HISTORICAL MINIATURES JOURNAL ISSUE NUMBER 7

BY GEORGE GRASSE

BUILDING THE 1:48 SCALE PLANET MODELS GERMAN RUMPLER C.Ia (Han) C.4739/16 of FA 24s

PURPOSE

The 1:48 scale WW1 airplane covered in this issue is the Planet Models Rumpler C.I to be modified and built as a Rumpler C.Ia (Han) German two-seat army cooperation general purpose aircraft.  It will represent C.4739/16 of Flieger-Abteilung 24s on the Eastern Front in the Summer of 1917.  The kit is wholly resin except for a the plastic landing gear struts and PE detail parts sheet.  The decal sheet provides the Eisernes Kreuzen plus markings for a couple of German aircraft.  The fuselage consists of two resin halves plus a cockpit floorboard section with a couple of seats and very little else in the way of interior details.  The tail unit consists of three pieces.  The upper wing is one piece and the lower wing is in two halves.  Struts are resin.  The engine is quite basic and appears a bit undersize with two choices for the exhaust stack.  There is resin armament in the form of one Spandau, two Parabellum machine guns, and one Lewis gun.  Other resin parts include the propeller, wheels, tailskid, observer's gun ring, and wing mounted radiator. 

Not supplied in the kit are: an instrument panel, photographic camera and storage for plates, Parabellum drums and storage racks, Hannover raised gun ring, wireless set, retractable antenna spool, throttle quadrant, pressure pumps, alternative Argus As.III engine.  I used the following "after market" accessories:

To convert this to Hannover-built C.Ia, I had to cutup the engine and make an Argus As.III.  The forward firing Spandau will be moved from the left side of the engine to the right side.  Another major modification is the building up of the observer's gun ring.  A white exhaust stack is another Hannover identity feature.  The aircraft was, in my opinion, finished in a dark green and red-brown scheme which I will discuss later.  Let me say that in addition to Windsock Datafile 79, I relied heavily on two photos appearing in The Imperial Russian Air Service ² (see bibliography) and Copper State Models' Rumpler C.I kit drawings by Martin Digmayer.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE RUMPLER C.I SERIES

During the early months of 1915, it became evident that German B-types were inadequate for army cooperation roles and they possessed poor defensive qualities.  In the latter category of defense, a B-type aircraft had the observer in the front seat and pilot in the rear.  At the time this arrangement was conceived, there was little if any thought for defense.  B-type aircraft can be considered as the first generation of World War I army cooperation aircraft all of which were designed before the war.  Most of the early war attempts to arm B-Type aircraft were, at best, modest.  The observer had the difficult task of trying to bring a defensive machine gun into action from the front seat hindered by all of the paraphernalia of a biplane not the least of which was the propeller, struts, rigging, and even the chance of hitting the pilot!

The Rumpler C.I, designed and built by Rumpler Flugzeug-Werke G.m.b.H (Johannisthal bei Berlin), was one of several of the early C-Types designed to correct the faulty defensive arrangement and, to be sure, incorporate larger engines, advanced aerodynamics, and enhanced production techniques.  The Rumpler C.I was an exceptional aircraft compared to its "competition", all of the other C.I aircraft including the AEG, Albatros, Aviatik, DFW, and LVG.  At first, only the observer's swivel mounted Parabellum in his new rear seat was fitted.  Quickly, however, a fixed forward firing Spandau was mounted with synchronizing gear for the pilot's use.  This arrangement became the standard for C-Types.

Three important factors were now developing for Rumpler.  Firstly, as Rumpler continued to enhance the design it became apparent to Idflieg that a future Rumpler, which would become the C.IV and its derivatives, could satisfy the growing need for a high-altitude, high-performance, long-range reconnaissance machine.  Secondly, Idflieg expressed the need for a reliable, well-built two-seat advanced trainer and the Rumpler C.I was a prime candidate.   Thirdly, as the Rumpler works gradually increased production capacity for C.I production, the development enhanced new models, and capacity build C.I trainers, Idflieg directed that the production of Rumpler C.I aircraft cease at Rumpler.  Henceforth, all C.I variants including trainers would be license-built by other firms whose combined capacity far exceeded Rumpler.  The new C.III, first of the "advanced" C-Types would be Rumpler's only concern.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE RUMPLER C.Ia (Han)

The Rumpler C.Ia (Han) was license-built by Hannoversche Waggonfabrik AG (Han) as a continuation of the series while Rumpler concentrated on the development of the Rumpler C.III.  Other license-builders were Märkische Flugzeug-Werke G.m.b.H (Mark), Germania Flugzeug-Werke G.m.b.H (Germ), Hansa und Brandenburgische Flugzeug-Werke G.m.b.H (Brand), Albert Rinne Flugzeug-Werke G.m.b.H. (Rin), and Linke und Hoffman Werke A.G. (Li).  It appears that only the Hannover-built aircraft entered combat and then only on fronts where they were able to hold their own against technically inferior aircraft.  This prolonged the life of the Rumpler C.I now appended as the Rumpler C.Ia (Han).  Note that the "a" refers to the Argus As.III 180 hp engine which was installed in the Hannover-built Rumpler C.Ia (Han).  All of the other license-built aircraft became trainers.  Linke und Hoffman contract for 100 trainers was eventually cancelled.  In all, about 2363 Rumpler C.I series aircraft was produced.³

Table 1: Summary of Rumpler C.I Series Aircraft Orders

In general, the Rumpler C.Ia was manufactured as an identical twin to the original Rumpler C.I which was now phasing out of production at Rumpler in favor of the upgraded Rumpler C.III.  As previously noted in the opening paragraphs, there were a few distinguishing Hannover-built characteristics, namely: 1) accommodation for the Argus As.III engine; 2) white exhaust stack; 3) raised observer's gun ring; 4) camouflage application; and 5) serial number lettering. 

