AEG R.I

The AEG R.I was a prototype biplane heavy bomber of the Riesenflugzeug, or giant aeroplane, class built by AEG for the Imperial German Air Service. Four 190 kilowatt Mercedes D.IVa inline piston engines sat inside the fuselage so they could be serviced in flight, and drove the propellers through gearboxes and driveshafts so that any engine could power any propeller. It first flew in mid-1918, but only one of eight ordered was completed. On 3 September 1918 a badly cured propeller disintegrated and the aircraft broke up, killing all seven crew, and the unfinished aircraft were scrapped.