Information AboutGotha G |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT GOTHA G | |
| german bomber aircraft 1910-1919 | |
| world war i aircraft | |
The Gotha G series of Bomber s were the main German twin-engine bombers of World War I . Built by Gothaer Waggonfabrik , the first unsuccessful variant was the '''G.I'''. It had an unusual shape, with the fuselage upon the upper wing of the Biplane , and only a small number were built. The next Gotha planes were completely different from G.I, and were similar to each other, the main difference being in the engines used. The most numerous types were the Gotha '''G.IV''' and '''G.V'''. Though its bomb load by modern standards is negligible, their effect on British morale and war effort was enormous. They replaced the vulnerable Zeppelin s. GOTHA RAIDS The bombing of Upper North Street School in Poplar had a particularly powerful emotional and political impact. Eighteen children died and 30 were injured in that attack, the school being one of many death sites on a raid delivered by a fleet of 18 Gotha bombers on June 13 , 1917 . Aircraft in this group also bombed Margate , Foulness Island, Shoeburyness , Greenwich , East Ham , Southwark and Dalston . Seventy-two bombs fell within a mile of Liverpool Street station within 2 minutes. The death toll—including Poplar—reached 162 and another 432 people were injured, making the raid the most severe yet witnessed in Britain. The effectiveness of Britain's air defences were tragically exposed as all the Luftwaffe planes returned abroad to their bases. Some 92 British pilots had taken-off to seek the raiders but most never saw a Gotha; one was killed from enemy fire. The surprise and speed of the raid was such that the British War Cabinet convened the same afternoon to consider reports of the raid and met again on May 14 to discuss a response. As a result some RFC squadrons were recalled from France to improve the defence of Kent. On July 7 , 1917 a similar raid of some 20 Gothas approached London from the north and north west. Ninety-seven pilots ascended in Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Royal Navy Air Service (RNAS) aircraft to counter them. The City and east end of London suffered heavy bombing. Fifty-four deaths and 190 injuries resulted, of which 10 fatalities and 55 injured were blamed on Ack-ack fire from English units. One Gotha was brought down but another Cabinet meeting was immediately convened, reflecting the further shock of this audacious raid. Prior to these raids, women, children and other non-combatants presumed themselves to be relatively immune from direct military attacks. The rules of war seemed to have changed for European civilians. The high flying Gothas were initially able to bomb by daylight without much threat from fighters. The introduction of the Sopwith Camel for home defence changed that and the Gothas switched to night raids. With this, artillery defences and barrage ballons were introduced to protect London. The first Gotha to be shot down over England at night was brought down by Sopwith Camels in January 1918. Shortly after the Gothas were withdrawn from raids and reorganised for tactical bombing, leaving the raids to the Zeppelin-Staaken R.1 "Giant"s. Gothas were again used in October in their last raid, 3 were lost to fighters and 3 to guns. 1917. (February 2006)]] EXTERNAL LINKS |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|