View source for Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI

{{Short description|Heavy bomber aircraft model}}
{{Infobox aircraft
  |name = Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI
  |image =Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI photo1.jpg|caption =
  |type = Bomber
  |manufacturer = [[Zeppelin-Staaken]]<ref name = "Haddow"/>
  |designer = [[Alexander Baumann (aeronautical engineer)|Alexander Baumann]]<ref name = "Haddow"/>
  |first_flight = [[1916 in aviation|1916]]
  |introduction = 1917
  |retired =
  |status =
  |primary_user = ''[[Luftstreitkräfte]]''
  |more_users =
  |produced = 1917 to 1918
  |number_built = 56<br />(total of all R-series, 18 Type R.VI completed)
  |unit cost =
  |variants ={{ubl|[[Zeppelin-Staaken R.V]]|[[Zeppelin-Staaken R.VII]]|[[Zeppelin-Staaken R.XIV]]|[[Zeppelin-Staaken R.XV]]|[[Zeppelin-Staaken R.XVI]]}}
}}

The '''Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI''' was a four-engined [[Imperial Germany|German]] [[biplane]] [[strategic bomber]] of World War I, and the only ''[[Riesenflugzeug]]'' (giant aircraft) design built in any quantity.<ref name = "Gray">Gray, P and Thetford, O ''German Aircraft of the First World War''  1970 Putnam London 0 85177 809 7</ref>

The R.VI was the most numerous of the R-Bombers built by Germany, and also among the earliest closed-cockpit military aircraft (the first being the Russian [[Sikorsky Ilya Muromets]]). The bomber was reputedly the largest wooden aircraft to be produced in any quantity during World War I, with only the [[Siemens-Schuckert R.VIII]] prototype bomber of 1916–1919 being larger, and with the Staaken R.VI's wingspan of {{convert|42.2|m|ft|abbr=on|0}} nearly equaling that of the World War II [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress]], although significantly less than the {{convert|48|m|ft|abbr=on|0}} span of the Siemens-Schuckert R.VIII.<ref name = "Haddow"/>

==Design and development==
By the autumn of 1916, Staaken was completing its R.V, the R.VI prototype, and R.VII versions of the same design, and [[Idflieg]] selected the R.VI for series production over the 6-engined R.IV and other ''Riesenflugzeug'' designs, primarily those of [[Siemens-Schuckert|Siemens-Schuckertwerke AG]].<ref name = "Haddow"/>

With four direct-drive engines in a tandem push-pull arrangement, and an enclosed cockpit, the R.VI design required none of the complex gearboxes of other R-types. Each R.VI bomber required the support of a 50-man ground crew. The R.VI required a complex 18-wheel [[Landing gear|undercarriage]] consisting of twin nose wheels and a quartet of four-wheeled groupings for its main gear to support its weight, and carried two mechanics in flight, seated between the engines in open niches cut in the center of each [[nacelle]]. The bombs were carried in an internal bomb bay located under the central fuel tanks, with three racks each capable of holding seven bombs. The R.VI was capable of carrying the {{cvt|1000|kg}} PuW bomb.<ref name = "Haddow"/>

Although designed by ''Versuchsbau'', because of the scope of the project, the production R.VI's were manufactured by other firms: seven by ''[[Schütte-Lanz]]''<ref name = "Gray"/> using sheds at ''Flugzeugwerft'' GmbH Staaken, Berlin; six by ''[[Aviatik|Automobil und Aviatik A.G.]]'' (Aviatik)<ref name = "Gray"/> (the original order was for three); and three by ''[[Albatros Flugzeugwerke]]''. 13 of the production models were commissioned into service before the armistice and saw action.<ref name = "Haddow"/>

One R.VI was as a float-equipped seaplane for the ''[[Marine-Fliegerabteilung]]'' (Imperial German Naval Air Service), with the designation Type L and s/n 1432, using Maybach engines. After the first flight on 5 September 1917 the Type "L" crashed during testing on June 3, 1918. The Type 8301, of which four were ordered and three delivered, was developed from the R.VI by elevating the fuselage above the lower wing for greater water clearance, eliminating the bomb bays, and enclosing the open gun position on the nose.<ref name = "Haddow"/>

