Gotha WD.8

Last updated
WD.8
Gotha WD.8.jpg
A forward oblique view of the WD.8
Role Maritime reconnaissance aircraft
National originGermany
Manufacturer Gothaer Waggonfabrik
First flight1916
Number built1

The Gotha WD.8 (Wasser Doppeldecker - "Water Biplane") was a single-engine maritime patrol 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 prototype built was deemed "totally unsuitable" by the Naval Air Service and was later sold to the Ottoman Empire.

Contents

Design and description

The airframe of the WD.7 was used to create the WD.8 reconnaissance floatplane, substituting a single water-cooled 240-horsepower (180 kW) Maybach Mb.IVa straight-six engine in the nose for the two wing-mounted 120-horsepower (89 kW) engines of the earlier aircraft.

History


Specifications

Data from Gotha Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes; [1] German Aircraft of the First World War [2]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hansa-Brandenburg KDW</span> German WW1 Floatplane

The Hansa-Brandenburg KDW was a German single-engine, single-seat, fighter floatplane of World War I. The KDW – Kampf Doppeldecker, Wasser – was adapted from the Hansa-Brandenburg D.I landplane to provide coastal defence over the North Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hansa-Brandenburg W.12</span> Type of aircraft

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hansa-Brandenburg W.29</span> Type of aircraft

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friedrichshafen FF.31</span> Type of aircraft

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friedrichshafen FF.48</span> Type of aircraft

The Friedrichshafen FF.48 was a German two-seat floatplane fighter of the 1910s produced by Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rumpler C.IV</span> Type of aircraft

The Rumpler C.IV was a German single-engine, two-seat reconnaissance biplane. It was a development of C.III with different tail surfaces and using a Mercedes D.IVa engine in place of the C.III's Benz Bz.IV. The Rumpler 6B 2 was a single-seat floatplane fighter variant with a 120 kW (160 hp) Mercedes D.III engine built for the Kaiserliche Marine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hansa-Brandenburg W.19</span> German fighter-reconnaissance aircraft of World War I

The Hansa-Brandenburg W.19 was a German fighter-reconnaissance aircraft of World War I. It was a single-engined two-seat biplane floatplane, and was a larger development of the successful W.12. It served with the Kaiserliche Marine during 1918.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friedrichshafen FF.35</span> Type of aircraft

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gotha G.VII</span> Type of aircraft

The Gotha G.VII was a bomber aircraft produced in Germany during the final months of World War I. With the strategic bombing campaign effectively over, it was intended to be a high-speed tactical bomber with a secondary reconnaissance capability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gotha WD.2</span> Type of aircraft

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gotha WD.3</span> Type of aircraft

The Gotha WD.3 was a prototype maritime reconnaissance floatplane developed during World War I by Gothaer Waggonfabrik (Gotha) 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gotha WD.7</span> German reconnaissance floatplane World War I, 1915

The Gotha WD.7 was a twin-engine maritime patrol floatplane developed during World War I by Gothaer Waggonfabrik (Gotha) for the Imperial German Navy's Naval Air Service. The prototype was captured by the French on its first combat mission in April 1916 after it was forced to make an emergency landing after an engine failed. Despite this seven additional WD.7s were ordered and were used for training torpedo bomber pilots and for trials. Only a single aircraft is known to have survived the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gotha WD.11</span> German World War I torpedo bomber seaplane

The Gotha WD.11 was a three-seat floatplane torpedo-bomber developed during World War I by Gothaer Waggonfabrik (Gotha) 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gotha WD.14</span> Type of aircraft

The Gotha WD.14, WD.20, and WD.22 were a family of biplane torpedo bomber floatplanes developed in Germany during World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gotha WD.27</span> Type of aircraft

The Gotha WD.27 was a long-range maritime patrol floatplane developed during World War I by Gothaer Waggonfabrik (Gotha) for the Imperial German Navy's Naval Air Service. It was a large, four-engine aircraft with the same general layout as the WD.22; a conventional floatplane with engines grouped in tractor-pusher pairs on the lower wings. Three aircraft were ordered in early 1918, but the first prototype was not completed until after the end of the war in November. It may not have flown before it was ordered to be destroyed by the victorious Allies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rumpler C.X</span> German First World War observationaircraft

The Rumpler C.X, produced under the company designation Rumpler 8C 14, was a German two-seat observation aircraft. It was developed from the earlier Rumpler 8C 13 prototype by Rumpler in early 1918. The prototype had a similar wing design to the Rumpler C.VII, powered by a 260 hp (194 kW) Mercedes D.IVa engine and was later powered by a 240 hp (179 kW) Maybach Mb.IVa. The C.X had the highest top speed and service ceiling of all German C-type aircraft and an order was placed for the aircraft in August 1918, but few were built and tested before the war ended.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zeppelin-Lindau CS.I</span> Type of aircraft

The Zeppelin-Lindau CS.I was a German single-engined reconnaissance seaplane with a low-wing monoplane layout.

Hansa-Brandenburg W.34 was a prototype German two-seat, single-engined floatplane, which had been designed by Hansa und Brandenburgische Flugzeugwerke during World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hansa-Brandenburg W.18</span> WWI German flying boat

The Hansa-Brandenburg W.18 was a single-seat German fighter flying boat of World War I. It was used by both the Kaiserliche Marine and the Austro-Hungarian Navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friedrichshafen FF.63</span> Type of aircraft

The Friedrichshafen FF.63 was a German experimental floatplane produced by Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen.

References

  1. Herris, p. 48
  2. Gray & Thetford, p. 401

Bibliography