Roland D.VI

__NOTOC__ infobox Aircraft
name = D.VI
type = Fighter
manufacturer = LFG Roland



caption =
designer =
first flight = 1917
introduced = 1918
introduction=
retired =
status =
primary user = Imperial Germany
more users =
produced =
number built = 350
unit cost =
developed from =
variants with their own articles =

The Roland D.VI was a fighter aircraft commissioned by the German Empire during World War One.

The Roland D.VI was developed by the Luft-Fahrzeug-Gesellschaft (L.F.G.), (whose aircraft were made under the trade name "Roland" post-1914 to avoid confusion with the Luftverkehrsgesellschaft m.b.H (L.V.G.)) late in 1917, with the prototype, the 1000th aircraft to be built by L.F.G. first flying in November 1917. The D.VI was a single bay biplane which discarded the so called "Wickelrumpf", or semi-monocoque fuselage used in previous L.F.G aircraft such as the Roland C.II, D.I and D.II, in favour of the equally unusual (for aircraft use) "Klinkerrumpf" (or clinker-built construction where the fuselage was built of overlapping strips of spruce over a light wooden framework. Gray and Thetford 1961, p.166-167.] Visibility for the pilot was good, while the aircraft had above average manoeuvrability. Gray and Thetford 1961, p.167.]

Two D.VIs were entered into the first fighter competition held by "Idflieg" at Adlershof in January 1918, one powered by a 160 hp (119 kW) Mercedes D.III engine and the other by a Benz D.III of similar power. Although the main winner of the competition was the Fokker D.VII, orders were placed for the Roland as a backup against production problems with the Fokker. Gray and Thetford 1961, p.166.] A total of 350 were built, of which 150 were of the D.VIa version, powered by the Mercedes engine, while the remaining 200 were powered by the Benz III engine and were designated D.VIb. Deliveries started in May 1918, with 70 D.VIs in frontline service on 31 August 1918.

The Roland offered little better performance than the aircraft that it was meant to replace, however, with 1918 both Allied and German air technology, notably the Pfalz D.XII and Fokker D.VII, had rendered the LFG Roland nearly obsolete.

Operators

;flag|German Empire
*"Luftstreitkräfte"
*"Kaiserliche Marine"

pecifications (Roland D.VIb)

aircraft specifications

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop

ref= The Complete Book of Fighters Green and Swanborough 1994, p.338]

crew=1
capacity=
length main= 6.32 m
length alt= 20 ft 8⅞ in
span main= 9.42 m
span alt= 30 ft 10⅞ in
height main= 2.80 m
height alt= 9 ft 2¼ in
area main= 22.1 m²
area alt= 238 ft²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 656 kg
empty weight alt= 1,446 lb
loaded weight main= 846 kg
loaded weight alt= 1,865 lb
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
more general=

engine (prop)=Benz IIIa
type of prop=
number of props=1
power main= 149 kW
power alt= 200 hp
power original=

max speed main= 199 km/h
max speed alt= 108 knots, 124 mph
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
range main=
range alt=
ceiling main= 5,790 m [ [http://www.wwiaviation.com/german1918.html German Aviation 1918 ] ]
ceiling alt= 19,000 ft
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main= 38.3 kg/m²
loading alt= 7.84 lb/ft²
thrust/weight=
power/mass main= 0.18 kW/kg
power/mass alt= 0.11 hp/lb
more performance=*Endurance: 2 hr
*Climb to 5,000 m (16,400 ft): 19 min

armament=2 x 7.92 mm LMG08/15 machine guns

avionics=

ee also

aircontent
see also=

related=

similar aircraft=*Fokker D.VII

*Pfalz D.XII

lists=

References

Notes

Bibiography

* Gray, Peter and Thetford, Owen. "German Aircraft of the First World War". London:Putnam, 1962.
* Gray, Peter Laurence. "German Aircraft of the First World War". Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1970.
* Green, William and Swanborough, Gordon. "The Complete Book of Fighters". New York: Smithmark, 1994. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8.

External links

* [http://www.cbrnp.com/profiles/quarter1/roland-d6a.htm The L.F.G Roland D.VIa]
* [http://www.internetmodeler.com/references/roland_dvib.pdf Performance tests of Roland D.VIb with 200 hp Benz]