Gotha G.IX - Misplaced Pages

G.VIII, GL.VIII, and G.IX

Role	BomberType of aircraft
National origin	Germany
Manufacturer	Gothaer Waggonfabrik
First flight	1918
Primary users	Luftstreitkräfte Belgian Air Force
Number built	c. 90 (mainly G.IX)

The Gotha G.VIII, GL.VIII, and G.IX were a family of bomber aircraft produced in Germany during the final months of World War I. Based on the Gotha G.VII, they were intended as high-speed tactical bombers featuring advanced streamlining for their day.

G.VIII and G.IX

The G.VIII designation was applied to a single machine developed from the G.VII, with a wingspan extended to 21.73 m (71 ft 3 in) and a revised fuselage. A wing cellule was extended by adding an extra half-bay into it. While no further production ensued, the fuselage modifications were retained on the definitive G.IX. This latter design replaced the new half-bays in the wing cellule with full bays, now bringing the span to 25.26 m (82 ft 11 in). The Idflieg ordered 170 G.IXs from Luft Verkehrs Gesellschaft (LVG) to replace the Gotha G.Vs still in front-line service with Boghol 3. Probably around half of this number were completed before the end of the war, with at least some of them reaching operational status by that time. Following the war, captured examples served for a short time with the Belgian Air Force.

GL.VIII

The GL.VIII was a lightweight version of the G.VIII with a compound tail assembly and auxiliary struts supporting the upper mainplane wing-tips.

Specifications (G.IX)

General characteristics

Crew: Three
Length: 9.79 m (32 ft 1 in)
Wingspan: 25.26 m (82 ft 11 in)
Height: 3.54 m (11 ft 7 in)
Powerplant: 2 × Maybach Mb IVa , 180 kW (245 hp) each

References

"Gotha | German aircraft | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
"Germany's Gotha Heavy Bombers". Warfare History Network. Retrieved 2024-01-24.

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.
Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 427.
World Aircraft Information Files. London: Bright Star Publishing. pp. File 895 Sheet 08.

Gotha aircraft

Company designations pre-1918

LD.1 LD.2 LD.3 LD.4 LD.5 LD.6 LD.7 LD.10
LE.1 LE.2 LE.3
WD.1 WD.2 WD.3 WD.4 WD.5 WD.7 WD.8 WD.9 WD.11 WD.12 WD.13 WD.14 WD.15 WD.17 WD.20 WD.22 WD.27

Idflieg designations 1914-1918

RLM designations 1933-1945

Project numbers

P.50
P.60

Idflieg G, GL, K, L and N-class bomber designations

G- class

AEG	G.I G.II G.III G.IV G.V
Albatros	G.I G.II G.III G.IV
Daimler	G.I G.II
Friedrichshafen	G.I G.II G.III G.IV G.V G.VI
Gotha	G.I G.II G.III G.IV G.V G.VI G.VII G.VIII G.IX G.X
Halberstadt	G.I
LFG	G.I
LVG	G.I G.II G.III
Rumpler	G.I G.II G.III
Schütte-Lanz	G.I
Siemens-Schuckert	G.I G.II G.III
Union	G.I

GL- class

Gotha	GL.VII GL.VIII

K- class

AEG	K.I
Fokker	K.I

L- class

Siemens-Schuckert	L.I

N- class

AEG	N.I
Albatros	N.I
BFW	N.I
Friedrichshafen	N.I
Sablatnig	N.I

G = Grossflugzeuge (large airplane), GL = Grossflugzeuge Leicht (light large airplane)

K = Kampfflugzeug (battleplane), renamed as G-class, L = bomber midway between K/G and R-classes

N = Nacht (night)

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