Самолеты (сортировка по:)
Страна Конструктор Название Год Фото Текст

Zeppelin-Staaken VGO.I/VGO.II

Страна: Германия

Год: 1915

Бомбардировщик

Zeppelin-Lindau (Dornier) - Gs.I - 1919 - Германия<– –>Zeppelin-Staaken - R.V - 1916 - Германия


В.Кондратьев Самолеты первой мировой войны


На рубеже 1914-1915 годов сразу несколько германских авиафирм практически одновременно приступили к созданию крупных многомоторных бомбардировочных аэропланов. Наибольших успехов в этом деле добился коллектив, возглавляемый выдающимся инженером-дирижаблестроителем графом Фердинандом Цеппелином. К работе над проектом Цеппелин привлек целую плеяду талантливых ученых. Среди них были Эрнст Хейнкель, Клаудио Дорнье, Адольф Рорбах, Хельмут Хирт, чьи имена впоследствии прославили немецкую авиацию. Строительство первых летающих гигантов проходило на основанной Цеппелином совместно с Густавом Кляйном и Робертом Бошем фирме Фершухс Гота Ост (Versuchs Gotha Ost, сокращенно - VGO). Позднее VGO объединилась с фирмой Штаакен, также возглавлявшейся графом Цеппелином. Всего за годы войны было создано 16 модификаций аэропланов VGO и "Цеппелин-Штаакен" (не считая гидросамолетов), две из которых выпускались серийно. Большинство из этих машин заслуживает отдельного описания.
  
  
МОДИФИКАЦИИ
  
   VGO-I и VGO-II. Первый экспериментальный образец с заводским индексом VGO-I впервые поднялся в воздух 11 апреля 1915 года. Это был многостоечный цельнодеревянный биплан с двойным оперением и полотняной обшивкой. На момент создания VGO-I - крупнейший самолет в мире.
   Два двигателя "Майбах" Mb.IV по 240 л.с. с толкающими винтами размещались в каплевидных мотогондолах, еще один такой же мотор с тянущим винтом - в носовой части фюзеляжа. В передних частях гондол предусматривалась установка пулеметных турелей. Шасси трехопорное с носовой стойкой. Экипаж - 7 человек: 2 пилота, 3 механика (по одному на каждый мотор) и 2 стрелка.
   После успешного облета машины на заводском аэродроме ее отправили для войсковых испытаний на восточный фронт. Затем самолет вернули на фирму, где с целью повышения энерговооруженности установили в мотогондолы еще два "Майбаха" в тандем к предыдущим. Таким образом аппарат стал пятимоторным.
   В одном из испытательных полетов модернизированный VGO-I потерпел катастрофу и не восстанавливался. VGO-II был практически идентичен с VGO-I в его раннем, трехмоторном варианте. Самолет также использовался в 1916 году на русско-германском фронте, а затем -в качестве учебной машины.


O.Thetford, P.Gray German Aircraft of the First World War (Putnam)


Zeppelin-Staaken V.G.O. I
   First of the Zeppelin "Giants", the V.G.O. I (Versuchs Gotha Ost) made its first flight on 11th April 1915. It was a three-engined machine - two pusher, one tractor - with gun positions at the front end of each engine nacelle. The machine set a standard of size and construction that was maintained throughout the "Giant" series, except for detail refinements, reference to which may be found in the main text. Built for the German Navy, the machine bore the serial R.M.L. 1 and served on the Eastern Front; it was later returned to Staaken and two additional engines were fitted in the nacelles. In this guise the aircraft crashed at Staaken while under test, two crew members, Vollmoller and Klein, being killed.
   Engines, three 240 h.p. Maybach Mb IV. Span, 42.2 m. (138 ft. 5 5/8 in.). Length, 24 m. (78 ft. 9 in.). Height, 6.6 m. (21 ft. 7 7/8 in.). Area, 332 sq.m. (3,586 sq.ft.). Weights: Empty, 6,520 kg. (14,344 lb.). Loaded, 9,520 kg. (20,944 lb.). Speed, 110 km.hr. (68.75 m.p.h.). Climb, 2,000 m. (6,560 ft.) in 39 min. Armament, four machine-guns.
   Data after modification to five 245 h.p. Maybachs. Weights: Empty, 7,450 kg. (16,390 lb.). Loaded, 11,485 kg. (25,267 lb.). Speed, 130 km.hr. (81.25 m.p.h.). Climb, 3,000 m. (9,840 ft.) in 60 min.
   N.B. The V.G.O. II was a virtually identical aeroplane, also to the three-engined formula. Serialled R 9/15, it was used on the Eastern Front and later used as a trainer.


G.Haddow, P.Grosz The German Giants (Putnam)


