The Luftwaffe's first Chief of Staff, Generalleutnant Walther Wever, was a keen advocate of the long-range stra-o tegic bomber and, largely as a result of his promptings, the RLM's Technische Amt issued a specification for a four-engined heavy bomber of this category. Both Dornier and Junkers completed preliminary studies for such an aircraft, and each received in late 1935 an order for three prototypes under the respective designations Dornier Do 19 and Ju 89.

A mid-wing cantilever monoplane, largely of metal construction, the Do 19 had a rectangular-section fuselage; a tail unit with braced twin fins and rudders mounted on the upper surface of the tail-plane, at approximately mid-span on each side; tailwheel landing gear, with all three units retracting; and powerplant comprising four Bramo 322H-2 radial engines, mounted in nacelles at the wing leading edges. Accommodation was provided for a crew of nine, consisting of pilot, co-pilot/navigator, bomb-aimer, radio operator and five gunners.

The Do 19 V1 prototype flew for the first time on 28 October 1936, but by then an event had occurred which was to bring development of the long-range strategic bombers to an end. On 3 June 1936 Generalleutnant Wever had lost his life in an aircraft crash and his successor, o Generalleutnant Albert Kesselring, concluded that the Luftwaffe's more urgent requirements were increased numbers of fighters and tactical bombers of greater capability. The Do 19 V2, which was almost ready to fly, and the incomplete Do 19 V3 were both scrapped; the Do 19 V1 saw limited use as a military transport following conversion for such a role during 1939.