As the airships were intended for fleet protection operations, they were to be fitted with defensive machine guns on top of the envelope, at the stern and in the gondolas. A 12-pounder gun was to be fitted in a special position centrally below the airship for use against U-boats. In the event, this armament was only fitted to "R.31", as "R.32" was only completed after the armistice with Germany. It had also been intended to fit a bomb load of two bombs and four bombs. but with the end of hostilities these were never installed on either airship.