| D.VI | |
|---|---|
| Role | Fighter |
| Manufacturer | LFG Roland |
| First flight | 1917 |
| Introduction | 1918 |
| Primary user | Imperial Germany |
| Number built | 350 |
The Roland D.VI was a fighter aircraft commissioned by the German Empire during World War I.
Contents |
The Roland D.VI was designed by the Luft-Fahrzeug-Gesellschaft (L.F.G.), (whose aircraft were made under the trade name "Roland" post-1914 to avoid confusion with the Luftverkehrsgesellschaft m.b.H (L.V.G.)) late in 1917, with the prototype being the 1000th aircraft to be built by L.F.G., first flying in November 1917.[1] The D.VI was a single bay biplane which discarded the so called Wickelrumpf, or semi-monocoque fuselage. made from two layers of thin strips of plywood, diagonally wrapped around a male form to create a "half-shell", that used in previous L.F.G aircraft such as the Roland C.II, D.I and D.II in favour of the equally unusual (for aircraft use) Klinkerrumpf (or clinker-built) construction where the fuselage was built of overlapping strips of spruce over a light wooden framework.[2] Visibility for the pilot was good, while the aircraft had above average manoeuvrability.[3]
In January 1918, two D.VIs were entered into the first fighter competition held by Idflieg at Adlershof, one powered by a 160 hp (119 kW) Mercedes D.III engine and the other by a Benz D.III of similar power. Although the winner of the competition was the Fokker D.VII, orders were placed for the Roland as insurance against production problems with the Fokker.[4]
A total of 350 were built, 150 D.VIas powered by the Mercedes, while the remaining 200 were powered by the Benz III and were called D.VIb. Deliveries started in May 1918, with 70 D.VIs in frontline service on 31 August 1918.[1]
The Roland offered little better performance than the aircraft that it was to replace. In 1918 Allied and German air technology notably the Pfalz D.XII and Fokker D.VII rendered the LFG Roland obsolescent.
Data from The Complete Book of Fighters [1]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
2 x 7.92 mm LMG08/15 machine guns
|
||||||||
|
||||||||||||||