The Gotha B types of the
Gothaer Waggonfabrik
''Gothaer Waggonfabrik'' (''Gotha'', GWF) was a German manufacturer of rolling stock established in the late nineteenth century at Gotha. During the two world wars, the company expanded into aircraft building.
World War I
In World War I, Got ...
were two-seat reconnaissance/trainer aircraft of the
German Air Force in the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
Development
In 1914 Gotha developed a
biplane with 120 hp
inline engine, which received the factory designation LD.7 and was classified by
Idflieg as Gotha B.I.
The B.II (factory designation LD.10
[bei Nowarra, a.a.O. als LD1a oder GRD bezeichnet]) differed significantly from the B.I: The wings were larger, the fuselage shorter and a
rotary engine
The rotary engine is an early type of internal combustion engine, usually designed with an odd number of cylinders per row in a radial configuration. The engine's crankshaft remained stationary in operation, while the entire crankcase and its ...
was installed. The B.II was similar to an earlier concept, the
Gotha LD.1
The Gotha LD.1 (for ''Land Doppeldecker'' - "Land Biplane") and its derivatives were a family of military aircraft produced in Germany just before and during the early part of World War I. Used for training and reconnaissance, they were conventi ...
two-seater, which was powered by a
Gnôme rotary engine with 100 hp.
Operational history
18 B.Is were delivered and used until 1915 for reconnaissance, then as a trainer aircraft. The B.II, of which 10 were built, was also used as a trainer aircraft.
Specifications
References
Bibliography
*
* Günter Kroschel, Helmut Stützer: Die deutschen Militärflugzeuge 1910 – 1918. Lohse-Eissing, Wilhelmshaven 1977.
* Heinz Nowarra: Die Entwicklung der Flugzeuge 1914 – 1918. Lehmanns, München 1959.
{{Idflieg B-class designations
Gotha aircraft