Roland D.VI

LFG (Roland) D.VI
Type:	single-engine biplane fighter
Design country:	German Empire
Manufacturer:	Luftfahrzeug-Gesellschaft mbH
First flight:	November 1917
Number of pieces:	353

The LFG (Roland) D.VI was a fighter aircraft of the German air force during the First World War .

development

The Dipl.-Ing. Tantzen at the Luftfahrzeug-Gesellschaft mbH designed prototype of the Roland D.VI had the typical LFG wrapped hull , in which conical, wedge-shaped wooden strips in clinker construction were joined together like a boat hull. This hull with its great strength had already proven itself with the C.II as with the D.II. Under the fuselage was a small keel to which the lower wings were attached. The machine was powered by a 160 hp Mercedes D III in-line engine. The prototype, by the way the 1,000. Aircraft manufactured by LFG, flew for the first time in November 1917. There was no series production, but two pre-series aircraft - D.VIa and D.VIb, one with the Mercedes D III, the other with the Benz Bz III (150 hp) in January / February 1918 subjected to intensive tests by experienced front-line pilots at the "comparative flying" , a fighter aircraft competition in Berlin Adlershof / Johannisthal. The Roland-Jäger clearly remained in the shadow of the successful Fokker D.VII , but the LFG received a small order, because in the event of delivery problems at Fokker they did not want to rely on just one manufacturer. In May / June the D.VI was also sent to Adlershof for the second aircraft competition, but could not prevail against the stronger competitors.

A total of 353 machines were produced; in addition to the three prototypes 150 D.VIa with 180 hp Mercedes D.III engines and 200 D.VIb, the latter with 200 hp Benz engines, which were delivered from May. Both types were also supplied to the Navy to secure their bases against enemy bombers.

commitment

Pilot in a Roland D.VIa, serial number 5023/18

The LFG Roland D.VI has proven itself in use. Her spacious cockpit offered a good view in all directions, the aircraft responded sensitively to the controls and climbed impressively fast: 4,500 m were reached in 25 minutes, and the machine was still very fast at this altitude at 160 km / h. However, the favorable short take-off properties were offset by difficult landing behavior, mainly due to the too narrow chassis. In addition, the Benz engine tended to overheat when exposed to the appropriate loads.

On August 31, 1918, around 70 D.VI were deployed at the front. In the front-line units, however, the pilots preferred the Fokker D.VII and the Pfalz D.XII .

Performance comparison

Performance comparison of single-seaters in the front line at the end of the First World War :

Surname	Country	First flight	Commissioning	Engine power	Max. speed	Takeoff mass	Armament ( MG )	Summit height	number of pieces
Albatros D.III	German Empire	1916-08-01	1917-01-15	170 hp	165 km / h	886 kg	2	5,500 m	1352
SE5a	United Kingdom	1916-11-22	1917-03-15	200 hp	222 km / h	880 kg	2	5,185 m	5205
Sopwith Camel	United Kingdom	1916-12-31	1917-06-15	130 hp	185 km / h	659 kg	2	5,791 m	5490
Sopwith Dolphin	United Kingdom	1917-03-23	1918-02-15	200 hp	211 km / h	890 kg	2	6,100 m	2072
Albatros D.Va	German Empire	1917-04-15	1917-07-15	185 hp	187 km / h	937 kg	2	6,250 m	2562
Palatinate D.IIIa	German Empire	1917-04-15	1917-08-15	180 hp	181 km / h	834 kg	2	6,000 m	750
SPAD S.XIII	France	1917-04-30	1917-05-31	220 hp	222 km / h	820 kg	2	6,650 m	8472
Nieuport 28	France	1917-06-14	1918-03-15	160 hp	195 km / h	740 kg	2	5,200 m	300
Fokker Dr.I	German Empire	1917-07-05	1917-09-01	130 hp	160 km / h	585 kg	2	6,500 m	420
Sopwith Snipe	United Kingdom	1917-10-31	1918-08-30	230 hp	195 km / h	955 kg	2	6,100 m	497
LFG Roland D.VIa	German Empire	1917-11-30	1918-05-15	160 hp	190 km / h	820 kg	2	5,500 m	353
Siemens-Schuckert D.IV	German Empire	1917-12-31	1918-08-15	160 hp	190 km / h	735 kg	2	8,000 m	123
Fokker D.VII	German Empire	1918-01-24	1918-04-15	180 hp	189 km / h	910 kg	2	6,000 m	800
Fokker D.VIIF	German Empire	1918-01-24	1918-04-15	226 hp	205 km / h	910 kg	2	7,000 m	200
Palatinate D.VIII	German Empire	1918-01-24	1918-09-15	160 hp	190 km / h	740 kg	2	7,500 m	120
Palatinate D.XII	German Empire	1918-03-31	1918-07-15	160 hp	180 km / h	902 kg	2	5,640 m	750
Fokker D.VIII	German Empire	1918-05-31	1918-07-31	110 hp	204 km / h	605 kg	2	6,300 m	289

