The Gotha B types of the
Gothaer Waggonfabrik were two-seat reconnaissance/trainer aircraft of the
German Air Force
The German Air Force (german: Luftwaffe, lit=air weapon or air arm, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ''Bundeswehr'') was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War a ...
in the
First World War.
Development
In 1914 Gotha developed a
biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
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 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