Zeppelin-Staaken V.G.O. II

From Wings of Linen
Zeppelin V.G.O. II
Role Bomber
Manufacturer Zeppelin-Staaken
Designer Baumann, Klein, and Bosch [1]
First flight 25 or 26 Oct 1915 [1][2]
Introduction 13 Aug 1916 [1][3]
Primary user Germany
Number built 1
Developed from Zeppelin-Staaken V.G.O. I
Variants Zeppelin-Staaken V.G.O. III
Wingspan 42.0 m (137 ft 8 in)-[4]-42.2 m (138 ft 5 in)[5][2]
Propeller Diam. 3.88 m (12 ft 9 in)[2]
Engine 3×240hp Maybach HS[5]
Armament 3-4 MGs
910 kg (2,000 lb)[4] of bombs
Max Speed 110 km/h (68 mph)[5]
Climb 2,000 m (6,500 ft) in 39:00[4][5]
3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 79:00[4]
Ceiling 3,000 m (10,000 ft) [4][5]

The Zeppelin-Staaken V.G.O. I was joined on the eastern front near Riga by the Zeppelin V.G.O. II, serial number R.9/15, another of the Riesenflugzeug (giant aeroplane).[6] It was very similar to the V.G.O. I except for a redesigned tail and gunner's positions at the front of each engine nacelle. It was probably delivered to Ault-Auz (now in Latvia) a few weeks after Rfa 500's formation in Feb 1916, but there were several months of training and tuning before its first operation mission in August, when it attacked the rail junction at Schlok (now in Estonia) along with the Navy's V.G.O. I.[7] It flew many successful bombing missions, and in October 1916 experiments were carried out with adding a cannon to the plane's armament.

As of 1 January 1917 it was relegated to training and experimentation as newer, better-powered R-planes were arriving at Rfa 500. At some point it was transferred back to Staaken, where it crashed for the last time probably in the summer of 1917. [2]

For more information, see Wikipedia:Zeppelin-Staaken Riesenflugzeuge.


References

Citations
  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lamberton, p.154.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Haddow'69, pp.221-225.
  3. Haddow'69, p.68.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Lamberton, pp.226-227.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Haddow'69, p.67.
  6. Munson, p.158.
  7. Haddow'69, p.12.
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
  • Kenneth Munson, Bombers: Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft, 1914-1919. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1968, Blandford Press Ltd. ISBN 978-0753721711