Construction of the fuselage was of the box-girder style reinforced with internal wire bracing.  The top deck aft of the observer's cockpit was unique because the stringers that formed the rounded shape were clearly visible when covered with fabric.  Wood material was used in the framing aft of the observer's cockpit but steel tubing was used forward.  The engine was enclosed with metal panels except for wood-ply panels at the sides starting at the nose and extending to the first cabane strut.  Of course, the wood paneling was interrupted by metal engine access panels that were slit with cooling vents.

The tail unit was formed with steel tubing and covered in fabric.  The wings were of the two-bay type with two main spars supported by ribs interspersed with short false ribs at the front with the whole covered in fabric.  Somewhat unique was the trailing edge which was of solid wood giving a neat, straight-edge finish as opposed to a wire trailing edge that would give a scalloped appearance to the trailing edge.  The upper wing was joined as two large wing panels, rigged with wire, and attached to the lower wings on streamline steel struts with a slight dihedral and swept back to give the top profile a classic gorgeous look.⁴

RUMPLER C.I SERIES FRONTBESTAND

Reproduced here is the Frontbestand that Jack Herris prepared for his “Rare Birds” article in Over the Front, Volume 23, Issue 1, page 78.  This shows the actual inventory of Rumpler airframes at the front as of the ending date for each period. This table includes the Rumpler C.I and C.Ia.  Note the summary line of the C.I and C.Ia which shows that the life of the Rumpler C.I series as a whole was only slightly lengthened by Hannover-built aircraft.  Remaining Rumpler C.I types for 1918 were insignificant and are not included in this table.⁵

Table 2: Frontbestand for Rumpler C.I and C.Ia, Series Total, and as a Percentage of All C-Types

DEPLOYMENT OF THE RUMPLER C.Ia (Han)

When the Frontbestand in Table 2 for the Rumpler C.Ia (Han) is reviewed, one has to keep in mind FA and FA(A) Abteilungen had an establishment of six aircraft as of the end of 1916.  At least one third of the inventory numbers above represent spares at the various Armee Flugparks (AFP).  For example, as of the end of June 1917, there were 162 Rumpler C.Ia aircraft in the frontline inventory.  Of these, say, one third or 54 were distributed to the AFPs leaving about 108 actually on hand at the Abteilungen.  By June 1917, there were 48 FA and about 100 FA (A) Abteilungen giving a mean average of less than one Rumpler C.Ia per unit.  It is almost certain that aviation units on the Western Front were maintained with the latest available aircraft that displaced the Rumpler C.I series so that some of these units may have had none and others may have had, say, one or even two. 

We know that Rumpler C.I series aircraft were being pushed into units on secondary fronts.  For example, when FA 300 "Pascha" was deployed to the Sinai in 1916, it arrived with fourteen Rumpler C.I aircraft fitted with enlarged "tropical" radiators⁶, 10 pilots, and 6 observers.⁷  Six of the aircraft were operational with the unit and the remainder maintained in the rear as spares.  In all probability, FA and FA (A) units serving on the Eastern and Macedonian had higher inventories of the Rumpler C.I and, it appears, most of these were the Hannover C.Ia simply because the Frontbestand for the period ending June 1917 tells us so.

EASTERN FRONT 1917 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

By the end of June 1917, the Russian Army was a hollow ghost.  The Russian Revolution of March 1917 changed the form of government led by Kerensky and immediately reduced the effect of the army by mass desertions.  Only in the central sector was any cohesion and semblance of supply maintained largely because the troops were of other nationalities.  A year earlier in 1916, Marshal Brusilov launched an effective offensive which resulted in major gains and caused great panic in the Austro-Hungarian armies in Galicia.  This led to their eventual reinforcement by German Western Front divisions that stabilized the Galician Front.  During the latter stages of the 1916 Brusilov Offensive, Rumania declared for the Allies and launched an offensive against Austro-Hungarian forces in Transylvania.  In short order, the Western Front German divisions were reinforced and, with Austro-Hungarian and Turkish troops, halted Brusilov and knocked Rumania out of the war. 

Once again, in June 1917, the Kerensky government prepared for another Summer offensive at the urgent request of the Allies and to relieve pressure on ever-growing Soviet pressure to seize power .  Marshal Brusilov was made supreme army commander and prepared for another major offensive into northern Galicia with essentially the same objective as in 1916: knock Austria-Hungary out of the war.  Often referred to as the "Kerensky Offensive" or "2nd Brusilov Offensive, bombardment and assault began on 1 July 1917 and immediate gains northeast of Tarnopol were made but the rapid redeployment of German reserves quickly contained the offensive and began driving the Russians back into western Ukraine.  It was during this period, July 1917, that German Flieger-Abteilungen were most active behind the lines locating Russian avenues of retreat, strong points, and reserves.⁸

FLIEGER-ABTEILUNG BACKGROUND

The aviation units on the Eastern Front followed the same structure as for the Western Front, that is, six aircraft not always of the same type.  It took about 150 men to operate a Flieger-Abteilung.  When the war started, organizational structures were in place for the early Feldflieger Abteilungen (FAA) of four aircraft each.  They described in detail every men, machine, and pieces of equipment a unit was to have.  In late 1916, the "old" structure was modified and a new Luftstreitkräfte (German Air Service) was created.  FAA units were re-designated Flieger Abteilung (FA) and their establishment was increased to six aircraft.  However, there does not appear to be a documented structure for these and subsequent iterations of aviation units created after the start of the war.  From the re-organization throughout the remainder of the war, FA units of six aircraft had an average of about 140 men all ranks.⁹

FLIEGER-ABTEILUNG 24s (FA 24s)¹⁰

Flieger-Abteilung 24s has its roots in Feldflieger Abteilung 54 (FFA 54) which was created (aufgestellt) on 16 January 1915 at Fliegerersatz-Abteilung 3 (FEA3) mostly from Saxon men processed through Fliegerersatz-Abteilung 2 (FEA2).   On 21 February 1915, FFA 54 was activated for duty and deployed to the Eastern Front with four aircraft.  During 1916, FFA 54 was attached to Army Group Linsingen with its right flank in the Pripet Marshes connecting with the Austro-Hungarian Fourth Army.  It was the latter formation against which Brusilov's 1916 offensive was launched in an attempt to destroy the Austrian Fourth Army and create a breakthrough that would separate them from the Germans. 