===The special "R.30/16" test aircraft===
R.VI serial number R.30/16 was the earliest known [[supercharged]] aircraft to fly, with a fifth engine - a [[Mercedes D.II]] - installed in the central fuselage, driving a [[Brown, Boveri & Cie|Brown-Boveri]] four-stage supercharger, about 6,000 rpm. This enabled the R.30/16 to climb to an altitude of {{convert|19100|ft}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.enginehistory.org/Before1925/WW1SC/WW1SC.shtml |title=Notes on WWI German Superchargers - Brown-Boveri (misspelled ''Brown-Bolvari'') |author=Paul Dempsey |work=Piston Engines-Engines Before 1925 |publisher=Aircraft Engine Historical Society |access-date=November 14, 2012 |archive-date=April 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427003935/http://www.enginehistory.org/Before1925/WW1SC/WW1SC.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref> The idea of supercharging an aircraft's propeller-driving piston engines with an extra engine used solely to power a supercharger was not attempted again by Germany until later in World War II, when both the [[Dornier Do 217#Do 217P|Dornier Do 217P]] and [[Henschel Hs 130]]E experimental bomber designs each revived the idea as the ''Höhen-Zentrale-Anlage'' system. The R.30/16 aircraft was later fitted with four examples of one of the first forms of variable-pitch propellers, believed to have been ground-adjustable only.<ref name = "Haddow"/>

==Operational service==

The R.VI equipped two ''[[Luftstreitkräfte]]'' (Imperial German Army Air Service) units, ''Riesenflugzeug-Abteilung'' (Rfa) 500 and Rfa 501, with the first delivered June 28, 1917.

The units first served on the [[Eastern Front (World War I)|Eastern Front]], based at Alt-Auz and Vilua in [[Courland|Kurland]] until August 1917. Almost all missions were flown at night with {{convert|770|kg|lb|abbr=on|0}} bomb loads, operating between {{convert|6500|and|7800|ft|m|-2}} altitude. Missions were of three to five hours' duration.

Rfa 501 transferred to [[Ghent, Belgium]], to attack France and Great Britain, arriving September 22, 1917, at [[Sint-Denijs-Westrem]] airdrome. Rfa 501 later moved its base to Scheldewindeke airdrome south of group headquarters at Gontrode, while Rfa 500 was based at Castinne, France, with its primary targets French airfields and ports.

Rfa 501, with an average of five R.VI's available for missions, conducted 11 raids on Britain between September 28, 1917, and May 20, 1918, dropping {{convert|27,190|kg|ton|abbr=on|0}} of bombs in 30 sorties. Aircraft flew individually to their targets on moonlit nights, requesting directional bearings by radio after takeoff, then using the [[River Thames]] as a navigational landmark. Missions on the {{convert|340|mi|km|adj=on}} round trip lasted seven hours. None were lost in combat over Great Britain (compared to 28 [[Gotha G]] bombers shot down over England), but two crashed returning to base in the dark. Four R.VI's were shot down in combat (one-third of the operational inventory), with six others destroyed in crashes, of the 13 commissioned during the war. Six of the 18 built survived the war or were completed after the armistice.<ref name = "Haddow"/>

==Discovered crash site==
Very little remains of these giant bombers, although nearly a century after the end of World War I amateur historians of the "Poelcapelle 1917 Association vzw" working in Poelkapelle, northeast of [[Ypres]], identified a wreck that was found in 1981 by Daniel Parrein, a local farmer who was plowing his land. For a while it was thought that the wreck was that of French ace [[Georges Guynemer]]'s [[SPAD S.XIII]]; however that was discounted when repair tools were found at the site, and further research pointed that the engine was a [[Mercedes D.IVa]], possibly of a [[Gotha G]] bomber. A comparison of recovered parts was inconclusive, since the parts were common to a number of aircraft other than the Gotha G.<ref name = "wwi-models">{{cite web|url=http://www.wwi-models.org/Photos/Ger/ZStaakenRVI/index.html |title=Zeppelin Staaken R.VI |publisher=Wwi-models.org |date= |accessdate=2022-05-02}}</ref>

In 2007 the researchers, Piet Steen with some help of Johan Vanbeselaere, finally made a conclusive identification after visiting one of the few partial specimens (the distinctive engine nacelles) in a [[Kraków]] air museum. With the help of the Polish aviation historians, parts were identified as those of Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI R.34/16, which crashed on 21 April 1918 after a mission against the [[Royal Air Force]] airfield at [[Saint-Omer]], France. The R.VI was shot down, apparently by anti-aircraft fire of the [[Second Army (United kingdom)|Second Army]], while trying to cross the front line, killing all seven crew members.<ref name = "forum">http://www.forumeerstewereldoorlog.nl/viewtopic.php?t=8058 Original Dutch article on recovery</ref>

