DFW R.II

R.II
Role	Bomber
Manufacturer	DFW
First flight	August 1918
Primary user	Luftstreitkräfte
Number built	2

The DFW R.II was a German bomber aircraft of World War I. It was developed at a request by the Luftstreitkräfte in spring 1917 after their experience with the R.I had been generally positive.

Design and development

The service desired generally similar aircraft but needed greater payload (3400 kg, up from 2600 kg in the R.I). This meant the design had to be considerably revised. The same engine/propeller arrangement was used (four inline engines mounted in the fuselage, driving two tractor propellers and two pusher propellers via long driveshafts).

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 engine that had replaced the troublesome D.IV in production.

Operational history

Of the six ordered by the Luftstreitkräfte, only two were completed before the end of the war, and these were operated from Cologne on training duties only when their performance proved inadequate for front-line duties. Following the war, DFW planned an airliner version of the R.II, which would have carried 24 passengers. Construction of a prototype was abandoned before it was complete.

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: Five
• Length: 20.93 m (68 ft 8 in)
• Wingspan: 35.06 m (115 ft 0 in)
• Empty weight: 8,600 kg (18,900 lb)
• Gross weight: 12,000 kg (26,500 lb)
• Powerplant: 4 × Mercedes D.IVa inline piston engine, 194 kW (260 hp) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 132 km/h (82 mph)
• Endurance: 6 hours

References

• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. pp. 325. 
• 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. Describes and illustrates both the military R.II and the proposed airliner.