Gotha G.II Country: Germany Type: Bomber Manufacturer: Gothaer Service: 1916 - 1917 First Flight: March 1916 Production: 11

The Gotha G.II series was a heavy bomber used by the Luftstreitkraefte (Imperial German Air Service) during the First World War.

The Gotha G.II was an entirely new biplane designed by Hans Burkhard. The G.II prototype first flew in March 1916, and testing revealed several shortcomings. The most significant problem was that the aircraft was not capable of carrying the bombload that was specified by the Idflieg that were solved before production began in April 1916.

The G.II entered operational service in August 1916, with eight of the initial production batch of ten deployed to the Balkan front. Of the two others, one remained with Gothaer and the other was severely damaged in an accident during evaluation. Of the eight on active service, no more than four appear to have been operational at any one time (October 1916). By February 1917, this number had dwindled to one aircraft only, and from April none remained in service.

General characteristics