Rumpler B.I

The Rumpler B.I (factory designation 4A) was a military reconnaissance aircraft produced in Germany during World War I.[1]

B.I
Role Reconnaissance aircraft
National origin Germany
Manufacturer Rumpler
First flight 1914
Primary user Luftstreitkräfte
Number built ca 225

Design and development

The B.I was a conventional two-bay biplane with unstaggered wings of unequal span.[2] It featured two open cockpits in tandem and fixed, tailskid undercarriage.[2] Its upper wing reflected the wing design of the Etrich Taube that Rumpler was building at the time.[3]

Rumpler built 198 of these aircraft for the Luftstreitkräfte, plus 26 seaplane versions for the Imperial German Navy.[2]

Variants
  • 4A - landplane with Mercedes D.I engine, military designation B.I[3]
    • 4A13 - B.I with balanced, comma-style rudder[4]
    • 4A14 - version with Benz Bz.III engine[5]
  • 4B - seaplane
    • 4B1 - version with Mercedes D.I engine[6]
    • 4B2 - version with Benz Bz.III engine[6]
    • 4B11 - version with Benz Bz.I engine[5]
    • 4B12 - version with Benz Bz.III engine[5]

Operators
 Denmark
 Germany
 Turkey

Specifications

Data from Gray & Thetford 1962, p.518

General characteristics

  • Crew: Two, pilot and observer
  • Length: 8.40 m (27 ft 7 in)
  • Wingspan: 13.00 m (42 ft 8 in)
  • Height: 3.10 m (10 ft 2 in)
  • Empty weight: 750 kg (1,650 lb)
  • Gross weight: 970 kg (2,100 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Mercedes D.I , 75 kW (100 hp)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 145 km/h (90 mph, 78 kn)

Notes
  1. Taylor 1989, p.771
  2. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft, p.2833
  3. Gray & Thetford 1962, p.518
  4. Gray & Thetford 1962, p.519
  5. Gray & Thetford 1962, p.520
  6. Kroschel & Stützer 1994, p.127

References
  • Gray, Peter; Owen Thetford (1962). German Aircraft of the First World War. London: Putnam.
  • 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.
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing.
  • Kroschel, Günter; Helmut Stützer (1994). Die Deutschen Militärflugzeuge 1910–1918. Herford: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn.
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.

Further reading
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rumpler B.I.
  • Nicolle, David (March–April 1999). "Young Turks: Ottoman Turkish Fighters 1915–1918". Air Enthusiast. No. 74. pp. 40–45. ISSN 0143-5450.
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