The Go 242 was designed by Dipl-Ing Albert Kalkert in response to a
Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) requirement for a heavy transport glider to replace the
DFS 230 then in service. The requirement was for a glider capable of carrying 20 fully laden troops or the equivalent cargo. The aircraft was a high-wing
monoplane with a simple square-section
fuselage ending in clamshell doors used to load cargo. The empennage was mounted on twin booms linked by a tailplane. The fuselage was formed of steel tubing covered with
doped fabric. The flight characteristics of the design were better than those of the DFS 230. Cargo versions of the glider featured a hinged rear fuselage loading ramp that could accommodate a small vehicle such as a
Kübelwagen or loads of similar size and weight. Two prototypes flew in
1941 and the type quickly entered production. A total of 1,528 were built, 133 B-1 to B-5s were converted to the
Go 244, with two
Gnome-Rhône 14M engines, (a paired -04 and -05 rotating in opposite directions), fitted to forward extensions of the tail booms. The Go 242 was tested with various rockets for overloaded take offs. A rack of four Rheinmetall-Borsig 109-502 rockets mounted on the rear of the cargo compartment was tested but not used operationally. A second rocket, called "R-
Gerät", also used with the glider, was a liquid-fuelled
Walter HWK 109-500A (R I-203)
Starthilfe; a podded monopropellant (
T-Stoff, stabilised high test peroxide), rocket engine mounted beneath each wing and jettisoned after take-off, parachuting down to be recycled. ==Operational history==