VGO.I - RML.I

   Although work on the VGO.I, as the first bomber was called by the Company, started in September 1914, final plans were not completed until December. Construction moved too rapidly, and in January 1915 work was temporarily halted to await delivery of the new 240 h.p. Maybach HS engines, which were to prove an unsuccessful aircraft version of the HSLu airship engine. Meanwhile interference came, of all places, from the Prussian War Office, which held it extraordinary that anyone besides themselves would dare take the initiative in weapons development, a field in which they alone considered themselves experts. Consequently, the War Office blocked the Graf at every turn, but the tenacious old gentleman, supported by Feldflugchef Thomsen and Admiral Dick, energetically pushed the project past all obstacles. Nevertheless, a nip-and-tuck race developed between the completion date of the VGO.I and the patience of the military authorities which was slowly running out. The situation was such that detached military personnel working on the bomber were to be recalled and had but few days leave remaining when Hirth piloted the VGO.I on its maiden flight on 11 April 1915.
   The flight crew consisted of two pilots seated in a large open cockpit, one commander/navigator and three mechanics, one for each engine. Their means of communication was very crude; it consisted of bell signals and blackboards upon which orders were written. An eye-witness also remembers Hirth signalling vigorously by hand to the mechanics in the outboard nacelles.
   Three 240 h.p. Maybach HS engines were installed; one was mounted in the fuselage nose and drove a tractor propeller, the other two were mounted in nacelles, driving pusher propellers within the wing gap. Each nacelle was supported at mid-gap by a pair of inverted V-struts. In its original form the fuel tanks were placed in the nacelles ahead of the engines. Initially uncowled, the front of the nacelles were later covered by streamlined metal fairings. Cooling was provided by six Haegele & Zweigle radiators, one along each side of the nose engine and two similarly placed on each nacelle.
   The four-bay wing structure with it swept-back leading edges and light negative stagger set the basic pattern for all the Staaken design that followed. Structurally, the wing was very similar to the Staaken R.VI type, and is described in detail in that chapter. Plain unbalanced ailerons were fitted to the wings.
   Typical of its day, the fuselage was a slab-sided structure with a rounded top-decking extending forward from the large open dorsal cockpit behind the rear cabane struts to the nose. Aft of this decking the top and bottom longerons converged towards the tail to meet in a horizontal knife-edge. From the attachment point of the front cabane struts, the upper longerons were angled down towards the thrust line of the nose engine. The rectangular fuselage was of mixed construction, with four wood longerons and welded steel tubing frames; those in the forward part of the fuselage were reinforced with diagonal tubes. The fuselage was cable-braced and fabric-covered, with the exception of the plywood panelled top-decking and nose sides back to the pilot's position.
   Provision was made for bomb to be carried in a cage at the centre of gravity, but the 1000 kg. bomb for which this aircraft was originally developed was not dropped by R-planes until 1918.
   The biplane tail surfaces were located at a point slightly below mid-gap by a pair of V-struts above and below the fuselage. In its general form the tail cellule was of narrow gap and incorporated four small fins and unbalanced rudders spaced along the span. Plain elevators were fitted to both upper and lower tail surfaces. The control cables passed along the outside of the fuselage to large quadrants at the cockpit.
   Two simple V-type undercarriages, each with four wheels arranged in pairs, were positioned under the nacelles. A similar undercarriage of lighter construction was mounted beneath the nose. Unlike the later Staaken machines, the VGO.I rested on its nose wheels when fully loaded. This brought the wings with their large angle of incidence into take-off altitude.
   The Maybach HS engine which powered the VGO.I was developed from a line of successful airship engines, but in the process of redesign and weight reduction it had fared badly. Beset by continual operational failures, particularly overheating at high revolution during take-off, the HS engine was responsible for substantial delays of the Staaken and SSW R-plane programmes; designers were eventually forced to resort to less powerful but more reliable engine.
   On 6 June 1915 the VGO.I made its first long cross-country flight from Gotha to the Maybach Works in Friedrichshafen. It took six month, until the winter of 1915, to provide the VGO.I with sufficiently reliable HS engines so that the Navy duration and acceptance flights could be flown in Friedrichshafen. On 15 December 1915 while on the return flight to Gotha with Hans Vollmoller and Flugmaat Willy Mann at the controls and Hirth as aircraft commander, the VGO.I ran into a severe snowstorm over the Thuringen Forest. Due to a failure in the oil lines, two of the three engines had cut-out. As it was impossible to maintain height on one engine, the crew had no choice but to make a forced landing. With exemplary skill they put the machine down in a small forest clearing at Geroldsgrun, with heavy damage to the aircraft but with no injuries to the crew.
   This marked the end of nine months' sustained effort to get the new Maybach HS engines running properly in an equally untried airframe. The team of engineers at Gotha were not discouraged by this unfortunate crash. They collected the remains and rebuilt the machine incorporating many new features. Profiting by the experience gained in flight testing the VGO.I, some of the improvements had already been built into the VGO.II, which had been completed by this time.
   As reconstructed, the VGO.I had cowled engines with gun positions for a gunner/mechanic in the front of each nacelle. The interplane struts were faired, replacing the plain tubes of the original machine. A large streamlined gravity tank, which was to become a permanent feature of later types, was built into the top of the centre-section cabane. A single radiator was fitted on the top of the nose for the single tractor engine; the pusher engines retained their twin H & Z radiators. The original tail unit had proved to be rather inadequate for directional control. It was replaced by one similar to that on the VGO.II, except that the fin area was increased and rudders balanced. The HS engine was not replaced, for it was still the most powerful aircraft engine available; yet in spite of countless improvements and modifications, it was never equal to the task set before it.
   The rebuilt VGO.I first flew on 16 February 1916. It was later accepted by the Navy and then assigned to Navy Kommando L.R.I, a special group formed under the command of Lt.z.S. Ferdinand Rasch to evaluate the new weapon on the Eastern Front. The letters RML.I painted on the fuselage side stood for Reichs Marine Landflugzeug I (Reich Navy Landplane I). Commanded by Rasch and flown by Navy pilots Lt. d. R. Carl Kuring and Flugmaat Willy Mann, the RML.I left Gotha for Alt-Auz in June 1916. It took two months to complete the trip that was normally a three-day flight. The trip to Doberitz was uneventful, but an unscheduled landing was made en route at Schneidemuhl to perform minor engine repairs. Several days later during the take-off run, the nose landing gear broke away and the machine came to rest on its nose. The small damage was promptly repaired and the RML.I was on its way to Alt-Auz when overheating engines (made known to the pilots when the nacelle engine mechanics held up their blackboards with the high temperatures chalked in large letters) forced an emergency landing on a small airfield near Konigsberg. New engines had to be installed. All was in readiness when, shortly before becoming airborne, the main undercarriage collapsed and the RML.I slid to a stop on its belly. Extensive and time-consuming repairs were required, but the newly-installed undercarriage was still not robust enough, and it collapsed again on the next take-off attempt. Finally, at the end of July 1916 the RML.I reached its destination at Alt-Auz. What today may read like a comedy of errors was regarded at the time with much misgiving by the crews flying these early unreliable and cantankerous R-planes. They greatly preferred to be aloft in a single-engined combat machine of proven worth.
   According to the Kommando L.R.I. War Diary, the first bomb raid was made on 15 August 1916, after an abortive start on 13 August, when it was to have attacked in company with the Army R-plane (VGO.II), then also stationed at Alt-Auz. The War Diary lists four bomb raids: the rail terminal at Schlok (15 August), the Russian air station at Lebara (16 August), the air station at Runo Island and troop encampment at Kemmern (17 August), and a cancelled raid on Kemmern (24 August) due to boiling left nacelle radiator shortly after take-off. On these raids the RML.I carried a store of bombs that varied according to the mission. Against air stations it carried 6 x 50 kg. (Karbonit), 8 x 20 kg. (Karbonit), and 4 x 10 kg. incendiary (Goldschmidt) bombs. For attacks against troop installations 32 x 12 kg. (Karbonit), 21 x 20 kg. (Karbonit) and 9 x 10 kg. incendiary (Goldschmidt) bombs were carried.
   Pasted into the last pages of the War Diary is a short telegram from the Commander of the Baltic Sea force to the Navy Staff dated 1 September 1916 saying that the "RML.I has in the meantime been damaged". Here is what had happened. It was night; pilots Kuring and Mann were at the controls and the RML.I had just taken the air fully loaded with fuel and bombs. The machine was straining for altitude when at 50 metres two of its engines, one after the other, "exploded". Having no choice but to go down, the pilots guided the aircraft gently into the pine forest below; although sixty-nine trees were sheared off, the dense foliage lessened the impact of the crash, which saved the RML.I from destruction by explosion or fire. Only the fuselage was worth salvaging, and it was sent back to Staaken to receive new wings and engines. The Kommando L.R.I. was disbanded, its members received other assignments and everyone was relieved that the career of the unpredictable RML.I was finally ended - or so they thought.
   It was decided to rebuild the underpowered RML.I by replacing the original three engines and increasing their number to a total of five 245 h.p. Maybach Mb.IVa engines, one in the nose and two in each nacelle geared to a single four-bladed propeller. (One source claims that two 160 h.p. Mercedes D.III engines geared to a single propeller were located in the nose) The Maybach Mb.IVa, a vast improvement over the HS engine, had become available in late 1916, and it was the first of the "over-compressed" engines developed by the Germans for high-altitude use (see Staaken R.VI chapter for details). Standard slab-type radiators were fitted, those on the front struts being placed higher than the rear ones. The entire tail plane structure was raised to the top longerons and modified to have a single bay on each side. Like the Li-Ho R.I 8/15, the new fuselage and tail were entirely covered in Cellon in an attempt to make the machine partially invisible.
   On 10 March 1917 the reconstructed VGO.I was readied for its maiden flight. The first pilot was Vollmoller, the second pilot was Kuring, who had been recalled from Marine Jagdstaffel 2. Rasch wanted to go along too, but Gustav Klein, who had been ordered by Bosch not to fly, jokingly told him to "stay behind and sweep up the pieces". Kuring stated that the VGO.I was still under Navy cognizance, which explained his presence and that of the other Navy personnel aboard. The take-off went smoothly, but as the VGO.I was circling the Staaken airfield a terrific detonation occurred in the left engine nacelle and the propeller stopped. The pilots immediately gave hard right rudder to compensate for the unequal thrust, and the machine responded well, flying a straight line to land parallel to the large airship sheds. Three days previously, while familiarizing himself with the controls, Kuring discovered and immediately reported that the rudder pedals were not functioning properly. In the hard-over position the pedal jammed and could not be returned to the neutral position. This fault had not been repaired. As Vollmoller cut the remaining engines preparatory to landing, the hard right rudder, robbed of its compensating force, slowly forced the VGO.I into a right turn. Kuring at once unfastened his safety belt and crept under the control panel to pull the rudder pedals over from their jammed position. It was too late. Vollmoller was helpless to prevent the VGO.I from reversing course and smashing head-on into the door of the air hip shed. Vollmoller was killed instantly, and Klein died after a few hours. Kuring was thrown out by the impact, and though he suffered severe head injuries he was able to rejoin Marine Jasta 2 and thence enjoy a long and varied aeronautical career.
   Graf Zeppelin had died two days earlier on 8 March 1917. Thus, in a span of three days, German R-plane development had lost three of its most important contributors, but serious as the loss may have been, their heritage was well founded. At that very moment the Staaken organization was building and testing new R-planes, destined to be the only giant bombers to enter operational service on the Western Front. It was the sustained efforts and enthusiasm of people such as Graf Zeppelin, Gustav Klein and Hans Vollmoller which made this achievement possible.

