Zeppelin-Staaken R.XV

what is it?

The Zeppelin-Staaken R.XV was an Imperial German bomber of World War I. An incremental improvement to the Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI, this was one of a series of large strategic bombers called Riesenflugzeuge, intended to be less vulnerable than dirigibles in use at the time.

🔎How to recognise it: 5 piston engines with propellers · 42.2 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 130 km/hcruise speed
• range 800 kmwithout refuelling
• size 14.5 tmax take-off weight

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 108 years ago, in 1918.
• 🚗Wingspan of 42.2 m: about 9 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 2 African elephants (~6 t each).

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1918-07-25

number built

—

role

bomber

origin

🇩🇪 Germany

engines

5× Maybach Mb.IVa

length

22.5 m

wingspan

42.2 m

height

6.3 m

max take-off weight

14.5 t

top speed

—

cruise speed

130 km/h

range

800 km

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.