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Gotha Aircraft
Cranston Military Prints By Subject Aviation Art World War One Gotha Aircraft |
First World War aviation art prints of the Gotha aircraft. Our collection of prints and original paintings of the Gotha aircraft of World War One. |
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Text for the above items : |
Gotha UWD by Ivan Berryman. In response to a German Navy requirement for a floatplane version of their successful G.1 bomber, Gotha produced just one example of the Ursinus Wasser Doppeldecker, or UWD. The aircraft proved to be easy to fly with good take off and landing characteristics and was capable of carrying a considerable payload. On an unknown date in 1916, the UWD took part in a raid on Dover with four Friedrichshafen FF.33s, inflicting some damage to military installations in the area and returning safely. Despite this, Gotha UWD no 120/15 was written off by the navy early in October that same year. No further examples were built. |
Gothas Moon by Ivan Berryman. Just as the name Zeppelin had become the common term for almost every German airship that ventured over Britain, so the name Gotha became generically used for the enemy bombers that droned across the English Channel during 1917-1918, inflicting considerable damage to coastal ports and the capital. As the massed raids of Bombengeschwader 3 increased, a public inquiry in England brought about the formation of the Royal Air Force as an independent service to counter this new threat and fighters from Europe were brought home to defend against these marauding giants. As a result, heavy losses on the German side meant that daylight raids had to be abandoned and all operations were henceforth conducted by night. Here, a pair of Gotha G.Vs begin to turn for home as searchlights play fruitlessly over distant fires, the grim result of another successful nights work. |
Capitaine Georges Guynemer by Ivan Berryman. One of Frances most venerated pilots in World War 1 was Capitaine Georges Guynemer whose final victory tally has never been fully established, although he has been officially credited with 53 kills. It is more likely, however, that his actual total was nearer to 88! He is shown here in his Spad S.VII having just claimed his 31st victim, a Gotha bomber. |
Gotha G. V. by Ivan Berryman. Bathed in the low winter sun over southern England, Gotha G.V.s are attacked by defending Sopwith Camels as the German bombers penetrate the south-eastern counties en route to London. This was, effectively, the first Battle of Britain, staged during the winter of 1917/18, during which the intruders were frequently repelled, their bomb loads falling harmlessly on English soil. |
The First Battle of Britain by Stan Stokes. By the Spring of 1917 the Western Front had been stalemated for more than two years with the armies of Germany and the Allies deadlocked in static trench warfare. At sea, the fleets of both Germany and Great Britain were also at a strategic impasse following the inconclusive Battle of Jutland in 1916. The unrestricted U-Boat campaign in the Atlantic had resulted in Americas entry into the War, and Germany turned to its fledgling air force to help break the deadlock. Night raids by Zeppelins in 1915 and 1916 had proven ineffectual as the great airships had proven vulnerable to the unpredictable weather and to increasingly effective defenses. A new strategic weapon would therefore be utilized - the heavy bomber. With a fleet of such airoplanes, the very heart of London could be attacked. In March of 1917 a new unit was formed in Flanders, soon to be known as the England Geschwader. Lead by Hauptman Ernst Brandenburg, Kaghol 3 (the units official designation,) was equipped with the Gotha G. IV. With a crew of three, and a wingspan of nearly seventy-eight feet, the G. IV was an impressive flying machine. Powered by twin 260-HP Mercedes six cylinder, in-line, water-cooled engines, the Gotha had a top speed of 88-MPH. Its service ceiling was more than 21,000 feet, and its range was 305 miles. The maximum bomb load was 1,100 pounds, but on the first daylight raid on London, each aircraft would carry six 110-lb bombs. For defensive purposes the Gothas were armed with two 7.92mm machine guns. An interesting feature of the G. IV was the ability of the rear gunner to fire not only rearwards and upwards, but could also fire downwards through a specially designed tunnel in the fuselage. On June 13, 1917 Brandenburg led his unit in his red-tailed Gotha on the first daylight bombing raid to London. Twenty G. Ivs departed on this historic mission, but two soon turned back, and another four bombed other targets due to mechanical problems. A total of 128 bombs were dropped on the mission with devastating effects. All told, 162 people were killed in the raid, and another 432 were injured. It was a portent of the future of aerial warfare. Although 94 defensive sorties were flown against the raiders, only a few British fighters made contact with the Gothas before they reached their targets. One fighter which did intercept was a Bristol F2B piloted by Capt. C. W. E. Cole-Hamilton of No. 35 Training Sqaudron. The observer, Capt. C. H. Keevil was killed during the battle. After the safe return of all the Gothas, Brandenburg was personally decorated with the Pour le Merite. Unfortunately, he was seriously injured in a flying accident only six days later. By then the first battle of Britain was well underway. |
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