Rumpler C.I

Last updated
C.I
Rumpler C.I bojowy 2 msc.jpg
RoleReconnaissance aircraft
Manufacturer Rumpler Flugzeugwerke
Introduction1915
Primary users Luftstreitkräfte
Poland
Produced1915 - 1917
Variants Rumpler 6B-1

Entering service in 1915, the Rumpler C.I, (company designation 5A 2), [1] two-seater single-engine reconnaissance biplane, was one of the first German C-type aircraft, and also one of the longest serving in its class during World War I, being retired from the last front line units only in early 1918.

Contents

Design and development

The C.I was a successful design, and it was used on Western and Eastern Fronts, Macedonia, Salonika and Palestine. Early production examples were armed only with a single Parabellum machine gun on a Schneider ring mounting, but later aircraft had additionally a synchronised Spandau gun on the port side of fuselage. When used as a light bomber the C.I could also carry 100 kg of bombs.

In addition to the parent company, the Bayerische Rumpler-Werke, the Rumpler C.I was also produced by the Germania Flugzeug-Werke, the Märkische Flugzeug-Werke, the Hannoversche Waggonfabrik and the Albert Rinne Flugzeug-Werke. Variants included the C.Ia, which used a 180 hp Argus As.III engine instead of Mercedes D.III, the C.II, of which there's no evidence that any were actually built, 6B 1 single-seat floatplane fighter, and a Rumpler-built batch of C.Is intended for training which omitted the gun ring in the rear cockpit and was powered by a 150 hp Benz Bz.III.

It was this training role in which the C.I was latterly used, its friendly handling qualities making it suitable to be flown even by inexperienced pilots.

Operators

Flag of the German Empire.svg  German Empire
Flag of Latvia.svg  Latvia
Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland
Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey
Flag of Yugoslavia (1918-1943).svg  Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Specifications (C.I)

Data from German Aircraft of the First World War [1]

General characteristics

Alternative engines:

  • 134 kW (180 hp) Argus As.III in C.Ia aircraft from Hannoversche Waggonfabrik
  • 112 kW (150 hp) Benz Bz.III in Bayru-built C.Is, modified as trainers with dual control. (Bayru. - Bayerische Rumpler Werke)

Performance

Armament

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fokker D.VII</span> 1918 fighter aircraft model by Fokker

The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the Luftstreitkräfte, the D.VII quickly proved itself to be a formidable aircraft. The Armistice ending the war specifically required, as the fourth clause of the "Clauses Relating to the Western Front", that Germany was required to surrender all D.VIIs to the Allies. Surviving aircraft saw much service with many countries in the years after World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Focke-Wulf Fw 44 Stieglitz</span> 1932 general aviation aircraft family by Focke-Wulf

The Focke-Wulf Fw 44 Stieglitz ("Goldfinch") is a 1930s German two-seat biplane. An early design by Kurt Tank, it was produced by the Focke-Wulf company as a pilot training and sports flying aircraft. It was also eventually built under license in several other countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arado Ar 68</span> 1934 fighter aircraft family by Arado

The Arado Ar 68 was a German single-seat biplane fighter developed in the mid-1930s. It was among the first fighters produced when Germany abandoned the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles and began rearming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etrich Taube</span> 1910 German multi-role aircraft family

The Etrich Taube, also known by the names of the various later manufacturers who built versions of the type, such as the Rumpler Taube, was a pre-World War I monoplane aircraft. It was the first military aeroplane to be mass-produced in Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albatros C.III</span> Type of aircraft

The Albatros C.III was a German two-seat general-purpose biplane of World War I, built by Albatros Flugzeugwerke. The C.III was a refined version of the successful Albatros C.I and was eventually produced in greater numbers than any other C-type Albatros.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albatros C.I</span> 1910s German aircraft

The Albatros C.I,, was the first of the successful C-series of two-seat general-purpose biplanes built by Albatros Flugzeugwerke during World War I. Based on the unarmed Albatros B.II, the C.I reversed the pilot and observer seating so that the observer occupied the rear cockpit which was fitted with a ring-mounted 7.92 mm (0.312 in) Parabellum MG14 machine gun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albatros B.II</span> Type of aircraft

