August 1917
This aircraft, designed by Hans Burkhard, was built to carry out bombing raids in Britain. Day raids continued throughout the summer of 1917. The Gotha G-IV was replaced by the superior Gotha G-V in August 1917….

German Empire

The Gotha Program was the party platform adopted by the nascent Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) at its initial party congress, held in the town of Gotha in 1875. Karl Marx famously attacked the platform, which he had read in draft form, in his Critique of the Gotha Program.

About 80 were built, and they made 400 raids on German targets with the loss of only one plane. The best-known German strategic bombers of World War I were twin-engined Gotha “pusher” biplanes, which made several daylight raids on London in formation in the summer of 1917 before reverting to night operations.

Gothaer Waggonfabrik
Gotha G.V/Manufacturers

Gotha is a census-designated place (CDP) in Orange County, Florida, United States. Gotha is located between Ocoee and Windermere and had a population of 1,915 at the 2010 census, up from 731 as recorded by the 2000 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Single-engined, single-seat monoplane fighters and fighter bombers

The three main kinds of aircraft used during World War II were bombers, fighters, and transport planes. The bombers carried bombs to drop on targets. Bombers of light, medium, and heavy capabilities were used, depending on the type of target.

Planes had advanced enough since WWI to be able to fill specific niches. During WW2, the primary missions fulfilled by airplanes were air-to-air combat, bombing, aerial reconnaissance, and troop and supply transportation.

The firm also produced the Gotha Go 242 assault glider and licence-built Messerschmitt Bf 110. Perhaps the most famous Gotha product of World War II, however, was an aircraft that never entered service, the Horten Ho 229.

The Spanish version, called the CASA 1145-L actually remained in service until long after World War II. Ignoring prototypes, 1,182 Go 145s were built in Germany for Luftwaffe service. An unknown number of license-produced Go 145s were also built. Further development of the aircraft was done.

In World War I, Gotha was the manufacturer of a highly successful series of bombers based on a 1914 design by Oskar Ursinus, but heavily reimagined by Hans Burkhard.

On 22 February 1944, a squadron of American bombers was sent from Britain to bomb the factory, but due to bad weather, the mission was cancelled before they reached Gotha. On the way back, the Dutch border city of Nijmegen was bombed instead as a ‘target of opportunity’, killing hundreds of civilians.