==Variants==
[[File:Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI photo2.jpg|right|thumb|Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI]]
;Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI
The first true production ''Zeppelin-Staaken Riesenflugzeug'' was the R.VI. This giant aircraft was powered either by four {{cvt|245|hp}} Maybach MbIV engines or four {{cvt|260|hp}} [[Mercedes D.IVa]] engines. The fuselage was similar to the previous aircraft but the cockpit was extended forwards, enclosed and glazed with a gunners cockpit in the extreme nose. Other improvements included aluminium alloy structure in the triple finned biplane tail unit, which was built with inverse camber to improve the stabilising downforce. Eighteen R.VIs were built serial numbers 'R25' to 'R39' and 'R52' to 'R54' all except 'R30', which was used exclusively as a supercharged engine test-bed, saw service in the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' with Rfa 500 and Rfa 501 on the western front stationed in the [[Ghent]] area. Air raids on England by R.VIs began on 17 September 1917. Many air raids attributed to Gotha bombers were, carried out by ''Zeppelin-Staaken'' R.VI or R.XIV bombers, with hits on the [[Royal Hospital Chelsea]] with the first {{cvt|1,000|kg}} bomb dropped on England, on 16/17 February 1918. [[St Pancras Station]] was attacked the next night. During the campaign from 18 December 1917 to 20 May 1918 the R.VIs of Rfa501 made eleven raids dropping {{cvt|27190|kg|LT}} of bombs. Eighteen built.<ref name = "Haddow"/>

;[[Zeppelin-Staaken R.VII]]
Differing little from the R.IV, the R.VII had a revised arrangement of struts in the tail unit. The sole R.VII, serial number R 14/15, crashed during its delivery flight to the front line. One built.<ref name = "Haddow"/>
;[[Zeppelin-Staaken R.XIV]]
The R.XIV closely resembled previous ''Zeppelin-Staaken Riesenflugzeug'' differing only in engine installation and details. The five Maybach MbIV engines were arranged as push-pull pairs in the nacelles, with the engineer accommodated between the engines, and a tractor engine in the nose.
Three R.XIVs were built, serial numbers R 43/16 to R 45/16, of which R 43/16 was shot down by Capt. Archibald Buchanan Yuille of [[No. 151 Squadron RAF|151 Squadron]].<ref name = "Haddow"/>

;[[Zeppelin-Staaken R.XV]]
The R.XV also carried on the five engine layout of the R.XIV but introduced a large central fin in the tail unit. Three R.XVs were built, serial numbers R 46/16 to R 48/16 but there is no evidence that they carried out operational flights.<ref name = "Haddow"/>

;[[Zeppelin-Staaken L]]
This aircraft was essentially an R.VI fitted with large {{convert|13|m|ftin|abbr=on}} long duralumin floats. Allocated the serial no. 1432 by the [[Imperial German Navy|''Kaiserliche Marine'']] the aircraft was wrecked during trials. One built.<ref name = "Haddow"/>

;[[Zeppelin-Staaken 8301]]
''Zeppelin-Staaken'' used R.VI wings mated to a new fuselage, which incorporated the large central fin of the R.XV, suspended midway between the mainplanes, all supported by floats similar to the 'Type "L"'. Three were built, serial numbers 8301, 8303 and 8304, of which 8301 was also tested with a land undercarriage. The existence of 8302 has not been confirmed.<ref name = "Haddow"/>

==Operators==
* {{flag|German Empire}}
** ''Luftstreitkräfte'' – Imperial German Air Service
*** ''Riesenflugzeugabteilung'' 500 (Rfa 500)
*** ''Riesenflugzeugabteilung'' 501 (Rfa 501)
** ''Marine-Fliegerabteilung'' – Imperial German Naval Air Service
* {{flag|Ukrainian People's Republic}}
** One (R-39/16) - Ukrainian Air force. Crashed on August 4, 1919.<ref>[https://www.academia.edu/19332148/Wings_of_Ukraine._Ukrainian_Air_Force_1917-1920 Wings of Ukraine. Ukrainian Air Force 1917-1920.]</ref>

