Rumpler_C.I
Rumpler C.I
Type of aircraft
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.
C.I | |
---|---|
Role | Reconnaissance aircraft |
Manufacturer | Rumpler Flugzeugwerke |
Introduction | 1915 |
Primary users | Luftstreitkräfte Poland |
Produced | 1915 - 1917 |
Variants | Rumpler 6B-1 |
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.
- Latvian Air Force - Postwar.
- Lithuanian Air Force - Postwar. 3 aircraft (No. 2699, 4936, 8144) purchased in 1919.[2]
- Polish Air Force - Postwar.
- Royal Yugoslav Air Force - Postwar.
Data from German Aircraft of the First World War[1]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 7.85 m (25 ft 9 in)
- Wingspan: 12.15 m (39 ft 10 in)
- Height: 3.06 m (10 ft 0 in)
- Wing area: 35.7 m2 (384 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 793 kg (1,748 lb)
- Gross weight: 1,333 kg (2,939 lb)
- Fuel capacity: 240 L (63 US gal; 53 imp gal) in 200 L (53 US gal; 44 imp gal)main fuselage tank and 40 L (11 US gal; 8.8 imp gal) centre-section gravity tank
- Powerplant: 1 × Mercedes D.III 6-cylinder water-cooled in-line piston engine, 120 kW (160 hp)
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)
- Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed: 152 km/h (94 mph, 82 kn) at sea level
- Endurance: 4 hours
- Service ceiling: 5,050 m (16,570 ft)
- Wing loading: 36 kg/m2 (7.4 lb/sq ft)
Armament
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
- Gray, Peter; Thetford, Owen (1970). German Aircraft of the First World War (2nd ed.). London: Putnam. pp. 195–198. ISBN 0-370-00103-6.
- Ramoška, G. "Lietuvos Aviacijos Istorija 1919 - 1940 m. : Pirmieji karo aviacijos lėktuvai 1919-23 m." plienosparnai.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- Herris, Jack (2014). Rumpler Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes. Great War Aviation Centennial Series. Vol. 11. n.p.: Aeronaut Books. ISBN 978-1-935881-21-6.
- Klaauw, Bart van der (March–April 1999). "Unexpected Windfalls: Accidentally or Deliberately, More than 100 Aircraft 'arrived' in Dutch Territory During the Great War". Air Enthusiast (80): 54–59. ISSN 0143-5450.
- Neulen, Hans-Werner & Cony, Christophe (August 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) (89): 34–43. ISSN 1243-8650.