The Rumpler C.IV was a German single-engine, two-seat

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 ...

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 {{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 ...

'' (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 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 ...

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 Pfalz Flugzeugwerke was a World War I German aircraft manufacturer, located at the Speyer airfield in the Palatinate (German: Pfalz). They are best known for their series of fighters, notably the Pfalz D.III and Pfalz D.XII. The company went ban ...

as the Pfalz C.I, differing in ailerons on all four wings. From February 1917 they were renamed Rumpler C.IV (Pfal).Herris, Jack. ''Pfalz Aircraft of World War I''. Great War Aircraft in Profile, Volume 4. 2001. . P.9 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 The de Havilland Gipsy Major or Gipsy IIIA is a four-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted inline engine used in a variety of light aircraft produced in the 1930s, including the famous Tiger Moth biplane. Many Gipsy Major engines still power vintag ...

engine.Taylor 1969, pp. 225–226.

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 The ''Syndicat national d'Etude des Transports Aériens'' ("National Union of Study of Aerial Transport"), known by its acronym SNETA, was a Belgian airline which operated from 1919 to 1923 in order to pioneer commercial aviation in Belgium. In 1923 ...

(post-war) ; * Luftstreitkrafte *

; * Swiss Air Force ; *

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 ...

; *

Yugoslav Royal Air Force The Royal Yugoslav Air Force ( sh-Latn, Jugoslovensko kraljevsko ratno vazduhoplovstvo, JKRV; sh-Cyrl, Југословенско краљевско ратно ваздухопловство, ЈКРВ; ( sl, Jugoslovansko kraljevo vojno letalstv ...

- Postwar.

Specifications (C.IV)

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. .

External links

A page about Max Psaar
an ethnic Sorbian Rumpler C.IV pilot of ''

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, alth ...

'' (in German).
Page on Rumpler C.IV on website Deutsches museum
{{Authority control 1910s German military reconnaissance aircraft Military aircraft of World War I Biplanes C.IV Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1917 de:Rumpler C.IV