Gotha Go 242

what is it?

The Gotha Go 242 was a transport glider used by the Luftwaffe during World War II. It was an upgrade over the DFS 230 in both cargo/troop capacity and flight characteristics. It saw limited combat action. There were multiple glider variants, and it became the basis for a transport aircraft, the: Gotha Go 244.

base stats

• seats 23passengers
• size 7,100 kgmax take-off weight
• built 1,528made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 85 years ago, in 1941.
• 🚗Wingspan of 24.5 m: about 5 cars parked nose to tail.

spec sheet

first flight

1941

introduced

1941

number built

1,528

role

transport glider

origin

German Reich

makers

Gotha

engines

—

crew

2

passengers

23

length

15.8 m

wingspan

24.5 m

height

4.7 m

max take-off weight

7,100 kg

top speed

—

range

—

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.