Colour Scheme and Markings

   The VGO.I as it first flew carried no markings; it was clear doped overall giving it a pale buff colour. Later, the black Patee cross on a white square background was painted on the wingtips, fuselage sides and rudders. The tail markings occupied the complete area of the vertical tail surfaces. The serial number RML.I was painted on the fuselage after the VGO.I was taken over by the Navy. In its final form, with five engines, the markings conformed to the current style, that is the Patee crosses received thin white outlines.


SPECIFICATIONS

Type: VGO.I-RML.I (three-engined version) VGO.I (five-engined version)
   Manufacturer: Versuchsbau G.m.b.H., Gotha-Ost
   Engines: Three 240 h.p. Maybach HS engines Four 245 h.p. Maybach Mb.IVa engines
   Two 160 h.p. Mercedes D.III engines
   or
   Five 245 h.p. Maybach Mb.IVa engines
   Dimensions:
   Span, 42•2 m. (138 ft. 5 1/2 in.)
   Length, 24 m. (78 ft. 9 in.)
   Height, 6•6 m. (21 n. 7 1/2 in.)
   Areas: Wings, 332 sq. m. (3572 sq. ft.) 320 sq. m. (3443 sq. ft.)
   Weights:
   Empty, 6520 kg. (14,377 lb.) 7450 kg. (16,427 lb.)
   Loaded, 9520 kg. (20,992 lb.) 11,485 kg. (25,325 lb.)
   Wing Loading: 29•7 kg./sq. m. (6,1 lb./sq. ft.) 37-4 kg. sq. m. (7'7 lb./sq. ft.)
   Performance:
   Maximum speed, 110 km.h. (68-4 m.p.h.) 130 km.h. (80,8 m.p.h.)
   Climb, 2000 m. (6562 ft.) in 39 mins. -
   Ceiling, 3000 m. (9843 ft.) in 79 mins. in 60 mins.
   Fuel: 1500 litres (330 Imp. Gals.)
   Armament: Provision for dorsal, ventral and nacelle machine-gun positions
   Service Use: Eastern Front with Kommando L.R.I. at Alt-Auz, August 1916 None


