Gotha WD.11

The Gotha WD.11 (for Wasser Doppeldecker - "Water Biplane") was a torpedo bomber seaplane developed in Germany during World War I. When the general configuration of the Gotha WD.7 proved promising, Gotha set to work designing a much larger and more powerful aircraft along the same general lines. Like its predecessor, it was a conventional biplane with twin engines mounted tractor-fashion on the lower wing. The pilot and observer sat in tandem, open cockpits and the landing gear consisted of twin pontoons. 12 examples were built for the Imperial German Navy.

WD.11
Role Torpedo bomber
National origin Germany
Manufacturer Gotha
First flight 1916
Primary user Imperial German Navy
Number built 13

Operators
 German Empire
 Netherlands

Specifications (WD.11)

Data from German Aircraft of the First World War[1]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Length: 13.43 m (44 ft 1 in)
  • Wingspan: 22.51 m (73 ft 10 in)
  • Height: 4.75 m (15 ft 7 in)
  • Wing area: 103.4 m2 (1,113 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 2,437 kg (5,373 lb)
  • Gross weight: 3,583 kg (7,899 lb)
  • Powerplant: 2 × Mercedes D.III 6-cylinder water-cooled in-line piston engines in pusher nacelles, 120 kW (160 hp) each
  • Propellers: 2-bladed wooden fixed-pitch pusher propellers

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 120 km/h (75 mph, 65 kn)
  • Rate of climb: 1.3 m/s (260 ft/min)
  • Time to altitude: 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in 12 minutes

Armament

  • Guns: 1 x 7.92 mm (0.312 in) Parabellum MG 14
  • Bombs: 1 x 725 kg (1,598 lb) Torpedo

References
  1. Gray, Peter; Thetford, Owen (1970). German Aircraft of the First World War (2nd ed.). London: Putnam. p. 403. ISBN 0-370-00103-6.

Bibliography
  • 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.
  • Klaauw, Bart van der (March–April 1999). "Unexpected Windfalls: Accidentally or Deliberately, More than 100 Aircraft 'arrived' in Dutch Territory During the Great War". Air Enthusiast (80): 54–59. ISSN 0143-5450.
  • Schmeelke, Michael (2020). "Torpedo Los!": The German Imperial Torpedo-Flieger. n.p.: Aeronaut Books. ISBN 978-1-953201-17-1.

Further reading
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gotha WD.11.
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 428.
  • World Aircraft Information Files. London: Bright Star Publishing. pp. File 895 Sheet 09.
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