During 1916 AEG received an order for two R.I Giant four engine heavy bombers. R was an abbreviation of “Riesenflugzeug” (giant aircraft). All four engines were grouped inside the fuselage and drove four blade propellors at 750 rpm via shafts and gearboxes; a combination leather cone and dog clutch. Two blade propellors were installed later.

AEG R.I Article

One R.I was completed (R.I 21/16) and made its first flight in 1916. During a trial night flight on 3 September 1916 this aircraft broke up in the air with a loss of all seven crew. This crashed was caused by propellor delaminating because of insufficient hardening of the glues. A second machine, R.I 22/16, was still incomplete at the end of World War 1 and eventually scrapped.

Engine: 4 x Mercedes D.IVa, 260 hp
Wing span: 118 ft 1.5 in
Length: 63 ft 11.5 in
Empty weight: 19845 lb / 9000 kg
Loaded weight: 28,003 lb / 12,500 kg

A larger three-bay design and carrying three times the bomb load of the G.II, the G.V entered service in 1918.
The G.V was AEG’s last bomber, the end of the war prevented the G.V from becoming operational and it was after the war that a number were operated as six-passenger civil transports by Deutsche Luft-Reederei – an airline company financed by and connected with AEG.

In 1919 the G.V was the only large German 1914-18 aircraft employed commercially to any great extent. As a makeshift transport (with an open cockpit for passengers) a Limousine version was developed. This had a new cabin fairing attached to enclose the passenger area, a downward-hinging fuselage nose to provide a baggage locker (which could also act as a buffer if the aircraft overturned) and a toilet aft of the cabin. One was recorded as flying from Berlin to Eskjo, Sweden in 4 hours and seven minutes.

The AEG G.IV was produced in 1915 and entered frontline service by 1916, seeing action through to the end of the war in 1918.

AEG G.IV Article

The twin-engine, three-man aircraft was of a biplane design with two steel tube spars, wooden ribs, and wooden leading edge and wire trailing edge. Ailerons were on the top wing only. Of welded steel tube construction and covered in fabric except the plywood skinned nose section, the crew of four could change positions through connected cockpits.

Up to 882lbs of ordnance was carried on the aircraft and this was complimented with two defensive machine gun positions at fore and aft of the pilots mid-position.

The G.IV served the German air force in an offensive capacity but was limited by the short range when carrying a crew of three and full bomb load it was used mainly as a tactical bomber between allied lines on the Western Front. Without a bomb load, it was able to be used for long range reconnaisance and aerial photography. The units equipped with the G.IV fought against the Italians on the Southern Fronts to good effect and would even be called upon to complete night bombing missions. About 50 G.IVs were being used for night bombing behind Allied lines in August 1918.

Small numbers were built for assessment by the Schistas at the front. These included the G.IVb with a three bay wing cellule of increased span, and the G.IVK with a 20mm Becker cannon in the nose.

An example was captured almost intact by the Allied forces and evaluated in flight in the UK, where it was found to be deficient in elevator control and extremely difficult to land. The absence of a passenger in the front gunner’s cockpit apparently made the machine almost uncontrollable.

About 500 of the 542 AEG G bombers built were of G.IV type. Fifty were still in use in France in August 1918.

G.IV
Engines: 2 x Mercedes D.IVa, 260hp
Prop: 2 blade wooden
Wingspan: 60 ft 4.5 in / 18.4m
Length: 31 ft 9.5 in / 9.7m
Height: 12 ft 9.5 in / 3.9m
Wing area: 721.21 sq.ft / 67 sq.m
Empty wt: 5291 lb / 2400 kg
MTOW: 8003 lb / 3630 kg
Fuel capacity: 123 Imp Gal
Climb to 3280 ft / 1000m; 5 min
Max speed: 103 mph / 165 kph / 89kt
Service ceiling: 14,765 ft / 4500 m
Time to 9000ft: 24 min
Max endurance: 4-5 hr
Maximum Range: 466miles / 750km
Max bomb load: 882 lb / 400 kg
Crew: 3
Armament: 2 x trainable 7.92mm LMG 14 Parabellum

A 1916 development of the AEG G.II equipped with 164kW Mercedes D IV engines driving opposite turning propellers. Produced in limited numbers, the G.III could carry a 50% increase in bomb load on the G.II but was built only for limited service, mostly away from the major fronts.

Engines: 2 x Mercedes D.IV, 220 hp.
Bombload: 661 lb / 300 kg