WD.7 and WD.8 | |
---|---|
A forward oblique view of a WD.7 on its beaching trolleys | |
Role | Maritime reconnaissance aircraft and torpedo-bomber trainer |
National origin | Germany |
Manufacturer | Gothaer Waggonfabrik |
First flight | December 1915 |
Primary user | Imperial German Navy |
Number built | 8 x WD.7; 1 x WD.8 |
The Gotha WD.7 (Wasser Doppeldecker - "Water Biplane") was a twin-engine maritime patrol and torpedo-bomber training floatplane developed during World War I by Gothaer Waggonfabrik for the Imperial German Navy's (Kaiserliche Marine) Naval Air Service (Marine-Fliegerabteilung). The WD.8 was a single-engine version of the WD.7 developed for comparative purposes. The single aircraft built was deemed "totally unsuitable" by the Naval Air Service and was later sold to the Ottoman Empire.
After the submarine SM U-9 sank three British armored cruisers on 22 September 1914 shortly after the war began, the German Imperial Naval Office (Reichsmarine-Amt) decided to try mounting torpedoes on aircraft as they were far easier and faster to build than submarines. Early trials with land-based aircraft were unsuccessful because of the great weight of the torpedo (645 kilograms (1,422 lb)) was more than existing aircraft could easily lift and the danger of trying to fly from an uneven grass airstrip with such a large weight of explosives. At the beginning of 1915 the Naval Office ordered the development of seaplanes capable of carrying torpedoes and the Seaplane Experimental Command (Seeflugzeug-Versuchs-Kommando (SVK)) issued requirements for these aircraft. They had to be twin-engine airplanes armed with a machine gun for self-defense and with a crew of two or three men: a pilot and observer for torpedo missions and a pilot, bombardier and gunner for bombing missions. [1]
Even before the pusher-configuration WD.3 was rejected by the SVK in late 1915, [2] Gotha turned to a new layout that would also keep the aircraft's nose free for forward-firing weapons. The WD.7 was a tractor-configuration biplane with 120- horsepower (89 kW ) Mercedes D.II straight-six engines mounted on the leading edge of the lower wing. The radiators were located above each engine. The aircraft did retain the WD.3's nose and gunner's cockpit in addition to the twin-tail tail structure. The prototype kept the central vertical stabilizer as well, but this was eliminated in the production aircraft. [3]
Eight examples were built for use as trainers for torpedo bombing. During 1917, two of these aircraft were used for testing a 37 mm (1.46 in) autocannon built by DWM and the Becker 20 mm (0.8 in) autocannon.
The same airframe was used to create the WD.8 reconnaissance floatplane, substituting the two wing-mounted engines with a single water-cooled 240-horsepower (180 kW) Maybach Mb.IVa straight-six engine in the nose.
Data from Gotha Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes; [5] German Aircraft of the First World War [4]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
The Gotha G.I was a bomber aircraft used by the Luftstreitkräfte during the First World War.
The AEG C.II was a German two-seat biplane reconnaissance aircraft produced in small numbers from October 1915. It was a slightly smaller version of the C.I with better performance, redesigned cockpit for both pilot and observer/bombardier, new rear mounting for a 7.92 mm (.312 in) Parabellum MG14 machine gun, and the ability to carry four 10 kg (22 lb) bombs for light attack duties.
The Friedrichshafen FF.41a was a large, German-built, three-seat, twin-engine floatplane reconnaissance aircraft designed by Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen in 1917.
The Hansa-Brandenburg W.12 was a German biplane fighter floatplane of World War I. Ernst Heinkel's KDW was redesigned, with a rear cockpit, reshaped tailfin, and rudder.
The Hansa-Brandenburg W.29 was a German two-seat fighter floatplane which served in the closing months of World War I with the Imperial German Navy's Naval Air Service from bases on the North Sea coast. In concept the aircraft was a monoplane version of the biplane Hansa-Brandenburg W.12, although there were many structural differences between the two.
The Friedrichshafen FF.29 was an unarmed maritime reconnaissance floatplane built for the Imperial German Navy's Naval Air Service that was produced by Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen during World War I. The aircraft entered service in November 1914, mostly conducting maritime patrols over the North Sea and the English Channel, and played a small role in the Raid on Cuxhaven the following month. A FF.29 became the first aircraft to be transported by a submarine when it was used in experiments in January 1915. In May an emergency landing by a FF.29 was the cause of the action off Noordhinder Bank when German forces were searching for the floatplane when they encountered a superior British force. The aircraft was also involved in developing methods of controlling artillery fire from the air.
