Rumpler B.I

B.I
Role	Reconnaissance aircraft Type of aircraft
National origin	Germany
Manufacturer	Rumpler
First flight	1914
Primary user	Luftstreitkräfte
Number built	ca 225

The Rumpler B.I (factory designation 4A) was a military reconnaissance aircraft produced in Germany during World War I.^[1]

Design and development

The B.I was a conventional two-bay biplane with unstaggered wings of unequal span.^[2] It featured two open cockpits in tandem and fixed, tailskid undercarriage.^[2] Its upper wing reflected the wing design of the Etrich Taube that Rumpler was building at the time.^[3]

Rumpler built 198 of these aircraft for the Luftstreitkräfte, plus 26 seaplane versions for the Imperial German Navy.^[2]

Variants

• 4A - landplane with Mercedes D.I engine, military designation B.I^[3]
  • 4A13 - B.I with balanced, comma-style rudder^[4]
  • 4A14 - version with Benz Bz.III engine^[5]
• 4B - seaplane
  • 4B1 - version with Mercedes D.I engine^[6]
  • 4B2 - version with Benz Bz.III engine^[6]
  • 4B11 - version with Benz Bz.I engine^[5]
  • 4B12 - version with Benz Bz.III engine^[5]

Operators

 Denmark

• Royal Danish Air Force - Postwar.

 Germany

• Luftstreitkrafte
• Kaiserliche Marine

 Turkey

• Ottoman Air Force

Specifications

Data from Gray & Thetford 1962, p.518

General characteristics

• Crew: Two, pilot and observer
• Length: 8.40 m (27 ft 7 in)
• Wingspan: 13.00 m (42 ft 8 in)
• Height: 3.10 m (10 ft 2 in)
• Empty weight: 750 kg (1,650 lb)
• Gross weight: 970 kg (2,100 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Mercedes D.I , 75 kW (100 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 145 km/h (90 mph, 78 kn)

Notes

References

• Gray, Peter; Owen Thetford (1962). German Aircraft of the First World War. London: Putnam.
• Herris, Jack (2014). Rumpler Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes. Great War Aviation Centennial Series. Vol. 11. n.p.: Aeronaut Books. ISBN 978-1-935881-21-6.
• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing.
• Kroschel, Günter; Helmut Stützer (1994). Die Deutschen Militärflugzeuge 1910–1918. Herford: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn.
• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.

Further reading

TaubesOther early typesMilitary designations

B Types	B.I
C Types	C.I C.II C.III C.IV C.V C.VI C.VII C.VIII C.IX C.X C.XI C.XII C.XIII
D Types	D.I
G Types	G.I G.II G.III

Company designations

1913	3C 3F
1914	4A & DDD 4A2 4A13 4A14 4A15 4B1 4B2 4B11 4B12 4B13 4C 4E
1915	5A2 5A3 5A4 5A15 5A16
1916	6A2 6A5 6A6 6A7 6A7 (2) 6A7 (3) 6A8 6B1 6B2 6G2 6G3 6G4
1917	7C1 7D1-7D8
1918	8C12 8C13 8C14 8C14 8D1