Zeppelin-Staaken R.XIV

Three Staaken R.XIVs were built, serial numbers R.43/17, R.44/17, and R.45/17. R.43/17 was shot down on 10/11 Aug 1918 by &#8470;151 Sqn. R.A.F. near Talmas. R.45/17 crashed during a night landing on 15/16 Sep 1918 near Morville.

The R.XIV was an attempt to streamline and reduce weight of the R.VI, but the fuselage ended up larger, which was somewhat compensated by the fifth engine in the nose (a factor that improved plane reliability). The first R.XIV, R.43/17, was completed in February-March 1918, but engine troubles and changes delayed acceptance until July, by which time the R.44 and R.45 were doing their first test flights. (The latter two used directed drive for the tractors instead of gearing.) Parachutes were standard crew issue, the first for a Staaken.

The R.XIVs flew several bombing raids on the Western Front, but perhaps only R.44 survived the war. R.43 was shot down on 10/11 August 1918 by pilots of Sqn. 151 R.A.F. R.45 flew its first mission on 10 August 1918, but poor nighttime landing conditions resulted in a crash.