Rohrbach Ro VIII

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Rohrbach Ro VIII Roland
Rohrbach R-VIII Roland (1927) (6398972383) .jpg
Ro VIII of Iberia
Type: Airliner
Design country:

German EmpireGerman Empire German Empire

Manufacturer:

Rohrbach metal aircraft construction

First flight:

September 5, 1926

Number of pieces:

18th

The Rohrbach Ro VIII Roland was a three-engine airliner made by the Berlin manufacturer Rohrbach Metallflugzeugbau . The air Hansa began the designed for ten passengers model in the 1920s and 1930s at numerous international routes.

history

After Adolf Rohrbach left the Berlin Zeppelin factory, he founded his own company in 1922 and shortly afterwards began developing a three-engine passenger aircraft. One of the designers was Kurt Tank . The first flight of the Ro VIII took place on September 5, 1926.

The all-metal aircraft was designed as a cantilever high-wing aircraft. The hull was largely made of duralumin . The drive of the prototype served three BMW IV - six-cylinder - inline engines each with 169 kW. The Roland was equipped with a toilet for the first time and, with its heatable, soundproofed cabin, offered a high level of comfort for the time. In the rear of the aircraft there was a compartment for luggage and mail.

In order to meet the requirements of Luft Hansa, some improvements had to be made to the series version. The two-seater cockpit, which was initially open, was given a cover to reduce air resistance. Due to the low temperatures when flying over the Alps, it was decided to use a closed cockpit for the Roland II.

By Roland I production version called arisen 1926-1927 five copies, which were delivered to Luft Hansa and then between Berlin and London or Amsterdam wrong. In 1927 and 1928, three of these aircraft were owned by the Spanish airline Iberia , which operated them between Madrid and Barcelona .

As a replacement, Luft Hansa received three improved machines. With their 235 kW BMW Va engines, the speed rose to over 200 km / h. The older machines were later converted to this drive.

In 1929 the Roland II appeared , nine of which were sold to Luft Hansa. They had improved wings and a new cockpit. The drive remained unchanged. In the following years they operated the routes to London, Zurich , Copenhagen and Vienna . Three of these machines became the property of Deruluft in the 1930s . A few copies later received Junkers L-5 engines.

A machine (D 991, WNr. 18, "Zugspitze") was converted into a military version in the summer of 1928 as a so-called "emergency armor type". This version was called "Roland Mb" or "Military Roland".

Technical data (Roland I)

Three-sided tear
Parameter Data
crew 2
Passengers 10
length 16.30 m
span 26.00 m
height 4.50 m
Top speed 195 km / h
Service ceiling 4,300 m
Range 875 km
Engines three BMW IV six-cylinder in-line engines with 169 kW each

See also

Web links

Commons : Rohrbach Ro VIII Roland  - Collection of images, videos and audio files