R.VI | |
---|---|
The R.VI after a forced landing | |
Role | Bomber |
National origin | Germany |
Manufacturer | Siemens-Schuckert |
Designer | Bruno and Franz Steffen[1] |
First flight | c. April 1916[2] |
Number built | 1[2] |
Developed from | Siemens-Schuckert R.I |
The Siemens-Schuckert R.VI was a bomber aircraft built in Germany during World War I.[3][4] It was one of six aircraft based on the Siemens-Schuckert R.I, which were originally intended to be identical. Each developed in a different direction and were designated as different aircraft types by the German Inspectorate of Flying Troops (the Idflieg).[5]
Development of the R.VI benefited from the experience that Siemens-Schuckert and the Idflieg had gained with the R.II, R.III, and R.IV, particularly in its choice of powerplants, where the R.VI was spared from the troublesome Maybach HS engine.[2] The R.VI was the first of the Siemens-Schuckert R-type aircraft to reach service,[2] and saw service on the Eastern Front between July 1916 and November 1917, before it was declared obsolete and dismantled.[6]