VGO.II

   The VGO.II, first of a long line of Staaken giants accepted by the Army, was begun in December 1914 and its first flight was made in early September 1915. The flight characteristics were 'very satisfying' but radiator and engine problems caused appreciable delays. The VGO.II was accepted by Idflieg on 28 November 1915 and allocated the serial number R.9/15.
   In construction and dimensions the airframe was virtually identical to the earlier VGO.I. However, in light of experience gained during test flights of the VGO.I, several modifications were made. In particular, the tail unit was redesigned; it retained the same biplane horizontal surfaces, but the gap was increased considerably. The number of vertical tail surfaces was reduced from four to two, but the rudders were given increased area, and the place of the inner rudders was taken by a pair of interplane struts. At a later date the fin area was increased by the addition of a large central fin. Another change was that the nacelles were fitted with a nose machine-gun position. The three 240 h.p. Maybach HS engines were cooled by H & Z radiators placed alongside the engines as in the prototype, with the exception that the fuselage radiators were of increased area. These were later replaced by block radiators mounted above the nacelles and fuselage nose. Additional machinegun positions were located above and below the fuselage, one directly behind the rear cabane struts and the other farther aft level with the lower-wing trailing edge. This ventral position remained a standard feature on all later Staaken types.
   In February 1916 the R.9 was delivered from Doberitz via Konigsberg to Rfa 500 at Alt-Auz. The 900 km. distance was flown in 7 1/2 hours in spite of snow flurries and low-hanging cloud cover, which forced the VGO.II to fly below 100 metres from Tilsit on. Offiziersstellvertreter (acting officer), Selmer piloted the VGO.II on a number of operational test flights. While he claimed that the VGO.II dropped bombs on Russian targets as early as March 1916, no records have been found to back up his statement. It was not until five months later that the VGO.II was to receive credit for the first acknowledged successful R-plane bombing attack.
   On 13 August 1916 the VGO.II took off from Alt-Auz, under the command of Oberleutnant Haller von Hallerstein, and successfully bombed the Russian rail junction at Schlok. The bomber was in the air for 3 hrs. 30 mins., carrying a useful load of 2296 kg. and reaching an altitude of 2500 metres. The VGO.II participated in a number of effective missions, such as the attack on the Russian railway station at Rodenpois in late autumn 1916. Having taken-off in the face of rapidly deteriorating weather, unexpected strong head winds were encountered on the return flight, and with 40 km. to go, the fuel ran out. The flight crew (Lt. Luhr, Lt. Frhr. von Buttlar and commander Lt. Max Schaefer) made a safe emergency landing on a small Fokker fighter field at Paulsgnade near Mitau. Just short of coming to a stop, the VGO.II ran into a shallow ditch, which tore away the undercarriage, but with the exception of one broken strut, the aircraft was undamaged. Repairs were quickly made, and within a few days Vollmoller and Luhr flew the VGO.II back to Alt-Auz.
   Luhr, who was also technical officer of Rfa 500, recalled an abortive attempt to place a machine-gunner in the tail of the VGO.II. On return from the sole test flight the hapless gunner was pulled out of the tail more dead than alive. Tail oscillations due to the flexibility of the fuselage structure (a common occurrence in the Staaken R-planes) had given the gunner a severe bout of air-sickness.
   Another recollection of interest is that each time a downdraft was encountered the dangling Karbonit bombs, which were suspended vertically in the bomb bay, clanked together, making sounds like a "dancing skeleton", not to mention the adverse influence of the swinging mass of bombs on the flight characteristics.
   Among the more fascinating episodes in the development of R-planes was the installation of a downward-firing 13 cm. (5,13 in.) calibre cannon (called Aussstossrohr or launching tube) in the VGO.II. Leutnant Dr. Ernst Neuber of Fea 3 at Gotha reasoned that the higher the velocity of a downward-launched projectile, the shorter its flight duration, hence the better its accuracy and the greater its impact velocity. Neuber's report includes calculations on the feasibility of penetrating the deck armour of British battleships. On 10 February 1916 Neuber was authorized by the Prufanstalt und Werft to proceed, and on 25 May a 12 kg. projectile was test fired from a 20 metre high tower into a 10 metre deep pit. A recoil force of 500-800 kg. was measured. Although VGO engineers were sure a 1500 kg. recoil force could be safely absorbed, the VGO.II structure was nevertheless reinforced. The cannon was mounted near the centre of gravity. Ground firing trial were performed on 6 and 10 October 1916 with varying powder charges. The recoil was only slightly noticeable, and in no way considered to be dangerous. After some small improvements and installation of a simple aiming device airborne firing tests were conducted on 19 October 1916. Again the much-feared recoil problem was found to be non-existent, the aircraft easily absorbing the recoil forces. Firing from a height of 800 metres, the shots missed the target by 40-45 metres, but this was blamed on the inadequacy of the aiming device. The gun was returned to the factory for modification, and it is not known if further tests were conducted with the VGO.II; although a high-velocity 10•5 cm. calibre cannon was ordered on 7 November 1917, Neuber proposed a cannon-carrying. 2000 h.p. R-plane and obtained a patent, No. 305,039, for the gun-mounting system.
   As the newer R-planes became available for service, the underpowered VGO.II was retired from operational service and relegated to training air crews at Doberitz. As a trainer, the VGO.II gave good service, and many of the crews that flew more powerful and improved giants later in the war must have had their first experience in this machine. In official records it was carried as a training machine attached to the Rea in Doberitz as of 1 January 1917. The following June it was under repair and it was fitted with a strengthened undercarriage. The end of the VGO.II came when it crashed and broke its back at Staaken, the exact date is unknown but it was probably in the summer of 1917. Photographs show that the machine did not catch fire, there are no reports of any officers being killed in the incident and the crew are believed to have escaped.
   In the spring of 1915 Austria-Hungary became interested in R-planes, and the greak Skoda works purchased a set of bomber plans, ostensibly of the VGO.I or VGO.II, from which an improved type was to be built. However, in spite of Austria-Hungary's thriving aircraft industry, no R-planes were ever constructed in that country.

Colour Scheme and Markings

   The VGO.II was clear doped overall. The Patee cross on a white background was painted on the outer surfaces of the fin and rudders, fuselage sides, the top and underside of the upper wingtips and on the underside of the lower wingtips. At a later date the style of the Patee crosses was changed and the serial number R.9/15 painted in black on the sides of the fuselage.


SPECIFICATIONS

Type: VGO.II
   Manufacturer: Versuchsbau G.m.b.H., Gotha-Ost
   Engines: Three 240 h.p. Maybach HS (or Mb.IV) engines
   Dimensions:
   Span, 42•2 m. (138 ft. 5 1/2 in.)
   Chord inner, 4•6 m. (15 ft. 1 in.)
   outer, 3•6 m. (11 ft. 10 in.)
   Gap inner, 4•6 111. (15 ft. 1 in.)
   outer, 3•6 m. (11ft. 10 in.)
   Incidence inner, 5 1/2 degrees
   outer, 2 degrees
   Dihedral upper, none
   lower, 3 degrees
   Length, 23•78 m. (78 ft.)
   Height, 7 m. (22 ft. 11 1/2 in.)
   Tailspan, 9 m. (29 ft. 6 in.)
   Wheel diameter, 1•02 m. (3 ft. 4 in.)
   Propeller diameter, 3•88 m. (12 ft. 9 in.)
   Areas: Wings, 332 sq. m. (3572 sq. ft.)
   Weights:
   Wings. 2,070 kg.
   Tail unit, 365 kg.
   Fuselage, 1,270 kg.
   Accessorie , 140 kg.
   Undercarriage, 793 kg.
   Engines, 1,999 kg.
   ----
   Empty, 6,637 kg. (14,635 lb.)
   Fuel, 1,126 kg. (2,483 lb.)
   Disposable load, 2,440 kg. (5,380 lb.)
   ----
   Loaded, 10,203 kg. (22,498 lb.)
   Wing Loading: 30•7 kg. sq. m. (6'3 lb./sq. ft.)
   Performance: Similar to VGO.I
   Fuel:
   Tank 1, 1120 litres (247 Imp. Gals.)
   Tank 2, 668 litre (147 Imp. Gals.)
   Gravity tank, 24 litres (5,3 Imp. Gal.)
   Oil engines, 36 litres (7,9 Imp. Gals.)
   Oil tank, 102 litres (22-4 Imp. Gals.) . . .
   Armament: Provision for dorsal, ventral and two nacelle machine-gun positions .
   Service Use: Eastern Front with Rfa 500 at Alt-Auz 1916. Training machine at Doberitz 1916-17
   Cost: The German Government paid 360,000 marks for the VGO.II. Construction cost 401,000 marks, and engines cost 75,000 marks.
  


