Zeppelin-Staaken R.XVI
| Industry | Aviation manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Leipzig-Heiterblick , Germany |
| Products | Zeppelin-Staaken R.XVI(Av) bomber aircraft |
The Zeppelin-Staaken R.XVI(Av) represented a colossal bomber class (Riesenflugzeug) engineered and manufactured in Germany during the year 1918.
Development
An evolution of the Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI, the R.XVI was part of a series of enormous bombers known as Riesenflugzeuge. These aircraft were designed to offer greater resilience compared to the dirigibles deployed at that period. Its propulsion system comprised four engines arranged in a push-pull layout, installed within nacelles spacious enough to allow flight mechanics to perform maintenance during missions. These mechanics were positioned inside compartments situated between the paired engines.[1]
A contract was placed for three units to be assembled by Automobil & Aviatik A.G. at their facility in Leipzig-Heiterblick.[2] Ultimately, only two R.XVI bombers were finalized, with just one, designated (R.49), conducting flights prior to the Armistice on 11 November 1918. The third airframe (R.51), which was approximately 75% complete at the time of the ceasefire, remained unfinished.[2]
Operational history
The R.49 underwent flight trials during the war beginning in September 1918, but a landing mishap in October inflicted severe damage that was probably beyond repair. The second unit, designated R.50, was finished in 1919 as a commercial passenger aircraft and carried on with the flight testing program until it was transported to Döberitz for storage in November of the same year.
Specifications (Zeppelin-Staaken R.XVI(Av))
Notes
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 Archived 2009-02-04 at the Wayback Machine Footage of a Zeppelin-Staaken R XIVa aircraft landing at Aspern in 1919
Template:Zeppelin aircraft Template:Idflieg R-class designations