FFA 54 was re-organized on 11 January 1917 as FA 24 and remained on the Eastern Front now with six aircraft of mixed types.  Later, in December 1917, when a treaty ending the war against Russia was signed, FA 24 was designated as one of the Eastern Front units that would be moved to the Western Front.  Since enough FA and FA(A) units were on hand to support the armies on the Western Front, FA 24 was re-designated Schutzstaffel 38.  The period January to March 1918 included movement back to Germany and re-equipping with appropriate Schusta aircraft while assigned to Schusta Gruppe 2, part of 3.Armee.On 31 March 1918, all Schusta formations were re-designated as Schlachtstaffeln (Schlasta).    According to log entries for the period 26 January and 2 June 1918, participation of Schlasta 38s is not specifically known except that as part of Schlastagruppe 2, it was re-assigned to 18.Armee.  Log entries begin for activities on the Western Front on 3 June 1918, fighting on the Aisne and Marne fronts.¹¹

Table 3 below outlines some of the major events related to the Eastern Front.  FFA 54 was renamed FA 24 on 11 January 1917.

Table 3: Chronology of the War Relating to FFA54/FA24 on the Eastern Front¹²

RUMPLER C.Ia C.4739/16 OF FA 24s SHOT DOWN

On 18 June 1917, weeks before the "2nd Brusilov Offensive", Rumpler C.Ia (Han) C.4739/16 flown by Uffz Bollweg (P) and Ltn d R Deter (O) of Flieger-Abteilung 24s was shot down by two Russian aces, Alexander Alexandrovich Kozakov (#11) and Pavel Victorovitch Argeyev (#6) of the 19th Corps Detachment.  Argeyev's whose claims are fairly well documented in The Imperial Russian Air Service - Famous Pilots & Aircraft of World War One by Durkota et al.  Both Russian claims use 20 June 1917 as the date.¹³   

The real problem in locating the crash site is that both accounts list several different geographical markers.  For example, Kozakov attacked near Mikulintsev and forced the aircraft to land at 0900 hours at Podgaitsky.  Argeyev says the engagement occurred at Tsmenitzi near Nejnokov .  The German Casualties listing gives the site of Mikulince on 18 June 1917.¹⁴

The different dates of 18 June (German) and 20 June (Russian) are reconciled if you accept the German date as the date "failed to return" and the Russian date as "the confirmation date".  What's also interesting is the lack of heavy combat activity during the month of June.  It does not appear that the German and Austro-Hungarian commanders were anticipating a Russian offensive at all.  This is somewhat borne out by the post-war account of the action by Uffz Bollweg excerpted from Kilduff's book: "I took off on 18 June 1917 with Ltn Deter as observer in a Rumpler C.Ia to determine the location of a Russian captive balloon."  So begins the flight of C.4739/16.¹⁵ 

To continue Uffz Bollweg's account, "On the return flight we were attacked by a Nieuport single-seater over Buczacz and after the rudder was shot away we crashed 10 kilometers east of Podhajce.  The aircraft was totally wrecked.  I was grazed on the leg; Ltn Deter was much more seriously wounded.  We were surrounded immediately by about 30 Cossacks and were taken to a field hospital in Podhajce."¹⁶

This passage clarified the location.  Buczacz, Ukraine, was the location of the 19th Corps Detachment's aerodrome in the Russian 7th Army sector.   Bollweg and Deter flew right over or quite near it as they tried to return to their lines.  Russian spotters alerted the aerodrome and Nieuport fighters took off to intercept.  Buczacz, Ukraine,  is approximately 80 km south-south west of Tarnopol.

The map below was taken from Google Maps.  The implication of this mission to locate a Russian captive balloon suggests less than a critically necessary flight but also points out that exactly what would C.4739/16 have done if the balloon were spotted?  Remember, there are no Jasta units on the Eastern Front.  Some of the FA and FA(A) units had one or two fighter aircraft attached.  Presumably, if the balloon were spotted, Bollweg and Deter would report it.  The flight may have been one to determine just why a balloon was in the area.  Was something going on behind the front line?  C.4739/16 was shot down in the area of the Russian Seventh Army.  Map 1 below shows Buczacz, Ukraine, in the center with Tarnopol (now Ternopil) at the top just above the H-18 marker.  The front line was west of Buczacz approximately following the faint, dashed white line marking the border between Ukraine and Galicia.

Map 1:  Map of the Eastern Front Summer 1917 ¹⁷

RUMPLER C.Ia C.4739/16 RESEARCH

Rumpler C.Ia (Han) C.4739/16.  This photo does not reveal the demarcation of the camouflage.  Note that the vertical fin in this photo is light but appears quite dark in the photo to the right (IRAS page 47).	Rumpler C.Ia (Han) C.4739/16.  This photo does not show much in the way of camouflage.  The dark-to-light area just in front of the right-hand soldier is the upper wing's shadow.  Note dark vertical fin (IRAS page 66).
Rumpler C.Ia (Han) C.4683/16.  The photo below was the most informative of the four because it shows the type of camouflage pattern on Hannover-built C.Ia aircraft and it clearly shows the Hannover modification to the observer's cockpit (Taz Phillips).	Rumpler C.Ia (Han) C.4683/16.  This photo clearly shows the raised observer's cockpit in side view and two other Hannover features, the white exhaust stack and Argus As.III 180 hp inline engine (Taz Phillips).

CONSTRUCTION

I have relied on a number of references for details: 1) Windsock Datafile 79 Rumpler C.I (WDF079 for short) by Peter M. Grosz; 2) Windsock Worldwide Volume 21, Issue 6 (WW2106 for short); 3) two photos of Rumpler C.Ia C.4683/16 of FA (A) 218 provided by Terry "Taz" Phillips; 4) two photos of this subject, Rumpler C.Ia C.4739/16, that appear in the book, The Imperial Russian Air Service, by Alan Durkota, Thomas Darcey and Victor Kulikov (see bibliographical notes below); and 5) interesting photos in the German publication "Cockpits .  I don't usually include a great number of construction "in-progress" photos in this section except to make a specific point if necessary.  A fairly complete photo history is maintained in my "World War 1 Aircraft in 1:48 Scale" website section; click here for construction photos of the Rumpler C.Ia some of which appear below.