J.Herris Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 (A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes 47)


VGO.I (R.M.L.I)
  
  As war approached, Count Zeppelin turned his interest to heavy bombers as he realized the airship was a vulnerable and fragile weapon whose main use would be for reconnaissance. Two paths were chosen to move forward, wood construction and metal construction. Development of large metal bombers was entrusted to designer Claude Dornier and spun off to the Lindau facility.
  To get a bomber in the air as fast as possible, conventional wood construction was pursued at another facility owned by Zeppelin. A new company called Versuchsbau G.m.b.H. Gotha-Ost (VGO - Experimental Works Gotha-East) was founded by Zeppelin and Bosch and buildings were rented on the Gotha airfield for space to assemble the wooden bomber. Remarkably, work on the new bomber was started in September 1914, less than eleven years after the Wright's first flight. The new giant bomber was a private venture and such was the urgency to complete it that its design had not been completed before construction began. In fact, construction had to be suspended in January 1915 pending arrival of the new 240 hp Maybach HS engines. Derived from airship engines, the new engines proved unsuccessful in the more demanding role as aircraft engines.
  In addition to the design not being completed until December 1914, two months after the start of construction, there were other challenges. The Prussian War Office was not happy with the concept of a private venture and was not supportive of Zeppelin's effort. The start of the war in August caused serious shortages of skilled labor in all industries and raw materials were difficult to procure. Exacerbating all these issues was the bomber's unprecedented size. Despite these challenges, the VGO.I first flew on April 11, 1915.
  Notwithstanding the aircraft's 1914 inception, the basic size, construction, and configuration of the VGO.I were successful enough that they were retained by Staaken designs throughout the war - and the Staaken designs were the most successful Giant bomber family designed in Germany.
  Flight testing revealed an often under-appreciated challenge; the aircraft was so large and noisy, and the crew were so spread out, that crew coordination was a serious difficulty that impeded flight operations and sometimes compromised flight safety.
  The VGO.I was an enormous biplane of conventional wood construction. It had three engines; one with tractor propeller in the nose and one in a nacelle between the wings on each side mounted in as a pusher. The VGO.I differed most noticeably from typical designs in its biplane tail surfaces, nose-wheel under-carriage, and huge size; smaller biplanes of the time almost invariably used a tail-skid instead of nose wheels and typically did not have biplane tails. However, a tail-skid was fitted in case of rough landings.
  In accordance with its design role, the VGO.I had a bomb bay at its center of gravity large enough to carry a 1,000 kg bomb and provision was made for flexible defensive machine guns above and below the fuselage and in the front of the engine nacelles. The nacelle guns were to be fitted for the engine mechanics; to enable in-flight repairs thought to be necessary to sustain dependable high-endurance flight given the modest reliability of engines of the time. Provision for mechanics to move to the engine nacelles and spend time there was essential.
  The VGO.I had good flying qualities. However, its new Maybach HS engines were a constant source of problems and slowed development of the R-plane programs using it, including that of the VGO.I. Until that engine, Maybach had focused on airship engines. These are not as highly stressed as airplane engines and in airships normally need to produce full power for relatively short periods on time. In contrast, aircraft engines need to provide maximum power for takeoff and the prolonged climb to cruise altitude, and in cruise flight have to produce a higher percentage of rated power than airship engines. Learning these lessons, then addressing the problems successfully, was a difficult, time-consuming process and Maybach was not able to fully achieve this with the HS engine.
  As a result of the engine development problems, the VGO.I did not have HS engines that were reliable enough to attempt the Navy's reliability tests. On December 15, 1915, while returning to Gotha, two of the three oil lines to the engines failed during a snowstorm. With only one engine running, a forced landing was inevitable. With great skill the pilots were able to land the VGO.I in a forest clearing; the aircraft was badly damaged but were no injuries to the crew.
  The VGO.I was rebuilt after this accident and a number of improvements were added during this process, including enlarging and balancing the rudders for more rudder control authority. The VGO. II, which had already been completed by this time, already embodied many of these improvements. Unfortunately, one item not changed was the unreliable engines. The Maybach HS was still the most powerful aircraft engine available at the time and apparently a desperate hope its problems could be solved was still alive. Unfortunately, this hope was unfounded.
  The re-built VGO.I was accepted by the Navy and given the designation RML.I for Reichs Marine Landflugzeug I (Reich Navy Landplane I). It left Gotha for Alt-Auz in June 1916 and its delivery flight, normally a three-day flight, turned into a two-month tragicomedy of errors. Some time in August the RML.I finally arrived at its destination and its first bombing raid was performed on August 15, 1916, after an aborted attempt on the 13th. According to the War Diary there were four bombing raids in all. By 1 September the VGO.I had been damaged by a crash when two of its three engines failed on take-off. The aircraft was saved from complete destruction by being cushioned by the trees of a pine forest.
  The wings were destroyed but the fuselage was salvaged. Again the VGO.I, aka RML.I, was rebuilt. The untrustworthy Maybach HS engines were the root causes of the two crashes and were finally replaced. Because the VGO.I had been underpowered even when the HS engines were running, during the rebuild they were replaced with no less than five engines, in this case five 245 hp Maybach Mb.IVa engines. One was fitted in the nose and two were installed in each nacelle geared to drive a single four-bladed propeller. The tailplane was raised higher on the fuselage and the entire fuselage and tail were covered in transparent cellon in an experiment to produce stealth aircraft.
  Although made by the same manufacturer, the new engines were far more reliable than their worthless predecessors and were the first overcompressed engines developed for high-altitude performance in Germany.
  The rebuilt VGO.I, still under the control of the navy, was first flown on 10 March 1917. As it was circling the Staaken airfield after a smooth takeoff, there was a major explosion in the left nacelle and the propeller stopped. The pilots executed an excellent engine-out landing on the field. Unfortunately, the rudders jammed, a fault noticed three days previously but inexplicably not repaired before the flight, and when the power was cut on the remaining engines the airplane turned right on the runway and crashed into the airship shed. The pilot was killed instantly and another crewmember died of injuries within a few hours. The third time was a charm; after its third crash the VGO.I was finally destroyed and its story ended. Two days earlier Count Zeppelin had died.


