Gotha WD.7
| 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 |
| Variants | Gotha WD.8 |
The Gotha WD.7 (Wasser Doppeldecker - "Water Biplane") was a twin-engine maritime patrol floatplane developed during World War I by Gothaer Waggonfabrik (Gotha) for the Imperial German Navy's (Kaiserliche Marine) Naval Air Service (Marine-Fliegerabteilung).
Background and description
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A decade after the Wright Brothers made the first heavier-than-air flight in 1903, obvious missions for aircraft were reconnaissance and ground attack and the consequent need to negate the enemy's attempts perform them against your own troops. Although synchronizer gear to allow machine guns to fire between the propeller blades as they spun was under development in multiple countries, a successful system had yet to be fielded. This meant that the machine gun placed on a rotating mount with a field of fire unimpeded the propellers was the only way that one aircraft could shoot down another. This relegated the pilot to merely flying withing range of an enemy aircraft while his gunners would attempt to destroy their opponent with their machine guns or autocannon. Designers and military aviators likened this to warships at sea which maneuvered to bring their weapons to bear. Thus were born the aerial cruisers or battleplanes (Kampfflugzeuge) built by Imperial Germany, Great Britain and France.[1]
At the beginning of 1914, the Imperial German Army's Imperial German Air Service (Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches) began discussions with its Inspectorate of Flying Troops (Inspektion der Fliegertruppen (Idflieg)), the Transport Technical Investigation Commission (Verkehrstechnische Prüfungs Kommission (VPK)) and aviation industry executives about the wartime role of aircraft. In March they reached a consensus outlining three broad roles for aircraft:
- Type I; a fast two-seater reconnaissance or bomber aircraft.
- Type II; an short-range, two-seat, very maneuverable aircraft intended to fly at low altitudes and armed for self-defense.
- Type III; a long-range, three-seat aircraft able to carry 450 kilograms (990 lb) of useful load for six hours withing range of enemy fire.
The Central Division (Zentral-Abteilung) of the General Staff approved the VPKL's recommendations on 28 April, directing that aircraft be developed for the Type II and III categories as quickly as possible as the Type I requirement was already met by the existing B-type aircraft. The Air Service scheduled a competition to select the best Type II aircraft in November and another in early 1915 for the Type III aircraft as those larger and more complex aircraft would require more time to design and build, not least because two engines would be required as lacked engines powerful enough to lift that weight on their own. The start of World War I in August disrupted these plans, although many companies had already made considerable progress with their Type III designs. Rather than hold a competition, Idflieg decided to order small numbers of prototypes from the various manufacturers.[2]
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.[3]
Even before the pusher-configuration WD.3 was rejected by the SVK in late 1915,[4] 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.[5]
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.
History
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.
Variants
WD.8: single-engine reconnaissance floatplane, powered by a 240 hp (180 kW) Maybach Mb.IV.[6]
Specifications (WD.7 prototype)
Data from Gotha Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes;[7] German Aircraft of the First World War[6]
General characteristics
- Crew: 3
- Length: 11.3 m (37 ft 1 in)
- Upper wingspan: 16.8 m (55 ft 1 in)
- Lower wingspan: 14.8 m (48 ft 7 in)
- Height: 3.9 m (12 ft 10 in)
- Wing area: 55.5 m2 (597 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 1,275 kg (2,811 lb)
- Gross weight: 1,785 kg (3,935 lb)
- Powerplant: 2 × Mercedes D.II water-cooled straight-six engines, 89 kW (120 hp) each
- Propellers: 2-bladed
Performance
- Maximum speed: 128 km/h (80 mph, 69 kn)
- Range: 475 km (295 mi, 256 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 3,500 m (11,500 ft)
- Time to altitude: 9.5 minutes to 1,000 m (3,300 ft)
- 40 minutes to 2,000 m (6,600 ft)
Armament
- Guns: 1 x 7.92 mm (0.312 in) Parabellum MG 14 in the forward cockpit
- WD.8: 1 x 7.62 mm Parabellum MG 14 machine gun in the rear cockpit
References
Bibliography
- Gray, Peter & Thetford, Owen (1987) [1970]. German Aircraft of the First World War (2nd ed.). London: Putnam. ISBN 0-85177-809-7.
- Grosz, Peter M. (2000). Gotha G.I. Windsock Datafile. Vol. 83. Berkhamsted, UK: Albatros Productions. ISBN 1-902207-25-4.
- Herris, Jack (2013). Gotha Aircraft of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes. Great War Aviation Centennial Series. Vol. 6. Charleston, South Carolina: Aeronaut Books. ISBN 978-1-935881-14-8.
- Metzmacher, Andreas (2021). Gotha Aircraft 1913–1954: From the London Bomber to the Flying Wing Jet Fighter. Brimscombe, Stroud: Fonthill. ISBN 978-1-78155-706-8.
- Nowarra, Heinz J.; Robertson, Bruce & Cooksley, Peter G. (1966). Marine Aircraft of the 1914–1918 War. Letchworth, UK: Harleyford Publications. OCLC 123198808.
- Schmeelke, Michael (2020). "Torpedo Los!": The German Imperial Torpedo-Flieger. n.p.: Aeronaut Books. ISBN 978-1-953201-17-1.
- Schmeelke, Michael (2018). Zeebrugge: Naval Air Station Flanders I 1914–1918. Reno, Nevada: Aeronaut Books. ISBN 978-1-935881-46-9.