1) Engine: My first concern was building an Argus As.III engine.  I researched "WW1 Aero" Issue #104 and found a number of reproduced German engine drawings including the Argus As.III on page 42.  I found a couple of images on the web and with this information, started work on the engine.  I cut off the individual cylinders from the kit-supplied D.III engine are glued them back onto the crankcase arranged in pairs.  The twin carburetors on the left side were built up from a combination of rectangular and round scrap plastic to which were fashioned the modified intake manifolds.  I made twelve valve springs from copper fuse wire wrapped four times around a piece of brass rod; twelve valve lifter rods from piano wire; and twelve rocker arms from bent wire.  The latter was a mistake as the rocker arms would have been better served with thin sheet stock or even PE scrap material.  The kit's exhaust stack was coaxed to fit into the drill-out engine exhaust manifolds but not glued in place.  It was painted an off white, an early-war Hannover trademark, and roughed up a bit with a graphite stick. 

2) Fuselage Prep: the fuselage is in two halves but before they can be glued together, there is the consideration for adding cockpit parts supplied in the kit plus all of the other details that can be added based on a number of close up photos in the WDF079 and Cockpit Profile: Teil 1.²⁰    Cockpit fabric interior sides were painted Model Master 1706 Sand; the wood framework and floorboard were painted Model Master 1735 Wood.  The floorboard was further enhanced using colored pencils to simulate grain, scuff marks, and wear.

3) Floorboard : the kit's floorboard parts include rudder bar, control column with steering wheel, main gas tank w/filler cap, pilot's seat with PE seat belts, reserve gas tank, bomb chutes, and observer's seat with PE seat belts.  I scratch built a camera, wireless sending unit, and trailing antenna spool.  As each of these parts were built, I trial fitted them so as not to conflict with the fuselage halves when glued together.

4) Instrument Panel: one of the interesting oversights of this kit is the absence of an instrument panel.  I roughed out one from plastic card stock and, after trial and error, trimmed it down to fit.  I located a good photo of a Rumpler C.I instrument panel in Cockpit Profile: Deutsche Flugzeugcockpits und Instrumentenbretter - Teil 1 by Peter Cohausz.  I painted the panel Model Master 1735 Wood and used a combination of Eduard pre-painted gauges, Copper State German gauges, and scratch built pieces to simulate the magneto switch, magneto starter, and other items until I ran out of space! 

5) Fuselage Cockpit Sides: as WW1 modelers know, the insides of an aircraft's cockpit are never exactly alike from one serial number to another mostly because of field modifications and upgrades.  This is a thankful thing since there are not nearly as many cockpit photos as there are of, say, engines.  So, the modeler can be creative.  I added those things on the cockpit interior sides necessary to flight.  For the pilot, was added a throttle quadrant, fuel tank hand pump, and a couple of other gauges.  For the observer, I added a photographic plate storage rack, spare Parabellum ammo drums, a map case, and a bomb release mechanism.  All of these items were pre-fitted to make sure they would not interfere with the fuselage halves when glued.

6) Engine Compartment Prep: the Argus As.III engine was pre-fitted into place to make sure the carburetor sub-assemblies would fit when the fuselage halves were glued together.  The crankcase was painted in Vallejo VC0864 Natural Steel.  The cylinders were painted using my pre-mixed semi-gloss black to which was added a bit of VC0864 Natural Steel.   Intake manifolds were painted VC0864 Natural Steel.  Carburetors were painted brass.  The engine compartment was painted in my mix of German light grey-green.  I added an engine compartment firewall although I'm not sure one was present.

7) Fuselage Assembly:  I checked out the floorboard cockpit sub-assembly and the engine one more time to be sure the fuselage halves would fit properly.  When satisfied that I could do no more, that all components that could be seen had been added, I super glued the engine and floorboard to one fuselage half fitting the other half to make sure things were lined up.  When the super glue was dry, I glued the other side of the fuselage and checked for alignment.  When completely dry after about 20 minutes, I applied Model Master's Red Putty seam gaps.  This putty dries quickly and can be sanded and painted in about two hours.  The putty was sanded down using a progression of grit sand paper from 100 to 400.  Incidentally, the 400 grit is in the form of a 3M product called Sandblaster Flexible Finishing Pad 2-1/4" by 5-3/4" (5,71cm x 14,6cm).

8) Lower Wings: drilled out the rigging and strut holes.  In the case of the lower wings only, I drilled the rigging holes through the wing so that the monofilament thread that will be secured to the upper wing can be passed through, super glued, and weighted down until taut and dry.  Now the hard part: locating the position of the lower wings to the fuselage.  I checked WDF079 GA drawings to locate the wing position.  I held one wing in position, lined it up, and I made pencil marks across the fuselage onto the corresponding wing so I could drill holes already lined up.  I used two brass rods per lower wing.  The hard part was setting the wings in place.  I did not take into account the relationship of the cabane strut positions relative to the leading edge of the lower wing and had to reposition the pins to get that correctly lined up.  There is a slight stagger of the upper and lower wings and this has to be exact.  Finally, the pins, holes, and lower wings were lined up properly and I glued them in place using props to keep the wings balanced with a slight dihedral.

