Zeppelin Staaken R.V

The Zeppelin Staaken R.V was one of a series of large bombers called Riesenflugzeugen intended to be less vulnerable than dirigibles in use at the time.

Development

In 1916, Zeppelin moved development of large bombers to Staaken, Germany. The R.V was co-developed alongside the R.VI and R.VII. The Staaken Bomber had two engine pods with four engines in a push-pull configuration and tractor engine in the nose. The pods were large enough for some in-flight maintenance. ^[1]

Operational history

The Model R.IV was selected for production rather than the R.V because of geared engines that posed a higher developmental risk. Each R-series aircraft required ground crews of 50 men.

Operators

•  German Empire

Specifications (Zeppelin Staaken R.V)

General characteristics

• Crew: 7
• Length: 22.1 m (72 ft 6 in)
• Wingspan: 42.2 m (138 ft 5 in)
• Height: 6.3 m (20 ft 8 in)
• Wing area: 332 m² (3,570 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 7,921 kg (17,463 lb)
• Gross weight: 11,848 kg (26,120 lb)

Performance

• Endurance: 7 Hours
• Service ceiling: 3,300 m (10,827 ft)

Notes

References

• "Stakken IV". http://www.roden.eu/HTML/055.htm. Retrieved September 27, 2010.