==Specifications (Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI, )==
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=The German Giants<ref name="Haddow">{{cite book |last1=Haddow |first1=G. W. |last2=Grosz |first2=Peter |title=The German Giants – The German R-Planes 1914–1918|publisher=Putnam |location=London |year=1988 |edition=3rd |pages=242–259 |isbn=0-85177-812-7}}</ref><!-- for giving the reference for the data -->
|prime units?=met<!-- imp or kts first for US aircraft, and UK aircraft pre-metrification, met(ric) first for all others. You MUST choose a format, or no specifications will show -->
<!--
        General characteristics
-->
|genhide=

|crew=10 (commander, two pilots, two copilots, two radio operators and fuel attendant in the cockpit, one mechanic in each engine nacelle)
|capacity=
|length m=22.1
|length ft=
|length in=
|length note=
|span m=42.2
|span ft=
|span in=
|span note=
|upper span m=
|upper span ft=
|upper span in=
|upper span note=
|mid span m=
|mid span ft=
|mid span in=
|mid span note=
|lower span m=
|lower span ft=
|lower span in=
|lower span note=
|swept m=<!-- swing-wings -->
|swept ft=<!-- swing-wings -->
|swept in=<!-- swing-wings -->
|swept note=
|dia m=<!-- airships etc -->
|dia ft=<!-- airships etc -->
|dia in=<!-- airships etc -->
|dia note=
|width m=<!-- if applicable -->
|width ft=<!-- if applicable -->
|width in=<!-- if applicable -->
|width note=
|height m=6.3
|height ft=
|height in=
|height note=
|wing area sqm=332
|wing area sqft=
|wing area note=
|swept area sqm=<!-- swing-wings -->
|swept area sqft=<!-- swing-wings -->
|swept area note=
|volume m3=<!-- lighter-than-air -->
|volume ft3=<!-- lighter-than-air -->
|volume note=
|aspect ratio=<!-- give where relevant eg sailplanes  -->
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=7,921
|empty weight lb=
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=11,848
|gross weight lb=
|gross weight note=
|max takeoff weight kg=
|max takeoff weight lb=
|max takeoff weight note=
|fuel capacity={{convert|3,000|L|gal|abbr=on|0}}
|lift kg=<!-- lighter-than-air -->
|lift lb=<!-- lighter-than-air -->
|lift note=
|more general=
<!--
        Powerplant
-->
|eng1 number=4
|eng1 name=[[Mercedes D.IVa]]
|eng1 type=6-cyl. water-cooled in-line piston engine<ref group="note">R.VI 30/16 was fitted with a [[Brown-Boveri]] centrifugal supercharger in the fuselage, driven by a [[Mercedes D.II]] engine</ref>
|eng1 kw=<!-- prop engines -->
|eng1 hp=260<!-- prop engines -->
|eng1 kn=<!-- jet/rocket engines -->
|eng1 lbf=<!-- jet/rocket engines -->
|eng1 note=
|power original=
|thrust original=
|eng1 kn-ab=<!-- afterburners -->
|eng1 lbf-ab=<!-- afterburners -->

|eng2 number=4
|eng2 name=[[Maybach Mb.IVa]]
|eng2 type=high compression<ref group="note">The high compression Maybach Mb IVa was unable to run at full throttle below {{convert|2,000|ft|m|abbr=on|0}}</ref> 6-cyl. water-cooled in-line piston engine
|eng2 kw=<!-- prop engines -->
|eng2 hp=245<!-- prop engines -->
|eng2 kn=<!-- jet/rocket engines -->
|eng2 lbf=<!-- jet/rocket engines -->
|eng2 note=
|eng2 kn-ab=<!-- afterburners -->
|eng2 lbf-ab=<!-- afterburners -->

|prop blade number=2<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop name= tractor propeller<ref group="note">Tandem push–pull nacelles, with the rear engines driving {{convert|14.08|ft|m|abbr=on|0}} pusher propellers</ref>
|prop dia m=<!-- propeller aircraft -->4.26
|prop dia ft=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop dia in=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop note=

|rot number=<!-- helicopters -->
|rot dia m=<!-- helicopters -->
|rot dia ft=<!-- helicopters -->
|rot dia in=<!-- helicopters -->
|rot area sqm=<!-- helicopters -->
|rot area sqft=<!-- helicopters -->
|rot area note=
<!--
        Performance
-->
|perfhide=

|max speed kmh=135
|max speed mph=
|max speed kts=
|max speed note=
|max speed mach=<!-- supersonic aircraft -->
|cruise speed kmh=
|cruise speed mph=
|cruise speed kts=
|cruise speed note=
|stall speed kmh=<!-- aerobatic -->
|stall speed mph=<!-- aerobatic -->
|stall speed kts=
|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed mph=
|never exceed speed kts=
|never exceed speed note=
|minimum control speed kmh=
|minimum control speed mph=
|minimum control speed kts=
|minimum control speed note=
|range km=800
|range miles=
|range nmi=
|range note=
|combat range km=
|combat range miles=
|combat range nmi=
|combat range note=
|ferry range km=
|ferry range miles=
|ferry range nmi=
|ferry range note=
|endurance=<!-- if range unknown -->7-10 hours
|ceiling m=4,320
|ceiling ft=
|ceiling note=
|g limits=<!-- aerobatic -->
|roll rate=<!-- aerobatic -->
|glide ratio=<!-- sailplanes -->
|climb rate ms=1.67
|climb rate ftmin=
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude=
:*10 min to {{convert|1,000|m|ft|abbr=on|0}}
:*23 min to {{convert|2,000|m|ft|abbr=on|0}}
:*43 min to {{convert|3,000|m|ft|abbr=on|0}}
:*2 hr 26 min to {{convert|4,320|m|ft|abbr=on|0}}
|sink rate ms=<!-- sailplanes -->
|sink rate ftmin=<!-- sailplanes -->
|sink rate note=
|lift to drag=
|wing loading kg/m2=
|wing loading lb/sqft=
|wing loading note=
|disk loading kg/m2=
|disk loading lb/sqft=
|disk loading note=

