Original photo caption:

NEW PHOTOGRAPH OF ZEPPELIN PLANE WHICH MAY CROSS ATLANTIC

A new photo of the giant Zeppelin plane with which an attempt will be made shortly to fly from Berlin to New York. The big plane is built entirely of metal and is propelled by four powerful motors. It is of the monoplane type and has accommodations for eighteen passengers. The photowas made during a recent test flight in Berlin.

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02/28/2014. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "Designed by Dr.Ing. Adolf Rohrbach in 1918, construction of the aircraft began in 1919. In contrast to all larger aircraft at that time, this monoplane was a of metal construction. While at that time engine nacelles on struts above or below the wings were common, Rohrbach placed the four 250 hp Maybach Mb IVa six-cylinder in-line engines in the leading edge of the wing. On the carburetor side of each engine was a small room, accessible via the wing, in which a mechanic could monitor or eventually repair the engines during flight.

The wings had a decreasing outwards profile curvature, which prevailed not until twenty years later. Large windows and the high wing provided excellent ground view for the eighteen passengers. In the front part of the fuselage was the kitchen and a observation room, both were restricted areas during take off and landing, as it would act as a crash impact damping area. The luggage was loaded through a hatch in the top of the fuselage.

First flown on November 9, 1920, the world's first four-engined all-metal aircraft was intended for the Berlin – Friedrichshafen route, and, as noticeable in the remarks above, even for transatlantic flights. However, the Inter-Allied Control Commission classified it as "bomber", construction of which was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles, therefore it was scrapped in November 1922."