The DFW R.II was a German
bomber
A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...
aircraft of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. It was developed at a request by the ''
Luftstreitkräfte
The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Force)—known before October 1916 as (Flyer Troops)—was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-language sources it is usually referred to as the Imperial German Air Service, alt ...
'' in spring 1917 after their experience with the
R.I had been generally positive, but only two were ever built despite six being ordered.
Design and development
The service desired a generally similar aircraft to the R.1 but needed greater payload - - than the 2600 kg of the R.I). This meant the design had to be considerably revised. The same arrangement of four
inline engines mounted in the fuselage, driving two tractor propellers and two pusher propellers via long driveshaft was used.
When the R.II first flew in August 1918, the driveshafts proved troublesome, creating excessive vibration. As a remedy, they were enclosed within steel tubes, which fixed the problem. The aircraft also was able to benefit from the newly-available
Mercedes D.IVa
The Mercedes D.IVa was a German six-cylinder, water-cooled, inline engine developed in 1917 for use in aircraft and built by ''Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft'' (DMG).Gunston 1989, p.101.
Design and development
The D.IVa replaced the failed Merc ...
engine that had replaced the troublesome
D.IV in production.
Transmission trouble with the shafts, geared up to 3000 rpm, was reported by pilots until improved versions cases and bearings were fitted to the planes. Reduction gears further lowered the propeller rpm to 900.
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Operational history
Of the six ordered by the Luftstreitkräfte
The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Force)—known before October 1916 as (Flyer Troops)—was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-language sources it is usually referred to as the Imperial German Air Service, alt ...
, only two were completed before the end of the war,Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
on training duties only when their performance proved inadequate for front-line duties. Following the war, DFW planned an airliner
An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ...
version of the R.II, which would have carried 24 passengers. Construction of a prototype was abandoned before it was complete.
Specifications
See also
Notes
References
*
* ''The German Giants, The Story of the R-planes 1914-1919'', G.W. Haddow & Peter M. Grosz, Putnam & Company Limited, 42 Great Russell Street, London, First Published July 1962
*
The German D.F.W. Commercial Four-Engined Biplane
''Flight'' 25 September 1919, vol. XI, no. 39, pp. 1274–78.
{{Idflieg R-class designations
R.II
1910s German bomber aircraft
Four-engined push-pull aircraft
Mid-engined aircraft
Biplanes
Aircraft first flown in 1918