The Roland D.VI was a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
fighter aircraft built at the end of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. It lost a fly-off to the
Fokker D.VII
The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII qu ...
, but production went ahead anyway as insurance against problems with the Fokker.
Design and development
The Roland D.VI was designed by the
Luft-Fahrzeug-Gesellschaft
Luft-Fahrzeug-Gesellschaft, also referred to as LFG, was a German aircraft manufacturer during World War I. They are best known for their various "Roland" designs, notably the Roland C.II ''Walfisch'' (whale), Roland D.II ''haifisch'' (Shark) and ...
(L.F.G.), (whose aircraft were made under the trade name "Roland" after 1914 to avoid confusion with the
Luftverkehrsgesellschaft m.b.H (L.V.G.)) late in 1917, with the prototype being 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 L.F.G.-Roland patented ''Wickelrumpf'' (literally "wrapped body"), or semi-
monocoque
Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell".
First used for boats, ...
fuselage, constructed with two layers of thin plywood strips, diagonally wrapped around a male form to create a "half-shell", that 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 thin strips of spruce over a light wooden framework.
[Gray and Thetford 1961, pp. 166–167.] Visibility for the pilot was good, while the aircraft had above average manoeuvrability.
[Gray and Thetford 1961, p. 167.]
Operational history
![Wilhelm Eickhoff - Roland D](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Wilhelm_Eickhoff_-_Roland_D.VIa.jpg)
In January 1918, two D.VIs were entered into the first fighter competition held by ''
Idflieg'' at
Adlershof
Adlershof (, literally "Eagle's Court") is a locality (') in the borough (') Treptow-Köpenick of Berlin, Germany.
Adlershof is home to the new City of Science, Technology and Media ( WISTA), located on the southwestern edge of the locality.
Hist ...
, one powered by a 160 hp (119 kW)
Mercedes D.III
The Mercedes D.III, or F1466 as it was known internally, was a six-cylinder SOHC valvetrain liquid-cooled inline aircraft engine built by Daimler and used on a wide variety of German aircraft during World War I. The initial versions were introd ...
engine and the other by a
Benz Bz.III
The Benz Bz.III was a six-cylinder, water-cooled, inline engine developed in Germany for use in aircraft in 1914. Developing 112 kW (150 hp) at 1,400 rpm from 14.3 L (875 cu in),Smith 1981, p.53. it powered many German military aircraft ...
a of similar power and, like the Mercedes, another upright, inline, six cylinder engine . Although the winner of the competition was the cheaper
Fokker D.VII
The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII qu ...
, orders were placed for the Roland as insurance against production problems with the Fokker.
[Gray and Thetford 1961, p. 166.]
A total of 350 were built, 150 D.VIas powered by the Mercedes, while the remaining 200 were powered by the Benz and were called D.VIb. Deliveries started in May 1918, with 70 D.VIs in frontline service on 31 August 1918.
The only surviving artifact of the LFG Roland D.VI still existing in the 21st century is the complete fuselage of a D.VIb, displaying
IdFlieg military serial number 2225/18, on display at the
Polish Aviation Museum
The Polish Aviation Museum ( pl, Muzeum Lotnictwa Polskiego w Krakowie) is a large museum of historic aircraft and aircraft engines in Kraków, Poland. It is located at the site of the no-longer functional Kraków-Rakowice-Czyżyny Air ...
in Kraków, Poland.
Operators
;
*
Czechoslovak Air Force
The Czechoslovak Air Force (''Československé letectvo'') or the Czechoslovak Army Air Force (''Československé vojenské letectvo'') was the air force branch of the Czechoslovak Army formed in October 1918. The armed forces of Czechoslovakia c ...
;
*''
Luftstreitkräfte
The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Force)—known before October 1916 as (Flyer Troops)—was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-language sources it is usually referred to as the Imperial German Air Service, alt ...
''
*''
Kaiserliche Marine
{{italic title
The adjective ''kaiserlich'' means "imperial" and was used in the German-speaking countries to refer to those institutions and establishments over which the ''Kaiser'' ("emperor") had immediate personal power of control.
The term wa ...
''
*''
Freikorps
(, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European military volunteer units, or paramilitary, that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenary or private armies, regar ...
''
Specifications (Roland D.VIb)
See also
Notes
Bibliography
*
* Gray, Peter and Owen Thetford. ''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 Gordon Swanborough. ''The Complete Book of Fighters''. New York: Smithmark, 1994. .
External links
The L.F.G Roland D.VIaPerformance tests of Roland D.VIb with 200 hp Benz
{{Authority control
1910s German fighter aircraft
D.VI
Aircraft first flown in 1917