Rumpler C.IV

Edmund Rumpler, an Austrian citizen and an automotive engineer, established a technical consulting firm in Berlin in 1906 and soon became involved in aeronautical affairs by virtue of providing engineering assistance to wealthy, would-be aeronauts in building their aircraft. The long-term prospects looked promising and in November 1908, Rumpler founded the Rumpler Luftfahrzeugbau, later renamed Rumpler Werke AG. In 1910 Rumpler obtained the German rights to lgo Etrich's Taube patent and had Etrich pilot Karl lllner demonstrate the Etrich-Rumpler Taube (powered by a 50hp Rumpler Aeolus V-8 engine) at the Berlin Flugwoche (October 9-16 1910) and subsequently to the German Army at Doberitz. The superiority of the Taube in gusty weather and its great stability resulted in Rumpler's first military order. In what is still a rather murky episode, the German Patent Office declared the Etrich Taube patent null and void; whereupon Rumpler continued to build the Taube under his own name. The Rumpler-Taube garnered a stunning array of competition prizes and world records in 1911 and 1912. Being easy to fly and eminently stable, the Taube was a boon to the German air service, who in their desire to operate a 'safe' aircraft, purchased the type in large numbers. Rumpler's aeronautical reputation and business future was assured. He continued to dominate the Taube market in spite of the fact that almost every German aircraft firm and aviation enthusiast, unfettered by patent restraints, jumped on the Taube bandwagon. But measured against the state of aeronautical progress in late 1913, the Taube was a dead­end, having been eclipsed by faster, more manoeuvrable aircraft brought forth in response to the National Flugspende (National Air Subscription), that great German (para­military) effort to obtain parity with French aviation.

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