The Friedrichshafen FF.31 was a two-seat prototype German maritime reconnaissance floatplane built by Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen during the First World War. Although primarily intended for reconnaissance duties, the aircraft was provided with a machine gun to engage other aircraft. Although it was satisfactory for its intended mission, it lacked the performance necessary for use as a fighter. A pair of aircraft were built in 1915 and it was not accepted for production by the Imperial German Navy's Naval Air Service.
The Friedrichshafen FF.48 was a German two-seat floatplane fighter of the 1910s produced by Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen.
The Friedrichshafen FF.35 was a German three-seat floatplane torpedo bomber built during World War I by Friedrichshafen Flugzeugbau built for the Imperial German Navy's Naval Air Service. Only one prototype was constructed in 1916 and it saw limited operational use during the war in Courland.
The Gotha LD.1 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 conventional designs with two-bay unstaggered wings, tailskid landing gear, and two open cockpits in tandem. Made quickly obsolete by the rapid advances in aviation technology, several were supplied as military aid to the Ottoman Empire when withdrawn from German service.
The Gotha WD.2 and its derivatives were a family of military reconnaissance aircraft produced in Germany just before and during the early part of World War I.
The Gotha WD.3 was a prototype maritime reconnaissance floatplane developed during World War I by Gothaer Waggonfabrik for the Imperial German Navy's Naval Air Service. The three-seat aircraft used the pusher configuration with the engine behind the crew. It was lacking in performance compared to aircraft with the more common tractor configuration with the engine in the nose and was not approved for production. The single prototype completed was used as a training aircraft; its ultimate fate is unknown.
The Gotha WD.11 was a three-seat floatplane torpedo-bomber developed during World War I by Gothaer Waggonfabrik for the Imperial German Navy's Naval Air Service. The company's earlier Gotha WD.7 had been moderately successful as a training aircraft for torpedo tactics and it designed a larger and more powerful aircraft along the same general lines. The prototype was completed in 1916 and the aircraft entered service the following year. 17 examples were built and enjoyed limited success, sinking two British freighters in the North Sea. One squadron participated in Operation Albion in 1917 with limited effectiveness. Torpedo shortages and durability issues forced the WD.11s removal from active service in 1918. Fewer than half survived to be inventoried by the Allies after the war.
The Gotha WD.14, WD.20, and WD.22 were a family of biplane torpedo bomber floatplanes developed in Germany during World War I.
The Hansa-Brandenburg GW was a floatplane torpedo bomber produced in Germany during World War I for the Imperial German Navy. In configuration, it was similar to the Hansa-Brandenburg G.I land-based bomber, but the GW was substantially larger and heavier. Like the G.I, it was a conventional three-bay biplane design with staggered wings with the lower wing of slightly greater span than the upper. The undercarriage consisted of twin floats, each mounted on a separate truss structure, leaving space between them for a single torpedo to be dropped from the underside of the fuselage. The metal trusses that had attached the engines to the sides of the G.I's fuselage were not present in this design, with the engine nacelles carried on struts in the interplane gap.
The Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven 947 was a maritime reconnaissance floatplane built for the Imperial German Navy's Naval Air Service during the First World War, the sole example of its type. It was one of only three armed aircraft built by the Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven amongst a variety of trainer seaplanes that they had produced for the Navy during the course of the war. Number 947 was a two-bay biplane of conventional design, with twin pontoon undercarriage, and two open cockpits in tandem. It received the Naval classification CHFT, indicating an armed aircraft equipped with radio gear capable of both sending and receiving.
The Sablatnig SF-1 was a reconnaissance seaplane built in Germany during the First World War.
The Zeppelin-Lindau CS.I was a German single-engined reconnaissance seaplane with a low-wing monoplane layout.
The Hansa-Brandenburg GDW was a floatplane torpedo bomber built in Germany during World War I for the Imperial German Navy.
The LTG FD 1 was a single-seat floatplane fighter built for the Imperial German Navy's Naval Air Service by Luft Torpedo Gesellschaft (LTG) during World War I. Only six prototypes were built in 1917–1918 and are not known to have served on active duty.