Aviation School Gotha
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The Herzog Carl Eduard Herren-Fliegerschule in Gotha (short: Fliegerschule Gotha ) was founded on April 1, 1912 and officially opened on February 18, 1915 on what will later be the area (school building with airfield and barracks). (At that time Gotha belonged to the Duchy of Saxony-Coburg and Gotha and Carl Eduard was its duke in 1905 until its dissolution in 1918.)
history
founding
The establishment was preceded by the then director of the Gothaer Waggonfabrik , the Secret Commerce Councilor Albert Kandt (1866-1926), Duke Carl Eduard von Sachsen-Coburg and Gotha in 1909 in support of the aircraft construction project he (Kandt) aspired to Gotha could win. The ducal support was fruitful with the emperor and army and so in 1909 the planning for an airship port in Gotha could be started. At the same time, the Gotha Aviation Association was founded on July 7, 1909, an organization responsible for the implementation of the project and its operation. The airship port of Gotha with the "Carl-Eduard-Luftschiffhalle" as the core building was ceremoniously opened the following year, on July 8, 1910, after an almost ideal area for a port area for airships was found in the Gotha racing course in the Töpflebener Flur was left to the city of Gotha. Automobil und Aviatik AG agreed to supply flying machines for the flying school .
Excursus on the automobile and aviation company:
The automotive and aviation AG , headquartered in Mulhouse in Alsace had emerged from founded in Mulhouse 1909 "Aviation GmbH" 1910th In 1910 the company also set up an operating facility with an attached flying station in Metz / Lorraine and in Leipzig-Thekla-Heiterblick, and in 1911 a branch was established in Johannisthal near Berlin. In 1914, a subsidiary in Austria-Hungary was founded with the “Österreichische Aviatik” . The production in Alsace / Lorraine was stopped in 1914 due to the proximity of the front and relocated to Freiburg im Breisgau and Leipzig-Mockau . In 1919/1920 the aircraft production had to be stopped completely according to the Versailles Treaty and the company went bankrupt.
At the Thuringian Aviation Week, which was held for the first time in spring 1911, the great aviation pioneers of the time also appeared in Gotha and showed their skills, which particularly impressed Duke Carl Eduard von Sachsen-Coburg and Gotha. It was not least thanks to his advocacy, in particular in the Prussian War Ministry and with Prince Heinrich of Prussia , that in March 1914 the army administration initiated the establishment of an aviation school, air barracks and its own airfield in Gotha on a plot of land directly next to the Gotha wagon factory . On February 18, 1915, school service could begin there. The head of the aviation school in Gotha was the famous engineer and aviator Ernst Schlegel (1882–1976), who was assisted by the equally famous aviation pioneer Arthur Faller (1887–1965) as a flying instructor for biplanes . In the teaching units at the school, particular emphasis was placed on theoretical lessons in connection with detailed practical exercises on the flying machine and engine.
The school in the time of National Socialism
In the period 1933–1945, Sturmabteilung 9 of NSFK -Standarte 44 had its domicile as part of NSFK-Gruppe 8 (center) in Gotha, which used the building and site together with an air force flying school next to each other.
The school after 1945
In April 1945 the Americans took over the flight facilities in Gotha and handed them over to Soviet troops in July 1945, who used them together with the border troops of the GDR until 1990 after the introduction of conscription in the GDR . Today's Aero-Club Gotha e. V. a flight school. This association has been jointly owned by its members since 1998.
swell
- "Flugsport", IV (11), 1912, p. 477 etc.
- Website of the "Aero-Club Gotha eV"