Gotha G.I

The Gotha G.I was a twin-engine German bomber of the First World War, built by Gothaer Waggonfabrik for the Imperial German Air Service. It grew out of an unconventional seaplane layout devised in 1914 by the magazine editor Oskar Ursinus, with the fuselage hung from the upper wing and the engine nacelles on the lower one, which gave the three crew a clear view and the gunner a wide field of fire. A prototype built by the men of Major Helmut Friedel's unit first flew on 30 January 1915, and Gotha, under chief engineer Hans Burkhard, then built eighteen production aircraft in three batches of six, plus one floatplane version nicknamed the Trojan Horse. Records show only a handful in service at any one time, used mostly for defensive patrols and reconnaissance rather than bombing.