- Development
- Operational history
- Operators
- Specifications (Zeppelin-Staaken R.VII)
- Notes
- References
| name=Zeppelin-Staaken R.VII | image= | caption= }}{{Infobox aircraft type | type=Bomber | national origin= Germany | manufacturer= Flugzeugwerft GmbH, Staaken, Berlin | designer= Graf von Zeppelin | first flight=1917 | introduced= | retired= | status= | primary user=Luftstreitkräfte | more users= | produced= | number built=1 | program cost= | unit cost= | developed from= | variants with their own articles=
}} |
The Zeppelin-Staaken R.VII was six-engined large bomber - a Riesenflugzeug - of Imperial Germany, intended to be less vulnerable than the airships in use at the time. DevelopmentThe R.VII, an incremental improvement on the almost identical Zeppelin-Staaken R.IV, had two engine pods, each with tandem pusher engines, large enough for some inflight maintenance by flight mechanics housed in cockpits forward of the nacelle engines, driving the large pusher propellers throuch clutches, gearboxes and shafts. A further two engines were mounted in the nose of the fuselage, driving a single tractor propeller in similar fashion.[1] Operational historyFirst flown early in 1917, the sole R.VII (R.14/15) was accepted by the Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte (Imperial German Air Service) on 3 July 1917 and assigned to Rfa 501 on 29 July 1917. Used in operations on the Western Front, the R.VII had a short operational life, crashing due to a clutch failure and the incorrect actions of a flight mechanic, with the loss of six crew members.[1] OperatorsSpecifications (Zeppelin-Staaken R.VII){{Aircraft specs
|ref=The German Giants[1]
|prime units?=met
|genhide=
|crew=seven+
|capacity=
|length m=22.1
|span m=42.2
|height m=6.8
|wing area sqm=332
|empty weight kg=8923
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=12953
|fuel capacity={{convert|2140|kg|lb|abbr=on}}consisting of:
- Twelve {{convert|245|l|impgal USgal|abbr=on|2}} tanks holding {{convert|3140|l|impgal USgal|abbr=on|2}}
- Gravity tank of {{convert|155|l|impgal USgal|abbr=on|2}}
- Oil tank holding {{convert|171|l|impgal USgal|abbr=on|2}}
|more general=- Disposable load: {{convert|1890|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
|eng1 number=2
|eng1 name=Mercedes D.III
|eng1 type=6-cyl. water-cooled in-line piston engines
|eng1 hp=160
|eng1 note=Driving a single tractor propeller through clutches, gearbox and transmission shafts
|eng2 number=4
|eng2 name=Benz Bz.IV
|eng2 type=6-cyl. water-cooled inline piston engines
|eng2 hp=220
|eng2 note=In tandem pairs driving single pusher propellers through clutches, gearbox and transmission shafts
|prop blade number=4
|prop name=tractor propeller
|prop dia m=4.2
|prop note=4-bladed pusher propellers {{convert|4.1|m|ftin|abbr=on}} diameter
|max speed kmh=130
|ceiling m=3850
|time to altitude={{bulleted list
|{{convert|1000|m|ft|abbr=on}} in 12 minutess.
|{{convert|2000|m|ft|abbr=on}} in 25.5 minutes.
|{{convert|3000|m|ft|abbr=on}} in 50 minutes.
|wing loading kg/m2=39
|more performance=
|armament=provision for up to six machine-guns
}}{{aircontent
|see also=
|related=
|similar aircraft=
|lists=
}}
Notes1. ^1 2 {{cite book |last=Haddow |first=G.W. |title=The German Giants, The Story of the R-planes 1914-1919 |year=1988 |publisher=Putnam |location=London |isbn=0-85177-812-7 |edition=3rd |author2=PeterM Grosz}}
References{{commons category|Zeppelin-Staaken}}{{Refbegin}}- A. K. Rohrbach, "Das 1000-PS Verkehrsflugzeug der Zeppelin-Werke, Staaken," Zeitschrift für Flugtechnik und Motorluftschiffahrt, vol. 12, no. 1 (15 January 1921)
- E. Offermann, W. G. Noack, and A. R. Weyl, "Riesenflugzeuge", in: Handbuch der Flugzeugkunde (Richard Carl Schmidt & Co., 1927)
- {{citation |title=The German Giants: The Story of the R-planes 1914–1919 |first1=G.W. |last1=Haddow |first2=Peter M. |last2=Grosz |location=London |publisher=Putnam |isbn=0-85177-812-7}}
{{Refend}}{{Zeppelin aircraft}}{{Idflieg R-class designations}}{{wwi-air}}{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeppelin-Staaken R.Vii}} 4 : Zeppelin-Staaken|German bomber aircraft 1910–1919|Military aircraft of World War I|Pusher aircraft |