Rumpler C.I
title: "Rumpler C.I" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1910s-german-military-reconnaissance-aircraft", "biplanes", "rumpler-aircraft", "single-engined-tractor-aircraft", "aircraft-first-flown-in-1915", "aircraft-with-fixed-conventional-landing-gear"] topic_path: "geography/germany" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumpler_C.I" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox aircraft"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | C.I |
| image | File:Rumpler C.I bojowy 2 msc.jpg |
| type | Reconnaissance aircraft |
| manufacturer | Rumpler Flugzeugwerke |
| introduction | 1915 |
| primary_user | Luftstreitkräfte |
| more_users | Poland |
| produced | 1915 - 1917 |
| variants | Rumpler 6B-1 |
| :: |
|name= C.I |image=File:Rumpler C.I bojowy 2 msc.jpg |caption= |type=Reconnaissance aircraft |manufacturer=Rumpler Flugzeugwerke |designer= |first_flight= |introduction=1915 |retired= |status= |primary_user=Luftstreitkräfte |more_users= Poland |produced= 1915 - 1917 |number_built= |variants=Rumpler 6B-1
Entering service in 1915, the Rumpler C.I, (company designation 5A 2), 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.
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
; German Empire
- Luftstreitkrafte ;Latvia
- Latvian Air Force - Postwar. ;
- Lithuanian Air Force - Postwar. 3 aircraft (No. 2699, 4936, 8144) purchased in 1919. ;
- Polish Air Force - Postwar. ;
- Ottoman Air Force ; Kingdom of Yugoslavia
- Royal Yugoslav Air Force - Postwar.
Specifications (C.I)
|ref=German Aircraft of the First World War |prime units?=met General characteristics
|crew=2 |length m=7.85 |length note= |span m=12.15 |span note= |height m=3.06 |height note= |wing area sqm=35.7 |wing area note= |aspect ratio= |airfoil= |empty weight kg=793 |empty weight note= |gross weight kg=1333 |gross weight note= |max takeoff weight kg= |max takeoff weight note= |fuel capacity=240 L in 200 Lmain fuselage tank and 40 L centre-section gravity tank |more general= Powerplant
|eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=Mercedes D.III |eng1 type=6-cylinder water-cooled in-line piston engine |eng1 kw=120 |eng1 note=
Alternative engines: ::* 180 hp Argus As.III in C.Ia aircraft from Hannoversche Waggonfabrik ::* 150 hp Benz Bz.III in Bayru-built C.Is, modified as trainers with dual control. (Bayru. - Bayerische Rumpler Werke)
|prop blade number=2 |prop name=fixed-pitch propeller |prop dia m= |prop dia note=
Performance
|max speed kmh=152 |max speed note=at sea level |cruise speed kmh= |cruise speed note= |stall speed kmh= |stall speed note= |never exceed speed kmh= |never exceed speed note= |range km= |range note= |combat range km= |combat range note= |ferry range km= |ferry range note= |endurance=4 hours |ceiling m=5050 |ceiling note= |g limits= |roll rate= |climb rate ms= |climb rate note= |time to altitude= |wing loading kg/m2=36 |fuel consumption kg/km= |power/mass= |thrust/weight= |more performance= Armament
|armament= specific parameters, remove this parameter-- |guns=
:* 1 × fixed forward-firing 7.92 mm LMG 08/15 with an interruptor gear on the port side of the fuselage (in later aircraft only) :*1 × 7.92 mm Parabellum MG14 machine gun on a Schneider ring mounting |bombs=
:* 10 × 10 kg bombs
References
References
- "Lietuvos Aviacijos Istorija 1919 - 1940 m. : Pirmieji karo aviacijos lėktuvai 1919-23 m.".
- Gray, Peter. (1970). "German Aircraft of the First World War". Putnam.
- "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage".
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