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A Riesenflugzeug (plural Riesenflugzeuge, German for "giant aircraft"), sometimes colloquially referred to in English as an R-plane, was any member of a class of large World War I German bombers, possessing at least three aircraft engines, although usually four or more engines. These large multi-engine aircraft could fly several hours with larger bomb loads than the smaller Grossflugzeug bombers such as the Gotha G.V.
Some of the earliest Riesenflugzeuge were given G-type designations before being redesignated, but a major distinction was that the requirements for the R-type specified that the engines had to be serviceable in flight. As a result, designs fell into two groups:
The transmission of power from the centrally mounted engines to the remote, most often wing-mounted propellers proved troublesome in practice, and most operational examples of Riesenflugzeug-class aircraft were of the second type, as with the all-direct-drive Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI.
The Idflieg (Inspektion der Fliegertruppen (Inspection of the Air Force), the German Army department responsible for military aviation), assigned the letter R to this type of aircraft, which would then be followed by a period and a Roman numeral type number. Seaplanes were denoted by adding a lowercase "s" after the "R" in the designation.
The Riesenflugzeuge were the largest aircraft of World War I. In comparison, the largest equivalent Allied aircraft were the Sikorsky Ilya Muromets [note 1] with a span of 29.8 m (98 ft), the Caproni Ca.4 with a span of 29.9 m (98 ft), the one-off Felixstowe Fury flying boat with a span of 37.5 m (123 ft) and the Handley Page V/1500 with a span of 38.41 m (126.0 ft). The Riesenflugzeuge that bombed London during the First World War were larger than any of the German bombers in use during the Second World War. [note 2] The largest built, the Siemens-Schuckert R.VIII of 1918, had a wingspan of 48.0 m (157.5 ft). It was not until sixteen years later that an aircraft with a larger wingspan, the Soviet Tupolev Maksim Gorky eight-engined monoplane, was built with a 63.0 m (206.7 ft) wingspan.
The Riesenflugzeuge were operational from 1915 to 1919 and most of them were built as "one-off" aircraft.
Type | Engines | Span | First flight | Service | Notes | Number built |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AEG R.I | 4 × 260 hp Mercedes D.IV | 36 m (118 ft 1 in) | 1916 | None | Broke up in flight in 1918 | 1 completed 7 partially built |
DFW R.I | 4 × 220 hp Mercedes D.IV | 29.5 m (96 ft 9 in) | 1916 | Eastern front | Crashed on 2nd combat flight [1] | 1 |
DFW R.II | 4 × 260 hp Mercedes D.IVa | 30.06 m (98 ft 7 in) | 1918 | Trainer as unsuitable for combat | 2 of 6 ordered | |
DFW R.III | 8 × 260 hp Mercedes D.IV | 53.5 m (175 ft 6 in) | n/a | None | Incomplete at end of war, cancelled | None |
Junkers R.I | 4 × 260 hp Mercedes D.IVa | 35.0 m (114 ft 10 in) | n/a | None | 1 incomplete | |
LFG Roland R.I | 4 × 1000 hp Maybach Mb.IV | n/a | n/a | None | Not built | |
