The Gotha Go 244 was a transport
aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...
used by the ''
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
'' during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Development
The Go 244 was the powered version of the
Gotha Go 242
The Gotha Go 242 was a transport glider used by the ''Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luf ...
military glider
Military gliders (an offshoot of common gliders) have been used by the militaries of various countries for carrying troops (glider infantry) and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the Second World War. These engineless aircraft were ...
transport. Studies for powered versions of the Go 242 began early in the design of the glider, with one early proposal being for modification to allow a single Argus As 10C engine to be temporarily attached to the nose of the glider to allow recovery back to base after use. This idea was rejected, but the alternative of a permanently powered twin-engined version was taken forward.
[''Air International'' December 1989, p. 291.]
Three Go 242s were modified as prototypes of the powered Go 244, fitted with varying surplus radial engines. The first prototype, the Go 244 V1 was powered by two 660 hp (492 kW)
BMW 132
The BMW 132 was a nine-cylinder radial aircraft engine produced by BMW starting in 1933.
Design and development
BMW took over a license for manufacturing air-cooled radial engines from Pratt & Whitney on 3 January 1928. The nine-cylinder model ...
, while the second prototype had 700 hp (522 kW)
Gnome-Rhône 14M
The Gnome-Rhône 14M was a small 14-cylinder two-row air-cooled radial engine that was used on several French and German aircraft of World War II. While having the same appearance, number of pistons (14) and two-row layout typical of Gnome-Rhô ...
s — and the third 750 hp (560 kW)
Shvetsov M-25
The Shvetsov M-25 was an aircraft radial engine produced in the Soviet Union (USSR) in the 1930s and 1940s, a licensed production variant of the Wright R-1820-F3.
Design and development
The first M-25s were produced from kits imported from the ...
A engines, with this model of
Shvetsov
UEC-Aviadvigatel JSC (Russian: АО "ОДК-Авиадвигатель", lit. Aeroengine) is a Russian developer and builder of aircraft engines, most notably jet engines for commercial aircraft. Based at the Perm Engine Plant, its products power ...
OKB
OKB is a transliteration of the Russian initials of "" – , meaning 'experiment and design bureau'. During the Soviet era, OKBs were closed institutions working on design and prototyping of advanced technology, usually for military applications. ...
engine design being essentially a Soviet-built
Wright ''Cyclone'' American-based nine-cylinder radial. Although only the third prototype offered adequate engine out performance, the Luftwaffe had large stocks of captured Gnome engines, so this was chosen as the basis for the production conversion — usually fitted in
counter-rotating pairs in production — although a few more aircraft were fitted with the BMW and Shvetsov engines.
[''Air International'' December 1989, pp. 291–2.][Smith and Kay 1972, p.219.]
The B series was the main production model, being based on the Go 242B with a wheeled tricycle undercarriage and with fuel and oil carried in the tailbooms.
[''Air International'' December 1989, p. 292.] 133 were converted from Go 242 Bs,
while a further 41 were built from new before production reverted to the glider Go 242.
[''Air International'' December 1989, p. 309.] Plans were also created for single-engined variants with a nose-mounted
Argus As 10C
The Argus As 10 was a German-designed and built, air-cooled 90° cylinder bank-angle inverted V8 "low power" aircraft engine, used mainly in training aircraft such as the Arado Ar 66 and Focke-Wulf Fw 56 Stösser and other small short-range re ...
or
Junkers Jumo 211
The Jumo 211 was a German inverted V-12 aircraft engine, Junkers Motoren's primary aircraft engine of World War II. It was the direct competitor to the Daimler-Benz DB 601 and closely paralleled its development. While the Daimler-Benz engine ...
.
Operational history
The first examples of the Go 244 were delivered to operational units in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
, based in
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
in March 1942. Some were also assigned to transport ''Geschwader'' in
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
and the
Eastern Front but on the former front they proved vulnerable to
anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
fire and were withdrawn, being replaced by
Junkers Ju 52
The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers.
Development of the Ju 52 commenced during 1930, headed by German Aeros ...
or
Messerschmitt Me 323
The Messerschmitt Me 323 ''Gigant'' ("Giant") was a German military transport aircraft of World War II. It was a powered variant of the Me 321 military glider and was the largest land-based transport aircraft to fly during the war. A total of 21 ...
aircraft.
[
]
Variants
* Go 244 A-1 - prototype, using the BMW 132 radial engine
* Go 244 B-1 - production version, with fixed landing gear
* Go 244 B-2 - B-1 with improved landing gear including a larger semi-retractable nose wheel
* Go 242 B-3 - paratroop-carrying version of B-1 with double rear doors
* Go 244 B-4 - paratroop-carrying version of B-2 with doors of B-3 and landing gear of B-2
* Go 244 B-5 - training version with dual controls
Specifications (Go 244 B-1)
See also
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
*
*
{{RLM aircraft designations
1940s German military transport aircraft
Go 244
High-wing aircraft
Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft