Zepplin-Staaken R.VI engine nacelle (14219406259)

The Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI biplane was a four-engined German strategic bomber of World War I, and the only so-called Riesenflugzeug ("giant aircraft") design built in any quantity. The R.VI was the most numerous of the R-bombers built by Germany, with 18 completed and was also among the earliest closed-cockpit military aircraft. The bomber was reputedly the largest wooden aircraft to be produced in any quantity during World War I, with only the Siemens-Schuckert R.VIII prototype bomber of 1918-1919 being larger. The Staaken R.VI's wingspan of 138 ft nearly equaling that of the World War II Boeing B-29 Superfortress! The type conducted 11 raids on Great Britain, usually consisting of five aircraft. Four machines were shot down in combat, while another six were lost in crashes. This is the only remaining section of any of these amazing machines. It is an engine nacelle from 'R.34/16' which crashed on 21 April 1918 after a mission against the British Royal Air Force field at Saint-Omer, France. The R.VI was shot down, apparently by anti-aircraft fire of the British 2nd Army, while trying to cross the front line, killing all seven crew members. It is on now display in a building full of unrestored aviation gems at the Muzeum Lotnictwa Polskiego. Krakow, Poland.