Siemens-Schuckert R.I

The Siemens-Schuckert R.I was a bomber aircraft built in Germany during World War I.^[4][5] It was originally ordered as the Siemens-Schuckert G.I prior to the German Inspectorate of Flying Troops (the Idflieg) adopting the "R" classification for multi-engine aircraft in late 1915.^[6] Some sources refer to the aircraft as the Siemens-Schuckert Steffen R.I, including the name of the brothers that designed it.^[1]

The R.I was a large three-bay biplane with unstaggered wings of unequal span^[7] and a fully enclosed cabin. Power was supplied by three 112-kW (150-hp) Benz Bz.III engines mounted internally in the fuselage, which transmitted their power via driveshafts to two propellers mounted tractor-fashion on the interplane struts nearest the fuselage.^[8] The main undercarriage consisted of divided units, each of which carried dual wheels, and the tail was supported by a pair of tailwheels.^[2] The rear fuselage structure was forked into an upper and lower section, which allowed a clear field of fire to the rear of the aircraft.^[1] The entire structure was of wire-braced wood, covered in fabric.^[2]

Designers Bruno and Franz Steffen piloted the aircraft themselves on its first test flight on 24 May 1915.^[2] They ended this flight prematurely because of overheating in the gearboxes,^[2] and subsequent tests revealed other defects such as excessive vibration in the drive system.^[9] With these problems addressed, the R.I was ready for its Idflieg acceptance flights in June 1915.^[9] Bruno Steffen ferried the three-person inspection team, plus a number of passengers, from Neumünster to Döberitz.^[9] He had even placed two armchairs and a bottle of champagne in the cabin for the occasion.^[9] The R.I reached Döberitz safely and made around twenty-four test flights before it was accepted by the military on 26 July 1915.^[6]

On 13 October 1915, the R.I was assigned to Feldfliegerabteil 31, a reconnaissance unit, at Slonim.^[6] However, a series of mishaps and malfunctions prevented it from seeing any operational use and the R.I was dismantled and sent back to Berlin by rail in March 1916.^[6] Although damaged in transit, the R.I was repaired and was assigned to the Riesenflugzeugersatzabteilung (Rea — "giant aircraft support unit") as a trainer from mid 1916 to 1918 — possibly even to the Armistice.^[10]

Parts of the R.I were preserved in a Berlin museum until destroyed by bombing during World War II.^[3] Despite the difficulties encountered with the design, the Idflieg was sufficiently impressed with the R.I to order a batch of six similar aircraft on 26 June 1915, to be powered with the more powerful Maybach HS engine in place of the Benz B.III used by the R.I.^[11] Although the six were originally intended to be identical, each developed in a different direction and were eventually designated as different aircraft types by the Idflieg — R.II, R.III, R.IV, R.V, R.VI, R.VII.^[12]

Variants

Siemens-Schuckert R.I

Siemens-Schuckert R.II

Siemens-Schuckert R.III

Siemens-Schuckert R.IV

Siemens-Schuckert R.V

Siemens-Schuckert R.VI

Siemens-Schuckert R.VII

Specifications

Data from Kroschel & Stützer 1994, p.133

General characteristics

• Crew: 4
• Length: 17.5 m (57 ft 5 in)
• Wingspan: 28 m (91 ft 11 in)
• Height: 5.2 m (17 ft 1 in)
• Wing area: 138 m² (1,490 ft²)
• Empty weight: 4,000 kg (8,800 lb)
• Gross weight: 5,200 kg (11,440 lb)
• Powerplant: 3 × Benz Bz.III, 112 kW (150 hp) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 110 km/h (69 mph)
• Range: 520 km (325 miles)
• Service ceiling: 3,700 m (12,100 ft)

Armament

• 1 × 7.9-mm machine gun
• 500 kg (1,100 lb) of bombs.

Notes

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Siemens-Schuckert aircraft.

• Gray, Peter; Owen Thetford (1962). German Aircraft of the First World War. London: Putnam. 
• Haddow, G.W.; Peter M. Grosz (1962). The German Giants: The Story of the R-planes 1914–1919. London: Putnam. 
• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing. 
• Kroschel, Günter; Helmut Stützer (1994). Die Deutschen Militärflugzeuge 1910–1918. Herford: Mittler. 
• Taylor, Michael J.H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. 
• Wagner, Ray; Nowarra, Heinz (1971). German Combat Planes: A Comprehensive Survey and History of the Development of German Military Aircraft from 1914 to 1945. New York City: Doubleday.