Zeppelin-Staaken V.G.O. III

The third in the line of the Zeppelin Riesenflugzeug (Giant Aeroplanes) was the Zeppelin V.G.O. III. The first two in the line had been underpowered, so the VGO.III mounted six 160hp Mercedes D.III engines: two in each engine nacelle to drive a pusher propeller and two in the nose to drive a tractor propeller. Five machine guns were carried. When the R (Riesenflugzeug) category was formally created, the plane was renamed the R.III. Like the R.I and R.II, it served on the Eastern Front with R.Fl.A. 500 until it crashed on 24 Jan 1917.