Zeppelin-Staaken R.XVI
The Zeppelin-Staaken R.XVI was a very large bomber, designed and built in Germany during 1918.
Development
The R.XVI, an incremental improvement to the Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI, was one of a series of large bombers called Riesenflugzeuge, intended to be less vulnerable than dirigibles in use at the time. The R.XVI had four engines in a push-pull configuration, mounted in nacelles large enough for some inflight maintenance by flight mechanics, housed in nacelles between the engines.Three aircraft were ordered to be completed by Automobil & Aviatik A.G., at Leipzig-Heiterblick. Only two R.XVIs were completed and only one of these,, flew before the Armistice on 11 November 1918. The third R.XVI was 3/4 complete at the Armistice but was never completed.