The Taube was first constructed in 1909-1910 by Austrian

Igo Etrich Ignaz "Igo" Etrich (25 December 1879 – 4 February 1967) was an Austrian flight pioneer, pilot and fixed-wing aircraft developer. Education Etrich was born on Christmas Day 1879 in the Upper Old Town of Trutnov, Bohemia. He attended school in L ...

and later developed into a two-seater military aircraft in 1912. Many Taubes were built under licence by a wide array of manufacturers but most were produced by the

Rumpler Flugzeugwerke Rumpler-Luftfahrzeugbau GmbH, Rumpler-Werke, usually known simply as Rumpler was a German aircraft and automobile manufacturer founded in Berlin by Austrian engineer Edmund Rumpler in 1909 as Rumpler Luftfahrzeugbau.Gunston 1993, p.259 The fir ...

. By 1912 the design had evolved to a 2-seater reconnaissance aircraft for military use Built by Rumpler as a 2-seat Taube floatplane, ''Start'' was the

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, 3 ...

's very first

aeroplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spectr ...

, bought in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and arriving in

Horten is a town and municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway—located along the Oslofjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Horten. The municipality also includes the town of Åsgårdstrand an ...

on 25 May 1912, at a cost of 30,000

Norwegian kroner The krone (, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including Svalbard). Traditionally known as the Norwegian crown in English. It is nominally subdivided into 100 ''øre ...

. Funding came from private contributions after a speedy initiative from the commander and officers of the submarine HNoMS ''Kobben'', Norway's first submarine; one of the largest contributors was H.M. King

Haakon VII of Norway Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick V ...

. The first flight was made on 1 June 1912Official Norwegian Defense Force website
History of the Royal Norwegian Air Force
by ''Secondløytnant'' Hans Fleischer Dons (who was also second in command on the

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

HNoMS Kobben). He took off from Gannestad in Borre, flew over

Karljohansvern naval station Karjohansvern (''Karljohansvern Orlogsstasjon, KJV'') at Horten was the main base for the Royal Norwegian Navy from 1850 to 1963. Background In 1818, it was decided to establish a naval base in Horten. It was first called ''Hortens verft'', an ...

and

Moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

before landing in Øra, not far from

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Fredrikstad. The city of Fredrikstad was founded in 15 ...

. The flight was 48 km long and took 35 minutes. Dons was congratulated by both the King and the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

. Start was officially given as a gift to the navy on 1 August 1912 and is today displayed at the

Norwegian Armed Forces Aircraft Collection Norwegian Armed Forces Aircraft Collection (''Forsvarets flysamling Gardermoen'') is a military aviation museum located at Gardermoen, north of Oslo in Viken county, Norway. The founding of the Norwegian Aviation Historical Society in 1967, gave t ...

Operators

; *

Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service The Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service ( no, Marinens flyvevesen) was alongside the Norwegian Army Air Service the forerunner to the modern-day Royal Norwegian Air Force. History The RNNAS was established on 1 June 1912,Official Norwegian Defence ...

Specifications (Rumpler Taube)

References

Royal Norwegian Navy history page

Royal Norwegian Air Force history page

Royal Norwegian Air Force history page
Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service {{mil-aviation-stub