Rumpler C.IV
title: "Rumpler C.IV" 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-1917", "aircraft-with-fixed-conventional-landing-gear"] topic_path: "geography/germany" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumpler_C.IV" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox aircraft"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | C.IV |
| image | Rumpler_C.IV.jpg |
| type | Reconnaissance aircraft |
| manufacturer | Rumpler Flugzeugwerke |
| designer | Dr. Edmund Rumpler |
| introduction | 1917 |
| primary_user | Luftstreitkräfte |
| variants | Rumpler 6B-2 |
| :: |
|name= C.IV |image=Rumpler_C.IV.jpg |caption= |type=Reconnaissance aircraft |manufacturer=Rumpler Flugzeugwerke |designer=Dr. Edmund Rumpler |first_flight= |introduction=1917 |retired= |status= |primary_user=Luftstreitkräfte |more_users= |produced= |number_built= |variants=Rumpler 6B-2
The Rumpler C.IV was a German single-engine, two-seat reconnaissance biplane. It was a development of C.III with different tail surfaces and using a Mercedes D.IVa engine in place of the C.III's Benz Bz.IV. The **Rumpler 6B 2 ** was a single-seat floatplane fighter variant with a 120 kW (160 hp) Mercedes D.III engine built for the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy).
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).
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.
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
;
- SNETA (post-war) ;German Empire
- Luftstreitkrafte
- Kaiserliche Marine ;
- Swiss Air Force ;
- Ottoman Air Force ;Kingdom of Yugoslavia
- Yugoslav Royal Air Force - Postwar.
Specifications (C.IV)
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Rumpler_C.IV_abbatu_(15391256882).jpg" caption="Rumpler CIV shot down near Châlons-sur-Marne by French ace [[Hector Garaud]]."] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Rumpler_C_IV_1.jpg" caption="Surviving Rumpler C.IV as seen in Deutsches Museum"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Rumpler_C_IV_2.jpg" caption="Rumpler C.IV inside visible"] ::
|ref=German Aircraft Of The First World War |prime units?=met General characteristics
|crew=2 (pilot and observer) |length m=8.41 |length note= |span m=12.66 |span note= |height m=3.25 |height note= |wing area sqm=33.5 |wing area note= |aspect ratio= |airfoil= |empty weight kg=1080 |empty weight note= |gross weight kg=1530 |gross weight note= |max takeoff weight kg= |max takeoff weight note= |fuel capacity= |more general= Powerplant
|eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=Mercedes D.IVa |eng1 type=6-cylinder water-cooled in-line piston engine |eng1 hp=260 |eng1 note=
|prop blade number=2 |prop name=fixed-pitch propeller |prop dia m= |prop dia note= Performance
|max speed kmh=171 |max speed note=at 500 m |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= 3½-4 hr |ceiling m=6400 |ceiling note= |g limits= |roll rate= |climb rate ms= |climb rate note= |time to altitude= |wing loading kg/m2= |wing loading note= |fuel consumption kg/km= |power/mass= |more performance= 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 of bombs
|avionics=
References
Notes
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. .
- Munson, Kenneth. Bombers, Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft 1914 - 1919.
- Munson, Kenneth. Fighters, Attack and Training Aircraft 1914 - 1919. .
- Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1969–70. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1969. .
References
- Herris, Jack. ''Pfalz Aircraft of World War I''. Great War Aircraft in Profile, Volume 4. 2001. {{ISBN. 1891268155. P.9
- Taylor 1969, pp. 225–226.
- Gray and Thetford 1962, p.201.
- Munson 1967, p.99.
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