose, tail and dorsal turret was known of this type of aircraft. No cannon. The Hispano Suiza 20 mm cannon of X-30 was temporarily replaced by a machine gun that day so that the chances were to be considered equal. 

In the meantime the crew in the motor launch were on their way to the moored Dornier when the bombs were falling on shore near the base fuel depot and the Kawanishi was already banking off. But as soon as the crew arrived at the Dornier everything went very fast! The engines were fired up and starting procedures were carried out in utmost haste in order to get the aircraft airborne as quickly as possibe. However, the generator had to be taken on board as well and the mooring lines released!  My late father, a young trainee flight engineer in those days, was barely able to jump on board as final man while the aircraft was already preparing for take off. With all hands on board the two running engines were given full throttle and with the third engine coming to life half-way  run-up the aircraft took off for the pursuit that lasted for about half an hour. Once arrived within shooting range from the Kawanishi the Dornier's front turret gunner following MLD procedures opened fire at the flying boat's belly and hits were reported. It didn't take long however before the fire was answered from the Kawanishi's tail sting and once the Dornier's middle engine was hit and ceased duty the pursuit was aborted. On the remaining two engines the aircraft was flown back to Ternate and when landed the size of the bullet holes revealed that the Kawanishi had to have been armed with a cannon after all.

This incident is reported in the MLD annals as possibly the first of the rare “dog fights” of World War 2 between flying boats and that also lasted remarkably long.

X-30 photographed from the isle of Doom near Sorong, Dutch New Guinea, 1941.

The following day X-30 was flown on two engines to MLD base Ambon where the faulty engine was replaced so that the aircraft was operational again in time to take part in a bombing strike against units of the Japanese fleet at Davao in the Philippines on 23 December. During this strike aircraft X-27 was hit and had to make an emergency landing after which the crew was picked up bij X-30 under difficult circumstances and brought to safety.  

Ultimately the X-30 was destroyed on 3 February 1942 during a Japanese bombing strike on Naval Air Station Morokrembangan.
The entire crew of X-30 has been decorated the Airman's Cross.

Sources:
- tradition
- 'KLM-ers in oorlogstijd IV'
- '75 jaar Vliegende Marine'
 

The latest Revell kit is the most recent reissue of the old and familiar 1/72 scale Italeri Do-24 T  which has been the most important representation of the Do-24 in model form for ages already. The kit 'as is' should suffice to create a very nice Do-24 model but yet there is enough room for improvement for the more critical modeller. Also those who wish to build a Dutch K-version will have to do some conversion work since the kit offers a German T-version that deviates from the K-version in a few noticable aspects.  

For starters the kit has been scrutinized on issues that have been lifted already by other modellers from the past and supplemented by issues I thought to have noticed myself with the aid of photo references. The result is a rather comprehensive list of alterations that can be done to enhance the accuracy of the model. Hereby a distinction can be made between alterations concerning the Do-24 in general and alterations concerning specifically the Dutch K-version.

• fuselage has been narrowed by 5 à 6 mm at the top side of the cockpit area so that the fuselage became more slender in the cockpit area and also got a trapezium shaped cross section.
• new cockpit hood made of various pieces of plastic stock.
• relocated the hole for the front turret a few millimeters backwards so that the hole became located half way nose edge and cockpit hood.
• added a fifth porthole to both sides of the fuselage.
• all other portholes relocated aproximately 2 mm in upward direction.
• the first porthole on port side relocated a few millimeters to the front.
• outlines of the rudders a little more rounded.
• outlines of the wing ends flattened a little.
• trailing edge of the 'stummeln' flattened.
• all wing struts replaced by scratch made examples.
• new enlarged hinges for the wing flap.
• flawed surface detail replaced and missing surface detail added.

Alteration that have not been performed but yet would improve the appearance of the model are; a shape correction of the tail end, a deeper keel under the front side of the fuselage and a more pronounced curvature and rise of the fuselage near the horizontal stabilizer.

• different cowlings.
• different spinners.
• enlarged nacelle for the middle engine.
• different tail turret, accompanied by a appropriate widening of the fuselage to match the new turret.
• two landing lights in the wing leading edge instead of one.
• several minor details added.