AEG RI
| AEG RI | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Long range bombers |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
June 14, 1918 |
| Commissioning: |
1918 |
| Number of pieces: |
1 |
.svg){kind=small}
The AEG RI was a super-heavy long-range bomber used by the German air force during the First World War .
development
Since the attacks with military airships were reduced and finally stopped due to heavy losses , giant aircraft on an even larger scale should be used than before. The company AEG , like the companies DFW , Junkers , Krupp-Germania, Linke Hofmann , Mercur, Union, Schütte-Lanz, Siemens-Schuckert and Zeppelin (Staaken) , therefore tried to design giant long-range aircraft with a long range and heavy bomb load for strategic bombing.
The RI was a four-engine, three-stemmed biplane. All four engines were installed inside the fuselage for better maintenance and repair during the long mission flight and were thus accessible to the on-board mechanics. The power transmission to the propellers took place via a drive shaft gear, on which all four motors acted equally. The first prototype was successfully tested on June 14, 1918, and the machine proved to be quite maneuverable. Seven aircraft were therefore ordered. During a test flight on September 3, 1918, a propeller disintegrated, the glue of which had not yet hardened. The resulting imbalance caused extreme vibration on the shaft gear. This covered all four engines and was transferred back to the propellers, which came loose from the bearings. A central support strut was shattered. The plane broke and all seven crew members were killed.
Of the other six ordered AEG RI (R.21, 22, 59, 60, 61 and R.62) only the R.21 was completed by the end of the war; R.22 was under construction.
commitment
The AEG giant aircraft were no longer used.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | AEG RI |
|---|---|
| Construction year | 1918 |
| Intended use | bomber |
| crew | 7th |
| length | 19.50 m |
| span | 36.00 m |
| height | 6.35 m |
| Wing area | 260.0 m² |
| Empty mass | 9,000 kg |
| Takeoff mass | 12,700 kg |
| 4 water-cooled in- line engines | Mercedes D IVa with 260 hp each |
| Armament | 5 MG, 2000 kg bombs |
See also
literature
- Günter Kroschel, Helmut Stützer: The German military aircraft 1910–1918 . Lohse-Eissing, Wilhelmshaven 1977, ISBN 3-920602-18-8 .
- Heinz Nowarra: The Development of Airplanes 1914–1918 . Lehmanns, Munich 1959.
Individual references / comments
- ↑ cf. English Wikipedia
- ↑ different information from Nowarra, Heinz: The development of the aircraft 1914-18 , Munich 1959 and Kroschel, Günter; Stützer, Helmut: The German military aircraft 1910-18 , Wilhelmshaven 1977. The more recent information from Kroschel / Stützer was used
.svg){kind=small}