|power/mass=
|thrust/weight=

|more performance=
<!--
        Armament
-->
|guns=Provision for 4 × {{convert|7.92|mm|in|abbr=on|3}} [[Parabellum MG14]] machine-guns in nose, dorsal, ventral and upper-wing positions firing the [[8×57mm IS]] round.
|bombs=up to {{convert|4,409|lb|kg|abbr=on|0}} of bombs
|rockets=
|missiles=

|hardpoints=
|hardpoint capacity=
|hardpoint rockets=
|hardpoint missiles=
|hardpoint bombs=
|hardpoint other=

|other armament=

|avionics=
}}

;Notes
{{Reflist |group=note}}

==Notable appearances in media==
{{Main |Aircraft in fiction#Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI |l1=Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI  in fiction}}

==See also==
{{Aircontent
<!-- designs which were developed into or from this aircraft: -->
|related=
* [[Zeppelin-Staaken Type 8301]]
* [[Zeppelin-Staaken R.IV]]
* [[Zeppelin-Staaken R.VII]]
* [[Zeppelin-Staaken R.XIV]]
<!-- aircraft similar in appearance or function to this design: -->
|similar aircraft=
* [[Caproni Ca.4]]
* [[Sikorsky Ilya Muromets]]
* [[Sikorsky Alexander Nevsky]]
* [[Sikorsky Russky Vityaz]]
* [[Tarrant Tabor]]
* [[Barling XNBL-1 Bomber]]
* [[Handley Page V/1500]]

<!-- the manufacturer or operator (military etc) sequence this aircraft belongs in: -->
|sequence=

<!-- any lists that are appropriate: -->
|lists=

<!-- other articles that could be useful to connect with: -->
|see also= [[Riesenflugzeuge]]

}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
* Gray, P., and Thetford, O. ''German Aircraft of the First World War''  1970 Putnam London 0-85177-809-7
* Haddow, George W., and Grosz, Peter M., ''The German Giants: The Story of the R-Planes 1914-1919'', (1962, 3rd ed. 1988), {{ISBN|0-85177-812-7}}
* Wagner, Ray, and Nowarra, Heinz, ''German Combat Planes'', Doubleday, 1971.
* A. K. Rohrbach, "Das 1000-PS Verkehrsflugzeug der Zeppelin-Werke, Staaken", ''Zeitschrift für Flugtechnik und Motorluftschiffahrt'', vol. 12, no. 1 (15 January 1921) {{OCLC|43300141}}
* E. Offermann, W. G. Noack, and A. R. Weyl, ''Riesenflugzeuge'', in: ''Handbuch der Flugzeugkunde'' (Richard Carl Schmidt & Co., 1927) {{OCLC|311652625}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI}}
* [http://www.internetmodeler.com/2006/november/first-looks/Roden_Staaken-08.jpg Perspective line drawing of R.VI design]
* [http://www.airwar.ru/image/idop/bww1/zsr6/zsr6-1.gif Three-view drawing of Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI]
* [http://www.wwi-models.org/Photos/Ger/ZStaakenRVI/index.html Photos of engine nacelle of an R.VI. in Kraków Aviation museum]
* [http://www.westernfrontassociation.com/great-war-at-sea-in-air/aircraft-types/953-zeppelin-staaken-rvi-bomber-great-war.html R.VI article] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151029040305/http://www.westernfrontassociation.com/great-war-at-sea-in-air/aircraft-types/953-zeppelin-staaken-rvi-bomber-great-war.html |date=2015-10-29 }} at westernfrontassociation.com

{{Zeppelin aircraft}}
{{Idflieg R-class designations}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Zeppelin-Staaken]]
[[Category:1910s German bomber aircraft]]
[[Category:Pusher aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1916]]