Linke-Hofmann R.I | 4 × 260 hp Mercedes D.IVa | 33.2 m (108 ft 11 in) | 1917 | None | First example had 32.02 m (105 ft 1 in) span [1] | 4 |
Linke-Hofmann R.II | 4 × 260 hp Mercedes D.IVa | 42.16 m (138 ft 4 in) | 1919 | None | Used largest single propeller ever built, some 6.9 meters in diameter | 2 |
Mannesmann Giant Triplane [2] | 10 × unk. engines | 50.3 m (165 ft 0 in) | n/a | None | Cancelled incomplete | None |
Schütte-Lanz R.I | 6 × 300 hp Basse und Selve BuS.IVa | 44.0 m (144 ft 4 in) | n/a | None | Design study only | None |
Siemens-Schuckert Forssman R | 2 × 110 hp Mercedes D.III & 2 × 220 hp Mercedes D.IVa | 24.0 m (78 ft 9 in) | 1915 | Trainer | After several rebuilds it was accepted by the military in 1916. Scrapped after breaking in two. | 1 |
Siemens-Schuckert R.I | 3 × 150 hp Benz Bz.III | 28.0 m (91 ft 10 in) | 1915 | Eastern front & training | [1] | 1 |
Siemens-Schuckert R.II | 3 × 260 hp Mercedes D.IVa | 38.0 m (124 ft 8 in) | 1915 | Training | Span increased [1] | 1 |
Siemens-Schuckert R.III | 3 × 220 hp Benz Bz.IV | 34.33 m (112 ft 8 in) | 1915 | Training | [1] | 1 |
Siemens-Schuckert R.IV | 3 × 220 hp Benz Bz.IV | 37.6 m (123 ft 4 in) | 1916 | Training | Span increased [1] | 1 |
Siemens-Schuckert R.V | 3 × 220 hp Benz Bz.IV | 34.33 m (112 ft 8 in) | 1916 | Eastern front | Span increased [1] | 1 |
Siemens-Schuckert R.VI | 3 × 220 hp Benz Bz.IV | 33.36 m (109 ft 5 in) | 1916 | Eastern front | Span increased [1] | 1 |
Siemens-Schuckert R.VII | 3 × 260 hp Mercedes D.IVa | 38.44 m (126 ft 1 in) | 1917 | Eastern front | [1] | 1 |
Siemens-Schuckert R.VIII | 6 × 300 hp Basse und Selve BuS.IVa | 48.0 m (157 ft 6 in) | n/a | None | 2 (one unfinished) | |
Siemens-Schuckert R.IX | 8 × 300 hp Basse und Selve BuS.IVa | n/a | n/a | None | Design study only | None |
Zeppelin-Lindau Rs.I | 3 × 240 hp Maybach Mb.IV | 43.5 m (142 ft 9 in) | n/a | None | Wrecked unflown, 1915. Flying-boat [note 3] | 1 |
Zeppelin-Lindau Rs.II | 3 × 240 hp Maybach Mb.IV | 33.2 m (108 ft 11 in) | 1916 | None | Flying boat [note 3] | 1 |
Zeppelin-Lindau Rs.III | 3 × 245 hp Maybach Mb.IVa | 37.0 m (121 ft 5 in) | 1917 | Evaluation | Flying boat [note 3] | 1 |
Zeppelin-Lindau Rs.IV | 4 × 245 hp Maybach Mb.IVa | 37 m (121 ft 5 in) | 1918 | None | Flying boat [note 3] | 1 |
Zeppelin-Staaken VGO.I | 3 × 240 hp Maybach HS or 5 × 245 hp Maybach Mb.IVa | 42.2 m (138 ft 5 in) [note 4] | 1915 | Kaiserliche Marine | Built at Versuchsbau Gotha Ost [note 5] | 1 |
Zeppelin-Staaken VGO.II | 3 × 240 hp Maybach HS | 42.2 m (138 ft 5 in) [note 4] | 1915 | Eastern front & trainer | [note 5] [1] | 1 |
Zeppelin-Staaken VGO.III | 6 × 160 hp Mercedes D.III | 42.2 m (138 ft 5 in) [note 4] | 1916 | Eastern front | [note 5] [1] | 1 |
Zeppelin-Staaken R.IV | 2 × 160 hp Mercedes D.III & 4 × 220 hp Benz Bz.IV | 42.2 m (138 ft 5 in) [note 4] | 1916 | Eastern front & Western front | 1 | |
Zeppelin-Staaken R.V | 5 × 245 hp Maybach Mb.IVa | 42.2 m (138 ft 5 in) [note 4] | 1916 | Western front | 1 | |
Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI | 4 × 260 hp Mercedes D.IVa | 42.2 m (138 ft 5 in) [note 4] | 1916 | Western front | 18 | |
