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The Zeppelin-Staaken R.XIV was an incremental improvement to the Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI. This was one of a series of large bombers called ''Riesenflugzeuge'' intended to be less vulnerable than the dirigibles in use at the time. ==Development== The original version of the Staaken R.XIV Bomber had two engine pods with 4 Austro-Daimler V-12 engines of 350hp each in a push-pull configuration. The pods were large enough for some in-flight maintenance. The Austro-Daimler engines were installed without reduction gears and were the most powerful available at the time but soon proved to be unreliable. On 12 April 1918 during its second flight of the acceptance program, a connecting rod broke in one of the rear engines. The Austro-Daimlers were replaced by four 300 hp Basse und Selve BuS.IVa engines and was ready for further flight testing by 10 May 1918. The unproven Basse und Selves were also problematic and had a tendency to seize pistons, so they were in turn removed in favor of the less powerful but reliable 245 hp high compression Maybach Mb.IVa.〔 In an attempt to maintain the performance of the Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI, a fifth Maybach engine was installed in the nose. Four of the improved model R.XIVa were ordered by Idflieg late in the War. The XIVa had some weight reduction improvements and geared engines to increase the rate of climb, service ceiling and bomb load. These were built between 1918 and 1919. The R.XIVa machines were built by the Flugzeugwerft G.m.b.H. at Staaken west of Berlin. By 1918, allied engineers were still uncertain of the design of the bombers. In a lecture to the S.A.E. in June 1918, William Bushnell Stout was speculating if the giant German bombers were operating with 160 or 260 hp engines. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Zeppelin-Staaken R.XIV」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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