Roland D.II
| LFG Roland D.II "Shark" | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Roland D.II "Haifisch" of Jasta 25, Canatlarzi airfield in Macedonia 1917 |
|
| Type: | Fighter plane |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: |
Luftfahrzeug-Gesellschaft mbH (Roland) in Charlottenburg |
| First flight: |
October 1916 |
| Commissioning: |
Early 1917 |
| Production time: |
Autumn 1916 |
| Number of pieces: |
about 300 |
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The Roland D.II was a German fighter aircraft in the First World War .
Development and production
The D.II was the further development of the engineers Tantzen and Hoffmann of the Luftfahrzeug-Gesellschaft mbH (Roland) in the city of Charlottenburg designed by Roland DI . Because of their aerodynamic shape, these fighter planes were given the name Haifisch .
The first flight of the Roland D.II took place in October 1916.
The planes were using
delivered.
Since the LFG production facility in Adlershof had been destroyed by fire, the Pfalz Flugzeugwerke in Speyer were used , which took over the production under license under the direction of the designer Roever. After resuming production in Charlottenburg, Roland and his licensed manufacturer produced around 300 aircraft for the German air force .
commitment
The more armed and motorized Roland D.II was a step up from the DI, which was only equipped with a MG, but was overshadowed by the successful Albatros fighter aircraft, which is why it was used on less contested areas on the Western Front as well as on the Eastern Front and in Macedonia . Since the machine guns were built into the front of the fuselage, the pilot had difficulty removing jams in battle. Due to the poor forward / downward visibility and the difficult control, the aircraft was not very popular with the pilots.
In addition to the Royal Bulgarian Air Force, the following German air force units deployed Roland D.II / D.IIa:
- Jasta 15
- Jasta 25
- Jasta 27
- Jasta 31
- Jasta 32
- Fl. Dept. 21
- Fl. Dept. 220
- FEA 9
Further development
For the Imperial Navy , LFG converted a Roland D.II with double floats into a seaplane, which made its first flight on June 29, 1917 under the name LFG Roland WD .
The successor to the D.II and the last version of the "Haifisch" series was the LFG Roland D.III .
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Roland D.II | Roland D.IIa | Roland WD |
|---|---|---|---|
| number of pieces | 50 (LFG) + 100 (Palatinate) | 50 (LFG) + 100 (Palatinate) | 1 |
| crew | 1 | ||
| length | 6.93 m | 9.90 m | |
| span | 8.94 m | 10.10 m | |
| Wingspan (lower wing) | 8.50 m | ||
| height | 3.11 m | 2.95 m | 3.20 m |
| Wing area | 22.8 m² | 22.0 m² | 29.9 m² |
| Empty mass | 715 kg | 635 kg | |
| Takeoff mass | 925 kg | 868 kg | 1148 kg |
| water-cooled six - cylinder in - line engine | Mercedes D III ; 160 PS (118 kW) | Argus As.III; 180 hp (132 kW) | Mercedes D.III; 160 PS (118 kW) |
| Top speed | 169 km / h | 181 km / h | 118 km / h |
| Ascent time to 3000 m | 14 min | ||
| Climbing time to 4000 m | 23 min | ||
| Ascent time to 5000 m | 27 min | 20 min | |
| Service ceiling | 5200 m | 5800 m | |
| Range | 300 km | ||
| Flight duration | |||
| Armament | two MG 08/15 | two MG | |
The Roland D.II in a performance comparison (around spring 1917)
| Surname | Engine power | Top speed | Takeoff mass | Number of MG | Summit height |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roland D.II | 160 hp | 169 km / h | 925 kg | 2 | 5200 m |
| Roland D.IIa | 180 hp | 181 km / h | 845 kg | 2 | 5800 m |
| Roland DI | 160 hp | 165 km / h | 932 kg | 1 | 5000 m |
| Sopwith Pup | 100 hp | 171 km / h | 556 kg | 1 | 5600 m |
| Nieuport 17 | 110 hp | 164 km / h | 560 kg | 1 | 5350 m |
| SPAD S.VII | 180 hp | 180 km / h | 755 kg | 1 | 5485 m |
| Albatros D.III | 160 hp | 165 km / h | 888 kg | 2 | 5500 m |
See also
literature
- Peter L. Gray, Owen Thetford: German Aircraft of the First World War . Putnam, London 1962, (3rd Edition, reprinted: ibid 1987, ISBN 0-85177-809-7 ).
- Peter M Grosz: LFG Roland D.II. Albatros Productions Ltd., Hertfordshire 1994, ISBN 0-948414-62-6 , ( Windsock Datafile 47).
- Günter Kroschel, Helmut Stützer: The German military aircraft 1910–1918 . Lohse-Eissing, Wilhelmshaven 1977, ISBN 3-920602-18-8 .
- Lamberton / Cheesman / Russell: Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-1918 . War Harleyford Publ. Ltd., Letchworth 1964, page 150/151, ISBN 0-8306-8350-X
- Kenneth Munson: Warplanes 1914-1919 . Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich 1968, p. 116
- Herbert Ringlstetter: Toothless Shark. LFG Roland DI-III. In: Flugzeug Classic 1/2018, pp. 38–43
Web links
- Color profiles , accessed February 16, 2013
- Description , accessed on February 16, 2013
Individual evidence
- ↑ AERO issue 101, p. 2826
- ↑ cf. Günter Kroschel, Helmut Stützer: The German military aircraft 1910–1918 . Lohse-Eissing, Wilhelmshaven 1977, ISBN 3-920602-18-8 , p. 139
- ↑ Data sheet ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ). At www.luftfahrtmuseum.com. Accessed February 16, 2013.
- ↑ cf. Roland D.II at www.century-of-flight.net (English). Accessed February 16, 2013.