Gotha Go 145

The Gotha Go 145 is a German World War II-era biplane of wood and fabric construction used by ''Luftwaffe'' training units. Although obsolete by the start of World War II, the Go 145 remained in operational service until the end of the War in Europe as a night harassment bomber.

Development

On 2 October 1933 the Gotha aircraft company was re-established. The first aircraft manufactured was the Gotha Go 145,Kay and Smith, p.115 a two-seat biplane designed by Albert Kalkert made out of wood with a fabric covering. The Go 145 featured fixed landing gear and was powered by an Argus As 10C inverted V8 air-cooled engine fitted with a two-blade fixed-pitch propeller. The first prototype took to the air in February 1934, and was followed by a production model, the Gotha Go 145A, with controls in both cockpits for trainee and instructor.

Operational history

In 1935, the Go 145 started service with ''Luftwaffe'' training units. The aircraft proved a successful design and production of the Go 145 was taken up by other companies, including AGO, Focke-Wulf and BFW. Licensed versions were also manufactured in Spain and Turkey. The Spanish version, called the CASA 1145-L actually remained in service until long after World War II.

Ignoring prototypes, 1,182 Go 145s were built in Germany for ''Luftwaffe'' service. An unknown number of license-produced Go 145s were also built. Further development of the aircraft was done. The Gotha Go 145B was fitted with an enclosed cockpit and wheel spats (an aerodynamic wheel housing on fixed-gear). The Go 145C was developed for gunnery training and was fitted with a single 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 15 machine gun in the rear cockpit, requiring removal of that cockpit's flight controls.

By 1942, the Soviet Union began using obsolete aircraft such as the Polikarpov Po-2 to conduct night harassment missions against the Germans. Noting the success of the raids, the Germans began conducting their own night harassment missions with obsolete aircraft on the Eastern Front. In December 1942, the first ''Störkampfstaffel'' (harassment squadron) was established and equipped with Gotha Go 145 and Arado Ar 66 training biplanes. The night harassment units were successful and by October 1943 there were six night harassment squadrons equipped with Gotha Go 145s.

Also in October 1943, the ''Störkampfstaffeln'' were brought together into larger ''Nachtschlachtgruppe (NSGr)'' (night ground attack group, literally night battle group) units of either three or four squadrons each. In March 1945 ''Nachtschlachtgruppe'' 5 had 69 Gotha Go 145's on strength of which 52 were serviceable while ''Nachtschlachtgruppe'' 3 in the Courland Pocket had 18 Gotha Go 145's on strength of which 16 were serviceable. When the war in Europe ended on 8-9 May 1945 the Gotha Go 145 equipped the majority of the ''Nachtschlachtgruppen''.

Operators

; : Austrian Air Force – 12 aircraft delivered in 1937
; : Czechoslovakian Air Force (Postwar)
; : Luftwaffe
; : Royal Romanian Air Force
; : Slovak Air Force (1939–45)
; : Spanish Air Force
; : Turkish Air Force - First three samples werbrought over from Germany, and then 43 of them were produced under license at KTF (Kayseri Aeroplane Factory) between 1936-39. They had replaced Caudron C.59s. They were in service until 1947. Turkish models were armed with two 7.92mm MGs. Starting in 1943 they were all replaced by Miles Magisters.

Surviving aircraft

* Gotha Go 145A – ''Museum für Verkehr und Technik''. Berlin, Germany.
* Gotha Go 145A – ''Norsk Luftfartssenter''. Bodø, Norway.
Both examples are badly damaged and are in storage.

Specifications (Go 145A)

See also

References

Bibliography

* Bishop, C. ''Luftwaffe Squadrons, 1939–1945''. Amber Books, 2006.
* Donald, D. (ed.) ''Warplanes of the Luftwaffe: Combat aircraft of Hitler’s Luftwaffe, 1933–1945''. Aerospace Publishing, 2001.
* Gerdessen, Frederik. "Estonian Air Power 1918 – 1945". ''Air Enthusiast'', No. 18, April – July 1982. pp. 61–76. .
* Green, William. ''Warplanes of the Third Reich''. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1970 (fourth impression 1979). .
* Nowarra, Heinz J. ''Die Deutsche Luftrüstung 1933–1945'' (in German). Koblenz, Germany: Bernard & Graeffe Verlag, 1993. .
* Wood, Tony and Gunston, Bill. ''Hitler's Luftwaffe: A pictorial history and technical encyclopedia of Hitler's air power in World War II''. London: Salamander Books Ltd., 1977. .

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gotha Go 145
1930s German military trainer aircraft
Go 145
World War II trainer aircraft of Germany
World War II ground attack aircraft of Germany
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Biplanes
Aircraft first flown in 1934