The Airplane Works at Staaken
The plant at Staaken was complete, including two great airplane assembling sheds, workshops, offices, etc. It is now closed. Other German firms have built similar bombing planes under the Zeppelin patents. Twenty-six of them were built at Staaken, however.
They had a 137.76 foot (42 meters) wing span, carried 4.5 tons useful load, could climb to a height of 14,760 feet (4,500 meters) with their motors which aggregated 1,250 horsepower. Their average speed was 90 miles per hour ([Plate 23]).
The “DELAG” Passenger Zeppelin “Nordstern.”
Leaving Friedrichshafen for France. Note the progressive increase in the size of the sheds.
The “DELAG” Passenger Zeppelin “Bodensee.”
Passengers enjoying an excursion over Berlin.
Other machines were built, smaller, but of all-metal construction. After the war “The Staaken Giant” ([Plate 24]) was put into commission. It, too, was all-metal, carried four motors and was distinctly a commercial plane. During many successful trials it carried eighteen passengers at a speed of 145 miles an hour. Later on, a two-engine commercial land plane was nearing completion when the Inter-allied Aeronautical Commission ordered all work stopped, and the activities at Staaken ceased.