Zeppelin-Staaken R.XVI: Difference between revisions
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The '''Zeppelin-Staaken R.XVI(Av)''' was a very large bomber (Riesenflugzeug), designed and built in Germany during 1918. |
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==Development== |
==Development== |
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The |
The R.XVI had 4 engines in a push-pull configuration mounted in nacelles large enough for some in-flight maintenance by flight mechanics housed in the nacelles between the engines.<ref>{{cite web|title=Zeppelin-Stakken|url=http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=117639|accessdate=7 October 2010}}</ref> |
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<ref>{{cite web|title=Zeppelin-Stakken|url=http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=117639|accessdate=7 October 2010}}</ref> The engines were effectively a V-12, with two V-6 engines mated in a pusher-tractor configuration with a common crankshaft to produce over 550 HP for the pair.<ref>{{cite book|title=World encyclopaedia of aero engines: all major aircraft power plants, from the Wright brothers to the present day|author= |
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Three aircraft were ordered to be completed by [[Automobil & Aviatik A.G.]], at [[Leipzig-Heiterblick]].<ref name=Haddow>{{cite book |last=Haddow |first=G.W. |title=The German Giants, The Story of the R-planes 1914-1919 |year=1988 |publisher=Putnam |location=London |isbn=0-85177-812-7 |edition=3rd |author2=PeterM Grosz}}</ref> |
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Bill Gunston}}</ref> |
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Only two R.XVIs were completed and only one of these, (R.49), flying before the Armistice on 11 November 1918. The third R.XVI (R.51) was 3/4 complete at the Armistice but was never completed.<ref name=Haddow/> |
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==Operational history== |
==Operational history== |
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Flight testing was carried out by R.49 during the war from September 1918, until a landing accident in October caused significant damage which was unlikely to have been repaired. The secong aircraft (R.50) was completed in 1919 as a civilian airliner, continuing the flight test programme until being flown to [[Döberitz]] for storage in November 1919.<ref name=Haddow/> |
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3 Staaken R.XIVa (Schül), were scheduled to be built under license by the Schütte-Lanz company. One was only partially completed by January 1919. All were destroyed to prevent falling into enemy hands. |
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A Staaken R.XIVa built by Staaken was completed on 19 October 1918<ref>{{cite book|title=Reconnaissance & bomber aircraft of the 1914-1918 war|author=William Melville Lamberton}}</ref> and was chartered by the post-War Ukrainian government to fly money into the Ukraine, but was seized by the Inter-Allied Control Commission at Aspern, near Vienna, after it returned from Ukraine. It was subsequently turned over to the Italians. |
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* {{flag|German Empire}} |
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==Specifications (Zeppelin-Staaken R.XVI(Av))== |
==Specifications (Zeppelin-Staaken R.XVI(Av))== |
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{{Aircraft specs |
{{Aircraft specs |
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Revision as of 19:24, 3 October 2014
The Zeppelin-Staaken R.XVI is an incremental improvement to the Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI. This was one of a series of large bombers called Riesenflugzeuge intended to be less vulnerable than dirigibles in use at the time.
| Zeppelin-Staaken R.XVI | |
|---|---|
| Role | Bomber |
| National origin | Germany |
| Manufacturer | Schütte-Lanz |
| Designer | Graf von Zeppelin |
| First flight | 1918 |
| Primary user | Luftstreitkräfte |
| Variants | Zeppelin-Staaken Riesenflugzeuge |
The Zeppelin-Staaken R.XVI(Av) was a very large bomber (Riesenflugzeug), designed and built in Germany during 1918.
Development
The R.XVI had 4 engines in a push-pull configuration mounted in nacelles large enough for some in-flight maintenance by flight mechanics housed in the nacelles between the engines.[1]
Three aircraft were ordered to be completed by Automobil & Aviatik A.G., at Leipzig-Heiterblick.[2]
Only two R.XVIs were completed and only one of these, (R.49), flying before the Armistice on 11 November 1918. The third R.XVI (R.51) was 3/4 complete at the Armistice but was never completed.[2]
Operational history
Flight testing was carried out by R.49 during the war from September 1918, until a landing accident in October caused significant damage which was unlikely to have been repaired. The secong aircraft (R.50) was completed in 1919 as a civilian airliner, continuing the flight test programme until being flown to Döberitz for storage in November 1919.[2]
Specifications (Zeppelin-Staaken R.XVI(Av))
General characteristics
- Crew: 7
- Length: 22.5 m (73 ft 10 in)
- Wingspan: 42.2 m (138 ft 5 in)
- Height: 6.5 m (21 ft 4 in)
- Wing area: 340 m2 (3,700 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 10,400 kg (22,928 lb)
- Gross weight: 14,650 kg (32,298 lb)
- Powerplant: 2 × Benz Bz.VI (pusher) V-12 water-cooled piston engines, 400 kW (530 hp) each
- Powerplant: 2 × Benz Bz.IV (tractor) 6-cyl. water-cooled in-line piston engines, 160 kW (220 hp) each
- Propellers: 2-bladed Fixed pitch wooden tractor and pusher propellers
Performance
- Maximum speed: 130 km/h (81 mph, 70 kn)
- Cruise speed: 135 km/h (84 mph, 73 kn)
- Range: 800 km (500 mi, 430 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 3,710 m (12,170 ft)
Armament
Provision for nose, dorsal, ventral and two upper-wing machine-gun positions
Notes
- ^ "Zeppelin-Stakken". Retrieved 7 October 2010.
- ^ a b c Haddow, G.W.; PeterM Grosz (1988). The German Giants, The Story of the R-planes 1914-1919 (3rd ed.). London: Putnam. ISBN 0-85177-812-7.
References
- A. K. Rohrbach, “Das 1000-PS Verkehrsflugzeug der Zeppelin-Werke, Staaken,” Zeitschrift für Flugtechnik und Motorluftschiffahrt, vol. 12, no. 1 (15 January 1921);
- E. Offermann, W. G. Noack, and A. R. Weyl, Riesenflugzeuge, in: Handbuch der Flugzeugkunde (Richard Carl Schmidt & Co., 1927).
- The German Giants by G.W. Haddow and Peter M. Grosz.
External links
http://aeiou.iicm.tugraz.at/aeiou.film.f/f041a A Zeppelin-Staaken R XIVa airplane lands in Aspern, 1919