9a) Observer's Raised Cockpit Background: this particular feature was unique to Hannover-built Rumpler C.Ia aircraft.  By the time this production series started, significant advances were made in C-Type flexible rear defense.  By way of review, all belligerents went to war with unarmed aircraft.  For Germany, these were the A and B-Types with the observer in the front seat and the pilot in the rear seat.  Some of the early C-Types continued with this arrangement but provided limited machine gun mountings for the observer, still in the front seat; the Aviatik C.I is a good example of this.  Finally, with the delivery of C.I aircraft by Albatros, LVG, and others, the observer was positioned in the rear cockpit with a somewhat flexible machine gun.  Not too much later and well into 1916, modifications to the observer's machine gun mounting resulted in larger cockpit area to accommodate a large rotating ring with a pintle machine gun mount that made it much easier to bring the gun to bear on attacking aircraft.  The observer's cockpit was also raised to provide more room for ammunition stowage, camera equipment, wireless sending unit, etc.

9b) Building the Raised Observer's Cockpit: I sketched out several methods of building up the cockpit and always came back to the idea keeping it simple and not relying on a lot of material to get the job done.  I finally seized on the idea that a circular "tub" made of a flexible but strong material would be the main support.  First, I had to find a photo showing what the Rumpler C.Ia raised observer's cockpit looked like on the inside.  I posted a thread in the Aerodrome Forum, and after several viewing hits but no response, I despaired.   Then, while looking back at all the photos I could find, I found part of the answer in "Taz" Phillips' rear view photo of C.4683/16 shown above in the "research" section.  I saw the walls of the raised cockpit projecting downward and out of view but it suggested to me a circular "tub" made from thin copper sheet: strong and pliable.  I cut a piece of lead sheet to the depth I wanted and rolled it to fit into the opening.  The first problem was the rather large "shelf" built into the Planet Models' kit.  If my lining were to go in as is, the cockpit would have been severely restrictive of movement by the observer.  I decided to cut away most of the "shelf" so that the edges of the lead sheet could come to rest on top of it.  This really opened up the cockpit.  I fashioned the circular "tub" from thin copper sheet to the height I wanted.  The second problem was the "backfill" into the cavity created by the walls of the circular "tub".  This was solved by filling it with putty in thin layers so that each layer could dry out properly.  I inserted the copper lining and secured with super glue to the remains of the "shelf".  I had to hold this until the glue set.  I did not have an overlap on the copper.  The join was at the rear where I planned to install a short piece of brass tubing to hold the machine gun pintle.  When set I laid in layer and layer of putty.  When the mass had risen to the edges of the fuselage all the way around, I carefully added enough putty to start the task of finishing the contouring of the now-raised observer's cockpit.  At the end, it looked pretty convincing both inside and out.  The gun ring was made from a length of .030 solder tacked with super glue one short stretch at time until it joined at the rear seam.  Later I will add another piece of flattened solder to simulate the leather cockpit coaming.  Here are two views:

10) Landing Gear: the kit's landing gear substituted for flattened brass tubing.  Each "V" strut was made by bending the brass tubing to shape per the WDF079 GA drawings.  Smaller piano guide wires were inserted onto each open end and glued to facilitate pin location when attaching the landing gear assembly to the fuselage.    Next, I cut a piece of brass rod for the axle long enough to also incorporate the Bungee cord wrapping for the shock absorber at each end of the axle.  Enough room on the axle was left to take the wheels.  The axle was super glued to the "V" struts with the axle resting at the bottom or apex of each "V".  I test fitted the completed landing gear sub-assembly, made a few bends, and a few cuts.  I trimmed the ends so the struts were slightly longer than the drawing so I would have about 1/8" of tapered brass that would fit into holes on the bottom edge of the fuselage.  When I was satisfied of the fit and level, I super glued the landing gear sub-assembly in place being careful to keep it level while drying by using "supports" on both sides of the fuselage to hold things in place.  Lastly, I glued four "turnbuckles" from the Eduard PE sheet, pre-drilled the holes in the fuselage, and set them in place.   Added one spreader bar parallel with the axle.  Painted the wheels and attached them to the end of the axle; landing gear is done.

11) Tail Unit: the tail unit comes in three pieces: vertical fin and rudder, left horizontal stabilizer and elevator, and right horizontal stabilizer and elevator.  The horizontal stabilizers and elevators were set first and allowed to dry making sure they were level.  The vertical fin was second and it was plumbed.  These steps require constant attention so they don't fall out of alignment.  The Rumpler C.Ia requires one pair of bracing struts on the forward underside of the tail pane and another pair on the topside aft of the tail plain.  These were located on the scale drawings.  Holes were drilled at all contact points.  Thin brass road was used as strut material,  cut to length and glued into position using super glue. 

12) Tailskid: the tailskid was made from brass rod.  The tip was slight curved per the drawings and then flattened just a bit.  A hole was drilled into the fuselage underside, super glue applied, and the tailskid was inserted.  A drop of 5-minute epoxy was added to the tip to represent the steel shoe and painted a dark steel color.

13) Armament: at this point, I took a break from construction to build the Eduard EU4327 Spandau Machine Gun (two per kit) and the Karaya KAR405 Parabellum Machine Gun (two per kit), two of my favorite 1:48 German aircraft machine guns.  The Spandau is all PE and is straight forward with a clever folding sequence for the body of the gun.  When the Spandau was completed, I had to change the kit's fixed forward firing machine gun position from the left side to the right side, another unique marker for Hannover-built Rumpler C.Ia aircraft.  The Karaya is a mix of PE and resin but makes a nice Parabellum to which I added a post so it could fit into the brass tube I located at the rear of the observer's cockpit.  The Eduard piece does not need painting except for a couple of small components.  The Karaya needs to be painted and I mixed up a small amount of semi-gloss black, gun metal gray, and a touch of gun metal blue; the stock was painted a dark brown.  Photo of progress to this point:

14) Propeller: this was supplied in the kit as an a single resin piece and was sanded down a bit to clean it up then primed with Andrea's Ochre.  I painted several laminated strips using Andrea's Dark Brown.  When dry, I started my colored pencil application using seven colors ranging from pale yellow to dark brown.  I just streak one color at a time along the propeller from tip to tip.  Then I rub it down between colors.  This combines the oils in your fingers with the wax in the pencil to smooth out the demarcation between colors.  So, I start with a light color and end with a dark color.  Sometimes I add more or less of a color.  When all done I added a nice prop boss from Copper State Models' prop boss PE sheet (sold separately).  I hand-painted the Reschke propeller logo as shown below but later found a pair of decals and applied them in the final stage.  The following photos summarize the colored pencil applications.

15) Miscellaneous Details: a) used left-over small PE radiator covers from the Copper State AEG C.IV as wing walks; b) much of the fuselage underside was obliterated during putty and fill so I made a new engine sump access panel (thin sheet lead) and drain port plastic tubing; c) made a camera port from sheet lead; d) drill a hole for the trailing weighted antenna which will be added at the end; e) added two small air scoops on each side of the nose made from drops of 5-minute epoxy cut in half when dried; f) added an ammunition feed chute for the Spandau; g) made a compass housing on the underside of the left lower wing from a drop of 5-minute epoxy; h) made a compass shield for the upper surface of the left lower wing from sheet lead; i) installed all fuselage turnbuckles using the Eduard PE sheet; h) made aileron plate covers for the lower wing out of sheet lead just behind the rear outboard struts where the two aileron control wires terminate from the upper wing; and, j) added .8 mm brass tubing from Griffon Model Company to the tips of each machine gun.

16) Initial Painting: the first step was painting all underside surfaces Misterkit Albatros Pale Blue in two coats except for the lower wings which had only one coat at this time.  Since rigging wires from the upper wing will pass through the lower wing to be glued, these holes would have to be filled and sanded.  Then a second and final coat can be brushed on.  All of the Hannover-built Rumpler C.Ia aircraft had a nearly identical fuselage camouflage pattern.  I hand brushed Misterkit Albatros Red Brown on the fuselage, fin/rudder, and upper flying surfaces.  When dry, I applied Misterkit Albatros Dark Green according to my camouflage worksheet that I prepare for each aircraft I build.  Just a minimal amount of dabbing with a blunt brush was done to blur where the two colors met.  On the second coat, I alternated colors keeping the demarcation zones wet for more dabbing to simulate the sprayed-on look visible in period photographs.  When this coat dried, I used my special mix of dark brown/black liner to highlight panel, louvre, and seam recesses.   

17) Fuselage Decal Application: Eisernes Kreuz (EK) decals from the kit were applied to the fuselage and rudder.  I hand painted the black hand-hold markings at the rear of the fuselage and added "hier unterstutzen" decals from another kit.  Lastly, at the rear of the fuselage just under horizontal stabilizer I made decals in light blue for the serial number "C.4739/16".  These were printed on my inkjet printer and came out translucent.  Hopefully, a new laser color printer will improve the quality of pale shades.  Added a datum in white to both sides of the fuselage cut from white sheet decal.  The left side came out a little too heavy.  I over-sprayed the fuselage with a coat of satin polyurethane. 

18) Cabane Struts: This is always a difficult challenge.  I am never convinced that a pair of frail plastic struts is going to support the wing at the center line.  There are two methods for building brass "trestle" struts: one is soldering and the other is bending.  One other problem are the fillet corner pieces prominent on the Rumpler.  I decided to bend each half of the trestle using one piece of Griffon Model's 1.0 mm brass tubing so that I could insert a small diameter brass rod into the bottom of each strut for a secure bond to the fuselage.  I purposely left the two strut lengths long because I made my bends using the side view drawing in WDF079.  You have to take into account that the side view shows the bottom of each strut on the outside edge of the fuselage while the top of each strut is lined up on the top wing's centerline.  In other words, the three-dimensional strut lengths are longer than shown on the two-dimensional drawing.   The fillet corner pieces were made using stock plastic close to the diameter of the struts and cut to the approximate shape as shown in the drawings.  These were super glued in place and when dried, they were generously filled with Model Master putty.  When that dried, I sanded and carved the fillets into shape.  The two cabane trestle halves were then fitted for wing gap and camber all by trial and error.  One of the benefits of this method was the join of the two cabane trestle halves at the top.  This resulted in a small "horizontal valley".  To the underside of the top wing, I added a small diameter brass rod to fit into this valley and it made test fitting of the cabane trestle to upper wing quite easy because the brass rod stabilized the wing on the trestle.  When I determined the correct length of the cabane struts, I cut them and inserted the small diameter brass rod that only needed to protrude about 3/16".  I glued the cabane trestle to the fuselage, let it dry, and primed the brass with my brush-on white primer.  When that dried, I painted the trestle German grey-green, a mix of Vallejo colors to my liking. 

19) More Details Added: Now it was time to consider any and all details that had to added before the top wing was installed.  This included the pilot's windscreen, a "Drehzahlmesser" ("rev" counter aka tachometer) just inside the windscreen, a "Höhenmesser" (altimeter) dangling from two .009 piano wires attached to the forward cabane struts, corrected the Reschke propeller logo using the kit's own decal (which I didn't spot early on), control wires for the elevators and rudder, rigging for the landing gear, leather coaming added to the observer's position, cockpit coaming painted Andrea leather and stained with Andrea dark leather, added a pilot's mirror, and pre-drilled holes in the radiator for piping and set it aside.

20) Upper Wing Rigging Wires: I drilled out the rigging and strut holes that might have been clogged from painting.  All rigging wires were individual cut from .005 dark gray monofilament thread and glued into each of the rigging holes for the flying and landing wires.  The cabane strut rigging holes had turnbuckles glued in place and monofilament thread inserted, tied off, and glued.

21) Wing Struts: the eight wing struts were made from flattened brass tubing.  The first strut made was cut to an approximate length and trial fitted to make sure the gap according to the drawings in WDF079 was correct.  Each strut had a small diameter brass rod inserted at each end, cut off to about 1/16", and glued.  The struts were primed and painted German light gray-green and sprayed with semi-gloss polyurethane.  Before assembling the wing, I decided to make decals to represent the aircraft's serial number, its strut location, and Hannover logo.  From the bottom up, the decal reads, "4739 LFA O".  LFA stands for "links front aussen" meaning left front outer strut.  Each strut had a different code for its position as shown in Table 5 below.  Orientation is from the pilot's seat.  The "O" in the decal was later painted in with a dot of red to represent the Hannover logo.  The struts were over sprayed with satin polyurethane to seal the decals.

Table 5: Strut Position Markings

22) Upper Wing Mounting: this was an easy step.  I glued the inboard struts to the lower wing and let them set up.  The inboard struts were dry fitted to the upper wing and fit well.   Then I applied a little super glue to the locating brass bar on the underside of the wing's center line, to the top of the cabane trestle, and to the inboard wing struts and set the upper wing into place.  There's always a little maneuvering to get all of these items secured.  Fortunately, there were no problems and stagger seemed good.  When dry, I glued the outboard struts and let them dry.

23) Interplane, Aileron, and Drag Wire Rigging: rigging starts on the inside at the cabane struts and ends on the outside near the wingtip.  I try to do no more than four wires at a time letting the glue set up under the weight of metal clips dangling from the ends of the wires.  For each wire, I pass it through its proper hole in the bottom wing, apply a dot of glue from the underside, and attach a metal clip for weight; then I move to the other side working my way outward and back and forth.  When all the rigging wires are secured, I remove the clip and cut them flush with a sharp X-Acto blade.  When all the rigging wires are in place, I fill the holes with putty, sand them down with a 400 grit flexible sanding pad and did the necessary paint touch up. 

24) Radiator and Piping: the radiator was glued into the upper wing slot.  The over-engine radiator pipe was scratch-built using brass rod.  The other radiator pipe that completes the circuit was made from .020 solder so it could make the necessary bends to reach the left forward cabane strut along which it flowed to the rear of the engine.  All of this work was done with the assistance of  the photos in WDF079. 

22) Last Details Added: I consulted my "details" list which I build during the research step.  It's nothing more than noting eye-catching details in photos.  My list ended at fifty-two details of which eleven were not installed with regard to the Hannover-built version, e.g. claw brake, observer's windscreen, etc.  None of the items installed were supplied in the kit.  At this final stage, I review my list and added the following: upper and lower wing EK decals, scratch-built a flare pistol and flare cartridge rack, added the exhaust stack, 

RUMPLER C.Ia C.4739/16 CAMOUFLAGE COLOR SCHEME

As explained in Rumpler C.Ia C.4739 Research section above, I chose to interpret this aircraft in the two-color dark green/red-brown color scheme that was allowed to stand for secondary fronts because there was little confusion in camouflage from Allied aircraft in those theaters.  The exact shades used by Hannover may never be known.  I used the following palette as shown in Table 6.

Table 6: Paint Color Swatches Used on My Rumpler C.Ia C.4739/16

	Misterkit MKGC05 Albatros Dark Green (upper surface camouflage)
	Misterkit MKGC01 Albatros Red Brown  (upper surface camouflage)
	Vallejo Acrylic Mix for "German Gray-Green" consists of VC0907 (Light Pale Blue Grey), VC0885 (Pastel Green), and VC0866 (Grey Green)
	Misterkit MKGC03 Albatros Pale Blue (undersurfaces)
	Andrea ANXC18 Slate Grey (for the tires)
	Andrea ANXC50 Leather Brown (cockpit coaming)
	Andrea ANXC49 Dark Leather Brown (cockpit coaming wash)
	Model Master ME1735 Wood (cockpit interior wood components)
	Model Master ME1706 Sand (cockpit interior fabric)
	Model Master MA4622 White Primer (for brass struts)

 

RUMPLER C.Ia C.4739/16 MARKINGS          

I used the following decals: the kit's Reschke propeller logos, Eaglestrike D.V/Va Eisernes Kreuzen for the rudder and fuselage, Copper State AEG C.IV decals for the upper and lower wings, made my own decals for the serial number and weight table, cut fine strips of white decal for the datum lines, and my small decal identifying my work, "Rumpler C.Ia G. Grasse No. 6371" that appears on the underside of the fuselage near the tail.

 

RUMPLER C.Ia C.4739/16 FINISHED PHOTO GALLERY

            

 

            

 

 

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FOOTNOTES

¹ The Eduard Spandau guns are exceptional all-PE engineering wonders.  I don't bother painting them except for a few brass components.  Although expensive, the Karaya Parabellum guns are quite good being a combination of PE and resin.  The Copper State Prop Bosses are PE and offer many varieties.

² One photo appears on page 47, the other on page 66.  Each photo is part of the biography of the two Russian fighter pilots who shared in the downing of Rumpler C.Ia C.4739/16.  The authors used the exact same dialog in each pilot's biography to describe the combat.

³ These numbers are summarized by me from data in Windsock Datafile 79 "Rumpler C.I" by Peter M. Grosz.  He cautions the reader to understand that some of the data is not complete or verifiable.  However, the numbers are impressive for a 1915 design!  Peter's data file covers more of the development and license-contracting of the Rumpler C.I series.

⁴ Rumpler C.I series construction is taken from German Aircraft of the First World War by Peter Gray & Thetford.  My copy is dated 1962 and you would think that it is an outdated source.  In fact, it still holds up after all these years.  For a modeler, one must know the structure and materials of an aircraft in order to render a model correctly and this book provides a construction summary for all major German aircraft.

⁵ I would refer the reader to the complete Frontbestand introduced by Peter M. Grosz in WWI Aero Journal, issues 107 and 108.  C-Types are found in issue 107.

⁶ German Aircraft of the First World War by Peter Gray & Thetford, page xxxvi.

⁷ See Dirk Rottgardt's German Armies' Establishments 1914/18, Volume 4: German Forces in the Middle East, footnote 52, page 14.  FA 300 was among several German and Austro-Hungarian units that became known as Pascha I, the first substantial reinforcements to the Turkish Sinai-Palestinian Front.

⁸ For a concise review of the 1916 Brusilov Offensive, the 1916 Rumanian Campaign, and the 1917 Kerensky Offensive, see The West Point Atlas of American Wars, Volume II, maps 36 to 41.  See also "Recommended Reading" listings at the end of this article.

⁹ See Rottgardt's Volume 6 that details aviation formations and their authorized aircraft strength before the war with some notes of units and their establishments created after the war started especially dating from late 1916 and the creation of the Luftstreitkräfte.

¹⁰ Flieger-Abteilung 24 was essentially a Saxon unit but the "s" appendage was not officially recognized.  Individual records in Casualties of the German Air Service 1914-1920 cite both FA 24 or FA 24s.  The Fliegertruppe internet site and Das Propellerblatt Nummer 3 do not list FA 24 as a Saxon unit probably because the unit had a mixed complement many of whom were Saxon but from other German states as well.  I am using the FA 24s designation on my own.  See also footnote 11, below.

¹¹ All of the Schusta/Schlasta 38 or 38s information comes from Schlachtflieger! by Rick Duiven and Dan-San Abbott, pages 361-363.  Note the entry on page 363 dated 26 Jan 1918, "Schutzstaffel 38s is created from Fl.Abt. 24s by KM Nr.995.18.A.7.L.4C".

¹² This information comes from Flanagan et al in The Great War 1914-1918 - Chronology of Events of World War I, Cross and Cockade (US), Volume 8, issues 1 and 2 published in 1967 covering the period April to July 1917.  These older volumes are available on CD-Rom through the League of WWI Aviation Historians, publishers of their journal Over the Front, at  http://www.overthefront.com/.

¹³ It is interesting to note that the authors have written almost exact accounts for both Russian pilots.  The real differences show up in the appendix listing of Russian aces, on page 467 for Argeyev and page 471 for Kozakov.

¹⁴ Franks, Norman; Frank Bailey, and Rick Duiven  Casualties of the German Air Service 1914-1920, page 348.

¹⁵ Kilduff, Peter. Germany's First Air Force 1914-1918, page 63.

¹⁶ Kilduff op cit page 64.

¹⁷ This map was taken from the West Point Atlas of American Wars, Volume II, 1900-1953, Map 41a by Esposito et al.  I apologize for not having a better map to show the immediate area around Tarnopol.

¹⁸ The actual shade may never be known but I personally don't think it matters as long as you stay within pale grey lilac on the lighter end and medium grey mauve on the darker end.  You get to decide what lilac and mauve are anyway.

¹⁹ Grosz, Peter M. Rumpler C.I, Windsock Datafile 79, page 36. 

²⁰ Cohausz, Peter W. Cockpit Profile Nr. 1.  Another source for WW1 German aircraft cockpits and instruments.  

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cohausz, Peter W. Cockpit Profile: Deutsche Flugzeugcockpits und Instrumentenbretter - Teil 1: Pionierzeit, Erster Weltkrieg, Zwanziger Jahre.  Illertissen: Flugzeug Publickations GmbH, 1997.

Cron, Hermann.  Imperial German Army 1914-18.  Solihull, West Midlands, UK: Helion & Company, 2002.

Duiven, Rick and Dan-San Abbott.  Schlachtflieger!  Germany and the Origins of Air/Ground Support 1916-1918.  Atglen, PA: Schiffer Military History, 2006.

Durkota, Alan; Thomas Darcey and Victor Kulikov.  The Imperial Russian Air Service - Famous Pilots & Aircraft of World War One.  Mountain View, CA: Flying Machines Press, 1995.

Esposito, Colonel Vincent J., Chief Editor. The West Point Atlas of American Wars, Volume II, 1900-1953. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, Publishers, 1959.

Flanagan, Brian P.; Smith, Frank; and Raidor, Lonnie.  The Great War 1914-1918 - Chronology of Events of World War I: Cross and Cockade (US), various volumes and issues covering the period from April to July 1917 on the Eastern Front.  Cross and Cockade (US), Volume 8, Issues 1 and 2, published 1967.

Fliegertruppe website 21 Feb 2009, www.fliegertruppe.de

Franks, Norman; Frank Bailey, and Rick Duiven  Casualties of the German Air Service 1914-1920.  London: Grub Street, 1999.

Franks, Norman; Frank Bailey, and Russell Guest.  Above the Lines.  London: Grub Street, 1998.

Gray, Peter and Owen Thetford.  German Aircraft of the First World War.  London: Putnam & Company, Ltd., 1962.

Grosz, Peter M. Windsock Datafile 79 Rumpler C.I.  Berkhamsted,  Hertfordshire, UK: Albatros Publications, Ltd., 2000.

Grosz, Peter M. Archiv: Frontbestand.  The Journal of the Early Aeroplane "WWI Aero", issues 107 (Dec 1985) and 108 (Feb 1986).

Kilduff, Peter. Germany's First Air Force 1914-1918. Osceola, Wisconsin: Motorbooks International, 1991.

Rottgardt, Dirk.  German Armies' Establishment 1914/18, Volume 4: German Forces in the Middle East.  West Chester, Ohio: The Nafziger Collection, Inc., 2007.

Rottgardt, Dirk.  German Armies' Establishment 1914/18, Volume 6: Signals and Air Forces.  West Chester, Ohio: The Nafziger Collection, Inc., 2007.WWI

Zankl, Reinhard.  Deutsche Flieger-Einheiten 1914-1918: Folge 3 - Flieger-Abteilungen.  Das Propellerblatt Nummer 3, 2002.

RECOMMENDED READING

Axelrod, Alan.  World War I.  Indianapolis: Macmillan USA, Inc, 2000.

Cornish, Nik.  The Russian Army and the First World War.  Stroud, Gloucestershire: Spellmount Limited, 2006.

Hoeppner, Ernest, General von.  Germany's War in the Air.  Nashville, TN: The Battery Press, 1994.

Imrie, Alex. Pictorial History of the German Army Air Service 1914-1918.  Chicago: Henry Regnery Company, 1973.

Kirke, W. M. St. G., Major-General.  An Outline of the Rumanian Campaign, 1916-18.  Uckfield, E. Sussex, Naval and Military Press, 2010.

Root, G. Irving. Battles East - A History of the Eastern Front of the First World War.  Baltimore, MD: Publish America, 2007.

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