what is it?
The Gotha WD.2 (for Wasser Doppeldecker - "Water Biplane") and its derivatives were a family of military reconnaissance aircraft produced in Germany just before and during the early part of World War I.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 15.6 m wingspan
base stats
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 112 years ago, in 1914.
- Wingspan of 15.6 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1914
- number built
- —
- role
- reconnaissance seaplane
- origin
- German Reich
- makers
- Gotha
- engines
- 1× Benz Bz.III
- crew
- 2
- length
- 10.5 m
- wingspan
- 15.6 m
- max take-off weight
- 1,630 kg
- top speed
- 112 km/h
- range
- 670 km
- ceiling
- 3,000 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q1538733, Wikipedia: Gotha WD.2 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.