The Rumpler B.I (factory designation 4A) was a military

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

aircraft produced 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 ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

.Taylor 1989, p.771

Design and development

The B.I was a conventional two-bay

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

with unstaggered wings of unequal span.''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft'', p.2833 It featured two open cockpits in tandem and fixed, tailskid undercarriage. Its upper wing reflected the wing design of the

Etrich Taube The Etrich ''Taube'', also known by the names of the various later manufacturers who built versions of the type, such as the Rumpler ''Taube'', was a pre-World War I monoplane aircraft. It was the first military aeroplane to be mass-produced in ...

that Rumpler was building at the time.Gray & Thetford 1962, p.518 Rumpler built 198 of these aircraft for the ''

Luftstreitkräfte The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Force)—known before October 1916 as (Flyer Troops)—was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-language sources it is usually referred to as the Imperial German Air Service, alt ...

'', plus 26

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...

versions for the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...

Variants

* 4A - landplane with

Mercedes D.I The Mercedes D.I (also known as the Type E6F) was a six-cylinder, water-cooled, SOHC valvetrain inline engine developed in Germany for use in aircraft in 1913. Developing 75 kW (100 hp), it powered many German military aircraft during t ...

engine, military designation B.I ** 4A13 - B.I with balanced, comma-style rudderGray & Thetford 1962, p.519 ** 4A14 - version with

Benz Bz.III The Benz Bz.III was a six-cylinder, water-cooled, inline engine developed in Germany for use in aircraft in 1914. Developing 112 kW (150 hp) at 1,400 rpm from 14.3 L (875 cu in),Smith 1981, p.53. it powered many German military aircraft ...

engineGray & Thetford 1962, p.520 * 4B - seaplane ** 4B1 - version with Mercedes D.I engineKroschel & Stützer 1994, p.127 ** 4B2 - version with Benz Bz.III engine ** 4B11 - version with Benz Bz.I engine ** 4B12 - version with Benz Bz.III engine

Operators

; *

Royal Danish Air Force The Royal Danish Air Force ( da, Flyvevåbnet, lit=The Flying weapon) (RDAF) is the aerial warfare force of The Kingdom of Denmark and one of the four branches of the Danish Defence. Initially being components of the Army and the Navy, it was ...

- Postwar. ; * Luftstreitkrafte *

Kaiserliche Marine {{italic title The adjective ''kaiserlich'' means "imperial" and was used in the German-speaking countries to refer to those institutions and establishments over which the ''Kaiser'' ("emperor") had immediate personal power of control. The term wa ...

; *

Ottoman Air Force The Aviation Squadrons of the Ottoman Empire were military aviation units of the Ottoman Army and Navy.Edward J. Erickson, ''Ordered To Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War'', "Appendix D The Ottoman Aviation Inspectorate an ...

Specifications

Notes

References