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Daimler R.I / R.II

Страна: Германия

Год: 1915

Court - Taube - 1913 - Германия<– –>Daimler - G.I / G.II - 1916 - Германия


G.Haddow, P.Grosz The German Giants (Putnam)


Daimler R.I and R.II

   In the summer of 1915 the Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft A.G., manufacturers of the famous Mercedes engine, formed an aircraft construction division with hangars located at the airfield in Sindelfingen. In August they began construction of a four-engined bomber that was almost identical to the Union G.T. Daimler, having made the decision to begin aircraft production, had chosen the Union-design as its first product.
   The Daimler R.I, as the Union-design was now called, was constructed under the direction of Baurat Rittberger and Ing. Karl Schopper (both formerly with Union) at the rather primitive and make-shift facilities at Sindelfingen. Most of the R.I and R.II parts were built by the Stuttgart firm of Schiedmayer and taken to Sindelfingen for assembly. The R.I fuselage was more robust than its predecessors, and the troublesome inverted engines were replaced by the reliable 160 h.p. Mercedes D.III engine. The R.I first flew in late 1915 at Sindelfingen. While engine problems had been eliminated, the airframe had to be strengthened more than once. At least three different wing assemblies were flight-tested between 1915 and 1917. A second R.I was constructed with a larger tail to improve directional control.
   Idflieg was interested in the R.I, initially as an experimental type, later as a trainer for G-type bomber crews. Although the performance and flight characteristics of the Daimler R.I were not very promising, the aircraft were test flown until the middle of 1917. In November 1917 one G.I (as the R.I was now designated) was transferred to Idflieg.
   Two examples of an improved version, the Daimler R.II, were constructed in the spring of 1916. (According to the Sindelfingen city archive and latest researches at the Daimler-Benz Archiv, a total of six R.II aircraft were built. Two were taken by Idflieg and four were crated in boxes for reasons unknown.) Outwardly more robust in appearance, the R.II was almost an exact duplicate of the R.I. The overall dimensions were similar, only the weight was slightly increased. A major change was the finely shaped nacelles, mounted between the wings and supported in the centre by a streamlined pylon. Both R.II bombers were taken over by Idflieg and remained on flight status until the middle of 1917 at Sindelfingen.
   In 1916 the R.I and R.II were redesignated G.I and G.II, since they belonged to the same category as the four-engined Union G.I Albatros G.I and SSW-Forssman R-types: large in size, but engines not serviceable in flight. Records in the Daimler-Benz archives show that the R.I (G.I) and two R.II (G.II) bombers were numbered 478/15, 450/15 and 451/15 respectively. These numbers do not fit the R-plane numbering sequence, or the 1915 G-type sequence.


SPECIFICATIONS

Type: Daimler R.I
   Manufacturer: Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft A.G., Sindelfingen
   Engines: Four 160 h.p. Mercedes D.III engine
   Dimensions:
   Span, 21•08 m. (69 ft. 2 in.)
   Length, 18•35 m. (60 ft. 2 1/2 in.)
   Height, 3•80 m. (12 ft. 6 in.)
   Areas: Wings, 73•62 sq. m. (792 sq. ft.)
   Weights:
   Empty, 2512 kg. (5538 lb.)
   Loaded, 3630 kg. (8003 lb.)
   Wing Loading: 49•3 kg./sq. m. (10,1 lb./sq. ft.)
   Performance, Maximum Speed, 120 km.h. (74,6 m.p.h.)
   Cruising Speed, 114 km.h. (70'8 m.p.h.)
   Climb,
   1000 m. (3281 ft.) in 16•8 mins.
   1500 m. (4921 ft.) in 26•9 mins.
   Ceiling, 3000 m. (9843 ft.)

Type: Daimler R.I (second version)
   Manufacturer: Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft A.G., Sindelfingen
   Engines: Four 160 h.p. Mercedes D.III engines
   Dimensions: Span, 21,15 m. (69 ft. 4 in.)
   Length, 18•20 m. (59 ft. 8 1/2 in.)
   Height, 3•75 m. (12 ft. 3 1/2 in.)
   Areas: Wings, 70•60 sq. m. (760 sq. ft.)
   Weights:
   Empty, 2510 kg. (5534 lb.)
   Loaded, 3700 kg. (8157 lb.)
   Wing Loading: 52-4 kg./sq. m. (10'7 lb./sq. ft.)
   Performance: Maximum Speed, 119 km.h. (73,9 m.p.h.)
   Cruising Speed, 114 km.h. (70'8 m.p.h.)
   Climb,
   1000 m. (3281 ft.) in 17•0 mins.
   1500 m. (4921 ft.) in 28•0 min.
   Ceiling, 3000 m. (9843 ft.)