VGO.II
  
  Construction on VGO.II began in December 1914, the same month that design of the VGO.I was completed. The VGO.II was completed in August and first flew on 25 October 1915. It was the first Staaken accepted by the Army (the Navy had accepted VGO.I) on 28 November and given Idflieg serial number R.9/15.
  The VGO.I has not yet flown when construction on VGO.II began, so without flight-test experience it is not surprising that the VGO.II closely resembled the earlier aircraft. There were a number of detail differences, such as the radiators, but the most visible was a modest redesign of the tail surfaces. The horizontal tail surfaces remained the same but the gap between these biplane surfaces was greatly increased and taller rudders were fitted, but the number of rudders was reduced to two instead of four. Later a central fin was added for more stability.
  The same type of engines were installed, the ill-fated Maybach HS engines that caused so much trouble in the VGO.I. However, because that aircraft had not yet flown the problems with the HS engines were still in the future.
  Machine-gun positions were installed in the nose of the engine nacelles and additional defensive machine guns were fitted aft of the wings above and below the fuselage; these were present in subsequent Staakens.
  In February 1916 the R.9 was flown from Doberitz to Rfa 500 at Alt-Auz via Konigsberg. This time the delivery flight was successful; the R.9 flew the 900 km in 7 1/2 hours despite occasional snow showers and low overcast that forced it down to 100 m for much of the flight. Once at Rfa 500, Off-stv. Selmer piloted the VGO.II on a number of operational test flights. He claimed VGO.II bombed Russian targets as early as March 1916, but there is no substantiating documentation. The first known operational flight was on 13 August 1916, when VGO.II successfully bombed the rail junction at Schlok. On that flight VGO.II carried a useful load of 2,296 kg and reached an altitude of 2,500 m. Other missions followed. In late 1916 strong headwinds developed while VGO.II was returning home from a bombing mission and its fuel ran out 40 km short of its airfield. Fortunately, VGO.II was able to land safely on a small fighter airfield near Mitau. However, as it rolled to a stop it ran into a ditch, tearing off the undercarriage. Despite this mishap, the VGO.II was not damaged other than one broken strut! Within a few days repairs were completed and the crew flew the aircraft back to base.
  Sikorski's Ilya Mourometz is known as the first bomber with a tail turret. However, a trial was flown with a gunner in the tail of VGO.II. This ended badly; the fuselage was too flexible. As a result the tail oscillated badly and the gunner experienced severe air-sickness.
  Another trial was installation of a downward-firing 130 mm cannon. There was more than one desired result. First, it was expected that the high speed of the shell would result in more accuracy than just dropping bombs. Second, it was hoped that the cannon could penetrate the deck armor on British battleships. Unfortunately, test-firings from 800 meters above the surface resulted in a typical miss distance of 40-45 m, hardly the pin-point accuracy hoped for. At least recoil was demonstrated to be insignificant, the VGO.II absorbing it easily after its airframe was strengthened.
  As newer Staaken bombers were delivered, the VGO.II was retired from active service to become a training aircraft. In that role it gave good service until it crashed in the summer of 1917.



Staaken Specifications
Type V.G.O I (R.M.L.1) V.G.O I (5 Eng. Ver.) V.G.O. II
Engines 3x240 Hp Maybach HS 4x245 Hp Maybach Mb.IVa & 2 160 Hp Mercedes D.III OR 5x245 Hp Maybach Mb.IVa 3x240 Hp Maybach HS (or Mb.IV)
Span 42.2 m (138' 5 1/2") 42.2 m (138' 5 1/2") 42.2 m (138'5 1/2")
Chord (inner) - - 4.6 m (15' 1")
Chord (outer) - - 3.6 m (11' 10")
Length 24 m (78'9") 24 m (78'9") 23.78 m (78'0")
Height 6.6 m (21' 7 1/2”) 6.6 m (21'7 1/2") 6.8 m (22' 3 1/2")
Tail span - - 9 m (29' 6")
Wing Area 332 m2 (3,572 ft2) 320 m2 (3,443 ft2) 332 m2 (3,572 ft2)
Wt. Empty 6,520 kg (14,377 lb.) 7,450 kg (16,427 lb.) 6,637 kg (14,635 lb.)
Wt. Fuel - - 1,126 kg (2,483 lb.)
Wt. Payload - - 2,440 kg (5,380 lb.)
Wt. Loaded 9,520 kg (20,992 lb.) 11,485 kg (25,325 lb.) 10,203 kg (22,498 lb.)
Max Speed 110 km/h (68.4 mph) 130 km/h (80.8 mph) -
Climb 2,000 m 39 minutes - -
Ceiling 3,000 m 79 minutes 60 minutes -

