The Gotha Go 150 was a light aircraft designed at the German company
Gothaer Waggonfabrik
''Gothaer Waggonfabrik'' (''Gotha'', GWF) was a German manufacturer of rolling stock established in the late nineteenth century at Gotha. During the two world wars, the company expanded into aircraft building.
World War I
In World War I, Go ...
in the late 1930s. It was intended for civilian use, but ended up being used as a
military trainer.
Development
In January 1937 Major
Werner Junck
Werner Junck (28 December 1895 – 6 August 1976) was a German general in the Luftwaffe during World War II, serving in Iraq and later in the Baltic campaign. He claimed five aerial victories during World War I.
Early life
Werner Junck was bor ...
, chief of the LC II, the technical wing of the
''Reichsluftfahrtministerium'' responsible for the development of new aircraft, informed various minor aircraft manufacturers such as Gothaer Waggonfabrik,
Bücker,
Fieseler
The Gerhard Fieseler Werke (GFW) in Kassel was a German aircraft manufacturer of the 1930s and 1940s. The company is remembered mostly for its military aircraft built for the Luftwaffe during the Second World War.
History
Gerhard Fieseler, the ...
,
Flugzeugwerke Halle and
Klemm
The Klemm Leichtflugzeugbau GmbH ("Klemm Light Aircraft Company") was a German aircraft manufacturer noteworthy for sports and touring planes of the 1930s.
The company was founded in Böblingen in 1926 by Dr. Hanns Klemm, who had previously work ...
that they would not get any contracts for the development of military aircraft. He therefore advised them to concentrate in the development of a ''
Volksflugzeug
The ''Volksflugzeug'' (People's Aircraft) was a grand Nazi Germany, Nazi-era scheme for the mass-production of a small and simple airplane in the 1930s. It was one of the attempts of the Nazi regime to use consumer technologies as a propaganda t ...
'' or a small twin-engined plane. As a result, Gothaer Waggonfabrik developed the Go 150, while the other companies produced the
Kl 105, the
Si 202, the
Bü 180 and the
Fi 253.
The aircraft was a twin-engined
monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...
with an enclosed cockpit. It was designed by Albert Kalkert, and first flew in 1937. The results of this flight were good, and production began. The aircraft was used to train both civilian and
Luftwaffe
The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
pilots. The Go 150 was later also used in tests, where it was towed by a
Heinkel He 46
The Heinkel He 46 was a German Reich, German World War II-era monoplane designed in 1931 for the close Aerial reconnaissance, reconnaissance and Liaison aircraft, army co-operation roles. While it served with the ''Luftwaffe''s front-line units on ...
.
Specifications
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Luftarchiv - Fieseler Fi 253
{{RLM aircraft designations
1930s German civil utility aircraft
Go 150
Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft
Low-wing aircraft
Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear