The Etrich ''Taube'', also known by the names of the various later manufacturers who built versions of the type, such as the Rumpler ''Taube'', was a pre-World War I
monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...
aircraft. It was the first military aeroplane to be mass-produced in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
.
The Taube was very popular prior to the First World War, and it was also used by the air forces of
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
. Even the
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British ...
operated at least one Taube in 1912. On 1 November 1911,
Giulio Gavotti, an Italian aviator, dropped the world's first aerial bomb from his Taube monoplane over the Ain Zara oasis in
Libya
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
. Once the war began, it quickly proved inadequate as a warplane and was soon replaced by other designs.
Design and development

The Taube was designed in 1909 by
Igo Etrich
Ignaz "Igo" Etrich (25 December 1879 – 4 February 1967) was an Austrians, Austrian flight pioneer, pilot and fixed-wing aircraft developer.
Education
Etrich was born on Christmas Day 1879 in the Upper Old Town of Trutnov, Kingdom of Bohemia, ...
of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
, and first flew in 1910. It was licensed for serial production by
Lohner-Werke in Austria and by Edmund
Rumpler in Germany, now called the ''Etrich-Rumpler-Taube''. Rumpler soon changed the name to ''Rumpler-Taube'', and stopped paying royalties to Etrich, who subsequently abandoned his patent.
Despite its name (''
Taube'' means "
dove"), the ''Taube's'' unique wing form was modeled, not after any bird, but rather copied from the seeds of ''
Alsomitra macrocarpa
''Alsomitra macrocarpa'', commonly known as Javan cucumber, is a species of gourd-bearing liana belonging to the pumpkin family Cucurbitaceae. It is native to the tropical forests of Maritime Southeast Asia, as well as Thailand and New Guinea ...
'' (which may glide long distances from their parent tree). Etrich had tried to build a flying wing aircraft, based on the Zanonia wing shape, but the more conventional ''Taube'' type, with tail surfaces, was much more successful.
Etrich adopted the format of crosswind-capable main landing-gear, that
Louis Blériot had used on his
Blériot XI cross-channel monoplane, for better ground handling. The wing has three spars, and was braced by a cable-braced steel-tube truss (called a "bridge" - or ''Brücke'' in German) under each wing. At the outer end, the uprights of this structure were lengthened, to rise above the upper wing surfaces, and form
kingposts, to carry bracing- and warping-wires for the enlarged wingtips. A small landing-wheel was sometimes mounted on the lower end of this kingpost, to protect it for landings, and to help guard against
"ground loops".
Later Taube-type aircraft, from other manufacturers, replaced the Bleriot-type main-gear, with a simpler V-strut main-gear design, and also omitted the underwing "bridge" structure, to reduce drag.
Like many contemporary aircraft, especially monoplanes, the Taube used
wing warping
Wing warping was an early system for lateral (roll) control of a fixed-wing aircraft or kite. The technique, used and patented by the Wright brothers, consisted of a system of pulleys and cables to twist the trailing edges of the wings in opposit ...
rather than
aileron
An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement aroun ...
s for lateral (roll) control, and also warped the rear half of the
stabilizer to function as the
elevator. Only the vertical, twinned triangular
rudder
A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...
surfaces were usually hinged.
Operational history

In civilian use, the Taube was used by pilots to win the Munich-Berlin Kathreiner prize. On 8 December 1911, Gino Linnekogel and Suvelick Johannisthal achieved a two-man endurance record for flying a Taube 4 hours and 35 minutes over Germany.
The design provided for very stable flight, which made it extremely suitable for observation. The translucent wings made it difficult for ground observers to detect a ''Taube'' at an altitude above 400 meters. The first
hostile engagement was by an Italian ''Taube'' in 1911 in
Libya
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
,
its pilot using pistols and dropping grenades during the
Battle of Ain Zara
The Battle of Ain Zara was fought in December 1911 during the Italo-Turkish War between the Kingdom of Italy and Ottoman Empire forces for the control of the oasis of Ain Zara, near Tripoli in modern Libya, where the Ottomans had established a ...
. The ''Taube'' was also used for bombing in the
Balkans
The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
in 1912–13, and in late 1914 when German bomblets and
propaganda
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...
leaflets were dropped over
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. ''Taube'' spotter planes detected the advancing Imperial Russian Army in
East Prussia
East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...
during the World War I
Battle of Tannenberg.
World War I
While initially there were two ''Taube'' aircraft assigned to Imperial German units stationed at
Qingdao
Qingdao, Mandarin: , (Qingdao Mandarin: t͡ɕʰiŋ˧˩ tɒ˥) is a prefecture-level city in the eastern Shandong Province of China. Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, Qingdao was long an important fortress. In 1897, the city was ceded to G ...
, China, only one was available at the start of the war due to an accident. The Rumpler Taube piloted by Lieutenant
Gunther Plüschow had to face the attacking Japanese, who had with them a total of eight aircraft. On 2 October 1914, Plüschow's Taube attacked the Japanese warships blockading
Tsingtao with two small bombs, but failed to score any hits. On 7 November 1914, shortly before the fall of Qingdao, Plüschow was ordered to fly top secret documents to
Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
, but was forced to make an emergency landing at
Lianyungang
Lianyungang () is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Jiangsu province of China, province, China. It borders Yancheng to its southeast, Huai'an and Suqian to its south, Xuzhou to its southwest, and the province of Shandong to its north. Its ...
in
Jiangsu
Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...
, where he was interned by a local Chinese force. Plüschow was rescued by local Chinese civilians under the direction of an American missionary, and successfully reached his destination at Shanghai with his top secret documents, after giving the engine to one of the Chinese civilians who rescued him.
Poor rudder and lateral control made the Taube difficult and slow to turn. The aeroplane proved to be a very easy target for the faster and more agile Allied Scouts of the early part of World War I, and just six months into the war, the ''Taube'' had been removed from front line service to be used to train new pilots. Many future German aces would learn to fly in a Rumpler ''Taube''.
Variants
Due to the lack of licence fees, 14 companies built a large number of variations of the initial design, making it difficult for historians to determine the exact manufacturer based on historical photographs. An incomplete list is shown below. The most common version was the Rumpler ''Taube'' with two seats.

;Albatros ''Taube''
:Produced by ''
Albatros Flugzeugwerke''
;Albatros ''Doppeltaube''
:Biplane version produced by ''Albatros Flugzeugwerke''.
;Aviatik ''Taube''
:Produced by
''Automobil und Aviatik AG'' firm.
;DFW ''Stahltaube'' (''Stahltaube'')
:Version with steel frame produced by ''
Deutsche Flugzeug-Werke''.
;Etrich ''Taube''
:Produced by inventor Igo Etrich.
;''Etrich-Rumpler-Taube''
:Initial name of the "Rumpler ''Taube''".
;Gotha ''Taube''
:Produced by ''
Gothaer Waggonfabrik'' as LE.1, LE.2 and LE.3 (''Land Eindecker'' – "Land Monoplane") and designated A.I by the ''
Idflieg''.
;''Harlan-Pfeil-Taube''
;Halberstadt ''Taube'' III
:Produced by
Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke.
;Jeannin ''Taube'' (Jeannin ''Stahltaube'')
:Version with steel tubing fuselage structure.
;Kondor ''Taube''
:Produced by ''Kondor Flugzeugwerke''.
;RFG ''Taube''
:Produced by ''Reise- und Industrieflug GmbH'' (RFG).
;Roland ''Taube''
;Rumpler 4C ''Taube''
:Produced by Edmund Rumpler's ''
Rumpler Flugzeugwerke''.
;Rumpler ''Delfin-Taube'' (Rumpler ''Kabinentaube'' "Delfin")
:Version with closed cabin, produced by ''Rumpler Flugzeugwerke''.
;Isobe Rumpler ''Taube''
[Mikesh, Robert and Shorzoe Abe. ''Japanese Aircraft 1910–1941''. London: Putnam, 1990. ]
:A ''Taube'' built in Japan by Onokichi Isobe
Operators
;
*
Argentine Air Force
The Argentine Air Force (, or simply ''FAA'') is the air force of Argentina and one of three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic. In 2018, it had 13,837 military and 6,900 civilian personnel. FAA commander in chief is Brigadie ...
*
Argentine Navy
;
*
Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops
;
*
Bulgarian Air Force
;
* Two units were ordered by Chinese revolutionaries to fight Imperial Qing China, but when they reached
Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
in December 1911 with other ''Taube'' aircraft ordered by Imperial German forces stationed in China, the Qing dynasty had already been overthrown and the aircraft were not used in battle.
;
* ''
Luftstreitkräfte
The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Combat Forces)known before October 1916 as (The Imperial German Air Service, lit. "The flying troops of the German Kaiser’s Reich")was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-langu ...
''
* ''
Kaiserliche Marine''
;
*
Corpo Aeronautico Militare
;
* ''The Imperial Aeronautic Association''
* ''
Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (acting)''
;
*
Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service
;
*
Romanian Air Corps - One Taube with a
Mercedes 100 hp engine, delivered from Germany in 1913
;
*
Ottoman Air Force
;
*
Swiss Air Force
Survivors and flyable reproductions
The
Technisches Museum Wien has the only remaining Etrich-built ''Taube'', which has a four-cylinder engine.
Other original Taubes exist, such as one in Norway, which was the last original ''Taube'' to fly under its own power, in 1922.
The
Museum of Flight in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
features a reproduction of a Rumpler ''Taube''.
The Owl's Head Transportation Museum in
Owls Head, Maine, US has a reproduction which has been flying since 1990, using a
Ranger L-440 inline-6 air-cooled engine.
Specifications (late model Rumpler ''Taube'')
See also
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
* Mikesh, Robert and Shorzoe Abe. (1990) ''Japanese Aircraft 1910–1941''. London:
Putnam.
*
*
*
External links
Video of the Owl's Head reproduction Taube
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