Zeppelin-Staaken R.VII | 2 × 160 hp Mercedes D.III & 4 × 220 hp Benz Bz.IV | 42.2 m (138 ft 5 in) [note 4] | 1917 | None | Wrecked during flight to the front. | 1 |
Zeppelin-Staaken R.VIII | 8 × 260 hp Mercedes D.IVa or 8 × 245 hp Maybach Mb.IVa | 55 m (180 ft 5 in) | 1918 | None | Unfinished [3] [4] | 1 incomplete |
Zeppelin-Staaken R.IX | 8 × 260 hp Mercedes D.IVa or 8 × 245 hp Maybach Mb.IVa | 55 m (180 ft 5 in) | 1918 | None | Unfinished [5] [6] | 1 incomplete |
Zeppelin-Staaken R.XIV | 5 × 245 hp Maybach Mb.IVa | 42.2 m (138 ft 5 in) [note 4] | 1918 | Western front | 3 | |
Zeppelin-Staaken R.XIVa | 5 × 245 hp Maybach Mb.IVa | 42.2 m (138 ft 5.5in) [note 4] | ? | Post-war | Seized while smuggling | 1 |
Zeppelin-Staaken R.XV | 5 × 245 hp Maybach Mb.IVa | 42.2 m (138 ft 5.5in) [note 4] | 1918 | Western front | 2 | |
Zeppelin-Staaken R.XVI | 2 × 530 hp Benz Bz.VI & 2 × 220 hp Benz Bz.IV | 42.2 m (138 ft 5 in) [note 4] | 1918 | Airliner | Two completed, 3rd unfinished [note 6] | 3 (one unfinished) |
Zeppelin-Staaken L | 4 × 245 hp Maybach Mb.IVa | 42.2 m (138 ft 5 in) [note 4] | ? | None | Floatplane variant. Wrecked in trials. [note 7] | 1 |
Zeppelin-Staaken Type 8301 | 4 × 245 hp Maybach Mb.IVa | 42.2 m (138 ft 5 in) [note 4] | ? | floatplane airliner | 3 built for Kaiserliche Marine | 3 |
The Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI was a four-engined German biplane strategic bomber of World War I, and the only Riesenflugzeug design built in any quantity.
The Linke-Hofmann R.II was a bomber aircraft designed and built in Germany from 1917.
Zeppelin-Staaken, was a German aircraft manufacturer originally named Versuchsbau G.m.b.H. Gotha-Ost when it was formed in mid-1914 by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin and Robert Bosch. The company rented facilities in Gotha with the objective to build large, long-range bomber aircraft. Alexander Baumann was hired by Zeppelin as the head designer. The company moved to the village of Staaken, near Berlin, in mid-1916 and was renamed Flugzeugwerft G.m.b.H., although it was commonly known as Zeppelin-Staaken.
The Zeppelin-Lindau Rs.I was a large three-engined biplane flying boat designed by Claudius Dornier and built during 1914–15 on the German side of Lake Constance. It was destroyed in a storm.
The Siemens-Schuckert R.I was a bomber aircraft built in Germany during World War I. It was originally ordered as the Siemens-Schuckert G.I prior to the German Inspectorate of Flying Troops adopting the "R" classification for multi-engine aircraft in late 1915. Some sources refer to the aircraft as the Siemens-Schuckert Steffen R.I, including the name of the brothers that designed it.
The Siemens-Schuckert Forssman was a prototype bomber aircraft designed and built in Germany in 1914 and 1915. When its performance proved inadequate for its intended role, even after numerous modifications, the German Inspectorate of Flying Troops eventually accepted it into service as a trainer. Shortly after its acceptance into military service, the aircraft's fuselage fractured while on the ground, ending its career.
The Siemens-Schuckert R.VIII was a bomber aircraft designed and built in Germany from 1916.