Whereabouts

After the end of the war, 13 machines were sent to the USA for testing.

The world's only surviving LFG (Roland) D.VI is exhibited in the Polish Aviation Museum in Krakow . The copy with the work number 2225/18 comes from the former German Aviation Collection in Berlin and ended up in Polish hands during the turmoil at the end of the Second World War. The return of the aircraft (only the fuselage is preserved) is still controversial between Germany and Poland.

Technical specifications

Three-sided view

Parameter	D.VIa	D.VIb
Construction year	1917	1918
Intended use	Fighter plane
crew	1
span	9.42 m
length	6.32 m
height	2.60 m
Wing area	22.17 m²
Empty mass	640 kg
Takeoff mass	820 kg
drive	water-cooled in- line engine
Type	Mercedes D.III, 160 PS (also 180 PS)	Benz Bz.IIIa , 150 PS (also 200 PS)
Range	380 km	400 km
Flight duration		2 h
Top speed	190 km / h in NN	220 km / h in NN
Climbing time to 1000 m		3:41 min
Ascent time to 3,000 m		11:49 min (9 min)
Ascent time to 5000 m	25 min	19 min
Service ceiling	5500 m	5790 m
Armament	2 MG

See also

• List of aircraft types

literature

• Enzo Angelucci, Paolo Matricardi: The planes. From the beginning to the First World War . Falken-Verlag, Wiesbaden 1976, ISBN 3-8068-0391-9 , ( Falken manual in color ).
• 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 ).
• William Green, Gordon Swanborough: The Complete Book of Fighters. An illustrated Encyclopedia of every Fighter Aircraft built and flown . Smithmark, New York NY 1994, ISBN 0-8317-3939-8 .
• Günter Kroschel, Helmut Stützer: The German military aircraft 1910–1918 . Lohse-Eissing, Wilhelmshaven 1977, ISBN 3-920602-18-8 .
• Kenneth Munson: Warplanes. Fighter and training aircraft. 1914-1919 . Orell Füssli, Zurich 1968, ( Airplanes of the World ), No. 21.
• Heinz Nowarra: The Development of Airplanes 1914–1918 . Lehmanns, Munich 1959.
• Ray Rimell: Pfalz D.XV . In: Windsock international 3, 1987, No. 3, ISSN  0268-6422 .

Web links

Commons : LFG Roland D.VI  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Color profile of a D.VIa
• Color profile of a D.VIa
• Test report Roland D.VIb with 200 hp Benz (PDF file; 46 kB)
• Description and color profile
• Description and photo (Russian)

Individual references / comments

1. ↑ cf. Test report from a D.VIa at http://www.internetmodeler.com/references/roland_dvib.pdf
2. ↑ Information in the literature varies greatly from one another, probably due to different engine variants
3. ^ German Aviation: Fighters 1918 ( Memento of August 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive )