at the beginning of the first world war, the company was one of the key bavarian companies for the war effort, and appeared to have gained a certain reputation, despite the fact that none of the designs and developments achieved any real success (the prussian army administration rejected a delivery of rapp engines as unsuitable). franz josef popp had noted the facilities of rapp motorenwerke were ideal for engine production, having the necessary workforce and equipment. popp lobbied hard to manufacture, by license, the 12-cylinder austro-daimler aircraft engine. popp succeeded in convincing the bavarian army administration and the imperial naval office of the imperial austro-hungarian army administration to order rapp engines licensed through austro-daimler. on behalf the austrian war ministry, popp was delegated to supervise the handling of the order in munich. popp was also the person who convinced max friz, an aircraft engine designer and engineer at daimler, to come to munich to assist in development and expansion. with friz' arrival in 1916, the original rapp designs were also worked on to create a "high altitude" aeroengine that would give the imperial army strategic air superiority in combat. 1917 marks the breakthrough by friz and his team of engineers in developing the type iii.