J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
Staaken VGO.I after being rebuilt as the R.M.L.1
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
Staaken VGO.I in final configuration with partial Cellon covering.
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
Staaken VGO.II R.9/15
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
Staaken's first R-plane, the VGO.I in its original configuration; a Halberstadt B.I at right and the men give scale to the aircraft. The basic configuration, the wings, and the horizontal tail remained basically unchanged throughout the war. Note the four short fins and rudders. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
Staaken's first R-plane, the VGO.I. The overall configuration was conventional, if very large, for its time. The double interplane cables are faired without first being drawing together as they were on all later types. VGO engineers are standing in front of the aircraft; from left to right they are Hans Baumeister, Philipp Simon, and Foreman Hungs. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
Staaken's first R-plane, the VGO.I. The V.G.O. It normally operated on its nose landing gear but it also had a tail skid in case it needed one, as shown here. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
Staaken's first R-plane, the VGO.I in its original configuration; the men give scale to the aircraft. The basic configuration, the wings, and the horizontal tail remained basically unchanged throughout the war. The aft engine cowling panels are not yet fitted. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
Staaken's first R-plane, the VGO.I. The V.G.O. It normally operated on its nose landing gear but it also had a tail skid in case it needed one, as shown here. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
Staaken's first R-plane, the VGO.I under inspection by a group of men, probably VIPs. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
Staaken's first R-plane, the VGO.I. The 240 hp Maybach HS engines fitted were the most powerful aeroengines available in Germany at the time, but they were very unreliable and significantly hindered R-plane development. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
Staaken's first R-plane, the VGO.I. The tail configuration included four small fins and rudders. Here the wing-mounted engines are running without their aft cowlings, making the engines visible. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
Staaken's first R-plane, the VGO.I in the hangar in its original configuration without aft engine cowlings. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
Staaken's first R-plane, the VGO.I, in its initial configuration with four short fins and rudders and missing aft engine cowlings. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
Staaken's first R-plane, the VGO.I. The 240 hp Maybach HS engines fitted were the most powerful aeroengines available in Germany at the time, but they were very unreliable and significantly hindered R-plane development. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
Staaken's first R-plane, the VGO.I in its original configuration; the men give scale to the aircraft. The basic configuration, the wings, and the horizontal tail remained basically unchanged throughout the war. The aft engine cowling panels are not yet fitted. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
Staaken's first R-plane, the VGO.I, on its maiden flight on April 11, 1915. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
Staaken's first R-plane, the VGO.I photographed in flight from another aircraft. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The V.G.O. I being modified in the factory. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
G.Haddow, P.Grosz - The German Giants /Putnam/
The VGO.I in the autumn of 1915 after the engine nacelles were modified and the four short rudders and fins replaced by two tall fins and rudders. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.I in the autumn of 1915 after the engine nacelles were modified and the four short fins and rudders replaced by two tall fins and rudders. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.I in the autumn of 1915 after the engine nacelles were modified and the four short rudders and fins replaced by two tall fins and rudders. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.I in the autumn of 1915 after the engine nacelles were modified and the four short fins and rudders replaced by two tall fins and rudders. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.I in the autumn of 1915 after the engine nacelles were modified and the four short fins and rudders replaced by two tall fins and rudders. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.I in the autumn of 1915 after the engine nacelles were modified and the four short fins and rudders replaced by two tall fins and rudders. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The V.G.O.I after modifications. There are now two tall fins and rudders. An Albatros B.II is in left foreground. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.I in the autumn of 1915 after the engine nacelles were modified and the four short fins and rudders were replaced by two taller fins and rudders. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.I in the autumn of 1915 after the engine nacelles were modified and the four short fins and rudders were replaced by two taller fins and rudders. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.I in the autumn of 1915 after the engine nacelles were modified and the four short fins and rudders were replaced by two taller fins and rudders. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The V.G.O.I after modifications. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.I after it crashed in the Thuringen Forest on 15 December 1915. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.I after it crashed in the Thuringen Forest on 15 December 1915. The crash severely damaged the aircraft but there were no injuries to the crew. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.I after it crashed in the Thuringen Forest on 15 December 1915. The crash was caused by failure of two engines after their oil lines failed during a severe snowstorm. Unable to maintain altitude on one engine, pilots Hans Vollmoller and Flugmaat Willy Mann skillfully landed in a small forest clearing with no injuries to the crew. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.I after it crashed in the Thuringen Forest. Here it is being dismantled to move the parts back to the factory to rebuild the aircraft. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.I was rebuilt after it crashed in the Thuringen Forest. It included some modifications that had already be applied to the VGO.II, which had been completed by this time. The rebuilt VGO.I was assigned to the Navy as the R.M.L.1 (Reichs Marine Landflugzeug 1 = Reich Navy Landplane 1).The designation was painted on both sides of the fuselage in large characters. The rebuilt VGO.I now featured flexible machine gun positions in the forward part of the rebuilt engine nacelles. A large gravity fuel tank was added to the underside of the upper wing and became a feature of later Zeppelin-Staaken designs. The fins were enlarged and the rudders were aerodynamically balanced. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.I after being rebuilt as the R.M.L.1. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.I/R.M.L.1 on an airfield. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.I after being rebuilt as the R.M.L.1. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.II (R.9/15) at right and the R.M.L.1 on the airfield together.The location is probably Alt-Auz on the Eastern Front. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
O.Thetford, P.Gray - German Aircraft of the First World War /Putnam/
V.G.O. I. Attendant personnel lend scale showing how collossal these machines really were.
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.I after being rebuilt as the R.M.L.1. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The RML.I as used on operations over the Eastern Front.
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.I after its final rebuild with two 245 hp Maybach Mb.IVa engines in each wing nacelle. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.I/R.M.L.1 has experienced a taxi accident. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.I/R.M.L.1 after the nose gear collapsed at Schneidemuhl on the journey to Alt-Auz, June 1916. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
Mishap with the rebuilt VGO.I (RML.I), during the take-off at Schneidemuhl for the journey to Alt-Auz, June 1916
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
A further mishap to the RML.I en route to the Front. Undercarriage failure on the airfield at Konigsberg.
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.I/R.M.L.1 suffered a landing gear collapse at Konigsberg enroute to the front. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.I/R.M.L.1 suffered a landing gear collapse at Konigsberg enroute to the front. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.I/R.M.L.1 suffered a landing gear collapse at Konigsberg enroute to the front. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
Temporary shelter being erected over the VGO.I/R.M.L.1 while under repair at Konigsberg. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
VGO.I/R.M.L.1 under repair in the temporary shelter at Konigsberg. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The land-based Riesenflugzeug (Giant Aeroplane) was evaluated as a possible addition to the naval airship for bombing and longrange scouting purposes. However, experience with RMLl (Reichs Navy Landplane 1) was plagued with difficulties. Engine troubles and structural failures of undercarriage assemblies were eventually overcome and the aircraft participated in some bombing operations on the Eastern Front, until, on a fully loaded night take-off late in August 1916, a double engine failure resulted in this crash into a Russian forest.
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The crash of the R.M.L.1 into a pine forest. The R.M.L.1 had just taken off at night with a full load of fuel and bombs when, at 50 meters altitude, two engines "exploded". The pilots Kuring and Mann guided the plane into the pine forest where it sheared off 69 trees, cushioning the crash and preventing fire. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The crash of the R.M.L.1 into a pine forest. The fuselage was salvaged and sent back to Staaken where it was again rebuilt, with new wings and engines. The three unreliable HS engines were replaced with five new 245 hp Maybach Mb.IVa engines, one in the nose and two in each nacelle. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
