Rumpler C.X

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.

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

Specifications

Data from Over the Front, Volume 23

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.

References

• 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.