Siemens-Schuckert R.IV
| Siemens-Schuckert R.IV | |
|---|---|
| Role | Bomber |
| Manufacturer | Siemens-Schuckert |
| First flight | May 1916[1] |
| Introduction | April 1917[1] |
| Primary user |  Germany
|
| Number built | 1 [2] |
| Wingspan | 37.6 m (123 ft 4 in)[3][4]-38.3 m (125 ft 9 in) [5] |
| Engine | 3×220hp Benz Bz.IV[2][3] |
| Crew | 4 |
| Max Speed | 130 km/h (81 mph)[2][5][3][4] |
| Climb | 2,000 m (6,560 ft) in 36:00[2][4] 3,000 m (9,840 ft) in 1:44:00[3][4] |
| Ceiling | 3,050 m (10,000 ft)[3][4]-3,500 m (11,500 ft)[5] |
| Range | 500 km (310 mi) [5] |
| Endurance | 4:00 [2][4] |
The Siemens-Schuckert R.IV was a one-off Riesenflugzeug (Giant Aeroplane) with serial number R.4/15. It was accepted in August 1916 and it served with Rfa 501 at Vilna on the Russian Front. [2] After its service lifetime, the R.IV became a Riesenflugzeug trainer.[6]
Though it used the troublesome Maybach HS engine, special care was taken to provide adequate cooling. It was delivered 29 Jan 1916, but after six months of struggling with the engines it wasn't until Benz Bz.IV engines were used that a fully acceptable flight was taken on 14 March 1917. In the following month it transfered to the Eastern Front and flew several missions, but when Rfa 501 moved west in mid 1917, it was left behind as a trainer in Vilna. By Feb 1918 it was moved back to Berlin and was used for various training and testing flights.[1]
For more information, see Wikipedia:Siemens-Schuckert R.V.
Timeline
References
- Citations
- Bibliography
- Peter Gray and Owen Thetford. German Aircraft of the First World War. Great Britain, Putnam, 1962, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-809-7.
- G.W. Haddow and Peter M. Grosz, The German Giants; The German R-Planes 1914-1918. New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 2nd Ed., 1969. ISBN 9780370000374
- W.M. Lamberton and E.F. Cheesman, Reconnaissance & Bomber Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War. Great Britain: Harleyford Publications Ltd., 1962. ISBN 9780900435027