Type: Daimler R.II
   Manufacturer: Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft A.G., Sindelfingen
   Engines: Four 160 h.p. Mercedes D.III engines
   Dimensions: Span, 21 •26 m. (69 ft. 9 in.)
   Length, 18-40 m. (60 ft. 4 in.)
   Height, 3•80 m. (12 ft. 6 in.)
   Areas: Wings, 74•80 sq. m. (805 sq. ft.)
   Weights:
   Empty, 2540 kg. (5600 lb.)
   Loaded, 3680 kg. (8113 lb.)
   Wing Loading: 49•3 kg.jsq. m. (10,1 lb./sq. ft.)
   Performance: Maximum Speed, 123 km.h. (76-4 m.p.h.)
   Cruising Speed, 120 km.h. (74'6 m.p.h.)
   Climb,
   1000 m. (3281 ft.) in 15•2 mins.
   1500 m. (4921 ft.) in 25•0 mins.
   Ceiling, 3000 m. (9843 ft.)


J.Herris German Aircraft of Minor Manufacturers in WW1. Vol I (A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes 49)


Daimler R.II

   After the demise of the Union G.I and the Union company, Daimler got more directly involved in building bombers by hiring the designer of the Union G.I, Ingenieur Karl Schopper, who designed two similar aircraft for Daimler.
   Daimler had already received orders from Idflieg for two bombers that apparently were not built. The first was for a two-engine bomber powered by a pair of 220 hp Mercedes D.IV straight-eight engines. Idflieg also ordered six G-types with serials G.I 12- 117/16, but there were apparently not built either as no records or photographs of these aircraft have been found.
   Apparently the first Daimler bomber that was actually built was the Daimler R.II 450-1915, a design that was clearly a follow-on to the Union G.I. The designation 'R.II' may have been chosen to follow the original 'R.I' designation of the Union bomber, but neither was a true R-type because the engines could not be accessed and worked on in flight as required by the R-type specifications.
   In any case, the Daimler R.II was powered by four 100/110 hp Mercedes engines and was otherwise very similar to the earlier Union G.I by the same designer. The main visible difference was the engines of the Daimler R.II were of conventional configuration with the cylinders above the crankcase. This placed the propellers much lower relative to the engine nacelles.
   The R.450 flew in November 1916 and was active until April 1917. Flight testing did not go well, with a series of engine problems, structural problems, and poor flying qualities. The aircraft was very difficult even to get into the air and when in flight was not rigged properly so had a tendency to turn to the right. After an unsuccessful attempt to take off on April 13, 1917, there are no more records discussing flights and flight testing was apparently abandoned.


Daimler R.I

   Confusingly, the Daimler R.I 478-1915 was built after the R.I 450-1915, which is why it is presented here out of numerical order. The Daimler R.I was another variation on the Union G.I/Daimler R.II theme. Like the earlier R.II the R.I was powered by four 100/110 hp Mercedes engines. The only visible difference was in the engine nacelle design, but there were a number of internal structural improvements that were not externally visible.
   Test pilot Irrek, accompanied by second pilot Gaiser, probably made the first flight of the R.I on January 18, 1917. Like the preceding R.II the R.I was not rigged correctly and tended to bank right and turn right. Speed was 120-125 km/hr but the fore and aft engines did not run at the same RPM, and the controls were very stiff. A second test flight on January 22 was little better. The engines now ran at about the same RPM, so the propellers had apparently been changed. However, it took 62 minutes for the R.l to reach 2,400 meters, a very mediocre performance.
   Irrek made the next test flight on April 26 solo and could barely reach 500 meters altitude. The flight was subject to intense engine vibration and Irrek was concerned about fuselage structural failure. On May 24 Irrek and Gaiser made an acceptance flight of 1.25 hours duration and reached 2,900 meters.
   The May 24 flight was probably the last for the R.l or any other four-engine aircraft designed by Schopper. These aircraft had proved complex, underpowered, and were not robust. Both flying qualities and performance were mediocre at best, and the pilots did not regret their passing.

J.Herris - German Aircraft of Minor Manufacturers in WW1. Volume I /Centennial Perspective/ (49)
The Daimler R.II was structurally weak and had very poor flying qualities. Development was abandoned after test pilot Irrek was unable to get the aircraft into the air for another test flight after five attempts.
J.Herris - German Aircraft of Minor Manufacturers in WW1. Volume I /Centennial Perspective/ (49)
The Daimler R.II was designed by Karl Schopper, who had designed the Union G.I. The key visible difference between the types was the location of the propellers, which was dictated by the type of Mercedes engine used.
J.Herris - German Aircraft of Minor Manufacturers in WW1. Volume I /Centennial Perspective/ (49)
J.Herris - German Aircraft of Minor Manufacturers in WW1. Volume I /Centennial Perspective/ (49)
The hapless Daimler R.I was little improved over the unsatisfactory R.II; development was abandoned in May 1917. Both flying qualities and performance were very mediocre.
J.Herris - German Aircraft of Minor Manufacturers in WW1. Volume I /Centennial Perspective/ (49)
The Daimler R.I was can be distinguished from the earlier R.II by its re-designed engine nacelles. Internal improvements were also made but were not visible. Poor performance and flying qualities quickly doomed the R.I.
J.Herris - German Aircraft of Minor Manufacturers in WW1. Volume I /Centennial Perspective/ (49)
J.Herris - German Aircraft of Minor Manufacturers in WW1. Volume I /Centennial Perspective/ (49)
The Daimler G.II 480-1915 (tractor) in the factory during construction. The Daimler R.I or R.II is in the foreground.