ROHRBACH METALL-FLUGZEUGBAU G. M. B. H.
BERLIN N 65, KIAUTSCHOUSTR. 9-12 / TELEGR. DURALPLANE / TELEFON: HANSA 7695-7699

Abhandlung Nr. 22 / I. X. 28 / 10.000 / 3

ROHRBACH METAL AIRPLANE CONSTRUCTION CO. LTD.
BERLIN N 65, KIAUTSCHOUSTR. 9-12 / TELEGR. DURALPLANE / TELEPHONE: HANSA 7695-7699

Treatise No. 22 / 1. X. 28 / 10,000 / 3

On the occasion of the International Aviation Exhibition in Berlin from October 7 to 28, 1928, a brief overview of the development of the company and its designs is given below.

Dr.-Ing. A. Rohrbach had already been active in metal aircraft construction for 8 years when his company was founded. The success of the four-engine, 1000 hp "Staaken" monoplane, built according to his design at the Zeppelin works, which was able to transport 20 people over a distance of 1350 km, proved as early as 1920 that large metal aircraft are best built as monoplanes with a high wing-loading using smooth sheet metal and simple profiles.

Unfortunately, this groundbreaking creation, built purely for peaceful transport, had to be destroyed after its first test flights because of its size, by order of the Inter-Allied Aeronautical Commission.

As a result of the subsequent closure of the Staaken works, Dr. Rohrbach continued his work in the "Rohrbach Metall-Flugzeugbau G. m. b. H., Berlin" which he founded in 1922.

With a clear understanding of the development ahead, the new company was particularly concerned with the construction of multi-engine light-metal flying boats. Since the construction of such high-performance aircraft was initially banned in Germany under the Treaty of Versailles, the "Rohrbach Metall-Aeroplan Co. A/S" was founded in Copenhagen at the same time as the Berlin company.

All construction drawings were prepared by the Berlin company in its former office at Friedrichstraße 203. Many individual parts were built in Berlin in rented workshops, while the aircraft themselves were assembled in Copenhagen. An assembly hangar with a slipway was erected in Kastrup near Copenhagen for the test flights taking place over the Øresund.

As early as the autumn of 1923, the first flying boat, type "Rohrbach Ro II", a fully cantilevered monoplane with 2 Rolls-Royce "Eagle IX" engines, was able to make its test flights. The performance of this first type was so excellent that 14 peak performances were achieved with it. Due to formal errors during the verification of the payload, only 5 of these were recognized as world records by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.

Several of these flying boats were put into service as experimental machines by the Imperial Japanese Navy.

(Caption under left image:)
Fig. 1. The 1000 HP Monoplane "Staaken"

(Caption under right image:)
Fig. 2. "Rohrbach-Ro II"