Country of origin:

Germany

Description:

Twin-engine long-range heavy bomber

Power Plant:

Two 194 kw (260 hp) Mercedes D.IVa six-cylinder in-line liquid-cooled engines

Specifications:

Armament:

Two manually-operated 7.69 mm (0.303 in) Parabellum machine guns in nose and rear cockpits; bomb load from 300 kg to 500 kg (660 lb to 1,100 lb); six 50 kg (110 lb) bombs carried in daylight raids on England

History:

The Gotha G.V was one of a series of long-range heavy bombers built by Gothaer Waggonfabrik A G Gotha in Germany, which produced the type in some numbers during World War I, the series also being licence-built by Luft Verkehrs GmbH (LVG) and Siemens-Schuckert Werke GmbH.

The Gotha bombers of World War I have been described as having a unique position in aeronautical history in that their name became the accepted synonym for ‘German bomber’ on both sides and has remained so since. Despite widely-published information at the time that they were Handley Page O/100 bombers of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) which got lost and landed on a German airfield in 1916, they were an original design and were placed in production before the O/100.

Gothaer Waggonfabrik was well known before the war as a manufacturer of railway carriages, trucks and other heavy equipment, an aircraft manufacturing division being set up in 1912. Initially the Company built other manufacturers’ designs under licence but eventually commenced to produce its own designs.

The first twin-engine design appeared in 1914, designed by Oskar Ursinus, a civil engineer, and at the time editor of ‘Flugsport’. The aircraft was initially known as the Ursinus GUH and was an unarmed reconnaissance aircraft but was later fitted with machine guns and re-designated the GO G.I, having Benz engines providing 112 kw (150 hp) and an all-up weight of 2,790 kg (6,150 lb).

The prototype of the Model G.II had engines in the pusher configuration instead of tractor and had a unique quadricycle undercarriage under each engine nacelle. This was changed to a three-point undercarriage. The Models G.III to G.V differed only slightly from the G.II, mainly mounting more powerful engines.

The basic framework was of wood construction with fabric covering, the tail surfaces, ailerons and undercarriage being built of steel tube. The wing was of three-bay layout, the upper wings being composed of two panels joined at the centre with steel wedges. The lower wings had a centre-section to which were attached the engine bearers, struts and undercarriage. These sections were plywood covered on both surfaces. The interplane struts were of steel tube with three-ply fairings.

A crew of three or four was usually carried and the various cockpits for the nose gunner/bombardier, pilot and rear gunner were connected by an open passageway to allow positions to be changed in flight. Bombs were carried vertically in an internal bomb bay and externally on racks under the wings and fuselage. An unusual feature was the tunnel in the rear fuselage which gave the rear lower gunner a clear field of fire to the rear and below from a prone position which covered the vulnerable blind spots of the bomber.

Production continued to the G.VII and G.VIII models, which had opposite rotating propellers, but most aircraft had standard engines with both propellers rotating clockwise.

The Gotha G.IV emerged in 1916 and coincided with the realisation that the Zeppelin airships had limitations as a raiding weapon. Subsequently the Gothas made many bombing raids on England. Heavy Bomber Squadron 3 was formed in 1917 with 30 examples of the Gotha IV, commanded by Hauptmann Brandenburg, being based at St Denis Westrem [Flights 13 and 14] and Gontrode [Flights 15 and 16]. Two more Flights [Nos 17 and 18] were formed in July 1917. Daylight raids were made on England from 25 May to 22 August 1917 and achieved remarkable success with a low casualty rate, the aircraft flying at 4,572 m (15,000 ft). Sopwith Pups and Martinsydes were sent to intercept the Gothas but by the time they reached altitude the bombers were on their way back across the North Sea.

There was very little significant damage caused by the bombing but the effect on the British public was enormous and forced the British Government to withdraw No 56 Squadron from France to combat the daylight raids. Once an early warning defence system was put in place, and with the advent of the Bristol F.2b Fighter and Sopwith Camel with defence units, daylight operations became impossible and the German bombers had to resort to night raids. By May 1918 the Gothas used on night raids were withdrawn from operations on England, having made 22 raids. No 3 Bombengeschwader dropped 84,745 kg (168,828 lb) of bombs. Twenty-four aircraft were destroyed by Allied defences and a further 37 were lost in accidents.

Late in the war, in December 1918, when Germany and its aerodromes were being overrun, units of the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) took possession of many German items of equipment, including aircraft and field guns. No 4 Squadron AFC captured what was said to be a Gotha bomber, thought to be a G.V, at an airfield near Cologne. A photo of this aircraft has appeared in Vol. VIII of the ‘Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-18, Australian Flying Corps’ by F M Cutlack, this being Australian War Memorial (AWM) Official Photo No E4147. However, this aircraft was in fact a Zeppelin Staaken R.VI. The Australian unit did capture a Gotha G.V bomber in that area but, as the German bombers were too large an aircraft to be taken as a War Prize, it is assumed in due course it was abandoned on the airfield and later broken up.

It is interesting to note a German Railway gun named ‘Big Bertha’ was captured by Australian troops and shipped to Australia for the AWM. At one stage it was assembled and placed on display at Central Railway Station in Sydney, NSW. It is believed to be the only German railway gun which survived the war but it was eventually scrapped and all that remained was the barrel at the AWM.

The number of operations by German bombers against the United Kingdom has been described as the ‘First Battle of Britain’. Attacks were made initially by Zeppelin airships on 51 occasions and by aeroplanes on 52 occasions. Records have indicate 1,414 persons were killed and 3,416 were injured on the ground. However, raids did cause many Londoners to seek shelter in underground railways and many left the city for country areas.

Raids on Britain by Gotha aircraft commenced on 25 May 2017 with 21 aircraft reaching the shore and successfully bombing Folkestone on the English Channel in Kent, and Shorncliffe Camp. Raids continued until 18 September 1917 when 25 aircraft set out but only three bombed coastal areas in Suffolk, Kent and Essex. On this occasion they were joined by three Zeppelin Staakens, which were known as ‘Giants’.

The last operation was on 19/20 May 1918 when 38 Gothas set out and 28 reached their targets in the London, Faversham and Dover areas, being joined by two ‘Giants’.  Altogether the Gothas carried out 383 raids, 297 reaching Britain during eight daylight and 19 night raids. On these raids they were joined by 30 ‘Giants’, 28 of which reached their targets. A total of 111,935 kg of bombs was dropped. During these operations 24 Gothas were shot down, 36 were lost or damaged in crashes, and two ‘Giants’ were lost in crashes.