Rumpler C.IV

The Rumpler C.IV was a German single-engine, two-seat reconnaissance biplane. The C.IV was a development of C.III with different tail surfaces and using a Mercedes D.IVa engine in place of C.III's Benz Bz.IV. In addition to the parent company, the aircraft was also built by Pfalz Flugzeugwerke as the Pfalz C.I. Another variant of the basic design was the Rumpler 6B 2 single-seat floatplane fighter, with a 120 kW (160 hp) Mercedes D.III engine, built for the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy).

C.IV
Role Reconnaissance aircraft
Manufacturer Rumpler Flugzeugwerke
Designer Dr. Edmund Rumpler
Introduction 1917
Primary user Luftstreitkräfte
Variants Rumpler 6B-2

For a two-seater reconnaissance aircraft, Rumpler C.IV had an excellent performance, which enabled it to remain in front-line service until the end of World War I on the Western Front, as well as in Italy and Palestine. Its exceptional ceiling allowed pilots to undertake reconnaissance secure in the knowledge that few allied aircraft could reach it.

300 aircraft were licence-built by Pfalz Flugzeugwerke as the Pfalz C.I, differing in ailerons on all four wings. From February 1917 they were renamed Rumpler C.IV (Pfal).[1]

For use during filming, Slingsby Sailplanes built two Slingsby T.58 Rumpler C.IV replicas. While these were visually similar to the original aircraft, they were structurally completely different, having a steel-tube fuselage structure and wooden wings, and being powered by a de Havilland Gipsy Major engine.[2]

Variants
Rumpler C.IV
Pfalz C.I
Production by Pfalz, with ailerons on all four wings: 300 built.
Rumpler C.IV (Pfal)
The Pfalz C.I re-designated
Slingsby T.58 Rumpler C.IV replica
Slingsby Sailplanes built two Slingsby T.58 Rumpler C.IV replicas. While these were visually similar to the original aircraft, they were structurally completely different, having a steel-tube fuselage structure and wooden wings, and being powered by a de Havilland Gipsy Major engine
Rumpler 6B 2
floatplane fighter

Operators
 Belgium
 German Empire
  Switzerland
 Turkey
 Kingdom of Yugoslavia
  • Yugoslav Royal Air Force - Postwar.

Specifications (C.IV)
Rumpler C.IV as seen in Deutsches Museum
Rumpler C.IV inside visible

Data from German Aircraft Of The First World War [3]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2 (pilot and observer)
  • Length: 8.41 m (27 ft 7 in)
  • Wingspan: 12.66 m (41 ft 6 in)
  • Height: 3.25 m (10 ft 8 in)
  • Wing area: 33.5 m2 (361 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 1,080 kg (2,381 lb)
  • Gross weight: 1,530 kg (3,373 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Mercedes D.IVa 6-cylinder water-cooled in-line piston engine, 190 kW (260 hp)
  • Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 171 km/h (106 mph, 92 kn) at 500 m (1,640 ft)
  • Endurance: 3½-4 hr
  • Service ceiling: 6,400 m (21,000 ft) [4]

Armament

  • Guns: 1 × fixed, forward-firing 7.92 mm (.312 in) LMG 08/15 with an interruptor gear and 1 × 7.92 mm (.312 in) Parabellum MG14 machine gun on a ring mounting
  • Bombs: 100 kg (220 lb) of bombs

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

References

Notes
  1. Herris, Jack. Pfalz Aircraft of World War I. Great War Aircraft in Profile, Volume 4. 2001. ISBN 1891268155. P.9
  2. Taylor 1969, pp. 225–226.
  3. Gray and Thetford 1962, p.201.
  4. Munson 1967, p.99.

Bibliography
  • Gray, Peter and Thetford, Owen. German Aircraft of the First World War. London, Putnam, 1962.
  • Munson, Kenneth. Aircraft of World War I. London: Ian Allan, 1967. ISBN 0-7110-0356-4.
  • Munson, Kenneth. Bombers, Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft 1914 - 1919. ISBN 0-7537-0918-X
  • Munson, Kenneth. Fighters, Attack and Training Aircraft 1914 - 1919. ISBN 0-7537-0916-3.
  • Neulen, Hans-Werner & Cony, Christophe (September 2000). "Les aigles du Kaiser en Terre Sainte" [The Kaiser's Eagles in the Holy Land]. Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (90): 38–46. ISSN 1243-8650.
  • Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1969–70. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1969. ISBN 0-354-00051-9.
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