The Albatros B.II, was an unarmed German two-seat reconnaissance biplane of the First World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junkers Ju 352</span> Type of aircraft

The Junkers Ju 352 Herkules was a German World War II transport aircraft that was developed from the Junkers Ju 252.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arado Ar 66</span> Training biplane

The Arado Ar 66 was a German single-engined, two-seat training biplane, developed in 1933. It was also used for night ground-attack missions on the Eastern Front. It was engineer Walter Rethel's last design in collaboration with Arado, before Walter Blume, assigned as Arado Flugzeugwerke's chief design engineer in 1933, took over the bulk of the Arado firm's design duties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albatros B.I</span> Type of aircraft

The Albatros B.I, was a German military reconnaissance aircraft designed in 1913 and which saw service during World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halberstadt C.V</span> Type of aircraft

The Halberstadt C.V was a German single-engined reconnaissance biplane of World War I, built by Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke. Derived from the Halberstadt C.III, with a more powerful supercharged 160 kW (220 hp) Benz Bz.IVü engine, it saw service only in the final months of the war. Cameras were mounted in the observer's cockpit floor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breda-Zappata BZ.308</span> Italian four-engined long range airliner, 1948

The Breda-Zappata B.Z.308 was an Italian four-engined airliner produced by Breda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rumpler C.IV</span> Type of aircraft

The Rumpler C.IV was a German single-engine, two-seat reconnaissance biplane. It was a development of C.III with different tail surfaces and using a Mercedes D.IVa engine in place of the C.III's Benz Bz.IV. The Rumpler 6B 2 was a single-seat floatplane fighter variant with a 120 kW (160 hp) Mercedes D.III engine built for the Kaiserliche Marine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DFW C.V</span> Type of aircraft

The DFW C.IV, DFW C.V, DFW C.VI, and DFW F37 were a family of German reconnaissance aircraft first used in 1916 in World War I. They were conventionally configured biplanes with unequal-span unstaggered wings and seating for the pilot and observer in tandem, open cockpits. Like the DFW C.II before them, these aircraft seated the gunner to the rear and armed him with a machine gun on a ring mount. Compared to preceding B- and C-class designs by DFW, however, the aerodynamics of the fuselage were more refined, and when coupled with more powerful engines, resulted in a machine with excellent performance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halberstadt CL.II</span> German military aircraft in World War I

The Halberstadt CL.II was a German two-seat escort fighter/ground attack aircraft of World War I. It served in large numbers with the German Luftstreitkräfte in 1917-18.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phönix D.I</span> Austro-Hungarian fighter plane of WW1

The Phönix D.I, with the D.II and D.III variants, was an Austro-Hungarian First World War biplane fighter built by the Phönix Flugzeug-Werke and based on the Hansa-Brandenburg D.I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messerschmitt M 18</span> Type of aircraft

The Bayerische Flugzeugwerke M 18, was an airliner, produced in Germany in the late 1920s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rumpler B.I</span> Type of aircraft

The Rumpler B.I was a military reconnaissance aircraft produced in Germany during World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phönix C.I</span> Type of aircraft

The Phönix C.I, given serial numbers in the Phönix 121 range, was an Austro-Hungarian First World War reconnaissance and general-purpose Biplane built by Phönix and Lloyd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gotha Go 150</span> 1930s German light aircraft

The Gotha Go 150 was a light aircraft designed at the German company Gothaer Waggonfabrik in the late 1930s. It was intended for civilian use, but ended up being used as a military trainer.

References

  1. 1 2 Gray, Peter; Thetford, Owen (1970). German Aircraft of the First World War (2nd ed.). London: Putnam. pp. 195–198. ISBN   0-370-00103-6.
  2. Ramoška, G. "Lietuvos Aviacijos Istorija 1919 - 1940 m. : Pirmieji karo aviacijos lėktuvai 1919-23 m." plienosparnai.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 12 December 2019.

Further reading