G.Haddow, P.Grosz - The German Giants /Putnam/
Crash of the RML.I in the forest near Alt-Auz on 28 August 1916.
G.Haddow, P.Grosz - The German Giants /Putnam/
Earlier we left RML1 in a Russian forest... The machine was completely rebuilt and was modified to take an additional two engines. At this time a transparent Cellon covering to reduce the effect of searchlight illumination was under consideration and the fuselage and tail unit were covered with this material. On the first test flight on 10 March 1917, at Staaken aerodrome near Berlin, engine failure resulted in an asymmetric flight condition, which was compounded by a control system malfunction. The pilots could not prevent the machine from crashing into the corner of one of the airship sheds.
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
View of the final crash of the final version of the VGO I at Staaken on March 10, 1917. This was the maiden flight of the final rebuild of the aircraft. The take-off went smoothly but as the aircraft was circling the field, an explosion was heard from the left nacelle and the left propeller stopped. The pilots corrected with hard right rudder and the VGO I responded by flying in a straight line to enable it to land parallel to the airship sheds. While familiarizing himself with the controls three days earlier, Kuring, the usual second pilot, had discovered and reported that the rudder controls were networking normally. In a hard-over position the rudder pedals jammed and could not be returned to the neutral position for landing. This problem had not been repaired and the crew's pre-flight inspection had not been thorough enough to rediscover it. As Vollmoller reduced power to land, the rudder remained jammed in the hard-right position and the plane started to turn right. Kuring immediately unfastened his safety belt and crept under the instrument panel to pull the rudder pedals over from their jammed position. He was not able to do this in time and the VGO I smashed head-on into the door of the airship shed. First pilot Hans Vollmoller was killed instantly and acting second pilot Gustav Klein died after a few hours. Kuring was thrown out by the impact and suffered severe head injuries. However, eventually he was able to rejoin his unit, Marine Jasta 2, and enjoyed a long aeronautical career. However, the VGO I was a total loss and was not rebuilt. When the VGO I was rebuilt for the final time, the new fuselage and tail were covered in transparent Cellon in an early attempt to make the airplane partly invisible and this is seen in the crash photos on these pages. A top secret report showing with pictures that Cellon covering greatly reduced visibility of aircraft in the air but the fragility and water absorption of Cellon covering make it unusable in operational conditions. The Unsichtbare Flugzeug (Low Visibility Aircraft) program for giant bombers was discontinued after tests. The Linke-Hofmann R.I 8/15 was also tested with extensive Cellon covering as part of this program. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
View of the final crash of the final version of the VGO I at Staaken on March 10, 1917. This was the maiden flight of the final rebuild of the aircraft. The take-off went smoothly but as the aircraft was circling the field, an explosion was heard from the left nacelle and the left propeller stopped. The pilots corrected with hard right rudder and the VGO I responded by flying in a straight line to enable it to land parallel to the airship sheds. While familiarizing himself with the controls three days earlier, Kuring, the usual second pilot, had discovered and reported that the rudder controls were networking normally. In a hard-over position the rudder pedals jammed and could not be returned to the neutral position for landing. This problem had not been repaired and the crew's pre-flight inspection had not been thorough enough to rediscover it. As Vollmoller reduced power to land, the rudder remained jammed in the hard-right position and the plane started to turn right. Kuring immediately unfastened his safety belt and crept under the instrument panel to pull the rudder pedals over from their jammed position. He was not able to do this in time and the VGO I smashed head-on into the door of the airship shed. First pilot Hans Vollmoller was killed instantly and acting second pilot Gustav Klein died after a few hours. Kuring was thrown out by the impact and suffered severe head injuries. However, eventually he was able to rejoin his unit, Marine Jasta 2, and enjoyed a long aeronautical career. However, the VGO I was a total loss and was not rebuilt. When the VGO I was rebuilt for the final time, the new fuselage and tail were covered in transparent Cellon in an early attempt to make the airplane partly invisible and this is seen in the crash photos on these pages. A top secret report showing with pictures that Cellon covering greatly reduced visibility of aircraft in the air but the fragility and water absorption of Cellon covering make it unusable in operational conditions. The Unsichtbare Flugzeug (Low Visibility Aircraft) program for giant bombers was discontinued after tests. The Linke-Hofmann R.I 8/15 was also tested with extensive Cellon covering as part of this program. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.II (R.9/15) probably taken at Dobertiz prior to its service on the Eastern Front. (Peter M. Grosz collection/ STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.II (R.9/15) probably taken at Dobertiz prior to its service on the Eastern Front.. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.II (R.9/15) in service in the snow. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.II being admired by VIPs. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.II (R.9/15) on its airfield after modification with fixed fin. The cabin has also been modified. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.II (R.9/15) on its airfield after modification with fixed fin. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.II (R.9/15) in service on the Eastern Front. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.II on the Adlershof airfield. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.II (R.9/15) in service on the Eastern Front. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
VGO.II at the factory. The fixed fin is not visible which indicates the aircraft is in its original as-built condition. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
VGO.II in flight at the factory, perhaps after takeoff. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The massive VGO.II (R.9/15) in flight. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The massive VGO.II in flight illustrates the basic configuration of the Zeppelin-Staaken R-planes. Compared to the VGO.I, the VGO.II had a modified tail; the rudders were enlarged and reduced to two instead of four, and a large fixed fin was added to improve stability. The engine nacelles were in final form with provision for flexible guns. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The massive VGO.II (R.9/15) in flight November 5, 1915. (Peter M.Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.II (R.9/15) in flight in its original configuration without fixed fin. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.II (R.9/15) in flight photographed from the ground. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.II (R.9/15) in flight with a cemetery in the foreground. Perhaps the composition of the photograph represented the photographer’s opinion of aviators' fate. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The starboard engine nacelle of the VGO.II with its Maybach HS. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.II (R.9/15) in flight photographed from its cockpit. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The port outer wing photographed from the cockpit in flight. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
In-flight photo taken from the left nacelle of the VGO.II. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.II (R.9/15) photographed from its cockpit while in flight. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.II (R.9/15) after cabin modification in flight photographed from the port nacelle. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.II (R.9/15) under construction at the factory. The fixed fin was not present at this stage. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The cockpit and nose of the VGO.II being built. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.II (R.9/15) under construction at the factory. The fixed fin was not present at this stage. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.II undergoing maintenance after an accident involving landing gear failure.
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.II (R.9/15) after a landing accident at Paulsgnade in late 1916. Fuel exhaustion due to a strong headwind returning from a bombing mission forced the plane down at a fighter field and it rolled into a ditch at the end of the runway. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
The VGO.II (R.9/15) after a landing accident at Paulsgnade near Mitau in late 1916. Fuel exhaustion due to a strong headwind returning from a bombing mission forced the plane down at a fighter field and it rolled into a ditch at the end of the runway. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
VGO.II under repair at Paulsgnade after its accident. Repairs took only a few days. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
Assigned the military serial number R.9/15, here is the VGO.II after its last landing in the summer of 1917. It was assigned as a trainer at the Rea in Doberitz on January 1, 1917. The records do not indicate any fatalities and the photo shows the aircraft did not catch fire when it crashed, so there were no known casualties. Note the raised tail surfaces. (Peter M. Grosz collection/STDB)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
G.Haddow, P.Grosz - The German Giants /Putnam/
Forward engine arrangement or the VGO.I and VGO.II.
J.Herris - Zeppelin-Staaken Aircraft of WW1. Vol 1: VGO.1 - R.IV R.29/16 /Centennial Perspective/ (47)
Official drawing shows installation of 105 mm. cannon, the gun actually mounted in the VGO.II was of 130 mm. calibre.
G.Haddow, P.Grosz - The German Giants /Putnam/
V.G.O.I