Stakken Bomber. the German Stakken Bombers of World war
One shown in Aviation art prints by the top aviation artists. The Stakken R IV
was transferred to the Western front after the collapse of the Russian forces.
They were to be used for bombing against England. saw service with Rfa
500 then to Rfa 501 based at Ghent. this Stakken bomber dropped a
total of 25,000 KG of bombs on English targets
The Staaken Bomber The R.VI
equipped two Imperial German Army Air Service the Luftstreitkrafte the Riesenflugzeug-Abteilung
(Rfa) 500 and Rfa 501, with the first delivered in June 1917. The first Stakken aircraft saw service on
the Eastern front at Alt-Auz and Vilua in Kurland August 1917. Nearly all
missions were flown at night. With each aircraft carrying a 770 kilo bomb
load. Each mission was between 3 and 5 hours flying time
In September 22nd
1917 the RFA 501 bomber was transferred to Belgium to operate against targets
in France and England, flyign form st. Denis0Westrem airfield. While
the RFA 500 were later moved to Castinne in France with French airfields at
its targets
The RFA 501 made a total of 11
night raids on England. These trips would last
around 7 hours flying the 340 miles. Flying by moonlight and following
the Thames once they crossed the English
channel usually around 5 aircraft
were used on each bombing mission and a total of 30
aircraft bombed England. There
were no aircraft losses during these missions except tow aircraft crash
landed. A total
R.VI aircraft lost a total of f 4 aircraft shot down and size others
destroyed in crashes. Only a total of 13 aircraft saw service with only 6
surviving the war.
Crew:
Seven (commander, pilot, copilot, radio operator, and fuel attendant in the
cockpit, one mechanic in each engine nacelle) Length:
76 ft 1” Height:
20 ft 8” Wingspan :
138 ft 5.5 in Take off weight 26,120 lbs Engines
total of four, two Pusher engines and 2 Tractor engines
Speed:
83.9mph range 500 Miles Operating
ceiling 14,170 feet Armament
4,409 lbs of bombs and upto 5 machine guns
