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      Gothaer Waggonfabrik
       
      
      Gothaer Waggonfabrik (Gotha, GWF) was a German manufacturer of rolling 
      stock established in the late nineteenth century at Warnemünde. During the 
      two world wars, the company expanded into aircraft building.  
       
      In World War I, Gotha manufacturer a highly successful series of bombers 
      based on a 1914 design by Oskar Ursinus. From 1917, these aircraft were 
      capable of carrying out strategic bombing missions over England, the first 
      heavier-than-air aircraft used in this role. Several dozen of these 
      bombers were built in a number of subtypes - the Gotha G.I, G.II, G.III, 
      G.IV, and G.V. This last variant was the most prolific, with thirty-six in 
      squadron service at one point.  
       
      Whilst Germany was prohibited from aircraft manufacture by the Treaty of 
      Versailles, Gotha returned to its railway endeavours, but returned to 
      aviation with the rise of the Nazi government and the abandonment of the 
      Treaty's restrictions.  
       
      Gotha's main contribution to the new Luftwaffe was the Gotha Go 145 
      trainer, of which some 9,500 were built. The firm also produced the Gotha 
      Go 242 assault glider. Perhaps the most famous Gotha product of World War 
      II, however, was an aircraft that never actually entered production, the 
      Gotha Go 229. This was an exotic jet-powered, flying wing fighter aircraft 
      designed by the Horton brothers, who lacked the facilities to mass-produce 
      it. Only one prototype flew before the end of the war.  
       
      Following the war, Gotha once again returned to its original purpose, 
      building trams and light rail vehicles in the former East Germany. 
  
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