Gotha G.VII
| G.VII | |
|---|---|
| |
| Role | Bomber |
| National origin | Germany |
| Manufacturer | Gotha |
| First flight | 1918 |
| Primary users | Luftstreitkräfte Ukrainian Air Force, Czechoslovakian Air Force |
| Number built | ca.20 |
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.
Design and development
The G.VII was a conventional two-bay biplane design with tractor-mounted engines, and a conventional empennage with twin fins and rudders. The bombardier's position in the nose of the aircraft that had featured on earlier Gotha designs was removed, and the nose of the aircraft severely truncated and fitted with a streamlined nose-cone. This allowed the engines to be located further inboard than on previous designs, bringing them closer to the aircraft's centreline and therefore minimising the effects of asymmetric thrust in the event of an engine failure. The engine nacelles also featured careful streamlining.
The Idflieg ordered around 250 of these aircraft, 50 from Gotha and 50 from LVG, and 150 from Aviatik. At least some of the LVG and Aviatik machines had been completed before the Armistice, with some reaching operational service. One G.VII survived the war to see brief service with the Ukrainian Air Force before being impounded by Czechoslovakia and used by the Czechoslovakian air force for a short time.
Variants
- Gotha G.VII prototype - The original prototype with short nosed fuselage was intended for long-range photographic reconnaissance.
Operators
- Czechoslovakian air force (one aircraft taken from Ukrainian Air Force)
- Ukrainian Air Force (one aircraft)
Specifications (Gotha G.VII production)
Data from Gray & Thetford, “German Aircraft of the First World War”
General characteristics
- Crew: 3
- Length: 9.63 m (31 ft 7.1 in)
- Wingspan: 19.27 m (63 ft 2.7 in)
- Height: 3.51 m (11 ft 6 in)
- Wing area: 63.8 m2 (689 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 2,419 kg (5,333 lb)
- Gross weight: 3,139 kg (6,920 lb)
- Powerplant: 2 × Mercedes D.IVa , 194 kW (260 hp) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 180 km/h (110 mph, 97 kn)
- Range: 540 km (340 mi, 300 nmi)
- Endurance: 3 hours
- Service ceiling: 7,000 m (23,000 ft)
- Rate of climb: 2.6 m/s (510 ft/min)
Armament
- 1 × 7.92 mm (.312 in) Parabellum machine gun in dorsal ring mount
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
References
- Andersson, Lennart & Sanger, Ray (2014). Retribution and Recovery: German Aircraft and Aviation 1919 to 1922. Staplefield, UK: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN 978-0-85130-467-0.
- Gray, Peter & Thetford, Owen (1987) [1970]. German Aircraft of the First World War (2nd ed.). London: Putnam. ISBN 0-85177-809-7.
- 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.