Rumpler B.I

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

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

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)