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Rumpler C.IV

1917 WORLD WAR 1

History

Beginning with the 1916 two-seat reconnaissance biplane C.III, engineers at Rumpler Flugzeugwerke developed an improved 1917 form, known as the Rumpler C.IV, to perform the same on the battlefield. The design was developed by Dr.

Edmund Rumpler and the main operator became the German Empire, although the Ottoman Air Force also relied on the type during the war years, after the war the operators became Belgium, Switzerland and Yugoslavia.

The C. IV features a new Mercedes C. IVa engine and an improved rear face compared to the C. III. This provides the improved aircraft with good speed and an excellent service ceiling, while providing the necessary endurance for reconnaissance missions. This was his value to the Germans, who survived the entire war in his role despite offering more modern products.

In practice, few Allied fighter jets were able to intercept the C.IV, which gave the Rumpler crew a significant advantage.

The aircraft was fitted with conventional biplane wings (up and down) with parallel struts, resulting in a two-cabin layout. The engine drives a two-bladed wooden propeller in the nose, located at the front of the plane, just in front of the pilot. The pilot sits under the main upper-wing aircraft with the spotter/tail gunner in the cockpit directly behind the pilot. Both crew members have open-air cockpits, which means ambient temperatures can be as low as -50C (-58F) at high altitudes.

Combine that with missions lasting four to six hours, and you can imagine the hardships these flight crews have to endure. The landing gear has a "tail" arrangement with wheeled main legs. The tail unit has a small rounded fin and a low-set horizontal surface.

Performance of the water-cooled Mercedes D. IVa inline piston engine (260 hp) includes a top speed of 107 mph and a top speed of 21,000 feet per hour.

The armament is centred on a 1 x 7.92mm LMG 08/15 machine gun in a fixed forward firing position above the nose, synchronised by rotating propeller blades and operated by the pilot. A tail gunner manages a 7.92mm Parabellum MG14 on a trainable (ring) mount to protect the aircraft's vulnerable Six from a trailing threat.

In addition to armament, the airframe is allowed to carry a 220-pound conventional airdrop, enabling the biplane to deal with targets of opportunity (ToO).

Early production models used large spinners on the propeller hubs. This physical feature was erased in later products, slightly improving drag characteristics and further boosting performance.

Built by the Rumpler and its competitor Pfalz, the latter variant was named "Pfalz C. I" (later "Rumpler C. IV (Pfal)") and was equipped with different ailerons. The Palatinate produced about 300 examples for the war effort.

In addition to service on the Western Front, the Rumpler C. IV series was used for its role on the Italian front and in the Middle East wars. The Rumpler 6B-2 is a branch of the land-based C.IV series.