The Rumpler C.X, produced under the company designation Rumpler 8C 14, was a German two-seat observation aircraft. It was developed from the earlier Rumpler 8C 13 prototype by Rumpler in early 1918. The prototype had a similar wing design to the Rumpler C.VII, powered by a 260 hp (194 kW) Mercedes D.IVa engine and was later powered by a 240 hp (179 kW) Maybach Mb.IVa. The C.X had the highest top speed and service ceiling of all German C-type aircraft and an order was placed for the aircraft in August 1918, but few were built and tested before the war ended.[1]

C.X
Role Observation aircraft
National origin German
Manufacturer Rumpler
First flight 1918
Number built 1

Specifications

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Data from Over the Front, Volume 23[1][2]

General characteristics

  • Crew: two
  • Length: 6.9 m (22 ft 8 in)
  • Wingspan: 10.5 m (34 ft 5 in)
  • Height: 3.12 m (10 ft 3 in)
  • Wing area: 29 m2 (310 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 950 kg (2,094 lb)
  • Gross weight: 1,385 kg (3,053 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Maybach Mb.IV 6-cyl. water-cooled in-line piston engine, 180 kW (240 hp)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 195 km/h (121 mph, 105 kn)
  • Endurance: 3⅓ hours
  • Service ceiling: 7,800 m (25,600 ft)
  • Rate of climb: 3.07 m/s (604 ft/min)
  • Time to altitude: 6,000 m (20,000 ft) in 27 minutes, 7,800 m (25,600 ft) in 59 minutes

Armament

  • Guns: 1 × fixed LMG 08/15 Spandau machine gun, 1 × manually aimed Parabellum MG 14/17 machine gun on a flexible mount in the rear cockpit.

Footnotes

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References

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  • Gray, Peter; Thetford, Owen (1970). German Aircraft of the First World War (2nd ed.). London: Putnam. p. 520. ISBN 0-370-00103-6.
  • Herris, J. (2008). "Rare Birds: Rumpler C.X". Over the Front. XXIII (1). League of World War I Aviation Historians: 78. ISSN 0888-272X.
  • 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.