The Siemens-Schuckert R.II was a prototype bomber aircraft built in Germany during World War I. It was one of six aircraft based on the Siemens-Schuckert R.I that were originally intended to be identical, but which each developed in a different direction and were designated as different aircraft types by the German Inspectorate of Flying Troops. Although the R.II was the first of the batch to be completed, it was the last accepted into military service, and then only as a trainer.
The Siemens-Schuckert R.III was a prototype bomber aircraft built by Germany during World War I. It was one of six aircraft based on the Siemens-Schuckert R.I that were originally intended to be identical, but which each developed in a different direction and were designated as different aircraft types by the German Inspectorate of Flying Troops. The aircraft's development was impeded by the unreliability of its Maybach HS engines, and when it was eventually accepted for military service, it was only in a training role.
The Siemens-Schuckert R.IV was a bomber aircraft built in Germany during World War I. It was one of six aircraft based on the Siemens-Schuckert R.I that were originally intended to be identical, but which each developed in a different direction and were designated as different aircraft types by the German Inspectorate of Flying Troops. The Maybach HS engines specified by the Idflieg proved unreliable, but with these engines were replaced by Benz Bz.IV engines, the R.IV saw service on the Eastern Front before being relegated to training duties.
The Siemens-Schuckert R.V was a bomber aircraft built in Germany during World War I. It was one of six aircraft based on the Siemens-Schuckert R.I that were originally intended to be identical, but which each developed in a different direction and were designated as different aircraft types by the German Inspectorate of Flying Troops. Development of the R.V benefited from the experience that Siemens-Schuckert and the Idflieg had gained with the R.II, R.III, and R.IV, particularly in its choice of powerplants, where the R.V was spared from the troublesome Maybach HS engine. Between September 1916 and February 1917, the aircraft saw service on the Eastern Front before it was damaged in an accident and dismantled for spare parts.
The Siemens-Schuckert R.VI was a bomber aircraft built in Germany during World War I. It was one of six aircraft based on the Siemens-Schuckert R.I, which were originally intended to be identical. Each developed in a different direction and were designated as different aircraft types by the German Inspectorate of Flying Troops.
The Siemens-Schuckert R.VII was a bomber aircraft built in Germany during World War I. It was one of six aircraft based on the Siemens-Schuckert R.I that were originally intended to be identical, but which each developed in a different direction and were designated as different aircraft types by the German Inspectorate of Flying Troops.
The Zeppelin-Staaken R.XVI(Av) was a very large bomber (Riesenflugzeug), designed and built in Germany during 1918.
The Zeppelin-Staaken R.XV was an Imperial German bomber of World War I. An incremental improvement to the Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI, this was one of a series of large strategic bombers called Riesenflugzeuge, intended to be less vulnerable than dirigibles in use at the time.
The Zeppelin-Staaken R.V was one of a series of large bombers called Riesenflugzeugen, intended to be less vulnerable than the rigid airships in use at the time.
The Zeppelin-Staaken Riesenflugzeuge were a series of very large bomber aircraft - Riesenflugzeuge, usually powered by four or more engines, designed and built in Germany from 1915 to 1919.
The Mannesmann Giant Triplane was a giant German triplane designed and constructed during the final months of World War I. The Mannesmann Triplane was at an advanced stage of completion when the Armistice was signed.
The Zeppelin-Lindau Rs.IV was a Riesenflugzeug monoplane all metal flying boat with a stressed skin hull and fuselage developed for the Imperial German Navy to perform long range patrols over the North Sea. It had been developed by Claudius Dornier while working for Zeppelin in the town of Lindau.
The Zeppelin-Staaken VGO.I, redesignated Zeppelin-Staaken RML.1 in naval service, was a heavy bomber built in Germany in 1915 and which saw limited service during World War I. Although only one example was built, it served as a prototype for further Riesenflugzeuge by Zeppelin-Staaken. Its "VGO" designation was assigned because the aircraft was constructed by Versuchsbau Gotha-Ost, a division of Gothaer Waggonfabrik. At the time of its construction, it was the largest plane in the world.